The Dark Knight (2008)-When The Villains Are As Good as The Hero, Part II

I’ve been having a hard time figuring out how to start this piece. Like what else is there to say about The Dark Knight that hasn’t been said about everyone and their mother for the last 14 years?! This movie has been beloved, discussed, analyzed, examined, critiqued, and nitpicked to death every since it came out in 2008! There’s been many articles published, videos uploaded, and pieces written about nearly every single aspect of this movie from frame one to title of the movie shown at the very end. Heck, there’s probably been a post or two made about the film’s end credits and the subtle meaning behind that. It’s suffice to say that The Dark Knight has made quite an impact on both superhero movies and cinema in general. Not only considered one of the best comic book movies ever made, but one of the best movies ever made period! For the most part, I agree with both of those claims. However, one aspect that I don’t think gets talk about enough is how much of a perfect parallel this movie is to Batman Returns, a movie that just like with The Dark Knight put it’s villains just as much in the spotlight as it’s titled hero .

I’ve already covered Batman Returns earlier this month but the main thing I specifically mentioned is how those movies perfectly compliment one another because it knows the one core aspect of Batman that not a lot of people are willing to admit: Batman is less define about who he is but is more define by the villains that he encounters. Fans often tend to complain that many Batman movies don’t focus nearly as much on Batman as they do the villains. And the reason for that is because the villains are what make Batman who he is.

It’s always a tricky balance for a superhero hero when handling it’s hero and villain. For quite a long time with Marvel, the majority of their movies focused solely on their hero and their overall journey while focusing less on the villains. That became a common complaint with fans throughout the first two waves of Marvel movies but once the third wave came around, because there’s already been so much time and investment developing these heroes into who they are, that gave more room to focus on the villains and give them more meaningful arcs. When it comes to Batman, a good portion of his films give as much screen time to the villain as does the hero, sometimes even more so. A big reason for that is not just because it’s the villains that make the Batman who he is, but because the villains themselves are just so damn awesome that it’s near impossible to want to take time away from them. However, when juggling as many good guys and bad guys as you do, it’s always important to make sure it makes sense to your story and that it feels cohesive. Not just in terms of plot and structure, but also theme, or in the case of The Dark Knight, symbolism. That was something that Batman Returns greatly understood and that something that The Dark Knight arguably understands even more.

The first thing that always comes to discussing with how amazing this Batman movie is about not strictly Batman, but Joker. And for a good reason, Joker is in this movie is one the best and most complex, multilayered, cynical, and just plain fun to watch antagonists in any movie ever. He’s mysterious, has a crystal clear motivation, presented a great challenge for the hero from both a philosophical and psychological standpoint, and Heath Ledger’s performance was just absolutely one for the ages. However, there has some that argued that he gets too much focus on that particular character. So much so that it doesn’t even feel like Batman’s movie but more like Joker’s. That is where I draw the line and disagree with that entirely. The Joker is used just perfectly in this movie and has the right amount of screen time, along with Harvey Dent, A.K.A Two Face. The reason being is that it all ties into the central conflict of the movie, the one that Bruce Wayne has to fight through in his role as Batman, himself. Not just from a philosophical, psychological and thematic standpoint but also from a SYMBOLIC standpoint.

In my Batman Returns piece, I talked about how the villains throughout the picture that included Penguin, Catwoman, and Max Schreck represented Bruce Wayne fighting three different versions of himself, the three versions of himself that he once was at some point in his life. It was a great thematic way to blend all those characters and stories while giving them emotional or complex arcs in the process that despite how scattershot the main plot was, still made it come together with how it blends together thematically. With The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne is basically facing off against two different versions of himself with Joker and Two-Face. However, these aren’t the kind of versions of himself that he has been before but what he will become throughout the course of the film. Not only is this handled in a thematic way like in Batman Returns, it’s handled in a symbolic way. Joker and Two-Face representing two sides of a symbolic mirror that foreshadows the future that Bruce has with Batman. Joker represents the symbolism of Batman as an absolute freak, being a symbol to criminal scum all throughout Gotham City and one that Gotham views as an agent of chaos. Two-Face, or more so Harvey Dent, represents not only the symbolism of Batman being considered a symbol of hope to the people of Gotham but also a symbol of fear when Batman has lost his way. Neither one of these are particularly great outcomes but by the end, Bruce Wayne understands that being Batman will always come with a price. Whether that is a price he’s willing to pay for himself or for others is up to him, but the endgame will always be grim for him. What makes the villains work even more throughout this movie is how it start to personally affect Batman and the way he has to push his limits beyond measure for the sake of Gotham and himself.

