3. Bruce Would Not Have Quit Over Rachel's Death
The eight-year gap between
The Dark Knight and
The Dark Knight Rises was not problematic when director Christopher Nolan first announced it. Eyebrows were raised, however, when the story told in the film confirmed that Bruce Wayne had not been suiting up as Batman in the interim. Batman had just been gone. What's worse is that Bruce gave up fighting crime because his childhood friend and would be lover, Rachel Dawes, died. One could easily see how that would be a problem, except for the fact that the film explicitly states Bruce's sabbatical was not because of Rachel's death. As Bruce tells Gordon, "That Batman wasn't need anymore; we won." The whole point of Batman taking the blame for Harvey Dent's crimes was to grant the corrupted district attorney the undeserved martyrdom needed to give Gotham that last big push to take control of its city back from the likes of the mob and The Joker. The plan worked, rendering Batman's presence unnecessary. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne was still working on a way to help the city and the world with his energy project. Three years before
The Dark Knight Rises takes place, he gave it up when he realized its risk exceeded its reward. With Batman not needed and then failing to save the world without a mask, Bruce became a recluse. Bruce buried himself within the walls of his own mansion. He was frozen in time and unable to move on with his life because, wait for it, Rachel was gone! Rachel Dawes was Bruce's symbol of a "normal life" after Batman. Her death, rather than forcing Bruce out of the costume, rendered him unable to move on even when Gotham had no need for Batman. He was, as Alfred told him, "waiting for things to go bad again." In effect, Rachel's death left Bruce uninterested in a normal life, guaranteeing that it was only a matter of time before he wore the cape and cowl again.