TDKR...what if Batman dies???

[Captain Craig]

A third Batman origin film....YEAH!!!

[Mr Light]

Since this is the last film in this continuity, they might as well kill him. It'd be the only time you could see an actual Bat-death

[shivkala]

^
That's kind of how I feel. Except for stories like "Batman R.I.P.," they really haven't shown us Gotham post-Bruce. Even in the case of "Batman R.I.P.," Bruce returned and so did the status quo.

The Dark Knight Returns came closest, with it's ending, but even then, Bruce is still around. And, if you're sadistic enough to read it, The Dark Knight Strikes Back brings him back as Batman.

If Bruce does die, I'd rather not see someone else take up his mantle (though in the trailer, I got the sense that Nolan might be setting up Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character to do that. Nothing concrete, just a feeling I got from the trailer). Given the foreshadowing when Bruce talks to Rachel about when he'll stop being Batman, coupled with his talk with Harvey about dying as a hero and the Romans appointing a soldier to stand guard over the city, I get the sense that Batman's death (should it happen) will ensure peace in Gotham.

Warped9 wrote:

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Bad enough if he dies, but if he also dies under a bridge then that'll suck double.

For some reason, I read that rather quickly and didn't think Generations, but, rather Sherlock and Moriarty. Not sure why, considering Malcolm McDowell only played Moriarty once, and that was in a Tom and Jerry cartoon and Reichenbach Falls is not a bridge. Either way, I can see Bane and Batman plunging to their deaths from a bridge or something, with it being left open to interpretation as to whether or not Bruce survives.

The thing about Batman is that you just know he's going to die in action. I think Clark even says something along those lines in Dark Knight Returns. Superman's story usually ends with him retreating (to his Fortress in Kingdom Come, to space in DC 1,000,000, or to suburban life in Whatever Became of the Man of Tomorrow). I just can't see that happening to Bruce and the likelihood of him surviving into old age is rather small. Aside from the fact that, padded suit or not, someone doing what Bruce is doing in the movies should be dead, Nolan has kept things as "real" as possible. There's no more "real" than having Bruce go out in action.

Not that I necessarily want him to die, but it just seems...inevitable.

[Kelthaz]

Well if Batman dies, then there goes my sliver of hope that we'd see a Justice League movie this decade.

[Trekker4747]

Since this is the last Nolan-directed Batman movie any use of Batman in any future JLA movie will be a completely different Batman and a movie version played by and created by someone else with his own established look and atmosphere.

[Turtletrekker]

If it's done right, then I have no problem with it.

[Silvercrest]

Set Harth wrote:

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If he's smart, he'll leave the Nexus at an earlier point and just arrest Bane in Ten Forward.

That would certainly take care of the "time to prepare" issue.

[Caretaker]

As other have pointed out, maybe the legend, the myth, is more important the the man himself. I figure if they kill Bruce off, they should have Lucius put a Bruce Wayne skin on a Terminator.

[ManOnTheWave]

If they kill Batman off, then it's just the end of one particular version of Batman, and I have faith that Nolan will make it work within the context of his film.

[Hawkeye92]

I love Nolan and all, but I'd prefer Batman to not die. Batman can be anybody, but can anybody be Batman? Bruce has the money, know how and the resources to really pull it off. Batman is a symbol and of course, he could train Robin and pass the torch, but then why not create a new symbol? Batman is unique to Bruce Wayne and in this trilogy, there are specific reasons that make him Batman and not something else. If he does die, I will not flip out as I'm certain Nolan will handle it well, but what I'd rather see is what others have said, I wanna see Bruce get his ass kicked, doubt himself, then rise to the occasion and assume his role as the guardian of Gotham. if there are twists and turns and surprises then I'm cool with that, but I wanna see my hero live.

If this were set in a more fantasy based world, then I'd like to see him die and be brought back through the Lazarus pit, but that will have to be left up to whoever takes over after this.

[trekkiebaggio]

It depends how it's done, but I'm not opposed to the idea of it. I just wish the theory wasn't so popular because it would have been a completely mindblowing moment. If they kill him off my reaction will probably be "yeah, it was always a possibility".

[The Lensman]

I have no problem with it. I saw a comment recently along the lines of "Marvel has a built a cinematic comic book, whereas Nolan is doing a graphic novel."

Basically, Nolan is telling a complete story and it could change the way comic book properties are done in the future. A director could come in and really do what they want because a reboot would just be a film or two away. And by "reboot" I don't mean they need to redo the origin in every first film. But we could get ballsier stories and the sense of "anything can happen" if we're not trying to create a never ending franchise set in the same universe.

[Warped9]

Samurai8472 wrote:

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You know, a poster like this could be interpreted differently depending on whatever Nolan has in mind. If Batman has been absent for some time (like eight years) then a legend about him could have grown. When the crises with Bane happens then the legend ends as Batman returns to action.

Just a thought.

[Captain Craig]

Let's say it is done AND well received then we've established a new precedent and every likely director is going to want to show us how he'd kill Batman.

It's just not a good idea. Next thing you know the next Uwe Boll is insisting he get to kill Batman off.

[Silent_Bob]

Perhaps he'll trip over a brick and regenerate into Adam West.