With the Joker, he represents Batman as not just a monster but someone who is ahead of the curve. And by ahead of the curve, I mean someone who has the guts and even audacity to take things one step further. Joker represents Batman without limits. Not only as a vigilante who fight crimes, or at least what Joker himself sees a crime, but is willing to do things such as threatening, torture, and even kill. He will do whatever it takes to get what he wants or what is best for Gotham City even if it means taking innocents folks down on the way. This is a tool that starts to personally affect Bruce and make him wonder whether or not Batman is truly unrestrained and holding himself back to do what’s right.

We first see this sole transformation of Batman becoming the Joker when Batman interrogates Maroni. After Jim Gordon is thought to be dead, this has clearly affected Bruce emotionally. The one guy that put a coat around him to led him know that the world hadn’t ended after his parents died, was all gone. This was the moment where it started to get personal with Bruce. The next scene with Batman sees him interrogating a criminal named Sal Maroni. Maroni who is being held on the side of a rooftop by Batman, refuses to give any info at first because he calls Batman bluff and that he wouldn’t make him fall to his death. But, then Batman does exactly that. He lets him fall and break Maroni’s leg in the process. He actually does that!

This scene more than everything showcases the cracks in the Batman armor. The kind of cracks that Batman believes has to be broken to be able to beat the terror of madness that is the Joker. Similar to what Harvey Dent does to Thomas, Batman left Maroni’s life to chance. That right there shows a Batman without limits, one that is starting to take tiny baby steps into falling down the same corrupt blackhole that has consumed the heart of Gotham City. When Maroni mentions about Batman’s rules and Joker’s lack thereof, that was a giant wake-up call. Not just because Batman is starting to become just like the criminals he puts behind bars, but that there might not be a way to stop the Joker that doesn’t involve him becoming the bad guy. Batman tries to solve this problem by walking away from it entirely and turn himself in, but he soon realizes that it’s not that simple.

This is where we see Harvey Dent’s affect on Batman come into the picture. The moment that Bruce is about to reveal to the world that he is Batman, it’s Harvey that reveals himself to being the Batman. Not only does this set up a very interesting foreshadow for the ending of the film but it’s also shows the lengths that Dent is willing to go through to protect Gotham City. Just like with Bruce by the end, he is willing to sacrifice his own integrity if it means that there can be a symbolic figure that gives the people of Gotham hope. If he has to give up his own name in order to do it, then he would be more than proud to do so. In Dent’s mind in this occasion, Harvey Dent can walk so that the Batman can run. At this point, we have now seen how the way that the affect that Batman, Joker, and Harvey Dent have on one another is influencing many of the decisions that each character makes throughout the film.

The next scene where we go back to how Joker’s action have influenced Batman’s is in the film’s most famous scene, where Batman interrogates the Joker.

This right here is one of the most perfect scenes to any movie that I’ve ever seen! Everything here is flawless! From the direction to the editing to the dialogue and to the absolute brilliant performances from both Bale and Ledger, this scene just clicks on all cylinders. There’s no big action scene, unnecessarily added music, or a tension-breaking quip, it’s just two opposite opposing sides of criminal justice and vigilantism sitting down at a table and voicing their ideologies and viewpoints.

The best part of it all is how it shows the next step to Batman become the monster Joker has been. From being more aggressive to acting more intense to actively trying to harm him badly (even Heath Ledger himself asked Christian Bale to hit him as hard as he could to make the scene stand out more), the Joker is clearly starting to get inside Batman’s head. So much so, that one moment where the Joker tells Batman that tonight he was going to break his one rule, Batman responds, “I’m considering it!” That right there is all that needs to be said. And that’s not even mention that does help showcases even more brilliant foreshadowing towards the tail end of the film.

