"Get out of the way, Bats! I've got a date with immortality!" (Why Arkham Knight is a Perfectly Told Story Part II)

Today, let us discuss the second part of the Batman Trilogies:

• The Dark Knight
• Arkham City

OKay...

The Dark Knight did a lot of things well.

The biggest and only criticisms that I have are:

1. They jumped the shark by having the Twoface arc play out (chance for Twoface in the sequel)
2. Bruce Wayne/Batman was not the protagonist, the Joker was

Almost universally, this movie is beloved because of Heath Ledger's performance:

I mean who can mess with perfection?

This guy completely dominates the screen and screen time.

The whole movie feels like a vehicle for Mr. Ledger's performance.

Because what does Batman do in this movie?

He has already dismantled the criminal elements of Gotham.

There is no more worlds to conquer.

The opening scene is of him picking up Scarecrow like it is a goddamn milkrun.

(That pose just says it all.)

Batman has everything at his feet and only his worst nemesis could possibly stomp him into the ground.

The only critique I have of Heath Ledger's performance actually comes from the script.

Namely, it is too scripted.

The Joker, classically, is impossible to predict, having no plan, no rhyme, no reason.

Every other villain in the Batmanverse has some sort of modus operandi (save maybe Viktor Zsasz).

• Twoface has binaries
• Riddler has his tricks
• Calendar Man kills on holidays
• Mad Hatter is Alice in Wonderland themed

You get the idea.

But, the Joker represents randomness, chaos.

He even says it:

"I am an agent of chaos"

And isn't that just clear as a bell in this scene?

He is unpredictable!
Until you realize that almost every scene in this movie revolves around the Joker's "plan".
His assassination(s)/attempts, his work with Harvey, his assault on Gotham: all of it comes out of a plan.
A clear series of steps that have to fall in the right order.
At no point does he feel out of control or completely chaotic.
But, Batman does.
He is just reeling from one thing to the next, ultimately switching every phone in Gotham into an NSA's wet dream because he "doesn't know what else to do":

Yeah...
He loses it, if only just a little.
Batman crosses into a moral gray area that is only compounded when he "murders?" Harvey Dent/Twoface in a bid to "win" the hearts and minds of Gotham.
Harvey was a hero that Gotham could rally behind.
But, he sort of murdered a lot of people, so....

 But, if they lie about the people he killed, how he died (falling out of a building), and keep it a closed casket then, he can become a martyr too.
And he will become a symbol, a white knight.
Making Batman his dark twin: The Dark Knight

Boom!
Movie title!
Gary Oldman's delivery!
Chills...
Seriously, I still get chills.
It is great.

Except he totally killed Harvey Dent ("accidentally")!
I will say this though.
Throughout the film, Batman is completely devoted to the notion of not killing the Joker, of bringing him in for justice.
How does he do this?
Kind of how he does Ra's at the end of Batman Begins:

• Batman is in a life and death struggle
• He momentarily has the upperhand
• He does not deliberately kill his nemesis, but lets him fall from a great height to his death
• (still, it isn't "murder")

However, unlike Batman Begins, in Dark Knight, he saves the Joker with his grapple, tying him to the top of a sky rise and have one of the weirdest love scenes ever:

"Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever."

But, as we know, Heath Ledger died tragically and the Joker is never seen again in the Nolanverse.
It is one of the saddest things, both for the friends and family as well as the legions of fans, but also the story.
That is one of the biggest, most crucial points of contention in the series:

Where is the Joker?

The movie isn't perfect, but it is well made, well crafted, and a lot a lot of fun.
SO after all that and without further adieu, I give you Arkham City:

The Dark Knight begins with its protagonist: The Joker
In one of the most famous openings of contemporary cinema; the bank heist:

It shows the Joker off in remarkable style; he is clever, tenacious, and pure goddamn evil.
It sets the tone for the whole film and what to expect of him.
The opening of Arkham City does the same thing

We start with Bruce Wayne, the altar ego of Batman being interrogated by Hugo Strange.
We get glimpses of what happened, but the most important thing is

Hugo Strange knows Batman's true identity

The best defense Batman possesses is gone at the start of the game.
So where do we find ourselves after this moment?

 Tied up, alone, unprotected by even the assumption that you are a helpless billionaire.
Batman is naked and yet, the next few things are important.

• You move your joystick to fall from your chair 
• A guard enters to beat you
• You cripple him (while still bound) and steal his SD card from his communicator (in one move)
• You enter Arkham City
• Defend Jack Ryder from assailants
• Beat up Cobblepot and his whole crew without a Batsuit

Why?

Because you are freaking Batman!

This is all done to teach you the mechanics of the game, movement, combat, etc. in a controlled and logically paced way, but it is also remarkable storytelling.

We see Batman completely naked before his enemy and he has to literally build himself back up by becoming unshackled, knocking down his immediate assailants, climbing his way up in order to communicate, and finally...put on the suit:

(And it feels good on the nethers too...)

So what else is there?

Well, stop pretty much everything in the whole damn city from killing one another.

• You find Joker sick having been exposed to the Titan formula from the last game. (that is right, Joker is back baby!)
• You jump through an inordinate amount of hoops in order to find Mr. Freeze who is the only person who can cure this whole mess.
• He tells you it is impossible
• Batman says he knows a guy and freaking finds the immortal Ra's al Ghul, steals his blood, and is back before the stroke of twelve

And gets cured!

