But those draw less attention to it then what we have.
All I'm saying is that there could easily be a TDKR prequel comic/story/whatever that told the story of what Batman was up to, and it wouldn't seem too much like a retcon nor would it clash with the movies tonally (like the Darkseid example would). I'll make up a scenario right now just for the heck of it:
A month or so after the events of TDK, the Dent Act is being written and Mayor Garcia is expected to sign it. The bill would be unprecedented for Gotham, basically giving no rights to anyone convicted of a crime that has a probable link to organized crime (there'd be a huge list of criteria). A leak in the mayor's office leads to Alberto Falcone (who has now come of age and wants to take over his father's empire/fill the power vacuum) and his small upstart crew attempting to make a move to stop it from happening. They hire a highly skilled sniper/bounty hunter (let's call him Deadshot) and put a hit out on all the city councilmen who support the Dent Act in an attempt to shake Garcia into reconsidering. After the second killing happens, Bruce immediately picks up on the potential pattern and relation to the Dent Act, fearing the mayor's life could be in danger. Using the Bat-computer in the new cave, he hacks into the police database and starts unraveling the case. From there- all sorts of detective work ensues- types of bullets, points of entry all that kind of stuff. Prowling rooftops at night searching for clues left behind on some of Deadshot's possible vantage points. Going completely undetected by anyone. No vehicles, no destruction. At this point, his knee hurts when he walks on it, but he's still too stubborn to do anything about it despite Alfred's pleas for him to get it looked at. I'm not gonna fill in every detail, but you get the idea. Batman is able to get to the bottom of everything and save the mayor's life- either through picking up on Deadshot's patterns and using the element of surprise, or getting to Alberto Faclone and using his "Dark Knight" image- threatening to kill him and his crew one by one the way he killed Dent and those corrupt cops if he doesn't call everything off and leave town. Saying it's a new era in Gotham and there's no room in it for the scum, etc. The end of the story would see the mayor signing the Dent Act, and Bruce's resulting conflict of emotions. His sacrifice is now truly vindicated, and yet he's just help make himself obsolete in Gotham. All the men Dent prosecuted will be off the streets for good, and the day he told Rachel seems to have finally arrived.
Again, this has nothing to do with what Nolan said. My argument is that the above story or something like it could exist in an "Star Wars EU" sort of way, where it's not officially canon, yet it doesn't contradict anything that is stated by the movie. And given that we already have some "in canon but not really" items like Gotham Knight and the viral marketing, I don't mind thinking up stories that could exist in that same realm.
Why do I bother to make such a seemingly pointless argument? Uh, because it's fun! As a fan, my imagination can't help but ponder this type of stuff, provided it feels like there's a gap in the story where things can happen without it having any effect on the story being told on screen...which 8 years gives plenty of room for. If it weren't for the "last confirmed sighting" line and the fact that we are led to believe that Bruce has indeed used the new Batcave, I wouldn't be entertaining these thoughts nearly as much though.
