I really got into writing these final 2 films....so much that they're borderline mini novels! So lets get to it & enjoy Part 5!
Batman: Knightfall
It has been a while since the events of the last film; Tim Drake is now a full-fledged Robin and fights side by side with his allies: Batman, Nightwing & Batgirl. Still wary from the warning the Riddler gave Nightwing, the team patrols the streets together every night ready for the elusive Joker to finally make good on his threat. Dick worries what will happen when the Joker does in fact show up; because although Tim has almost completely brought Bruce back from the depths of darkness, the Dark Knight still harbors his murderous intentions towards the man who killed Jason- constantly searching every lead on the bat cave’s computer. The villains are the Joker, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze & Bane, with appearances of the Riddler & Two-Face. As the ending after the credits in the previous film showed, Harley Quinn alongside the Joker approached an imprisoned Bane, stating that the clown prince of crime has a job for him. The show begins with a bang as Batman intercepts a police transmission that the mayor of Gotham has been kidnapped & the only thing they found in his office was a Joker card on the Mayor’s desk.
Bruce immediately suits up with his team in tow- all except for Tim, whom Bruce is reluctant to allow to come along because of what happened to Jason. Tim convinces Bruce that he’s not Jason- he listens to Bruce, has done everything he asked and tells him that he is prepared. Bruce agrees that Tim is not Jason, but fears the thought of anything happening to him because he sees him as his son. Before they leave, Alfred makes Bruce promise not to kill the Joker; if he does, then he becomes the very thing he is sworn to protect Gotham from and Alfred will not be there to watch him fall. Bruce promises his old friend that he won’t and the team departs the cave to finally face the elusive man who murdered one of their own. When they arrive, the Commissioner and police already have the building surrounded and are currently in a shootout with armed men dressed as clowns. The mayor is in plain sight on the top of the building- suspended in the air by a rope tied around his waist wearing a rainbow clown wig and a clown nose.
Batman & Robin go to the rooftop while Nightwing & Batgirl enter the building. Dick and Barbara are greeted by a Bazooka that almost blows the duo to smithereens. The wielder handsprings into full view, wearing a black and red costume which resembles that of a court jester or a Harlequin- she introduces herself as Harley Quinn, the girl that will kill the big bird-boy and his girly bat friend. Meanwhile on the roof, Batman commands Robin to stay at his side at all times. The rooftop is pitch black until maniacal laughter is heard; the roof becomes flooded with lights being switched on. The light reveals a man wearing a dark purple suit & matching wide brim fedora sitting in a bedraggled throne next to the anchored rope that is suspending the Mayor from plummeting to his death. ‘Ahhh Batman….it’s been faaarrr too long….and the new bird-boy…well isn’t this ironic.’ chuckles the Joker. He reveals to Batman everything he told Jason before he died, including how he killed Jason, and with the exception that Batman accidentally created the Joker- saying he’ll save that long awaited surprise of who he really is for later. Batman & Robin face the Joker’s henchmen and then go after the Joker himself.
A fierce battle ensues between an enraged Dark Knight & the Clown Prince of Crime while Robin rushes over to save the Mayor. The Joker is surprisingly strong and skilled in hand-to-hand combat, which at first catches Bruce off guard. When Robin goes to reel the Mayor back on the rooftop, he is stopped by the Mayor who informs him the pulley is rigged. Inside the building, Batgirl & Nightwing are dodging Harley’s bazooka. Finally Barbara manages to throw a batarang and disarm her. Seizing the opportunity, Dick charges Harley, only to be immobilized by a stun grenade. Before Barbara can catch up to her, Harley escapes, bidding them farewell and promises they’ll play again soon. Back on the roof, Tim manages to disable the booby-trap on the pulley and reels the Mayor into safety. Batman finally overpowers the Joker, to which the clown begins laughing hysterically, egging the Dark Knight to kill him by telling him how Jason screamed and cried like a baby when the Joker beat him with the crowbar. Bruce for a moment wants to, but in the end, he tells the Joker he’s finally been beaten and is going to Arkham. To this, the Joker laughs so hard he can’t breathe. He tells Batman he hasn’t beaten him; this was only the first act and assures the caped crusader that the show is far from over. Batman takes the battered Joker into Arkham himself and watches as the deranged serial killer is committed and placed in a maximum security cell. ‘See you REAL soon Batsy.’ promises the Joker with his evil smile, entering one of his fits of uncontrollable laughter as Batman leaves.
Bruce returns home, feeling vindicated for avenging Jason’s death after all these years by not killing the Joker, but by bringing him in by the book. For the moment, Bruce is at peace and says he will search for Harley Quinn on his own, believing the apprehension of the Joker being far too easy. Dick once again departs for Bludhaven and asks Barbara to come with him. As much as she wants to, she elects to stay behind to spend some time with her father. He understands and once again promises to return home soon. Tim stays with Bruce and suits up to patrol with him occasionally, but mainly focuses on his studies. A week has passed since the Joker was committed to Arkham and we see him playing a game of Solitaire, which he finds is hilarious since he’s in solitary confinement. A nurse appears at his door to give him his dinner to which one of the two officers guarding the Joker’s cell happily greets ‘Dr. Quinzel’. She smiles back and flirts with them both before sliding the Joker’s tray of food through the slot and leaves. The Joker happily begins eating his food and finds a note inside his napkin from Harley informing him ‘it is time’. He laughs in excitement, quickly finishes his food and waits of ‘it’ to happen.
