Rewrites: Gotham

[Okay, here is my disclaimer. This has been a post I have worked on (on and off) for about six months now. This is still a pretty rough outline of my thoughts on improving the third movie, and the important dialogue would need to be written by a better person than me. So, I am going to give a little credit to Nolan on this one. Writing a satisfying conclusion to his Batman trilogy is pretty hard, but let's face facts... he phoned it in. You can have Batman carry a giant nuclear bomb out to sea and call it an homage all you want, but it's still more Adam West than Frank Miller.]

Nolan's mistake was that he drew inspiration from the wrong comic books. He based his movie on the comics like, Knightfall and No Man's Land, both of which are classics, but what he should have looked toward was the Batman comic Prey as well, especially in it's choice of villain, Hugo Strange. It's a more befitting storyline and would even let Nolan throw some nods to fans of the comics without crossing over into the realm of "generic prison pit in some desert." You even could have kept similar casting, as Tom Hardy would have made an impressive Strange.

Gotham

It has been eight years since the death of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and though crime and corruption in Gotham have improved, the rise of super-criminals has made life in the city difficult. Many blame Batman (Christian Bale). The prologue begins with Edward Nashton aka "The Riddler." (James McAvoy) escaping from prison though an elaborate ruse.

The story opens with Batman disrupting a police sting operation by shaking down a known drug dealer called "The Mad Hatter," a known associate of the Riddler. The young sergeant in charge of the sting operation, Richard Grayson (Joseph Gordon-Levitt,) tries to apprehend Batman before he can escape but fails. The next morning, Mayor Anthony Garcia (Nestor Carbone) calls a press conference to announce that he is assigning the prominent psychologist, Hugo Strange (Tom Hardy,) to help Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) apprehend the Batman. The doctor is given the authority to use any resources at his disposal and he immediately starts an active recruiting program, brining in police that are loyal to him. Strange was formerly lead psychologist at the Arkham Mental Asylum. Behind closed doors Gordon is incensed by the move, but the mayor threatens to replace him due to his slow progress in apprehending the Batman. Gordon is forced to obey and gives Strange a task force of police led by the newly the promoted detective, Richard Grayson.

Batman returns to Wayne manor demoralized by the morning's press conference and his failure to locate the Riddler. He is greeted by Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) who dotes on him like a father. Alfred is looking older and tired. He reminds him that Bruce Wayne has been invited to the mayor's dinner party, a party where Dr. Hugo Strange will also be in attendance. At the party Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) manages to slip in, dressed as part of the wait-staff. Using the fingerprints off the Mayor's champagne glass she breaks into the private safe in his office. She steals a jeweled necklace, replacing it with a small cat statue, and then begins copying an external hard drive that is also contained in the safe. Meanwhile, Strange makes it a point to chat up Bruce Wayne, asking him some uncomfortably probing questions. To escape, Wayne leaves the room under the pretense of being drunk and needing a bathroom. Once beyond the noise of the party he discovers Selina in the mayor's office. Interrupted form her work, the two have a brief flirtatious confrontation/fight before she escapes out the window, the mayor and Gordon come in moments later to discover the break-in. They incorrectly assume that the stolen necklace had been the target. Wayne does not tell him that Selina's real purpose had been photographing the files.

Later that night Batman and Gordon meet in secret, to discuss the disappearance of the Riddler. Both agree that it is odd that the man as not yet contacted them with a clue as to his whereabouts or intentions. Gordon reveals that thanks to the mayor's influence most of the Gotham police's resources are being devoted to the hunt for Batman, and the escape of the Riddler from Arkham has barely registered. Gordon then urges Batman to let him tell the truth about the fate of Harvey Dent, but Batman once again refuses. Both are unaware that Grayson is watching them from an adjacent building. He takes the evidence to Strange. The two talk, but unbeknownst to Grayson, Strange slips something in his drink. Grayson reveals that he was orphaned after the death of his parents, and that he became a police officer because he wanted to serve justice in their memory. Strange compares his quest for justice to that of Batman's as he believes that the Dark Knight suffered a similar tragedy as a child. He also suggests that Grayson could be as good if not better than Batman, and under the hypnotics laced drink the detective begins to agree.

After Grayson leaves, Selina Kyle arrives and hands Strange the flash drive containing the photographs. The two remark that Selina did not receive all the data that Strange requested and she should keep the necklace she stole as payment. The thief balks at the offer, saying she wants what was promised her, a clean criminal record. She threatens to expose everything Strange has been doing if he fails to deliver on his agreed upon payment. Strange agrees but once she is gone he adds her name to the list of wanted criminals. Days later the bugler known as the 'Catwoman' is linked with Batman and labeled a priority target by the GCPD and the mayor's office. There have also been numerous reports of a costumed-man savagely beating criminals, with witnesses claim the attacks to be the work of Batman.

