Why can't you see a one-on-one fight between Batman and Joker?
coupla reasons (and i hope my laptop doesn't peter out again, as i typed this two days ago before a crash).
batman has ninja training. the raison d'etre of a ninja is assasination; their origin is as assasins. suprise, theatricality, patience; all the stuff we heard in BB. that's how one man takes on huge numbers in nolan's 'real' world. and we saw it in BB. first encounter w/ scarecrow in the narrows: bats picks off two henchmen (alerting crane) before trying to take on scarecrow. as ninja would; destroy the easiest threats first, before confronting the unknown.
bats does the same at the shipyard with a little more 'fight 'em all' scene that strecthes the reality a bit (but doesn't bust it open) and is there for a better action sequence and to let us know bats is a badass still new to the biz (like when he wrestled around with a bunch of chinese convicts near the beginning).
ra's: 1-1 fight b/c he has to; and ra's is set-up as good match.
scarecrow part 2: again, picks off goons, even as rachel suffers, before going in. use theatricality to escape (not fight, as he knows odds are bad). leaves crane, as bats won't hurt a wounded man, and also b/c has more pressing matters.
here's where it gets interesting. joker will turn bats training on its head. joker will always have plenty of goons around to warn him of bats presence and have something unpredictable to turn on bats, that is bats will be subject to suprise. and when joker might leave himself alone, it will be a trap. granted, this trap may not involve another person, so i could sorta see a 1-1 fight, but the odds will be stacked in joker's favor so that we can realistically believe a joker victory.
lastly, i see joker around for next movie, and dent as villain to be dispatched in this one. think bats will have to save dent from joker (not that hokey 'arrest me,' bit in TLH). dent has limited use. bale said in some foreign press that the movie is about the toll of doing what he does, and how he might sustain the motivation without crossing lines into criminality. dent will be the mirror to hold up to bats. dent's been at it longer, with less resources (humble beginnings scene), more to lose (loving family still alive and imperiled scene) and 'one bad day' pushes him over the line. saving dent will be bats' motivation, as it is attempt to save himself. he won't. we might even have gordon get some damage (daughter?) and teeter on the edge (so in next film, the two draw closer). this is the empire strikes back of batman, where the bad guys (joker, riddler, a third) end on top. the 'freaks' will rule gotham at the end.
(my wish: bats at the end does cross the line and kill someone and it won't be justified away in the third movie, but used for conflict w/ gordon in act 2 of movie 3; act one being bats and gordon licking wounds and growing closer)