A large figure approaches and stands outside the gates of Arkham Asylum in the pouring down rain, wearing a fedora and trench coat. He hears Gotham’s clock tower strike 10:00pm, chuckles to himself and says ‘Its time.’ The man removes his hat & jacket to reveal that he is Bane.
He enables the tubes that flow Venom directly into his brain, allows the effects of the drug to flow completely through his bloodstream and charges towards Arkham. He punches and throws the guards out of his way like rag dolls and busts his way through a wall and into Arkham. Amid all of the confusion, Harley Quinzel now dressed in her criminal persona Harley Quinn happily skips back to the Joker’s cell to free him. Easily overpowering and knocking out several guards, Harley reaches the cell and opens the door where the Joker is happily waiting. ‘Time to go puddin’!’ she says as she hands the Clown Prince of Crime his effects. ‘Well done, poopsie!’ replies the Joker as he dons his clothes. ‘Now, let’s go have some laughs!’ Meanwhile, Bane is crashing through Arkham’s walls and busting out all of its inhabitants, including all of its super-villains. At Wayne Manor, Bruce is helping Tim with some problems in his homework when the Bat signal blazes to life in the sky and an alarm began to go off in the Mansion. Bruce and Tim look at one another and then rush to the cave to suit up. Batman & Robin arrive at Arkham and are brought up to speed by Commissioner Gordon.
All of the villains Batman and the team have put away in the past have all escaped- all except the Joker. Batman knows the Joker is somehow responsible for the breakout; it is here we see a film adaption of the scene in ‘The Killing Joke’ where Batman and the Commissioner enter the partially destroyed Arkham Asylum to confront the Joker. Bruce enters the cell to find the Joker playing Solitaire in his dimly lit room. He questions the Joker, telling him he knows he’s somehow responsible. As the Joker ignores him and continues to play his game, Batman grows angry and grabs his arm as he tries to place down another card, telling him to listen. When Batman releases the Joker’s arm, he notices to his horror that the area he grasped was normal skin color & the Dark Knight’s glove was covered in white makeup. He grabs the man and drags him under the light to reveal that he is an impostor. ‘WHERRRRRE IS HE??!!!’ erupts the Dark Knight. As Commissioner Gordon runs into the cell and warns Batman not to harm a hair on his head. To Jim’s horror, Batman hands him a green wig off the man’s head & says if it’s his hair he’s concerned about, he could have it. The man swears he doesn’t know where the Joker is; he just paid him to pose as the clown. Batman runs out of Arkham and informs Robin that the Joker is loose.
The duo immediately takes off in the batmobile to begin searching for and rounding up all of Arkham’s escaped convicts- the Joker as their priority. Bruce calls Dick and then Barbara for help, to which they of course agree. For the next few months, they try to chase down Gotham’s criminals. Fierce battles ensue and they successfully apprehend most of Arkham’s worst. The only criminals that have disappeared are Victor Fries, Edward Nigma & the Joker. Mr. Freeze fought Batman for the last time and was able to escape without a trace, claiming he is tired of this life. No one has seen the Riddler since before the breakout & the only lead Bruce has on the Joker is a Joker playing card left on the Mayor of Gotham’s frozen smiling corpse with the words: ‘Prepare for your Knightfall! –Love, J’ written on it.
With all but two of Gotham’s worst returned to Arkham, an exhausted Bruce returns to the Bat Cave. Alfred took Tim to be treated for an aggressive case of poison ivy from one of Pamela Isley’s mutated plants, Barbara returned home to tend to her mentally and physically wounded father after he accidentally took a bullet from Two-Face’s machine gun (the shock of unintentionally hurting his former friend sent Harvey over the edge and he flipped his coin as to whether or not he should kill himself…before it landed, Batman threw multiple coins in the air, making Dent lose his fate deciding coin- The result of losing his coin caused Dent to go into a state of despair as the police led him away) & Dick was currently resting off Scarecrow’s new & more potent Fear Toxin in Wayne Manor. Upon entering the Bat Cave, Bruce went to the computer to analyze his file on the Joker and the small amount of info he gathered on the man who broke all of the villains out of Arkham. ‘Looking for me?’ beckoned a deep thick Spanish accented voice from inside the cave. Out of the shadows stepped Bane ‘Hello, Batman…or should I say, BRUCE WAYNE? Yes, I know who you are…but that won’t matter after tonight…My name is Bane, and I am your end.’
