The Dark Knight Saga: Difference between revisions
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* [[Big Bad]]: Ra's al Ghul in ''Batman Begins'', The Joker in ''The Dark Knight'', and (if the trailers and promotional materials are to be trusted) Bane in ''The Dark Knight Rises''.
* [[Bishonen]]: The third segment of the anime anthology ''Batman Gotham Knight'' really takes the Bruce Wayne pretty boy concept to the max by introducing an all bishounen version of Bruce Wayne. In fairness it may have also been an attempt to give him a [[Christian Bale]] look.
* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: ''Batman Begins
* [[Blood on These Hands]]
* [[Body Motifs]]: There is much emphasis on faces and masks in both films.
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** Some of the wilder interpretations are due to one of the shorts consisting of [[The Rashomon|kids giving their urban legend-style perceptions]] rather than actually being Batman. While the artwork varies widely, the characters themselves stay pretty consistent, including Batman himself.
** The Batman costume tends to vary wildly, even in the non-kids shorts.
* [[Canon Foreigner]]: A ''lot.'' Rachel Dawes for ''Batman Begins'' and ''The Dark Knight
* [[Cape Wings]]: Batman. [[Handwaved]] with some [[Techno Babble]] about "memory cloth" and electric currents.
** Specifically, the 'Memory Cloth' is a special type of fabric with certain bundled sections designed to take a specific shape when an electrical charge is applied. In the movie, it was originally meant to make quick-setting tents for soldiers, but Batman re-purposes it and modifies said bundles so it turns into a pair of bat-like wings to use as a glider when he leaps from rooftops. Frankly, it's both realistic, fascinating, and likely insanely expensive.
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** Loeb, Jim Gordon's immediate superior, first appears in the flashback to the Waynes' murder in ''Batman Begins'',{{spoiler|and eventually meets his end in ''The Dark Knight''.}}
** A more subtle one in the first movie is Zsasz the mob hitman who gets shipped off to Arkham on an insanity plea. During the mass-breakout at the end of the movie, you get to see him with his shirt off, displaying the same habit as the comics version of marking each kill by adding an extra scar to his body.
** There is also a [[Continuity Nod]] between one scene early in Begins and another late in ''The Dark Knight'', {{spoiler|Alfred Pennyworth brings Bruce Wayne a meal, Bruce at first doesn't say anything but says "Alfred?" just as Alfred is about to walk away, and then Bruce begins to blame himself for acts of violence committed by others, while Alfred tries to reassure Bruce that they aren't his fault.}}
** There is also an [[Ironic Echo]] in ''The Dark Knight'' that serves as a nod to Ducard's crime-fighting tutelage in ''Begins''. During the training sequence in ''Begins'', Ducard tells Wayne that, although Wayne has been spending his time trying to understand criminals, "the criminal is not complicated." In ''The Dark Knight'', Wayne is shown to have apparently internalized this lesson, repeating it to Alfred. "Criminals aren't complicated, Alfred. Just have to figure out what he's after."
** The teaser trailer for ''The Dark Knight Rises'' repeats Ducard's "legend" line from ''Begins''.
** The music and cinematography for the scenes with Gordon and his son in ''The Dark Knight'' mirror the flashbacks of Bruce and his father in ''Batman Begins''.
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* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]]: Deadshot in ''Gotham Knight''. When we meet him, he headshots a guy from what looks like a mile away. Through a window, into a crowded party, through a sky filled with fireworks, and from a moving Ferris wheel. He also times it so it ''snaps a cocktail glass in half'', while it's being carried.
** The distance wasn't implausible, as a sniper in Afghanistan recently (2010) was reported to have hit a target at 2.7km. The glass thing... was just Deadshot being Deadshot. His employer even complains about how flashy it was.
* [[Ironic Echo]]: Aside from the ironic echoes WITHIN ''Begins'' and ''The Dark Knight'', (see their respective trope lists for those) there's arguably some ''between'' the two movies. We hear the following conversation between Batman and Gordon towards the end of ''Begins'':
{{quote|'''Gordon''': I never did say thank you.