Well, not quite.

There are some more hoops to jump through.

Point being, Batman has a need? He figures it out.

Why?

Because he's Batman!

SO how does this compare to The Dark Knight?

Pretty interestingly.

1) Joker is not well. Not at all. And no, I don't mean he is a little off. I mean he is like this:

At death's door.

So, what does he do?

Does he fight Batman?

Nope.

He fucking employs him!

Well, I say employ.

Joker infects Batman with his tainted blood.

Oh, and also poisons a bunch of other people in all of the hospitals.

(Where is he getting all of that blood?)

So Joker is alive and active.

Well, not exactly active, but he did the craziest thing and is working with Batman in order to accomplish his goals as opposed to cross purposes.

2) The "romantic" sub plot is not a MacGuffin

In The Dark Knight Maggie Gyllenhaal puts in a wonderful performance as Rachel Dawes doing...not a whole lot.

She prosecutes the mafia! No, that's Dent.

She saves the dinner party from Joker! No, that's Batman.

She saves Dent from-nope, still Batman.

Rachel is essentially the love interest to galvanize all of the characters (save Joker who doesn't need a reason) by dying.

(Sorry)

In Arkham City it is Talia al Ghul, daughter of the infamous Ra's.

In it she commands a legion of assassins, is Batman's physical and intellectual equal, and yeah, she squats

She offers Batman immortality in exchange for killing her father.

Yes, she is taken hostage by Ra's in order to shoe horn another gadget into the densely packed utility belt.

But, ultimately it is Talia who convinces Joker to not murder Batman and places a tracer on herself in order to lead Batman back to Joker's lair.

Ultimately Batman doesn't even save her, and she has to stab Joker herself!

(You're frigging welcome)

Unfortunately, it isn't Joker and the final confrontation is brought on by her galvanizing death.

(Sorry about that)

So...still winning, but not by much.

3) Alfred's role.
In The Dark Knight, Alfred has some gems.
Who can forget Michael Caine's chilling delivery of

"Some men just want to watch the world burn"

 Let us look at the quote in some context:

Alfred Pennyworth: With respect Master Wayne, perhaps this is a man that *you* don't fully understand, either. A long time ago, I was in Burma. My friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones. But their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So, we went looking for the stones. But in six months, we never met anybody who traded with him. One day, I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The bandit had been throwing them away. 

Bruce Wayne:  So why steal them? 

Alfred Pennyworth: Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

Bruce, looking for his sage counselor's advice in this instance asks if he ever caught the thief.
Alfred says yes.
How?

 We burned down the forest.

Ah, so burn more things.
Thank you Alfred.

All right.
But, what about something pivotal.
Like when Bruce's morale is shaken.
When he is questioning about what he is doing or where to go from here.
What does Alfred do?
He steals the letter that Rachel left for Bruce and burns it.
Because sometimes people don't need the truth.

(I'm starting to think you only have one solution)

In Arkham City Talia al Ghul has waylaid Joker and is about to die.
Now, remember, in Dark Knight, Rachel Dawes is already dead when Alfred burns the letter, in Arkham City, Talia is very much alive.
So the love of his life is with the most insanely dangerous, (presumably) cured Joker, the city is getting blown up by killer helicopters set to exterminate the whole of the city.
Things look...bleak.

Batman flies off the handle ordering Alfred to reorganize the satellites to boost the signal to track Talia's tracer.
Alfred refuses.
His advice?
Stick to the mission.

One life is a trifle compared to the lives of thousands. You know I'm right.

Effectively: Forget her. She isn't worth the city. Save the city. Then, her.
Damn.
Alfred creates the crisis of the next game: the myth of Batman.
He argues that the myth, i.e. the function of Batman is more important than the person playing the role.
That is some meta talk right there.

4) Finally, the treatment of the end.
As we have discussed previously about The Dark Knight, Batman saves the Joker from falling off the building, but fails to save Harvey Dent/Twoface and uses his death to shock Gotham into overcoming its baser criminal elements.
Okay.
So...win? I guess. Moral ambiguity aside, it is implied that Batman wins Gotham's soul, but bastardizes the Batman symbol/mythos in order to do it.
Fair trade because he always makes the hard choices, the big plans.

In Arkham City, we get something a little different.
Joker looks like this:

Both he and the Batman have been suffering from a progressing terminal illness.
They are fighting for survival, only enough cure for one of them (sort of) and they are willing to kill for it.
So they do, or try to at any rate.
Batman fights a ridiculously technical fight against the notorious Clayface and reaps the cure.
He downs it.
Batman is cured!
But, there is in fact enough left for the Joker.
Now, Batman has to make the hard choice.
Save Joker or let him die and save all the people the Joker might one day kill.
I'll just leave this here it is so good.



And a titan falls.
We lose the Joker to his own greed, his own avarice.
And Batman has to carry him out.
So no, for once, Batman doesn't save everyone.
A big name falls.
And we all lost it.
This hit me harder than almost any other death in any medium for the last ten years. (forget Oberyn, this is where it is at)

SO that is it for now.
I don't want to over compare them because where it all comes together is in the final chapter.
The third part of a trilogy wraps everything together into a nice bow and nothing, I repeat not no one no how has done it better than Arkham Knight.
So that will be next.
Till then, I bid you adieu.