Re: Batman vs. Superman (2016)
But in TDK Batman didn't want to quit, he was being coerced into quitting by the Joker under the threat of more deaths.
My complaints with Bane aren't until the end, because he was a great intimidating interesting villain until he's made look like a puppet in my eyes, and his death was very undignifying.
But in the case of TDKReturns, Batman sticks with his new bat gang to train them and guide them, which he didn't in Rises.
All and all you make one very good point, in this case Batman does succeed, as far as we know, in cleaning Gotham....
It's actually a great point, never thought of it like that, it kinda makes the fact that he quit not seem like a selfish act, cause you know, he won....
You may have fixed one of my biggest complaints in TDKRises for me.... I have to give it another watch.
One of the biggest complaints that bugs me is the idea that "Bruce quit because of Rachel." While I believe she played a role in his seclusion, there were many other factors. For one, Jim Gordon. As I said, they succeeded in cleaning up Gotham, but it came at the cost of Batman's reputation. Just to play Devil's advocate, here, let's put you in the shoes of any one of Gotham City's denizens. For the past year, you've watched someone take on the role of Gotham's protector. Then, out of nowhere, the commissioner of police claims that he snapped and murdered five people, including several police officers and a district attorney. Batman told him to do that, but he also knew what that entailed; there was no going back. If he went back to beating up criminals and returning to the status quo after "supposedly" suffering a psychotic break, it would only serve to raise suspicions, putting Gordon in a [negative] spotlight, and, ultimately, undoing everything they worked towards.
Keep in mind, as well, that there was a transitional period, and that Bruce didn't just instantly transform into the Howard Hughes shut-in we see at the beginning of the film. With Batman no longer a viable option for his crusade, he took an interest in his company, and, in some ways, it calls back to what Ra's Al Ghul said in Begins, about how Bruce's parents tried to save the city with economics. He took an active interest in his company, and even tried to create a new, energy source. In the end, the Fusion Reactor was what broke Bruce. After he saw how it could be weaponized, I think he believed himself to be doing more harm than good, and, thus, decided to give everything up.
As for The Dark Knight Returns, would people have liked TDKR better if it ended with Bruce asking Brian Douglas' drinking buddies for more assistance in his war on crime?
Regarding TDK, though, my point is that Bruce never intended to stay Batman forever. He may have been coerced in that particular instance, but look at Harvey's fundraiser. He genuinely wants to pass the bill [to clean up Gotham] off to Harvey, so he can live happily ever after with his childhood friend.