'''Batman''': ... [[Think Nothing of It|and you'll never have to]].}}
** And then there is this, towards the end of ''The Dark Knight'':
{{quote|'''Gordon''': Thank you.
'''Batman''': [[Think Nothing of It|You don't have to thank me.]]
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** There's also this quote Ducard says in Begins to his then-student Wayne:
{{quote|'''Ducard''': You've traveled the world to understand the criminal mind and conquer your fears. But the criminal is not complicated.}}
** Wayne, having apparently internalized this lesson, paraphrases this in ''The Dark Knight'':
{{quote|'''Wayne''': Criminals aren't complicated, Alfred. Just have to figure out what he's after.}}
* [[Jerkass Facade]]: Bruce Wayne combines this with [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] to protect his Batman identity.
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* [[Mythology Gag]]: Several.
** Most prominent are nods to the comics themselves, which in addition to the overarching plot, also provided the inspiration for specific events and gadgets in the films:
** In ''Batman Begins'', Batman escapes pursuit by the Gotham City police department by using a sonic device to summon a swarm of bats. This is taken directly from ''[[Batman: Year One]]''.
*** Another subtle one is after Lucius gives Bruce the material to make his cape. We are treated to a scene of him using some of that material to make controllable claws, something another [[Batman Beyond|Batman]] uses as his primary weapon.
** In ''The Dark Knight'', Bruce asks Mr. Fox if his new suit can stand a dog attack. Fox says that it would certainly be able to stand up to a [[Catwoman (comics)|cat...]]
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** ''"You complete me..."'' could possibly be a reference to ''[[The Batman vs. Dracula]]''.
** Gordon's Major Crimes Unit is cribbed directly from ''[[Gotham Central]]'', a series which focused on the Gotham Police force. Unlike that series, however, the unit is still filled to the brim with corrupt cops. Gordon regrets this, but points out that if he refused to work with cops like that, he'd be working alone.
** Two scenes in ''The Dark Knight'' seem to directly reference Burton's first Batman movie: When Batman plays chicken with Joker on the Bat-Pod and when Batman throws Joker off the building. The first scene mirrors the scene where Batman flies at Joker in the Batwing, the second mirrors Joker's death. Both scenes, however, show the important difference between the two movies: Batman in Nolan's movies doesn't kill.
** Judging by his [[Curb Stomp Battle]] in the jail in ''Begins'', it would seem that, even before he became Batman, Bruce was skilled at [[The Dark Knight Returns|fighting in the mud]].
*** And speaking of, the Tumbler was inspired by the hulked-out tank of a Batmobile featured in ''[[The Dark Knight Returns]]''.
** When Joker is having his [[Money to Burn]] moment, he says, "Everything burns," a line which parallels Mr. Freeze's line in ''[[Batman and Robin (film)|Batman and Robin]]'': "Everything freezes."
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* [[Sequel Hook]]: Joker's calling card in the final scene of ''Batman Begins'', and the fact {{spoiler|Batman's a wanted criminal}} at the end of ''The Dark Knight''.
** ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' offers a surprising subversion. When {{spoiler|Two-Face}} makes his big appearance near the climax, most viewers naturally assumed that he was being set up as the villain of the third movie. Nope. {{spoiler|He dies less than an hour after he's introduced}}.
* [[Shoot the Bullet]]: Batman pulls one of these off in Gotham Knight, except since he doesn't use guns, he simply punches the bullet out of the air with the armored part of his gauntlet (because, you know, a
* [[Shown Their Work]]: When Bruce Wayne dumps his wine over the balcony. (To clarify: in the comics Batman doesn't drink alcohol ''ever'', and when it looks like he is then it's actually apple juice. This is perhaps the least known thing about Batman.)
* [[So Last Season]]: The
* [[Songs in the Key of Lock]]
* [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]]: Crane, one of the main villains from ''Batman Begins'', was reassigned in the sequel to the head Mook of the [[Batman Cold Open]]. On the other hand, [[The Joker]] ends up being worse than ''the entire mob'' put together!
* [[Status Quo Is God]]: Averted in ''[[Batman Begins]]'' and ''[[The Dark Knight]]''.