What follows shortly after that is when the buildings that both Rachel and Harvey are being held at exploded. Rachel wasn’t able to make it whereas Harvey made it but got half of his face burned in the process. That is the moment there where Harvey Dent truly died and in some aspect, where a big part of Bruce Wayne died as well. Rachel was a woman that both Bruce and Harvey loved and the fact that they both now lost her has made them lose a part of themselves. With Bruce, this only fuels his hatred for the Joker even more and makes him further question his own unwritten rule as Batman. With Harvey, everything he fought for is long lost and wants every single human being responsible for it to suffer and perish. This leads to the final confrontation of the film between Batman, Gordon, and Two-Face, not Harvey Dent but now Two-Face.

After capturing the Joker for good (?) this time, all of these thematic and symbolic story elements come full circle at the exact place which broke Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent specifically, where Rachel had died. Two-Face has Gordon and his family held hostage where he decides that their fate should be decided the way Rachel’s was. Not because it’s what he wants or think it’s right, because it’s what he thinks is only fair. This right here is the moment that the entire film has been building up to. This is the moment that we have been waiting all movie to see. The moment that the Batman becomes the Joker and Two-Face all at once!

This right here shows how Batman becomes exactly what he fought long and hard for to NOT become. He had suffered the same fates as both Joker and Two-Face. By killing Harvey Dent, Batman has not only become an agent of chaos like the Joker but also someone who died a hero like Harvey Dent and lived long along to see himself become the villain like Two-Face. With this scene, the full circle is now complete. Throughout the entirety of The Dark Knight, we see Bruce Wayne slowly becoming what he said near the beginning of the film, a Batman without limits. It’s the symbolic nature that both Joker and Harvey Dent represented that led Batman to his inevitable fate. Even when he tried to escape from it, there was none of that in sight.

That is why Batman taking the fall for Harvey Dent makes complete sense and is the perfect ending to this movie. Harvey Dent is the symbol that Gotham needs to prevail and fight back against corruption. The kind of symbol that prevented either boat to be blown up by the Joker, from the citizens, and prisoner of Gotham themselves. The kind of symbol that Bruce Wayne long desired to be resembled as for both Batman and himself. The kind of symbol that was shatter the moment that Harvey Dent became Two-Face. If Batman and Gordon had just blamed the Joker for the death of Harvey Dent, that wouldn’t do anything. That would make the statement that chaos and vengeance had consumed Gotham’s heart and soul which is a terrible message to give to the people that live there. Not only that, but Batman has essentially become exactly like the deranged freak the Joker is with his actions throughout the film. There would be no hiding or going back from that. Batman wouldn’t be viewed as a hero because he wouldn’t be what Gotham would define as their hero. However, by Batman sacrificing his own persona for the sake of Harvey Dent (just like with what Harvey did earlier on in the movie), this still gives people someone to rally upon, even after death. Someone that can inspire others, others that can build their own legacies to become the hero and symbol of hope that Dent himself was thought as. Batman taking the fall for the death of Harvey Dent is not only the perfect way to wrap this story, the perfect way to bring this entire conflict together, but was the absolute perfect thing to do in this situation. At this point, Gotham was beyond saving but there still needs to be a symbol of hope. The only one that could still be by the end is Harvey Dent, Gotham’s own Dark Knight. Just like with Harvey Dent when he tried to take the fall for Batman, Harvey Dent walked so that one day Batman can run.

This is also what makes The Dark Knight match perfectly with Batman Returns, these are two unique, distinct stories about Batman being challenge mentally, emotionally, physically, thematically, and symbolically. The only real difference is how one was able to rise above all of it and avoid the tragic fates of the villains he fought while the other was only buried underneath all of it and at least had to wait another film to be able to clear his name. It’s quite hard for me to say which movie told this type of story better but no doubt are there two Batman movies that perfectly mirror one another that tells very identical tales but couldn’t tell it in a more complex and fascinating way.

When it comes to movies, especially superhero movies, it’s no doubt important to make your hero work as much as your villain. After all, as they say, your hero is only as good as your villain. But, it’s even more important to have your hero and villain perfectly mirror one another in the best and more interesting way possible. You have to make it just as much about the hero as the villain. It’s only then that you will succeed in telling a compelling tale of good vs evil. Only then will you land yourself with a Batman Returns or a Dark Knight.

A couple of side notes:

• Eh……I got nothing. Like what else does there need to be said about this film?! It’s that good!

Next up: The Dark Knight Rises