I've already posted and talked about how I didn't enjoy the 8 year exile plot enough already but I'll just point out that with your comment, another reason this would've been that much better is because hypothetically speaking, just make-believe and pretend that Christopher Nolan wanted to come back (or the next director wanted to connect his films loosely) to these movies it leaves open so many possibilities about what could happen in those 8 years as Batman if they chose a prequel if you want to call it that. We all know Nolan is pretty non-linear anyways so yeah. Not to mention the fact that by the time we reached Bruce in TDKR, he'd be a hobbled 40 year-old man. Then it's like, damn, Bruce has been busy. I wonder what's been happening during all those years?
Gah, I'm trying to not let it irritate me so much because it's still the best comic book trilogy but what the hell, I can't get over how much that plot bugged the heck out of me.
It's understandable that it irritated you. In hindsight Batman was only Batman for less than a year then hung up his cape.
I know it's Nolan vision, and I know his Batman did see his mission as having an ending eventually, but essentially it had TWO endings. It ended for 8 years and then a brief return before it ended again.
Batman should not have come to an end after TDK. That was not the message the movie was sending. I say again there was not a single person who saw that as a possibility after TDK came out. It wasn't until we heard that TDKR was set 8 years later were people asking was he Batman during those 8 years, and most of us were thinking he still was.
I specifically avoided saying 'all the cops on Batman' as Foley did.
But that's the point. You assume, I emphasize the word assume, that the majority of the Police's resources would be wasted on Batman and thereby all other crime would be neglected under Gordon's watch.
You've no basis for that.
As for Alfred 'Endure Master Wayne, blah blah blah' that was during the Joker's reign of terror.
Yes so?
Once the police had more of a grasp over the city's crime once the major loose ends were tied up at the end of TDK, Batman wasn't needed as much as he was at it would be too great a risk to go out when the city's police are targeting him more than ever so that he can take down a few meth dealers, which the police are capable of handling.
You're talking about what happened
after TDK, not what was in TDK itself, which is the whole problem. TDKR tells us Batman quit the night Dent died, and they made Batman redundant. They went against everything said in TDK. They made Gotham a crime free state and Bruce threw in the towel. That's what you think TDK was telling you was coming?
See, I think it's more about symbols and how he could be a symbol for whatever the city needed.
Nothing about the symbol of Batman was referenced in these quotes. It was all about Bruce himself as Batman, NOT the idea of Batman. What those characters were specifically saying to him and his mission as Batman. Joker was not saying he found the symbol of Batman fun and will clash with forever. He was talking about Batman himself. Rachel was talking about Bruce always needing Batman and that's why she can't wait for him. Alfred was telling Bruce to endure because he can take it. Gordon was saying they would hunt Batman not the symbol because Batman can take it etc etc.
The only time symbols were dealt with in TDK was the contrast between Batman and Dent, and how Dent can be the symbol of hope a masked vigilante like Batman can never be.
When watching TDK recently, I found the imagery of that bat-signal being axed by Gordon even more powerful knowing that Batman ends up disappearing for a long time.
I didn't. It would have been more powerful knowing Batman was still out there wanting to and needing to help Gotham, but Gordon can never call his friend to him using it.
Not that it's being smashed because now it's redundant and useless because Gotham's about to go into peace time.
The signal is such an old and iconic element of the mythos that represents when the city must turn to Batman to solve their problems. I definitely see its destruction as a foreshadowing of a time when the city wouldn't need him.
No, the smashing of the signal was a foreshadowing that the city hated him. Listen to the dialogue when it's being smashed;
Gordon: "They'll hunt you"
Batman: "You'll hunt me. Condemn me. Set the dogs on me. Because that's what needs to happen"
Everything that was said in that montage was relevant to what was happening in each scene. Batman talking about the truth not being good enough was done when Alfred burns Rachel's letter. Batman saying people need to have their faith rewarded was done when Lucius sees the sonar machine self destruct after he types in his name like Batman told him to etc.
The words said when the batsignal being smashed never implied or hinted in any way that it was the end of Batman's career. It was just said that he is now hated and will be chased.