2. He Runs Away Into The Sunset
One of the defining features of Batman as a character is the tragedy of his situation unlike a lot of other superheroes who are bound by powers, or who are just inherently good, his past is the looming spectre that compels him to be Batman. But, not for the first time in Nolan's trilogy, by the end of The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce has somehow managed to get over the formerly devastating events that took his parents' lives, as well as the emotionally devastating death of Rachel, and crucially, he has got over his compulsion for good. What are we supposed to think, that Batman a broken man, twisted and contorted into crime fighting, and a grotesque unable to really live within society who projects another grotesque to alienate himself is cured? No, it isn't possible even in Nolan's narrative, that doesn't work, and Wayne's decision to turn his back on Batman looks more like cowardice than character resolution. It isn't that his job is done, it's more that he's running away. Of course, that isn't helped by the fact that he basically runs away to spend his life with a woman he barely knows, and who he has shared little more than banter with, despite being promiscuous enough to bed Talia Al Ghul after getting turned on by the rain.