** In ''[[Batman Begins]]'', {{spoiler|Ra's Al Ghul, AKA [[Evil Mentor|Henri Ducard]], invades Wayne Manor and burns it to the ground, leaving Bruce to set up his Batman persona and gadgets in a penthouse during ''[[The Dark Knight]]''. Arkham Asylum and The Narrows, a massive slum in Gotham, is driven insane by Scarecrow's fear toxin; putting Arkham Asylum out of the plot in ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' as well. Also, after Batman and Gordon blow up the monorail track to save the rest of Gotham from Ra's, Batman glides to safety...while Ra's Al Ghul is left to be killed in a crash and explosion.}}
** In [[The Dark Knight]], {{spoiler|Batman's primary love interest is [[Killed Off for Real]] midway through the film. Two-Face follows her after one dramatic confrontation at the end of the same movie--meaning he doesn't live to become one of Batman's [[Rogues Gallery]]. By contrast, the Joker survives the second film, but [[Word of God]] indicates that he won't appear at all in the third movie--meaning he doesn't become Batman's [[Arch Enemy]]. Perhaps most shockingly, the second film ends with Batman charged for murder and on the run from the law, apparently planning to put his superhero escapades on hold}}.
* [[Stealth Expert]]: Do we even have to say it?
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** Listen to the music as the man on the civilian ferry is about to blow up the convict ferry - Joker theme in full-force. {{spoiler|Then as the man hesitates and puts down the remote, the Batman theme overtakes the Joker theme, which fades and disappears.}}
* [[To Create a Playground For Evil]]: The Joker's apparent goal.
* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Batman takes one throughout ''Begins'', and then between ''Begins'' and ''The Dark Knight''. In ''[[Batman Begins]]'', Bruce can take on four ninja or Ducard in a straight fight, and relies slightly more on darkness and fear to manage larger groups of enemies. In ''[[The Dark Knight]]'', Batman takes on multiple SWAT teams and Joker thugs while they nominally have the jump on him.
* [[Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty]]: Aside from the Joker, it helps to remember that Batman almost always jumps enemies by surprise, and Crane uses ''chemical warfare in fist fights
* [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]: Rachel Dawes.
** And then Bruce Wayne himself in the second film.
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** Deconstructed in the second movie, when an accountant realizes millions of dollars of equipment have disappeared, including an experimental car that looks exactly like the Batmobile. He tries [[Blackmail]]... which, well, see [[Blackmail]], above, for how it's reconstructed.
* [[The Windy City]]: The second film is very obviously set in Chicago, to the point where many Chicago-based viewers spend half the film trying to place where everything was shot. Based on the very obvious use of Chicago architecture, iconography, and Bruce Wayne's <s>Illinois license plates</s> license plates that say "Gotham" where it normally says "Illinois," one could assume that there [[Celebrity Paradox|is no Chicago]] in this branch of the DC Movieverse, but only Gotham City, <s>Illinois</s> State of Gotham.
** The first film involved a lot more soundstage work and CGI. In [[Real Life]], New York City is occasionally referred to as "Gotham
** In ''The Dark Knight'', less CGI was used:
*** The car chase with the Joker clearly takes place on Lower Whacker Drive.
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*** Part of the Batpod scene shows Batman piloting it through the Millennium Station, which is obvious because of the floor pattern and the fact that Metra and South Shore signs are clearly noticeable. There's even a POV shot where signs for the Pedway and Randolph Street are visible.
* [[Would Not Shoot a Good Guy]]: Happens whenever Batman encounters the police. In the first movie, he manages to avoid any direct struggle by summoning a flock of bats. In ''The Dark Knight'', he has to be very careful not to kill any members of the SWAT team even as he's trying to stop them from making a grave mistake. Granted, [[Doesn't Like Guns|he never shoots anybody]] anyway, but he's far more careful fighting cops than criminals.
** Dubiously though, and lampshaded by Alfred in ''Batman Begins'' after the Batmobile's first proper outing: sure Batman doesn't shoot any cops, but expecting us to accept that no-one died in a chase where several cars were completely totaled at high speed (from, e.g., a head-on collision with a goddamn central reservation) is pushing the suspension of disbelief just a wee bit.
