At the end of Returns

[Batmoney]

After the final shot of DeVito sinking into his watery grave, it cuts to the scene where Alfred is driving Bruce and Bruce finds the cat in the alley etc. Bruce is dressed normally and has fresh scab scars on his cheek from the Catwoman encounter. Up until now I always thought this was a different scene that was taking place at a different time -i.e. at least a night later or something. I just finished watching the movie and it occurred to me; did Batman call Alfred from the Penguin's layer to come pick him up? The Bat-ski-boat was destroyed and Bruce had torn his mask off. I'm thinking, could this scene have been taking place during the ride home from the Penguin's layer? I guess it can sort of be 'whatever I want it to be' in kind of a cheesy way, but I'm curious now of what it is generally interpreted as.

So I'm asking, has anyone else ever seen it this way, or the other way? As of now, I'm starting to think that Bruce is in a fresh set of slacks, the Bat-suit is packed up in the trunk, his face is soar and freshly scabbing and he is contemplating his night of madness as Alfred drives him home. Then suddenly, with the thoughts still inkling fresh in his mind, he sees the shadow...and so on and so on.

[Reevz666]

If I had a guess I would say that it's at least a few days after that scene....the way Keaton reacts when he thinks he saw Catwoman in the alley strikes me as he's been thinking about her for a while....just my 2 cents

[johnnygobbs]

I always assumed that the final scene in the film took place a few days after Batman's tussle with The Penguin, Catwoman and Max Shreck inside Arctic World.  Batman was still essentially a vigilante during his final fight with these villians, so it would be unlikely that Commissioner Gordon would have switched the Bat Signal only moments later.
I suspect that during the days that intervened between Batman's fight with The Penguin, and the scene in which he is being chauffeured by Alfred, Commissioner Gordon and his men had fully charged and interviewed the remaining members of The Red Circle Triangle Gang (including the ones Batman had apprehended himself).  I also suspect that they're interviews will have exonerated Batman for the murder of the Ice Princess and the Batmobile's rampage through the city thereby restoring the city's confidence in him.

[DocLathropBrown]

The novel places it right after the fight in the Penguin's lair, it is also Christmas Eve. He indeed called Alfred to pick him up.

[johnnygobbs]

You're right.  The novelization does state that the two events occur right after each other, but from the watching the film it always seemd to me that the police would first need some time to clear Batman of the crimes pinned on him before they would start reusing the Bat Signal.  Also, I can't imagine Catwoman would be able to recover so quickly and prepare a whole new costume within the space of a few hours (of course, the appearance of Catwoman occurred in the film as an afterthought when all the principle filming had been completed).

[DocLathropBrown]

If anything, they're trying to lure Batman to police headquarters to trap him.

[johnnygobbs]

Not sure if you meant that as a joke, but that was actually quite a reasonable suggestion.  Although I suspect Batman was far too intelligent to fall for that.

[DocLathropBrown]

And it's obvious that Gordon does not share the "Batman is Guilty" theory, anyway. He mentions that the Batarang evidence is "purely circumstantial," basically meaning that it's here, but that doesn't mean Batman's guilty. He also tries to stop his men from firing on Batman.

[johnnygobbs]

That may be the case, but Gordon was not the most powerful man in Gotham.  I can't imagine the Mayor or the families of the victims sharing his point-of-view and letting the issue rest.  In fact, as the virtual riots that occurred after Batman was framed demonstrate most of the public seemed to regard him as public enemy no.1.  As level-headed and reasonable as Gordon is, the public hysteria and the public officials' self-serving response would probably seek to demonise Batman for as long as possible.  At least until he was officially cleared.  It's the same kind of behaviour we see in society every day (just think of how the press/mass public act after a given terrorist incident).

[Batmoney]

Good points johnnygobbs, especially about the ending scene with Catwoman. However, her suit, though damaged, wasn't beyond repair or a few tuck ins if you ask me. Particularly with the way that scene was done, all you see is the top mask area, from the back. As far as the signal goes, there are a few different scenarios for that, a couple of good ones mentioned here. I think that the signal was a representation of a few possibilities. One of them being that the signal is almost like Gotham's, or Comm. Gordon's representation that faith in Batman has not been lost, despite the incidents earlier in the film. It could also be a desperation call, as even though Batman has been framed, more work still needs to be done and Batman's assistance is required. Finally, if the police were on scene at the Penguin's layer (I imagine Bats would've called it in or something) all the truths may have been uncovered, perhaps.