Meanwhile a dead body with a question mark carved in it, finally surfaces with a puzzle clue marking the next victim. The clues lead Batman to the Iceberg Lounge, a criminal establishment run by Oswald Copperpot (Philip Seymour Hoffman, [this was written before his untimely death]) where Wayne goes disguised as a low-level criminal named Johnny "Matches" Malone. In the midst of his investigation he gets sidetracked by Selina Kyle who he catches in the act of pickpocketing Copperpot. He saves her from discovery by asking her to dance. She refuses to explain her actions and the two are interrupted by Grayson, now dressed in a homemade outfit and calling himself Nightwing. The criminals in the lounge immediately try to take down the masked vigilante, but are soundly defeated by Grayson. In the confusion Wayne disappears and Selina flees. Grayson follows her, recognizing her as the Catwoman. As Selina tries to escape she comes across a now dead Mad Hatter, a question mark burned into his flesh, and a ticking bomb attached to his chest. Grayson ignores the threat and continues trying to fight Selina, until the arrival of Wayne, now dressed as Batman. He subdues Nightwing after a brief fight and orders him to evacuate the club. Grayson reluctantly agrees, recognizing the greater threat.

Batman and Catwoman are unable to diffuse the bomb and forced to escape as the Iceberg Lounge explodes. By this time the police have arrived, and Nightwing has disappeared. Batman and Catwoman are chased across the roofs by police helicopters and SWAT teams, but are able to shake their pursuers. Alone together on a dark roof, Selina reveals that she think Batman is a good dancer, acknowledging she saw through his disguise, and flirting with him. She also reveals that Cobblepot is working for Strange and she was trying to gather evidence to use against him. She is not certain what he is up to but for years he has been running Arkham and Blackgate as his own personal recruitment office, strategically authorizing the release of criminals to plague Batman and the Gotham police over and over again. It was the only reason she was released from prison, but she was promised a clean slate, a fresh start. When Selina turns back around Batman is gone and she is left alone on the roof.

The next morning Victor Strange is looking over the bank records and pictures that he has used to blackmail Mayor Garcia. Meanwhile he watches a TV where the mayor holds a press conference announcing that Commissioner Gordon and several other officers are suspended from the force due to their lack of commitment and possible collusion with the Batman. He also says that in light of the bombing by the super criminal known as the Riddler and the savage attacks perpetrated by the Batman, and other masked vigilantes like him, he is promoting Dr. Victor Strange to head of the GCPD and giving him full control over city resources, effectively declaring martial law until the Batman and those like him can be apprehended. The camera pulls back to reveal that Edward Nashton, The Riddler, is leaning against the wall of Strange's office. Strange tells him that he failed to kill Copperpot and now the 'Penguin' has disappeared back into the Gotham underworld. He reminds him that success was the price for his "release" from Arkham Asylum. The Riddler reminds Strange that once he has fulfilled his end of the bargain Strange will tell him the answer to the greatest riddle of them all, "Who is Batman?" Strange tells Nashton to be patient and that all will be revealed in the proper order, and that it is time to start Phase II.

Cell phones around the city ring saying nonsensical phrases. Even some video screens in downtown Gotham show the Riddler's face talking the same nonessential phrases. The video and a list of the words are spread out on the main computer in the Batcave as Batman and Alfred try to work out a pattern to the Riddler's scheme. Alfred remarks that perhaps the Riddler has become truly unhinged and has no overall motive, that he has become more like the Joker before his untimely death several years before. Batman disagrees, saying that the Riddler is always playing his own sick game and that game, no matter how far removed from reality always has rules and clear goals. Batman contacts Lucius Fox to gain access to Wayne Enterprises' satellite feeds and begins overlaying the words onto a map of the city, to discover that the clues point to several specific areas, most notably the bridges out of Gotham. 

