The Dark Knight Rises 8 Years: Active or Retired?

[DamianWayne23]

Oh come on, really...?

umm yea really. Idk whats so baffling about my post, it seems like a reasonably valid point am I missing something here?

 

[Laderlappen]

umm yea really. Idk whats so baffling about my post, it seems like a reasonably valid point am I missing something here?

That this is a superhero movie perhaps? The main character is suposed to go through the impossible. After all that happened in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, THIS is the thing you dont believe.

 

[Brain Damage]

Agreed. As long as they don't have him lifting mountains of kryptonite or anything, I don't have a problem with buying that Batman can get back into the game after years of non-activity.

 

[Nevincer]

That this is a superhero movie perhaps? The main character is suposed to go through the impossible. After all that happened in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, THIS is the thing you dont believe.

Exactly.

 

[sly]

I'm hoping for an active Batman for those 8 years. Maybe he slows his work down to a crawl... or stops for a certain numbers of months... but 8 years? Bruce working that hard for 2 or so years, to retire for 8? To me, Nolan and company are going to have to sell the hell out of that for me to buy it.

Occam's razor wins out for me in this argument. It makes more sense that Bruce is actively Batman after The Dark Knight.

 

[BatLobster]

The way I see it, there's no logical way to assume that Batman's last night out was the night of the ferries/Dent's death. Therefore, I don't think the film will try to put that forth even if he has been absent for the greater part of the 8 year gap. The mob, despite being debilitated after the events of TDK wouldn't be completely dead. There would most likely be some influx of mob activity to fill that power vacuum and I'd suspect Gordon (with Batman's covert help) would remain vigilant in nipping that in the bud.

That is, until the Harvey Dent Act is passed and does whatever it does to help the GCPD better police Gotham. It takes time for a piece of legislation to get passed, so that's why I have to imagine he's still Batman for X amount of time until this happens.

Admittedly, I'm clinging to the idea of Batman not retiring right away because that was never how I interpreted the end of TDK. I think a happy medium would be- Batman remains a hunted vigilante, evading capture while still helping Gordon for 4 years. Then, feeling worn down and obsolete after the Dent Act is passed, decides to hang up the cape. I'm very interested to see how the film conveys what's happened in the 8 years and how much detail they'll go into.

 

[Brain Damage]

i've been certain he's going to be full out retired from the beginning of the movie, and every Christopher Nolan quote on the matter has led me to believe this even more

If I had to express it thematically, I think what we’re saying is that for Batman and Commissioner Gordon, there’s a big sacrifice, a big compromise, at the end of the ‘The Dark Knight’ and for that to mean something, that sacrifice has to work and Gotham has to get better in a sense. They have to achieve something for the ending of that film — and the feeling at the end of that film — to have validity. Their sacrifice has to have meaning and it takes time to establish that and to show that, and that’s the primary reason we did that.

Harvey Dent was important to TDK because he represented how Gotham City could function without Batman. He was a symbol that Gotham didn't need a hero with a mask, he brought peace to Gotham, but The Joker challenged that and made him a murderer. The reason Batman took the fall for Harvey's crimes is so that Harvey remained a symbol of hope and that he peace he originally dreamed of would exist. Essentially, Harvey, Gordon and Batman were working towards creating a Gotham City that wouldn't need Batman.

As Nolan himself says, the only way for that sacrifice to hold merit is for their plan to work. By taking the fall for Harvey's crimes, Batman ensures peace for Gotham, but subsequently negates the need for his own existence.

"This is peace time"

Peace time does not need a Batman, but when Bane comes to Gotham, things will change.

 

[aliensarchive]

The license plates on the cars in DKR all have 2013 on their registration stickers. The ones in TDK all said 2008. That's only 5 years.

 

[sly]

The license plates on the cars in DKR all have 2013 on their registration stickers. The ones in TDK all said 2008. That's only 5 years.

Flash back scene?

 

[Gianakin_]

"Why do we fall?"

Gravity?

Oh, and your sig is boss.

 

[KalMart]

Solved....

http://www.thedarkknightrises.com/downloads/TDKR_productionNotes.pdf

 

[KalMart]

So.....how does everyone feel about the retirement before we see what it's like? I'm looking forward to the effects of being away.

 

[Batman jr.]

The license plates on the cars in DKR all have 2013 on their registration stickers. The ones in TDK all said 2008. That's only 5 years.

Interesting observation...

Anway, 8 years is long, I don't mind it, but 5 years would've also been good.

 

[Naked Shia]

I would have sincerely prefered If he had been active for at least a while. But I looking forward to what he became after that infamnous night.