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* [[Calling Card]]: The Joker uses a joker playing card as this whenever he commits a crime, whether it be a bank robbery or a hit.
* [[The Cameo]] Tim Booth of the band known as ''James'' has a small non speaking role as lesser known Batman villain, Victor Zsasz. SO this is sort of a double cameo.
* [[The Cast Showoff]]: Notice how Ducard tends to go into boxing stances when fighting bare handed? Most probably influenced from Liam Neeson's boxing training during his teens. It also works with Ducard's general philosophy of being a ''[[Combat Pragmatist]]''. He even
<!-- %% On a sidenote, Ra's al Ghul has been a few times mentioned as a CompleteMonster here. For one thing, mentions of that are usually supposed to go in a YMMV section and/or the CompleteMonster example list itself, and for another, Ra's al Ghul is arguably too much of a WellIntentionedExtremist to qualify. -->
* [[Comic Book Adaptation]]: Currently the last [[Batman]] movie to receive one. It's okay if you haven't heard of it; it didn't come out with much fanfare, and was more of an original story packaged with reprints of classic Batman stories.
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* [[Face Death with Dignity]]: Ducard took his death rather well. Then again, he is {{spoiler|Ra's Al Ghul, who may or may not be immortal.}}
* [[Face Your Fears]]: A major theme. Ducard tells Bruce to breathe in his fears, to become fear so as to conquer it, makes him open a case of bats during training, etc... but after Bruce leaves the League of Shadows he decides to walk into a cave where he surrounds himself with bats, and he learns to not let fear get in his way... hence his later courage in confronting crime.
* [[Finish Him!]]: Ducard's final test in ''Begins
* [[Flower From the Mountaintop]]: The blue flower at the base of the mountain range, which Bruce must carry to the top (making it an inversion). More plot significant than most, as its powerful hallucinogenic effects become the source of Scarecrow's fear gas.
* [[Fly At the Camera Ending]]: Batman gliding off a rooftop and into the camera.
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'''Bruce Wayne''': Even the scary ones?
'''Thomas Wayne''': ESPECIALLY the scary ones.}}
* [[Rule of Three]]: Instead of having one main [[Big Bad]], ''Batman Begins'' has 3; there's the [[Smug Snake|arrogant]] [[The Don|crime boss]] Carmine Falcone, there's the [[Knight Templar|self-righteous]] [[Ancient Conspiracy|ancient vigilante group leader]] Ra's al Ghul, (who would probably hate the kind of lawlessness men like Falcone stand for) and then there's some corrupt psychiatrist called Jonathan Crane who stated that he works for the latter but is implied to also work for the former. [[Captain Obvious|That can't end well.]]
* [[Saved for the Sequel]]: At the end of the movie, the plot is resolved, but there's unresolved romance between Bruce Wayne and Rachel Dawes to provide fodder for the next movie.
* [[Save the Villain]]: Bruce saves Henri Ducard when {{spoiler|his lair [[Stuff Blowing Up|explodes]].}} Later, {{spoiler|Henri Ducard returns as Ra's Al Ghul to destroy Gotham}} and tells Bruce that he warned him about compassion. After {{spoiler|Ra's Al Ghul and Batman's last battle}}, Batman leaves {{spoiler|Ra's Al Ghul}} to die as the monorail crashes.
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* [[Anyone Can Die]]: ''The Dark Knight'' plays this for all it's worth with the death of {{spoiler|Rachel.}}
* [[Appropriated Appellation]]: {{spoiler|Two-Face}}.
* [[Arc Words]]: A lot of people think that Harvey Dent's "The dawn is coming" bit is going to this for ''The Dark Knight Rises
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: A very brief, wordless example. When Gordon observes of the Joker that there was "nothing in his pockets but knives and lint", we see someone laying out an improbable number of knives on a table. The last is a potato peeler, which the handler briefly double-takes at.
