18. Not Killing Batman
So, hang on a second, we're supposed to accept that having Bruce Wayne disappear into the ether to set up a new life without the obligations and inconveniences of duty is an acceptable resolution to the character? That would demand that we also accept that the murder of his parents becomes less important to Bruce Wayne as the events of the three films progress - that his very reason for wanting to fight crime and protect Gotham was somehow not rooted entirely in that catastrophic moment. That's not the Batman I know and love. That's not even an appropriate story development for Joel Schumacher's ghastly version of the character. It is a betrayal of one of the foundations of the character, for the sake of supposed closure, buth rather than have that closure be a drastic final solution for the character, Nolan instead did something no comic book writer has ever been so presumptuous to attempt - he
fixed Bruce Wayne. Really, Nolan did something a lot worse than killing Batman. He deconstructed the character, and turned Bruce Wayne into the type of man who would choose a life of peace and romance over his formerly burning attraction to duty, making it almost impossible to bring him back, but ensuring simultaneously that whoever takes on the role of Batman (both character and director) will be over-shadowed and undermined by the knowledge that somewhere Bruce Wayne is still alive. Of course, the flipside to that is that Nolan has left the window open for Christian Bale to return to this Batman universe - triggered no doubt by some dramatic emotional event that would invade his happiness and drag him back to Gotham, like the death of Selina Kyle, Lucius Fox or Alfred. And if Hollywood and Warner Bros suspect that the next Batman film will make more money based on Christian Bale's attachment, then one of those things, or something similar will happen. So much for closure.