The Batman’s Ending Repeats The Dark Knight Rises’ Bane Problem

Matt Reeves’ The Batman draws comparisons with Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, and there is one major parallel between it and The Dark Knight Rises in the Riddler and Bane’s endings. Both films enjoy a positive critical reputation and are beloved by all kinds of audiences. However, The Batman and The Dark Knight Rises both have the fatal flaw of sacrificing consistency for spectacle.

The Batman follows a reclusive Bruce Wayne as he attempts to stop a series of violent murders put on by the Riddler, ending with the villain flooding Gotham. The film is likely to be the start of a new Batman trilogy, with a potential Batman 2 sure to feature new villains and characters. On the other hand, The Dark Knight Rises is the conclusion to Nolan’s trilogy, following a more seasoned Batman as he goes on one final mission to take down Bane and stop a neutron bomb. Both films share incredible similarities when it comes to tones, ideas, and themes.

Sadly, one of the many similarities the films share is their lackluster endings. On one level, both movies are inarguably well-shot, intense, and fun to watch. However, the main problem with these finales is that they are completely disconnected from the villains’ motivations, and end up being almost non-sensical when compared to each movie’s relatively grounded tone. In this way, The Batman actually repeats one of the biggest mistakes of the seminal Nolan trilogy by recreating a final act that feels at odds with the main antagonist’s previous approach.

The Batman’s Riddler Ending & Dark Knight Rises’ Bane Finale Make No Sense

Although they initially seem totally different, the two interpretations of the Riddler and Bane are actually a lot alike. Both characters are social outcasts who have been the victims of oppressive societal systems and structures. Because of this, these villains are very politically motivated. The Riddler plans to expose corruption in Gotham, and Bane wants to bring down the establishment of the wealthy elites. They both go about it in the wrong way, but their motivations are understandable on some level, as stopping corruption and exploitation are generally considered good things. For the most part, The Batman and The Dark Knight Rises pull off the perfect balancing act of having their villains be understandable but also condemnable.

For the films’ finales, though, things change. The Riddler’s final plan is to blow up Gotham’s breakwaters, flooding the city and forcing everyone to take refuge inside a stadium. There, he plans to have his goons rain bullets down on the crowd from the rafters. Bane’s final plan, similarly, is to blow up Gotham with a neutron bomb. Of course, Batman stops both villains. However, Bane’s final plan and the Riddler’s final plan don’t make sense. Blowing up Gotham doesn’t help take down the wealthy elites and the systems they have used to garner their wealth, and shooting civilians doesn’t help expose corruption and empower pariahs like the Riddler. For some reason, both films feel the need to take these highly motivated characters and turn them into cartoonishly evil, mustache-twirling villains for their climaxes.

Why The Batman & The Dark Knight Rises Have The Same Ending Problem

Although the endings are sloppy, there is a certain rationale behind both. Regardless of their villains’ ideologies, The Batman and The Dark Knight Rises are superhero movies, and in a post-Avengers world, studios can feel like every superhero movie needs a massive multi-million dollar finale. Over the course of the film, the Riddler only ever threatens one person at a time, so it would be difficult for The Batman to have an epic ending if it is simply Batman saving one person. The Dark Knight Rises is in the same situation – Bane is just a guy who is slightly stronger than most, but the film needs a city-destroying threat in order to raise the stakes. Thus, the film introduces the neutron bomb. Both films have a problem where they sacrifice their villains’ strong motivations for overdone blockbuster finales, but given the trappings of the genre, this decision seems understandable.

The Batman’s Riddler Ending Plan Is Worse Than Bane In Dark Knight Rises

While both films share the same problem, The Batman actually fares worse than The Dark Knight Rises. In Rises, Bane is truly anti-establishment. He not only shows this through murdering elites and putting in place a kangaroo court, but he also tears down Gotham landmarks like the football stadium. It is a stretch, but the bomb at the ending of The Dark Knight Rises could be interpreted as an artistic choice rather than a literal one. The film may be trying to say that by taking down the elites and exploitation, Bane is destroying the foundations that Gotham was built on. It still probably exists just because it seems cool, but at least there are some interpretations that can make the plan work on an intellectual level.

In The Batman, there is no interpretation that can make the Riddler’s final plan fit with his motivations. In no way, shape or form does making goons shoot civilians help further the Riddler’s cries for social justice. Although the mayor-elect is certainly a legitimate political target, killing hundreds, if not thousands of other bystanders seems jarringly at odds with his previous approach. The scene purely exists to complete Bruce Wayne’s character arc, but it doesn’t mesh with the Riddler’s. In The Dark Knight, Batman and Joker’s arcs and ideologies contrast flawlessly; one is order, and the other is chaos. The Riddler and Batman don’t have this symmetry, though. While Batman almost killing the Riddler goon does help complete his arc, the foundation for the story to earn getting to that point doesn’t exist. Movies like The Dark Knight and Black Panther have politically motivated villains that bring about epic finales and thoughtful themes without betraying the character, something that The Batman couldn’t quite execute.

How The Batman 2 & 3 Can Fix Its Ending Problem

It is not too late for The Batman to remedy its ending problem. The film is likely going to have two sequels, meaning that this problem can be fixed in future movies. One route Batman 2 can take is creating a villain that perfectly parallels Bruce Wayne. The ideal candidate for this is Hush, who The Batman may have already set up. In the film, it is mentioned that the Waynes were involved with the killing of a journalist named Edmund Elliot, presumably the father of Thomas Elliot, also known as the supervillain Hush. In the comics, Hush is motivated by his desire for revenge on the Waynes, and since the Waynes are involved with the killing of his father, The Batman 2 may double down on this idea. Bruce Wayne’s arc in the first film is all about reevaluating his desire for vengeance, something that doesn’t mirror the Riddler’s desires. However, having a hero who is losing their need for revenge and a villain who is sinking further into their need for revenge could create a hero-villain dynamic as good as the one in the ending of The Dark Knight.

By using Hush, future The Batman sequels can fix every problem that the Riddler has. As was already mentioned, he works better as an antagonist to Batman. Then, because he focuses on revenge rather than exposing corruption, almost any grand finale can occur and still fit within the villains’ motivations. Hush can justify almost any horrendous action due to his desire for revenge, so having something akin to The Batman’s finale would work for his motivations. Any villain that meets these criteria would work, even if it is just a revamped Riddler. However, The Batman will always have these problems with its ending, making the issue that The Dark Knight Rises suffers from with Bane even worse.