The Ending (SPOILERS)

[Edd Grayson]

That's an ending for "cheaters" . One can't quit being Batman just like that. Beyond did it 9999 x times better.

[thecolorsblend]

You can also argue that as long as there is a need for Batman, Gotham will never be a safe place to live and the recovery from Bane and Talia's siege is only temporary. But hey, at least Bruce gets a "happy" ending, right? Because running away from his troubled home he swore to protect is totally fitting for his character. 

And...

That's an ending for "cheaters" . One can't quit being Batman just like that. Beyond did it 9999 x times better.

It's not that you guys are wrong. But how I've always viewed it is "Batman" is that stretch of time when Bruce Wayne suffered a crippling emotional trauma after the death of his parents. He dedicated his life to vengeance.

Then he woke up one day and realized (A) his parents probably wouldn't be very proud of the life he's chosen and (B) they definitely would've wanted something better for him than he's chosen.

He'd destroy all or most of his equipment, seal off the Batcave, move away from Gotham, maybe get married and live out the rest of his life (however long it lasts) as happier, more well-adjusted man.

TDKRises comes the closest to giving us that. And it adds up. At the beginning of TDK, Bruce is looking for the right moment to claim victory and retire. At the end of TDK, he's basically forced out. At the beginning of TDKRises, he's looking for an excuse to come back (and get killed in the line of duty). At the end of TDKRises, he lets it go. He's not coerced; he makes a conscious decision.

He's destroyed the League of Shadows, appointed a successor (however inept he may or may not be) if one's ever needed and has decided the best ending for himself is something away from Gotham. "Batman" was a curse on Bruce in some ways. But the real freedom Bruce found was effectively killing "Bruce" as an identity and living out his life in obscurity.

Is that the perfect ending? Perhaps not... but it's the closest I'm ever likely to see in live action (or anywhere else). So I roll with it.

[Edd Grayson]

The movie was the worst for me though. next time give me a Bane that I can hear what he's saying, and that's, you know, Bane, not Ra's surrogate son 

[The Laughing Fish]

Sorry mate, but I reckon the way they went about giving Bruce an ending is handled in the worst bloody possible way they could think of, just like how badly they screwed up the ending of the second film.

I don't care too much if Bruce wants to stop being Batman, but I'd much rather he lived in the city and help rebuild it instead of faking his death and deceive his friends. I have absolutely no sympathy for Bruce at all.  Say whatever you want about Kingdom Come, but I quite like how once the world finds peace, Bruce opens a hospital at Wayne Manor and helps treat the injured and oversees everything like a doctor, following his father's footsteps. He could've easily left Gotham, but he didn't.

If they want to give Bruce a definite ending, fine, but don't go and hint that someone else will become Batman. Because once again, all that shows is Gotham will never find peace, and it makes all the talk about "the day that Gotham will no longer need Batman" in TDK even more hollow. Especially if Blake will likely get killed in the first night out since he has not even half the experience that Bruce had.

[Dagenspear]

Sorry mate, but I reckon the way they went about giving Bruce an ending is handled in the worst bloody possible way they could think of, just like how badly they screwed up the ending of the second film.

I don't care too much if Bruce wants to stop being Batman, but I'd much rather he lived in the city and help rebuild it instead of faking his death and deceive his friends. I have absolutely no sympathy for Bruce at all.  Say whatever you want about Kingdom Come, but I quite like how once the world finds peace, Bruce opens a hospital at Wayne Manor and helps treat the injured and oversees everything like a doctor, following his father's footsteps. He could've easily left Gotham, but he didn't.

If they want to give Bruce a definite ending, fine, but don't go and hint that someone else will become Batman. Because once again, all that shows is Gotham will never find peace, and it makes all the talk about "the day that Gotham will no longer need Batman" in TDK even more hollow. Especially if Blake will likely get killed in the first night out since he has not even half the experience that Bruce had.

That idea that Gotham will no longer need Batman was proven to be something that could never happen in TDK. It's not realistic that Gotham would find definitive peace. That was the point of the ending of TDK and TDKR. No one ever said that Blake would go run out unprepared without the appropriate training. What sympathy is felt by some audience members isn't the film's responsibility. Bruce fought crime and corruption. He got hurt, nearly killed, the woman he loved was murdered because he fought it and he allowed himself to be hunted for crimes he didn't commit to maintain what he thought was peace in the city. He wasn't evil, psychopathic or directly cruel. That's not unsympathetic.

God bless you! God bless everyone!

[Edd Grayson]

Do any of of you think Blake will have been Gotham's silent guardian after Bruce retired ? I don't think I know what to say of that... I liked him, but...

[Travesty]

I just find it funny that after Bane terrorized Gotham for months on end, and a lot of Gotham is in ruble, that Bruce is thinking about himself more than helping rebuild Gotham after a HUGE terrorist attack. Help rebuild Gotham? Nahhhh, he's gotta get to that cafe with Selina!

And why did Bruce Wayne have to fake his death, again? What's the point?

[The Dark Knight]

Yeah. Batman could've easily been presumed dead, but Bruce didn't need to fake anything. So much for letting the truth finally have its day - which the film tells us is a core theme via Alfred's speech. And Bruce sitting in full view flies so much in the face of trying to play dead. I mean, just how long is that going to last?

"The world is too small for someone like Bruce Wayne to disappear."

[Edd Grayson]

It felt like he was running away from the responsibility and basically retiring Batman.

[Dagenspear]

Yeah. Batman could've easily been presumed dead, but Bruce didn't need to fake anything. So much for letting the truth finally have its day - which the film tells us is a core theme via Alfred's speech. And Bruce sitting in full view flies so much in the face of trying to play dead. I mean, just how long is that going to last?

"The world is too small for someone like Bruce Wayne to disappear."

It's only small if someone has resources to find him and find out who he really is. No one's going to automatically assume he's the same person. The truth did have its day. All of his friends know he's alive. And the people will know that Batman is still out there too. Personally I always found that line kinda nonsense anyway. It was very easy for Bruce Wayne to disappear there, even after he was arrested. Bruce Wayne being found out to be alive wouldn't really hurt him anyway.

It felt like he was running away from the responsibility and basically retiring Batman.

He was letting go of his self-destructive tendencies and giving his parents and father figure what they wanted.

God bless you both! God bless everyone!