While Batman works there is a ring at the manor's doorbell. Alfred goes upstairs to investigate and is greeted by four armed policemen. They barge into the manor and demand to search the place. Alfred argues with them saying that they need a search warrant. The cops get mean and start pushing their way through. They get close to finding the secret entrance to the Batcave as they ask to see Mr. Wayne.  Meanwhile Lucius, over the video link, tells Batman that an armed SWAT team has formed up outside of Wayne Enterprises. Batman switches over to the video cameras in the manor and sees the scene with Alfred playing out. He tells Lucius to get out and hide. Upstairs Bruce Wayne emerges, a bathrobe covering the Batsuit, and he plays it off as if he had just woken up, despite it being after lunch. The officers try to take Bruce Wayne into custody, but Alfred refuses them, saying they need a warrant. The scene gets violent and the police fire their weapons, Alfred is hit prompting Bruce Wayne to fight back, the bullets bouncing off the armor hidden beneath his bathrobe. The crooked police flee rolling a grenade back into the manor as they run. Wayne grabs Alfred and pulls him in the Batcave. The grenade explodes damaging part of the manor and the cave beneath it. As his faithful friend lays dying Bruce gets flashbacks to the night his parents died and the kindly butler who was always there to take care of him. Alfred finally reveals the truth he kept from Bruce about Rachel's intention to marry Harvey Dent, and begs him to let go of the past, and find happiness in life. Before he dies in his arms Alfred says that he could not be prouder if Bruce had been his son. Bruce responds that he is, then the old butler closes his eyes for the last time. Bruce rages, destroying more of the cave before finally collapsing in misery.

At Wayne Enterprises, Victor Strange steps off the elevator. He does not notice that one of the people in the lobby is Selina Kyle. She clutches a weapon behind her back, but waits to act. Strange is surrounded by police officers, and he begins ordering them to conduct searches of the sewers and to close off all the bridges of Gotham. The SWAT team meanwhile discovers a vault and Strange enters it alone. It is full of gadgets and spare batsuits that Fox had been keeping for Bruce Wayne. There is no sign of Lucius Fox who has slipped out via a secret exit and is helped to safety by Selina Kyle, who he convinces not to throw her life away by attacking Strange. With the police in place at the bridges, the Riddler sets off his bombs, destroying all the entrances and exits into Gotham City, and trapping even more police in the sewers of Gotham. The only police left are the ones hired and recruited by Strange himself, which he uses as a personal army. He also releases the Arkham and Blackgate prisoners (disguised as a prison break) who quickly carve up Gotham for their own.

Several days later there has been no sign of Batman. Many assume he is dead. Gotham becomes divided into territories controlled by various villains including Killer Croc, Black Mask, the Penguin, and Scarecrow. Other supervillians can be glimpsed during the scenes of destruction ravaging the city. The Riddler sets up a game show like courtroom where he tries the wealthy and the powerful, giving them riddles that they must answer to save their lives. The citizens of Gotham protest and try to rise up but are put down by Strange's police. Commissioner Gordon and his small band of police heroically fight back. The force now includes Dick Grayson who was saved by Gordon from being killed by a girl costumed like the late Joker and calling herself the Harlequin, (Kristen Bell.) Gotham is in chaos, cut off from the outside world, the mayor is dead, and Victor Strange is effectively in charge.

Grayson confronts Strange saying that he no longer believes Batman to be a villain and that he is regretful for the things that he did as the Nightwing. Strange tries to offer him another drink but Grayson refuses knocking the drink away and exposing the drug that Strange had been using to alter his perception. A concoction of the Scarecrow's, Strange admits. He also tells the young detective the truth about Batman and Harvey Dent that he had uncovered in his own interviews and investigation into the matter, that Batman is in fact innocent. He then tries to have Grayson killed but he's saved by Selina Kyle who helps him escape. The two then meet up with Lucius Fox, who brings them to the Batcave.

After walking through a torn up and bombed out Wayne manor, there the trio find Bruce Wayne brooding in the cave below, mourning the loss of the last person who ever cared for him. "I've protected so many people, but it's always the people I love that pay the price." While Lucius and Grayson explore the cave and fix what they can, Selina and Bruce share a tender moment where she tells him of how she grew up on the street after losing her mother, and that her mother's memory inspires her even today, as the loss of his parents inspired him. Yet he doesn't need to live in the shadow of loss, because as long as you continue you give their life meaning and by extension the life of those who loved them. The two share a kiss in the dark and then Bruce helps lift a beam off the Batpod, symbolically soldiering on. Grayson fills him in on what has been happening in Gotham, and Bruce says that in order to fight for justice they must be symbols of it.

