6. He Gives Up On His Principles Because Of A Dame
Bruce Wayne's decision to turn his back on Batman isn't just motivated by his need to preserve Dent's reputation, because that alone doesn't quite fit what we know of the character. He might have taken the fall for Dent's murders, but that doesn't mean that Gotham city is safe, and the police force has proved itself both inept and corrupt enough to make turning his back a monumentally stupid decision. Part of being Batman and indeed most of the enduringly popular superheroes is some degree of friction with the police force so that's clearly out of the reasoning as well. So, we're left with the revelation that Wayne chooses to turn his back on Batman because of the death of his one great love. It's not jsut a matter of principle or virtue - the death of Rachel Dawes serves as the real catalyst, as Wayne cannot live with the fact that his being Batman lead directly to her death. Rather than going all Wolverine, hitting berserker level 10, and kicking ass to rip vengeance out of the veins of his enemies, Wayne curls up and dies for 8 years. It's not that much of an exaggerated jump to imagine that Wayne might have spent some of that time writing poetry to his lost love, joining Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in the realm of unwanted, slightly emo heroes.