The movie is in the tone of the Silence of the Lambs, more of a detective mystery (Long Holloween) than the action heavy TDK because the villain isn't about anarchy, just psychological intimidation to the citizens of Gotham and even more so to Gothams finest/public officials. Why? Because he likes the attention, not because he likes chaos. It starts off with murders. Security cameras capture the murders of random citizens all around the city done by city officials and notable public figures (The Mayor, Gordon, even Bruce Wayne). Some of the murders are seen to be done by members of the remaining mafia (who kill off other mob families), this leads to a mob civil war, practically wiping out organized crime in Gotham for good. Each murder scene has a riddle, taunting the police. The GCPD has turned into a frenzy, and with the city against Batman, they have little help to turn to, most of the cops are finding it increasingly hard to trust each other after the events in TDK and even more so after witnesses and cameras capture their own as perps in the murders. They begin demanding answers as the evidence of the murders have leaked out to the GNC, where Mike Engle has soaring ratings on Gotham Tonight by showing the tapes without explanation as to how the station obtained them. The GCPD get furious with the show when it leaks restricted evidence to the public. Batman tries to beat answers out of Engle, Engle says they are sent in the mail with riddles in each package (a sypher like the Zodiacs), after figuring out the cipher, it gives Batman the name of a theatrical actor, Basil Karlo and we find that with the use of waxed prosthetic applications and careful study on the subjects, he is in fact the one behind the murders. He confesses to it all without any motive given. His face is constantly peeled and bruised due to the waxed applications. The GCPD flaunt the capture to the public, trying to ensure the city is safer, headlines in the paper read "CAUGHT: The Clay-Faced Killer". Everything settles down. Then another riddle turns up at the door of the GCPD with a video tape. Before we know it, the murders start again. This time though, the tape left behind shows what looks like Harvey Dent committing a murder of an accused crooked cop, only this Dent has scars across half of his face. He tosses a coin in front of the camera to determine the fate of the officer. Batman and Gordon consider how many officers knew of Dent's specific fate and more importantly, his method of “fair” justice. Who could have leaked it to another 'clay-face killer', the one still leaving the riddles? More importantly, how is it that this clay-face is capable of recreating Dents appearance perfectly (the prosthetic applications from the first clay-face killer were detectably phony at close inspection). Gordon makes a confession to Batman... Dent was only unconscious when he fell, leaving him in a coma. Gordon, keeping it tight lips with the few that knew, placed him under the psych ward at Arkham. Gordon confesses that Dent just woke from the coma a week ago. Bat’s is not happy about the secret. Gordon tells him he couldn’t reveal it to him because he was afraid that Batman would try to get involved with Dent in an attempt to show Harvey a righteous path (and to clear Batman’s own name to the public) and the few loyal cops that knew of Harvey’s existence might turn on Gordon for if they find out he’s still in cahoots with the Dark Knight. At this point Gordon could not gamble with his men’s trust. Batman thinks the coincidence might be too much to ignore, so he confronts Dent at Arkham anyway. They have philosophical discussions on justice, Dent claims he hasn’t left his cell. This is confirmed by his psychiatrist. The tape of Dent murdering the cop leaks out to Gotham Tonight, after the cities martyr is seen in the video murdering an officer in what he calls “the court of true justice”, The city goes nuts. Another clayface killer mocking the cites symbol of hope. The new clayface killer, now called “The Two-Face” cop killer continues to make video tapes of police murders. The killer explains how each officer participated in something corrupt before flipping a coin to determine their fate. Some survive the flip, others don’t. All leak to Gotham Tonight. The survivors have little recollection aside from being bashed on the head unconscious before filming. Each surviving officer has a one letter code written on their chest. Gordon is forced to fire the survivors for the sake of public perception after the very accurate evidence presented by Dent. The city is burning. Gotham’s finest are slowly quitting, the remaining few believe an insider on the force is leaking the evidence to this “fake Dent”. Cops can no longer trust their own, and because of this, Gordon can trust nobody but Batman. The citizens lose hope in almost everything, everyone every night becomes glued to Gotham Tonight when “Harvey Two-Face” demands that the “court session of true justice” as he likes to put it be shown live on Gotham Tonight or else there will be no flip of the coin for a chance for the officers to survive. The show becomes a sick reality program and rating are up. Bruce begins to think that maybe the Joker was right, maybe deep down everyone is like him. Gordon tells Batman that every officer being captured are officers that were tried by the actual Harvey Dent years ago when he was still a front running Internal Affairs officer, and that all of them were not convicted. Batman interrogates the real Dent, but when confronted, he sees more and more of the Harvey he knew. He wants to believe Harvey’s therapy is working. The psychologist continues to disprove the idea that Harvey ever left Arkham, backing it with video evidence. After the next officer survives, Batman takes account the latest symbol and figures out the riddle. It leads back to Engle. Batman finds Engle. Engle confesses. He is the man behind the riddles and the videos, but he is not “The Two-face killer”. Engle is clearly psychotic; he did it all for Gotham’s attention, both on him in the studio, and the mystery he created. And now he has the attention of Batman, who he got the city to hate on his program by persisting a theory that Batman became the Two Face killer, murdering the cops that insisted the city turn to hate him. He presents Batman with a riddle (one I haven’t written yet) and it all comes back to Arkham…
The clues comes together… Engle’s riddle explains everything. We find out that Harvey’s psychiatrist let Harvey out every night to commit the murders. Harvey agreed to leave the riddles on the survivors in return for getting justice on the police force that destroyed his family. The execution might have been done by this “Riddler” (Engle) but its birth came from none other than The Joker. Engle explains that he got an exclusive interview with the Joker after he was captured, The Joker offered him a chance to be infamous. He told him where to find the remaining money he took from the mob and to offer half to Basil Karlo, the clay-face killer, an actor he knew from “back when” who was clinically insane and would do anything to get out of dept. Engle agreed in exchange for the other half and the “exclusives of what was to come”. All it took was an almost Stockholm syndrome- like relationship Dent’s shrink, Harley Quizno had with The Joker. Batman, after hearing this from Engle (we see it in Nolan esc. Flashbacks kind of like The Prestige), Batman rushes to Arkham. He moves to the Jokers cell. He finds Dr. Quizno, hung by the next, with a fresh chiseled smile dressed up with black eyes, white and red paint on her face, like The Joker. “HA HA HA” is smeared everywhere in the cell with her blood. He moves to Dents cell. Dent taunts Batman “I did what was fair. If Gotham wasn’t afraid to live in a city that is truly fair, it wouldn’t have needed you”. Dent explains that Engle offered him a chance out for good but being a man of “justice”, he flipped and lost the toss, so he came back every night. Harvey gives Batman a note left by The Joker addressed to him. It reads of how they are they are two freaks now destined to battle for the sanity of Gotham and now that the city hates both of them, Gotham has nothing left but extinction. Gordon comes too. He states in a public address along with the Mayor that The Batman solved the murders. The city demands answers about the “Two-Face” killer, Gordon says that Harvey has always been dead, and that the killer was another “Clay-face” that has been arrested. The spirit of Gotham resides now on Batman. He is the hero the public should have seen all along. Bruce comes to terms with it and decides he can never hang up the cape.
Themes
Redemption but at a cost. Batman becomes the only thing Gotham trusts, Bruce knows that because of this, he can never quit.
Might need a few fixes but I think a murder mystery like this would be the best way to go. … Sorry for the long post!
woww good story almost sounds believable
