These images, coming at you courtesy of Comic Book Movie, were taken at Heinz Field last weekend.  Step back for SPOILERS, okay?  Apparently the scene involved Bane and his trio of camouflaged Tumblers hitting the field during a Gotham Rogues football games and bringing his message straight to the citizens of Gotham.

I'm very curious about Bane doing his thing during a sporting event, since he almost certainly engages in a little bit of the old ultra-violence.  The Dark Knight very smartly played on fears of insurgency, IEDs, and the breakdown of order seen on the ground in the Iraq War.  Perhaps this time, Christopher Nolan, co-writer Jonathan Nolan and fellow story-crafter David Goyer are employing imagery evoking the brutal soccer-field justice of the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, similar to the kind of scene Dexter Filkins depicted in the first chapter of his incredible The Forever War?  Or maybe a packed football field is just a cool location for a scene.

On another note, what do you think the deal is with Bane's mask?  It appears to be not simply a mask, but a functional piece of equipment that also happens make him look like a muzzled dog.  Could it be some kind of Darth Vader-style breathing apparatus?  After all, in Nolan's Batman universe, even Bruce Waynes nocturnal costume has a rationale, with both its functionality and psychology pretty extensively explained.

Whatever the explanation for Bane's facemask, we'll find out conclusively on July 20, 2012, when The Dark Knight Rises finally and mercifully shows up in conventional and IMAX theaters.