Commissioner Gordon meanwhile is captured by the Riddler and his courtroom. Gordon is bombarded with riddles, but the most common one asked is "Who is Batman?" Gordon claims he doesn't know and the Riddler counters that Gordon is a competent detective, how could he not have discovered the secret, after all he has been allied with Batman for almost a decade. Gordon admits that he never investigated the mystery and even actively hindered other police who tried doing so. Grayson, dressed as Nightwing, saves Gordon as the commissioner once saved him. He defeats the Riddler by telling him the secret identity of Batman and answering his riddle, but by doing so he says that the Riddler has lost, because he couldn't figure out the answer himself. Nightwing also proves that the Riddler can't tell anyone the secret because if he does he will forever ruin the riddle. This drives Edward Nashton further insane, reducing him to a babbling incoherent mess, easily apprehended by the very police he had been keeping hostage.

Meanwhile Catwoman and Batman assault the Gotham Police Station where Strange is. They flirt over their radios while doing do. Catwoman driving the Batcycle creates a distraction and lets Batman sneak in from the roof. He finds Strange below, where once he sat as a small boy, a young police man named Gordon draping a coat over his shoulders. Strange's voice floats up out of the darkened and empty rooms, calling him Bruce Wayne. He explains that he deduced his identity through profiling and through several sessions with Coleman Reese (Joshua Harto) the former Wayne Enterprises accountant after he was mysteriously driven insane, which Strange implies he was responsible for. He also claims he has told no one, as he wanted to meet the Batman for himself.

Strange finally appears in person. He is wearing one of the batsuits, without the cowl, he recovered from the Applied Science division at Wayne Enterprises. He says that now that he has met Batman he has found him wanting and believes that he could a better job ridding Gotham of its filth than Bruce Wayne ever could. Once Bruce is dead Strange will clean up the streets and the city of Gotham will regard him as their hero, all the while he can control the criminal element. The two men fight. They seem evenly matched, especially with Strange wearing a bat suit using the spare gadgets he recovered from the secret vault in Lucius Fox's labs. During the fight the crooked police outside find themselves being assaulted not just by Catwoman but the people of Gotham, led by Gordon and Nightwing.

The battle between Strange and Batman comes to a climax when Strange manages to stab Bruce in the belly with a knife. Bruce collapses in pain as Strange taunts that he is stronger and smarter. Injustice cannot be stopped it can only be controlled through power. He taunts Bruce that he is a broken child, fighting for ghosts, trying to fill the gap of loss, to add meaning to a meaningless world. "You are beaten, Wayne." Meanwhile Batman drags himself to a pile of riot gear left abandoned by the police who formerly occupied the station. "Why do we fall, Strange? So we can learn to get back up." He pulls the pin on a smoke grenade filling the room with smoke. Strange panics unable to see and breath and this time it is Batman's turn to taunt him from the shadows, refuting the claims of Strange, saying life has meaning as long as we keep fighting. His words also tie the three movies together in a short yet inspirational speech which sums up the trilogy's meaning. In desperation, Strange opens a window to clear out the smoke, but it is too late. Batman is there, standing before him. He lands a vicious strike and Strange stumbles backwards out the window, landing with a crash on a police car below. he gives one last gasp of air then dies.

The fight in the streets come to a stop as people see Strange, now lying dead in front of them, dressed as Batman. Catwoman and Nightwing look up to the roof and the real Batman is standing there. He lights the old bat signal on top of the building to remind the criminals that Gotham is protected. A few people on the street catch sight of him before he disappears back into the shadows.

The story of Batman's innocence in the Harvey Dent murder is finally revealed by James Gordon during a press conference, after he is is reinstated as commissioner. The remaining criminals are rounded up thanks to the help of Nightwing who is being touted as a hero of the city. Order is eventually restored. Many people believe Batman is dead. The movie ends with Batman talking to Gordon on the roof of the police station. "You won't be seeing me again, Jim, but Gotham will always be protected." As Batman talks scenes show Grayson donning his new outfit and exploring the Batcave. "Who are you?" ask Gordon, but Batman replies that it doesn't matter. It never mattered, because Batman is not a person but an idea to inspire the good and scare the criminal. Anyone and everyone can be a hero, even if it is something as insignificant as giving your coat to a little boy in need. As Batman talks we watch scenes of Alfred's funeral attended by Lucius, Bruce, Selina, and Grayson. The camera centers on Grayson who looks down at the modest grave then back toward the manor. When he looks over Bruce and Selina are gone. In the last scene we seem in his costume standing on top of a building reminiscent of Bruce in Dark Knight, he looks out over Gotham. The voice over ends and the movie cuts to black.


The ending definitely needs work, but this is the kind of movie I would have loved to see. What do you think? What improvements would you have made?