Why Batman Had To Retire After Rise Of The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight Rises features Bruce Wayne putting an end to his tenure as Gotham Protector for good, but why did he have to retire from Batman?

The dark knight rises defied the expectations of fans and audiences by asking Batman to retire at the end of the movie instead of killing him, and there’s a very simple explanation as to why. 8 years after its conclusion, Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy remains a cinematic gold standard for blockbuster superheroes and continues to inspire a wave of grounded and serious action successors, including inspiring the DCEU. The dark knight rises was a huge success, grossing over $ 1 billion at the box office, and quickly peaked as the 7th highest grossing film of all time in 2012.

The film went through several transformations, and for some time after the release of The black Knight, Nolan wasn’t even sure he wanted to make another Batman movie. It all depended on finding the right story, and Warner Bros. pushed him in many different avenues, most notably using a version of The Riddler played by Leonardo DiCaprio. In the end, Nolan decided to draw heavily on the iconic 1993 storyline. Knightfall and introduced Bane as the series’ final villain, focusing on his intellect and raw monstrous strength.

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Unlike the comics, Nolan found a way to give Bruce Wayne a good start at the end of his film, by having him retire and leave with Selina Kyle. Upon its release, some Batman fans criticized the move as being out of character for the Dark Knight, but the movie actually provides plenty of reasons why it makes sense.

For starters, the most practical reason Bruce Wayne decides to retire at the end of the movie is that he just can’t handle the physical stress of being Batman anymore. At the end of The black Knight, while trying to save Commissioner Gordon’s son and stop Harvey Dent, Bruce falls from a great height and suffers a leg injury that leaves him using a cane at the start of Gets up. He eventually gets a cybernetic brace that allows him to function semi-normally, but that’s just a small clue of what’s to come.

Bruce goes to visit a doctor later in the movie who tells him he has no cartilage in his knees, scar tissue on his kidneys, brain damage from concussion, and a host of other issues he has. he suffered during his time as Batman. That’s even before Wayne’s spine was damaged by Bane later in the movie, an injury he manages to temporarily overcome to beat him. With all of this stress and trauma compounded, the idea of ​​Bruce staying Batman any longer is just plain illogical. The tension of continuing to fight crime night after night would eventually catch up with and kill him more than likely, a fate Alfred begged him to avoid at all costs.

Apart from that, however, there is another thematic reason why Bruce decides to retire. A recurring theme in the trilogy is Bruce’s co-dependency on the character of Batman; instead of being a necessity to fight crime, it becomes necessary to give Bruce’s life a purpose. In Batman begins, Rachel Dawes tells her that she looks forward to the day that Gotham no longer needs Batman so they can be together, but at the end of the movie, she accepts that Bruce is the one who needs the Dark Knight. Alfred recognizes this too; that’s why he quits half of the movie because he doesn’t want Bruce’s addiction to the Batman character to kill him. Not only the public, but Bruce himself, believe he will give his life as Batman to save Gotham because that is the path he seems to have chosen.

Related: How The Dark Knight Rises At The End Of Bruce Wayne’s Twist

But at the end of the film, John “Robin” Blake received the keys to the Batcave, strongly hinting that he will now step in and take over. Bruce’s retirement brings the trilogy to full circle; by putting on the mantle of Batman, he fulfilled his promise to his loved ones and found a life outside his dedication to Gotham City. It is through this thematic loop that Nolan manages to give The dark knight rises a poignant and moving conclusion.

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