11 Heroic Acts In Movies That Changed Absolutely Nothing

6. Alexander Knox's Attempt To Help Fails Horribly - Batman 1989

Gotham Globe reporter Alexander Knox pretty much only exists in Tim Burton's Batman universe for comic relief: he's annoying, only mildly entertaining and nowhere near as funny as he should be (though he is still probably one of the funniest characters in the entire Batman film franchise, which isn't all that much of an achievement).

Somewhat uncharacteristically for his type of character, Knox does get his own moment of heroism though, when the Joker's parade is revealed to be a plot to gas all of Gotham's citizens. Initially he was ear-marked to die in the sequence, but the producers liked him so much they gave him a reprieve and allowed him to be one of the only citizens not to be overcome by the Joker's Smylex gas.

Knox manages to defy the Joker's plot by using nothing more hi-tech than a handkerchief over his mouth, and tries to take on some of the clown's goons, who become unfeasibly scared of him and for some reason don't use their superior training to beat him to death. He is thus heralded a hero, right up to the point where he ends up on the front of Vicki Vale's car bonnet when she crashes and knocks him unconscious.

It's obviously the thought that counts, but Knox would have been a lot better just running away with his make-shift mask in place for all the good his heroic stand did. He didn't even get the girl.