7. Bruce Wayne's Story Isn't Resolved
The idea that Bruce Wayne could have walked away from being Batman because Gotham only needed a symbol to feel safe has felt like a betrayal of the character, and what made him choose his double life in the first place. The script rather unsatisfyingly suggested that all Wayne needed to distract him from his night-time duties was the tender attentions of a good woman (and a relationship with very limited development, and thus little authenticity), ignoring the underlying issues that turned Wayne from orphan into vigilante. There is too little mention in The Dark Knight Rises of Bruce Wayne's struggle to cope with the deaths of his parents, and though there is a very potent allegory for dealing with grief throughout the film, the absence of that important factor robbed Wayne's supposed resolution of any real impact. So what we ended up with was the image of Wayne turning his back on Gotham, something inconceivable to fans of Batman. Batman and Bruce Wayne are both defined by their relationships with Gotham, Batman's duties and protective influence, as well as his need to avenge standing in for his relationship with his parents. It's just a huge missing jigsaw piece that still feels like a gaping hole in the narrative, and closing the book on this version of Batman will mean that hole is never dealth with. But what if Warner Bros don't want to continue the Bruce Wayne story? Well, that still wouldn't immediately necessitate a total reboot. Bruce Wayne is not the only Batman there has been, and as the film was quick to point out, and Warner wouldn't necessarily have to look far for his replacement...