10 Creepy Similarities Between Nolan And Burton’s Batman Movies
4. Joker Beaten By Gravity
Batman ends with a climactic showdown between the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince Of Crime on one of Gothams highest buildings. It seems like the Joker is going to escape, but Batman uses his grapple gun to send him flying towards the street. The Dark Knight ends... pretty much exactly the same. Substitute 'escape' with 'kill boatloads of people' and 'grapple gun' for 'gauntlets' and thats the end of Heath Ledgers Joker too. What makes these so curious is that theres no comic book touch point for these moments. When he does have an origin, the Joker is conventionally created by falling into a vat of chemicals, but devastating falls arent exactly a defining characteristic. That suggests that this is the most likely example of Nolan actively referencing Burtons films within his plot. But while theres a (maybe) purposeful similarity here, Nolan changed something rather essential; he had Batman save the Joker. Whether it was to pay off the mutual dependence a la The Killing Joke (or not, as recent comments from the artist claimed) or simply highlight the differences between the two takes on the character, this change seemingly has a major influence on the different characterisations of the two characters involved. Which, in a roundabout manner, brings us to the next, oft ignored, point.