** Genius in hindsight. Take out "potato", and think about [[Fridge Horror|what a psychopath would be using it for...]]
* [[Artistic License History]]: When Harvey comments about how the ancient Romans would appoint a dictator in times of crisis, Rachel claims that Caesar never gave up the title. This is not accurate, as Julius Caesar was ''given'' the title of "Dictator for Life" by the Senate ''after'' he had more or less conquered Rome in a civil war. Despite his assassination, Julius never had to "give up" his position. Also, [[Your Mileage May Vary|depending on who you ask]], Rome's transformation into an Empire may have been the best thing for it at the time.
* [[Art Shift]]: Of a sort. Christopher Nolan stated in an interview that as opposed to the gritty grimy look of ''Batman Begins'', ''The Dark Knight'' would be slightly... cleaner, so to speak.
** ''The Dark Knight'' was largely missing ''Batman Begins
* [[As Long as It Sounds Foreign]]: All of the Asian characters in Hong Kong speak flawless Chinese... in the wrong dialect. The standard dialect used in Hong Kong is Cantonese, whereas the characters all speak Mandarin. However, it's possible that they were simply from Mainland China, wherein the dominant language is Mandarin.
* [[Ax Crazy]]: The Joker is the living embodiment of this trope.
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** And [[Defied Trope|defied]].
{{quote|'''Joker''': Oh, and by the way, the suit, it wasn't cheap. You oughta know, you bought it.}}
** Played straight with the amateur
{{quote|'''Copycat''': What gives you the right? What's the difference between you and me?
'''Batman''': [[Deadpan Snarker|I'm not wearing hockey pads.]]}}
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* [[Omnicidal Maniac]]: The Joker.
* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: The [[Scary Black Man]] (Tommy Lister) on the convicts' barge, who "does what the guards shoulda done ten minutes ago": {{spoiler|He throws the detonator out the window.}}
** Jonathan Crane early in the film too, though he was a much more significant character in ''Begins''.
** The Bank Manager (William Fichtner) who very calmly reacts to robbers in his bank... by whipping out a shotgun.
* [[Only Known by Their Nickname]]: The Joker, if "nickname" is a good word for it.
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** [[The Joker]] also loves chaos, is definitely [[Ax Crazy]] and enjoys ruining lives [[For the Evulz]]; he isn't that well intentioned...he seems to want [[To Create a Playground For Evil]] and wants to break Gotham's hope; as he says so to Batman at the Prewitt Building. It's why he {{spoiler|drove Harvey Dent insane at the hospital}}. Judging by his [[Mind Rape|speech that broke]] {{spoiler|Harvey Dent}}; he probably wanted {{spoiler|Harvey}} to believe he's well intentioned, so {{spoiler|Two-Face}} would embrace both chaos and murder (effectively {{spoiler|making Harvey a [[Fallen Hero]]}} which if found out]]; would ruin Gotham's hope).
* [[Wham! Episode]]: The end of the second act, which ''starts'' with {{spoiler|Harvey and Rachel getting kidnapped}} and ends with {{spoiler|Rachel's death.}} ''None'' of the protagonists emerge unscathed.
* [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]]: There seems to be a subtle theme about dogs in ''The Dark Knight''. Seriously. Go back and watch it again, looking out for references to, and appearances by, dogs. The meaning behind them is debatable, but it can't be coincidence.
** Dogs are a symbol for the Joker. He's the "dog chasing cars" and the ultimate cynic. At first, the Chechen mobster has dogs on a leash -- to deal with Batman -- but by the end the dogs are turned against their former master in the same way the Joker basically overthrew the mobsters' control. Also, there's probably some Cerberus thing you could take from the three dogs.
** Look at The Joker leaning his head out of the police car's window after his escape.
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{{quote|'''Batman:''' Why didn't you just...kill me?
'''Bane:''' Your punishment must be more ''severe''.}}
* [[Flying Car]]: The Bat, à la the Batmobile from ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' or the more standard [[Cool Plane|Batwing]].
** [[Defied Trope|Defied]] in the third trailer:
{{quote|'''Catwoman:''' My mother warned me about getting into cars with strange men.
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