15 Most Irritating Subplots In The Dark Knight Trilogy

3. Bruce Goes Howard Hughes (The Dark Knight Rises)

The Subplot: The Dark Knight Rises begins 8 years after the previous film, with Bruce Wayne now a Howard Hughes-esque recluse, still consumed with grief over Rachel's death and rarely leaving Wayne Manor. He also has numerous health issues following the end of his Batman tenure (such as having to walk with a cane), and spends most of his days walking around in his dressing gown with unkempt hair, while Alfred waits on him. To the outside world, he's an eccentric shutaway who the rich love to gossip about at parties. Why It's Irritating: While not an inherently awful idea per se, that Bruce is still so broken up about Rachel's death so long after the fact is a bit much, and having to devote the entire first act to bringing Bruce back out of retirement largely accounts for why the film runs so damn long. Plus, the development of all these injuries seems a tad over-the-top given that he seemed in relatively OK shape after taking the tumble at the end of The Dark Knight.