The Dark Knight Summary of TLH (Story of TDK movie)

[Redd]

There have been a couple of questions on The Long Halloween story and what's it about. As I was reading this I found it to be very interesting and what we know about the filming schedule from the summer.

As Batman, Captain Jim Gordon, and District Attorney Harvey Dent collaborate to legally bring down Carmine Falcone, a series of mob-related murders begins. The mystery villain (eventually nicknamed Holiday) is killing mafia members affiliated with Falcone on holidays, leaving behind related tokens as a calling card, as well as the murder weapon: a .22 caliber pistol with a baby bottle nipple for a silencer.
Valid clues are few and far between, as the killings appear to be the work of a professional. Batman and Gordon turn to another holiday-themed criminal, the incarcerated Calendar Man, for insight. The evidence and rumors eventually pile up against Harvey Dent himself, who faces mounting stress at home with his troubled wife Gilda, and in his professional life. Gilda just wants to settle down and have a child with him, but Harvey is determined to solve the mystery of the Holiday Killer before taking a rest. At the same time, Bruce Wayne attempts to have a relationship with Selina Kyle, whom he does not yet realize is also the anti-hero/thief Catwoman. His own dual identity, which he finds hard to balance between the two, is a major obstacle to any kind of romantic happiness with her.
Carmine Falcone, aware that his empire is no longer as untouchable as it once was, begins employing supervillains (referred to by nearly every other character as 'freaks') in his war against Batman. Poison Ivy is hired at one point to sway Bruce Wayne into green-lighting Falcone's attempt to launder money through the First Bank of Gotham; a move that Wayne was firmly against. The Riddler is asked to find the identity of Holiday, and Falcone also hires Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter to rob the City Depository.
As the Holiday killings continue; outrage grows on the parts of our heroes, the mafia, even the Joker who resents sharing the limelight. Falcone is devastated when his own son, the estranged Harvard-educated Alberto, is murdered on New Year's Eve and his body is lost in Gotham River. Harvey faces suspicion from all sides as the lead suspect in the Holiday murders. He continues mounting an offense on the Roman. Sal Maroni, a major competitor of Falcone's criminal empire, agrees to testify against Falcone in exchange for leniency. Vernon Field, Dent's bookish, nerdy assistant, is bribed by Maroni's men and agrees to deliver something to Maroni in court. Maroni's day in court arrives (on Falcone's birthday), and he splashes Vernon's acid in Dent's face. Dent's face is ruined, and his mind cracks in two. Later that night, Dent escapes from the hospital into the sewers, where he befriends Solomon Grundy.
While in police custody, Maroni is murdered by Alberto Falcone, as he is transported to another holding cell. Alberto reveals himself to be Holiday; he faked his own death and had been working on his father's behalf ever since. Batman is already present, disguised as a SWAT officer, and beats Alberto within an inch of his life before Gordon arrests the Holiday killer. In custody, Alberto reveals his motives for the murders; his birthday was Valentine's Day, and his father was always too busy to spend time with him. The Holiday murders were Alberto's way of 'making time' for his father and to gain acceptance into the family. Before the end of the series, Alberto is sentenced to the gas chamber. Unused pages seen in the TPB of The Long Halloween show Alberto in Arkham asylum, having been deemed insane by the courts, but these pages weren't used due to space constraints. They were instead shown in the follow-up sequel: Batman: Dark Victory
In the Halloween climax, Falcone is accosted in his home by the entire Rogues Gallery of villains, including the Joker, Catwoman, Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy, the Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, and the Penguin (making his first and only appearance in The Long Halloween). The group is led by none other than Two-Face, formerly Harvey Dent. Batman arrives on the scene and dispatches all but Catwoman and Two-Face. Harvey murders Falcone, Holiday-style, in front of his mobster daughter Sofia Falcone Gigante. She is enraged and attempts to attack, but gets tangled up with Catwoman and ends up throwing Catwoman and herself out a window. Catwoman survives unscratched, but Sofia is not so lucky (she returns in Batman: Dark Victory and figures prominently).
Two-Face surrenders, having done what he intended to do (he killed Vernon in revenge earlier that same night). Before being sent to Arkham, he cryptically tells Gordon and Batman that there were two Holiday Killers. They infer that he meant himself, having killed Falcone on Halloween. Batman and Gordon accept that their friendship has changed, but they still have work to do. In the coda, Gilda Dent is planning to leave Gotham City forever. In the final revelation of the series, she explains to an unpresent Harvey that she was the first Holiday Killer. She also explains her reasons for becoming the Holiday Killer - she wanted to free Gotham City of its criminal menaces, so that her dedicated husband could spend more time with his family. She also theorizes that Harvey himself took the same path for similar reasons. She used his files as District Attorney to learn what she needed to know, and was unaccounted for at the time of the murders. When Alberto faked his own death on New Year's Eve, she simply let him take over and had nothing further to do with it. She disposes of the incriminating trenchcoat, fedora, and last .22 pistol by throwing them into the furnace.

