15 Greatest Heroic Sacrifices In Comic Book Movies

9. Bruce Wayne - The Dark Knight

On the surface, Bruce Wayne makes two heroic sacrifices in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, but the reality is that his apparent explosive end in The Dark Knight Rises is actually a cop-out that does more for himself than for anyone else. Ultimately, he saves himself from the duty of being Batman - a far more selfish act than blowing himself up to save Gotham from a bomb.

But the other, earlier sacrifice - which is one of the only non-fatal sacrifices in consideration here - that comes at the end of The Dark Knight is a far more legitimate one, with far more telling impact.

Batman effectively sacrifices his mythology and his cherished profile as Gotham's protector to preserve the legacy of Harvey Dent, killing off the Batman so that his good work isn't tarnished by his murderous final moments. In a franchise obsessed with the idea of symbolism, this is Batman's most important act of all.