4. Birthplace Destroyed
Understandably, Batman Begins is as much a character study of Bruce Wayne as it is his alter ego. Having witnessed his parents€™ murder, Bruce has matured with the astute and avuncular Alfred as a surrogate father. Wayne Manor has always been his home- and so when it is burned down by Ra's Al-Ghul at the end of Batman Begins, his parents' legacy lies amongst the ruins. Likewise, when Bond returns to the family estate that bears the film's name, he is almost paralyzed by nostalgia. It is here that we discover that, like Bruce Wayne, James Bond was orphaned at an early age. After Silva and his army have thrown countless grenades through its windows, not to mention strafing it with a helicopter, Bond himself delivers the fatal blow to his former home by detonating gas cylinders and escaping through a tunnel.
Both Begins and Skyfall establish a safe haven only to eradicate it before the closing credits. As devastating- and symbolic- as their crumbling childhoods may be, such destruction is necessary for our heroes to progress.