13 Most Shocking Comic Book Movie Twists Of All Time

8. Batman Lives - The Dark Knight Rises

Before Zack Snyder killed Superman in a heroic sacrifice, Christopher Nolan did it first, sending his Bruce Wayne off towards the horizon carrying Talia Al Ghul's deadly payload to a safe distance and killing himself to save Gotham.

Only he didn't really.

Despite the unlikeliness and the logical issues with jumping out of the Bat and somehow making it out of the blast-zone (which would still have drenched Gotham Bay in fallout), the final shot of the film confirms Alfred's greatest dream: that Bruce got out.

What makes it work best isn't actually the situation (Batman escapes situations like that as part of his MO), it's Alfred's incredibly raw emotional response to having failed his charge. We see in him the grief of a mother, a father and a protector, and Michael Caine's performance is some of his finest ever work.

And sure, the switcheroo robs him of his big moment, but it's worth it just to feel his happiness (which is so ideal it's led to some believing that the "twist" is no more than a fantasy).