 

[Watson]

Here's my question. Falcone was driven insane in the last film. If they are following the TLH plot, are they going to find a way to bring him back? Or will Maroni and various other gangsters fill the spot?

 

[vader519]

I don't think TDK will totally follow TLH. I think elements involving Dent becomig Two-Face will be used from TLH. Other elements fro The Killing Joke will be used for the Joker in the movie.

 

[DeaDheaD]

I think its the Dent vs Maroni thing that will be takin from TLH

 

[sad lieutenant]

Here's my question. Falcone was driven insane in the last film. If they are following the TLH plot, are they going to find a way to bring him back? Or will Maroni and various other gangsters fill the spot?

Others (Maroni, "Gamble", whoever-the-fawk.) will fill in.

 

[Mee]

Yeah, you'll see influences from different comics, like in Begins. (Year One, The Man Who Falls, etc etc) But it won't follow any one exactly.

 

[Watson]

ah ok, its what I figured but I was curious.

 

[Baba Ghanoush]

I don't think TDK will totally follow TLH. I think elements involving Dent becomig Two-Face will be used from TLH. Other elements fro The Killing Joke will be used for the Joker in the movie.

Yeah. BB used elements of Year One and Man who falls. But BB stood alone as its own film. Same thing for TDK.

 

[Shoemeister]

This movie will be heavily influenced by TLH, no doubt, but it won't be following it to a T. They've created their own plot and will continue to flesh that plot out.

 

[CFE]

At the very least this franchise seems to be looking towards various iconic Batman stories for direct/in-direct inspiration...as opposed to the previous films.

CFE

 

[MiniBond]

The funny thing will be to catch the events/lines directly inspired from TLH (just like the flass interrogation and the "Dr Cane isn't here right now..."line were from Haunted Knight for instance)!

 

[Watson]

The funny thing will be to catch the events/lines directly inspired from TLH (just like the flass interrogation and the "Dr Cane isn't here right now..."line were from Haunted Knight for instance)!

Yeah and the batsonar from Y1....nice to see the references

 

[MiniBond]

Yeah and the batsonar from Y1....nice to see the references

I do hope there'll be the same things in TDK (the bond between Dent, Gordon and Bats on the roof of the Gotham police headquarter would be awesome)!

 

[Watson]

^I will be disapointed if they don't. Thier bonds are so important for so many Batman stories, so TDK would be sorely lacking without.

 

[MiniBond]

With THIS....

:heart: :heart: :heart:

 

[CFE]

With THIS....

:heart: :heart: :heart:

I cannot WAIT to see that scene made flesh...

CFE

 

[MiniBond]

And Bale saying "Gentlemen !"




I can already hear him !

 

[Mr. Superhero]

We'll see this made into flesh:

Possibly this (ignore the dialogue):

Possibly this:

And hopefully this:

 

[MiniBond]

YES !!!!!!!!!:heart:

 

[sasquatchs]

Yea, they're taking the central story of Dent and the transition from the mob to the freaks, driven by Batman, Dent and Gordon. Except replace the mystery with the thriller plot of Batman #1/The Man Who Laughs. Glad they're getting to this now, Falcone was removed too quickly in Begins. Seems to be working out well though, the naive idea of Batman decapitating the mob, and Dent taking huge measures to jail everyone at the beginning of TDK, are the reasons for the freak hiring this time. The reversal of Maroni being the one prosecuted is also a neat idea, makes more sense to me

 

[Bond]

I've always adored that pic of Falcone blowing out his birthday candles.

 

[TromaFreak64]

Yea, they're taking the central story of Dent and the transition from the mob to the freaks, driven by Batman, Dent and Gordon. Except replace the mystery with the thriller plot of Batman #1/The Man Who Laughs. Glad they're getting to this now, Falcone was removed too quickly in Begins. Seems to be working out well though, the naive idea of Batman decapitating the mob, and Dent taking huge measures to jail everyone at the beginning of TDK, are the reasons for the freak hiring this time. The reversal of Maroni being the one prosecuted is also a neat idea, makes more sense to me

And because of this change with Maroni, someone like this other character who works for Maroni in the cast audition sheets has to throw the acid in Dent's face because of the fifth - he wouldn't be testifying against himself in a case against himself....

 

[Naite22]

Can we PLEASE agree, that freaken CatWomen DOESN'T fit into Nolan's batman universe!? Just as much as Robin doesn't fit into that world!

 

[Mr. Superhero]

Can we PLEASE agree, that freaken CatWomen DOESN'T fit into Nolan's batman universe!? Just as much as Robin doesn't fit into that world!

I think it goes without saying.

 

[TromaFreak64]

I dont hink anyone agrees about Catwoman especially since she is the logical choice for the next film and Nolan has shown nothing but acceptance for the fact that she DOES fit in his world.

He has not directly put her down like Pengiun or others.

And the script for TDK specifically has a mention of Selina Kyle.