Bane charges the fatigued Dark Knight and they have a brutal clash that ensues throughout the entire Bat Cave. Finally, Bruce had been battered by the Venom injected titan so severely that he could no longer stand and fight. Bane picks Batman up by his head and grabs him also by the legs and suspends Bruce over his head. ‘I want you to know Batman, I hold you in the highest respect. You have changed Gotham by instilling fear into its underworld…and in turn, I will use fear to change Gotham how I see fit and become its ruler. I will break the people of Gotham. But in order to do so, I MUST…BREAK YOU!!!!!’ Bane slams Batman over his knee and breaks the Dark Knight’s back. He throws Bruce onto the floor and leaves him to scream in agonizing pain. ‘Farewell, Dark Knight. This is where your long journey ends.’ bellows Bane as he exits the Bat Cave.
Above in Wayne Manor, Dick awakes from sweating out Scarecrow’s Fear toxin the next morning to hear Bruce screaming in pain from the Bat Cave. He rushes to his mentor’s aid and finds the cave in ruins. Carefully, Dick picks up the broken Dark Knight and places him on the cave’s medical table. Bruce is only able to utter the word ‘Bane ‘ before passing out from the excruciating pain.
Dick frantically calls Alfred & Barbara to hurry to the Manor and tells them what happened to Bruce. Alfred is able to stabilize him, and it is only then can Bruce tell them what happened. He makes them all promise that they will not confront Bane for fear that he will kill them. Alfred confirms their worst fears that Bruce’s spinal cord is indeed broken and that he will be paraplegic. Bruce remembers from his fight with Ra’s Al Ghul of him yelling for Talia to get him to a Lazarus pit to heal his extensive wounds.
The movie’s ending is Bruce & Alfred departing for the Far East in search of Talia, hoping she will be able to heal Bruce & Tim, Dick & Barbara left in Gotham as its sole protectors until the Dark Knight’s return. Before they leave, Bruce tells Dick: ‘I trust you, and you alone to take up my mantle in my absence. ’ Alfred places in his arms a new batsuit. We then see Batgirl & Robin watch as Dick in the batsuit places the cowl over his head with Bruce’s voice to be heard saying: ‘Gotham will always need a Batman.’ We then find Alfred pushing Bruce in a wheelchair up to the same house in Japan Bruce & Talia vacationed at in the previous film. It is here we see Talia waiting for them. ‘Hello Talia.’ says Bruce. ‘Hello beloved.’ replies an overjoyed Talia.
In an abandoned toy factory, we find the Joker & Harley. Bane appears before them and informs the Clown Prince of Crime he has finished the job, but refuses to tell the Joker who Batman is, out of respect for the Dark Knight. To which the Joker informs Bane he couldn’t get it out of Edward Nigma either, even when he tried to split his sides; which of course makes the clown laugh hysterically. Bane refuses to buckle in his decision and departs saying their deal was done and Batman is no more; Gotham is now theirs and he departs. The Joker then begins to complain about how they’re forgetting Batman’s ‘annoying little kiddies’ and is rambling on about how they will have to kill them too in order to make Gotham theirs. ‘Which will be a load of laughs!’ he says as his cackle turn into uncontrollable maniacal laughter.
In the secret ending after the credits, we finally see the Riddler stumbling into a dark alley and is startled when a figure in the shadows is waiting for him. ‘I barely escaped the Joker’s grasp…he is deceptively intelligent…’ pants the wounded Nigma.
‘Did you tell him?’ asks the figure in a cold collective voice.
‘No, I have much stronger of a psyche than that lunatic.’ replies the Riddler.
‘Well done Edward. I am impressed… Now, who is he?’ inquires the figure.
‘You should know…you two were once friends…’ answers Edward.
‘NO GAMES NIGMA! WHO IS BATMAN?’ explodes the figure.
After a brief moment of silence, ‘Why, Bruce Wayne of course…’ smirks the Riddler.
This surprises the figure ‘…Wayne? ....WAYNE… I should’ve known Gotham’s favorite son was also its DAMNED PROTECTOR.’
‘I have given you what you want, now give me what I want so I can leave this wretched city and my life of crime behind me…’ responds Nigma.
‘Ah yes, your reward…’ responds the figure when suddenly a silenced bullet rips through Edward’s heart.
The Riddler clenches his chest and falls to the ground as the figure holsters his gun and walks toward the fallen genius.
‘W-why?’ gasps Nigma.
‘SHHHHHHH’ whispers the figure as he kneels down and puts a leather gloved finger over Edward’s lips.
‘There there now Edward, you have done well…but I no longer have any use for you. Surely you must’ve known I was never going to pay you…guess you’re not as smart as you think you are.’ asserts Hush as he takes out his gun a fires another round from his silenced pistol into the Riddler’s skull.
‘Now if you’ll excuse me,’ continues Hush as he removes from his trench coat pocket a knight’s rook & places it on Nigma’s bloodied chest, ‘ I have an old friend to kill.’ And as he walks away from the Riddler’s corpse, he slightly turns back and whispers: ‘Goodbye Edward.’ Cut to black.
And there ya have it! Be sure to come back for the epicly stunning conclusion that is Part 6....
Batman: Dark Knights!!
Til Next Time & many thanks to you all for checking out my Fan Fic!!
-Your UFNSM