 

[Gianakin_]

Same here Leo.

 

[Mandalore464]

Edit : Deleted

 

[Naked Shia]

I like the fact that Nolan had the guts to take his Batman to controversial places.

I always was an advocate of the eight years retired Batman in that regard.

Nolan's Batman always was different than your typical Batman portrayal (always looking for an opportunity to get rid of the cape and cowl for good). And I especially like that Bruce in Begins was portrayed as a young, naive idealist, like Rachel.

In TDK, Batman was shown to have grown up somewhat, and the movie showed that his batman persona was starting to take its toll physically and psychologically. Bruce matured and was seen longing for a settled life with rachel instead of just continuing the fight forever.

It's only natural that the blow dealt to him by her death would be enough for him to hang up the cape for good.

I don't go to the Batman movies to see the definitive Batman portrayal, which is a utopia I abandoned a long time ago. I just enjoy them for what they are : personal interpretations from an artist, in thsi case, Nolan.

Batman doesn't have to be respectful of his comic-book counterpart as long as they are made interesting. I actually even think that those very differences between the original character and the interpretations we see on the silver screen are what makes them interesting.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to see this batman's journey come to an end, and see how his eight year long retirement has affected him and his ability to be Batman. not physically : psychologically.

Is he secretly longing to don the cape again, and therefore will use Bane as an excuse to justify it? Or is he a tired man, freed from the delusions of his younger self, that will face becoming Batman as a necessary evil, without truthfully wanting to do it again?

I can't wait to see how this conflict is portrayed in the film.

I agree, and I would add there isn't any definitive portrayal, even in the comics. Most writers don't even write Bruce in the same way. That's what makes his background so great.

 

[CapedCrusader14]

Batman is almost like science-fiction. It's such a universally adaptable medium that can be done in so many different ways.

 

[DrMylesOBoogie]

Interesting observation...

Anway, 8 years is long, I don't mind it, but 5 years would've also been good.

The fact he's been inactive makes me wish it were more like 1 or 2 years. 8 is astonishing.

 

[Art Damage]

I'm not sure how I felt about the 8 year hole and I still feel a little torn. Part of me wishes it hadn't been so long and that a "retirement" just kind of feels like it cheapens the idea of giving us a really good take on the character....but again this is just me wanting to put my ideas of comic book Batman on to the screen. I know it's borrowing a lot from The Dark Knight Returns and while I like that book a lot, I never really wanted to see it on screen before. I prefer Year One type stories or Batman at his peak and I always thought The Dark Knight Rises was going to be like one of those types as opposed to going off in a blaze of glory.

I know eight years is a long time to be hiding from the cops, but I wonder if maybe Batman still hasn't been out and about here and there in those eight years. Although it wouldn't have made sense for the eight year gap considering how The Dark Knight ended, maybe had they condensed it to four years after TDK Batman is still out and about avoiding cops yet crazy with his work and THEN while he's no longer at his peak mentally and physically Bane shows up.

I'm sure it will work and I'll end up eating my words, but just a thought...

 

[The Joker]

The latest clip with Gordon and Blake confirmed beyond question that the night Dent died was last time Gotham ever saw Batman.

 

[ALP]

Awesome. I hope the movie starts with Bale having the beard.

"I always wanted to grow a badass beard, Alfred. Now with Batman gone, this is my chance"

 

[JackWhite]

So.....how does everyone feel about the retirement before we see what it's like? I'm looking forward to the effects of being away.

I'm still wondering if Nolan is going to be able to sell it to the audience, with Batman being away for so long. But I'm not judging anything until I see it. In all honesty, it's kind of brilliant actually - Bruce was gone for I think 7 years during BB, now Batman will be gone for 8 this time around in TDKR. Nolan is slick.

 

[KalMart]

I'm still wondering if Nolan is going to be able to sell it to the audience, with Batman being away for so long. But I'm not judging anything until I see it. In all honesty, it's kind of brilliant actually - Bruce was gone for I think 7 years during BB, now Batman will be gone for 8 this time around in TDKR. Nolan is slick.

I just felt from the beginning...even right after TDK came out...that some sort of break/time off would have been cool to sort of mirror the DKR comic and set up a big return as a final chapter. I didn't think they'd go as far as to put him in his 50's or so, but I was pleasantly surprised when I heard about the 8 years. I was hoping that he'd go fro something rather bold and I'm glad he did.

 

[Reek]

I love how even though hes been gone so long, there are still citizens who believe in him and don't believe he did the things he did. The chalk bat symbols every are just so awesome.