In the Batcave, Jean-Paul is in a sensory deprivation tank, fighting through his visions of Azrael when Alfred awakens him. The two begin to drink tea when Batman and Robin return, still arguing over Tim’s actions and Bruce’s need to rest. Batman orders Robin to investigate the Arkham bombing, suggesting that he enlist Jean-Paul as “his considerable computer skills can be of use.”, which is an aspect to the character so minor, even I forgot about it. Bruce reloads his utility belt and drives off, leaving Alfred and Tim to worry for his well-being. But as Alfred offers to call Jack Drake to inform him of Tim’s long night ahead in the cave, Tim cheekily says he’s heading to Arkham to investigate, asking Jean-Paul to accompany him since he still can’t legally drive. This scene struck me like a time capsule. The precise designs of Batman and Robin, references to Robin’s living father, the fact that Tim can’t drive. Even Alfred’s design, which is weirdly difficult to make accurate in the majority of different adaptations. Everything felt so exact, so specific.
Outside the Bates School for Girls (unnamed in the film), GCPD surround the perimeter where the serial killer Victor Zsasz is holding several women hostage. Commissioner Gordon, Lt. Bullock and Det. Montoya spare over their next move, with Gordon deciding to wait for Batman to show up. Montoya is less patient and sneaks into the building, finding Zsasz just as he’s about to kill a pleading woman. She offers to trade herself for the hostage, giving just enough time for Batman to arrive and chase after the fleeing and rambling Zsasz. In the dark, Zsasz manages to badly slash Batman’s arm before he’s quickly overpowered and pummeled into the ground. Montoya shows up and yells for Batman to stop as he beats Zsasz half to death, before wobbling towards a window and out of the building.
Moreso than the Mad Hatter scene, this might be the most wholly translated issue from the comics. Details such as the rain outside, to the gritty mood with Zsasz babbling about liberating “Zombies”, and especially his reaction to Batman as a like-minded predator are all straight from Batman #493. There were plenty of scenes cut out to be sure, like Robin briefly appearing, some back and forth between the other hostages, and a scene of Zsasz killing two cops who entered the school before Montoya – but the bulk of the story is intact. This was always one of the coolest issues to draw from, as it presented Batman’s fraying mental state going up against each different psychotic. The rogues gallery aren’t simply different people with costumes and weapons. Zsasz genuinely gets to Batman’s head, pushing him to the edge. What I didn’t care however was Montoya’s characterization at the end, chiding Batman for his use of violence. It came off more nagging than reactionary, but it does foreshadow further events in the story after this first film.
At the ruined remains of Arkham, Robin and a disguised Jean-Paul investigate the wreckage. Robin observes the burn patterns, and discovers the trigger used for a bomb he recognizes from the Bertinelli Crime Family. Jean-Paul asks how someone of Robin’s age can be so smart, and Tim expresses that he loves to solve mysteries, and wants to become the best detective after Batman. This scene is original for the film, but works to establish who Tim is and how he’s different from the other Robins. We don’t get into any of his backstory like how he figured out Batman’s identity or The Obeah Man, but Tim’s scenes are some of the film’s strongest character work. He drives the plot in a stronger way he did the comic, since the film is presented more as a mystery.
What caught my attention was the reference to the Bertinellis. Viewers of the Birds of Prey/Harley Quinn film might recall them as the slain crime family of The Huntress, which is true to the comics from the period of this story. I question if she exists at all in this movie if there’s still a Bertinelli crime mob active in Gotham. The guy Robin interrogates later in the film is named Franco Bertinelli, which is Huntress’s father’s name…but in some stories it’s Guido. Best to abandon this ship before the deep-cut tangents sink it.
Next we see The Riddler at a hideout, contemplating over who’s behind the Arkham breakout when Bane approaches him with a syringe full of Venom. Riddler’s voiced by David Dastmalchian, a mainstay of geek culture since his memorable appearance in The Dark Knight, and has since appeared in CW’s The Flash, The Suicide Squad, Ant Mans 1 & 2, and the aforementioned Long Halloween films as Calendar Man. His presence feels almost like a celebrity cameo, but Riddler did have a recurring role in the first third of Knightfall. Interestingly, this scene originally happens just before the Arkham breakout in the comics. Switching it around makes more sense for the movie, and gives screentime to some of the more iconic rogues who general audiences would be familiar with.
We jump from that scene to a montage of Batman tackling several members of his rogues gallery in a single night. We start with the briefest version of Detective Comics #659 where Batman apprehends The Ventriloquist and Scarface at a grocery store. Blood loss makes Batman hallucinate that Scarface is real even after he knocks the Ventriloquist out. Cool and creepy, and also kind of funny. We then see the GCPD try and arrest Mr. Freeze before Batman arrives and turns his Freeze gun against him. This is a new scene; Freeze was actually presumed dead in the comics until appearing a bit later during Knightquest. What’s notable is how he’s in his late 1990s design illustrated by – you guessed it – Kelley Jones. It’s that use of the period that wins me over, and it was always a cool look to begin with.
That’s followed by a scene of Batman fighting Catman in a parking garage, again original to the movie. Catman is visibly overweight here, which is true to the comics at some point in his history. He manages to slash Batman across the chest and pauses to congratulate himself long enough for Batman to knock him out. His injuries piling on, Batman continues to push himself as he leaps after Firefly who has set an amusement park ablaze. Like the Scarface scene, this is loosely taken from the comic, and ultimately what happens in the book is similar here. After plummeting several stories with Firefly and hitting the ground, Batman limps away from the scene. He’s not as visibly destroyed as he was in the comics, but he’s getting there.
We then see Batman running after a chuckling Scarecrow. This is a big scene for the film, loosely adapting Batman #496, which I’ll get into more detail on later. Scarecrow (again designed by Kelley Jones) hits Batman with the Fear Gas, and he sees an outraged Jason Todd Robin, accusing him of letting him and everyone in Gotham down. Batman fights through it, but the emotional damage has stuck. After defeating Scarecrow, he just sits in the car and bleeds in silence before calling Shondra. Because Jason was dead in the comics for twenty years, ghostly images of him haunting Batman were a classic visual staple for just as long. What’s interesting is that while his head looks similar to Tim’s (all the Robins look alike anyway), he is voiced by a different actor, implying that Batman hasn’t forgotten what his voice, but also can’t help but see Jason when he looks at Tim, something that’s put into dialogue near the end of the film. It leads to a quiet moment in the Batmobile, sitting in an alley in the rain. It’s one of the best scenes in the movie, and nails feelings of pain and isolation that’s consuming Bruce. He nearly agrees to meet with Shondra to talk before seeing the Bat-Signal in the sky, pulling his mask back on and saying “I have to go.” in a markedly robotic tone. Anson Mount does best with the smaller, human moments in the film. His voice gets rather high near the end when he’s crying out in pain, but it’s scenes like these that have me agree with his casting. He’s not the best, but he does a fine job.
Batman arrives at Crowning Clock Tower, finding Riddler two feet taller and having gained over a hundred pounds of muscle. This is another scene that I find amusing, due to their familiar, almost friendly interactions. Batman is truly at a loss for words at seeing Riddler look like he stepped out of Fist of the North Star. At first, Nygma is delighted that he can’t feel any of Batman’s hits, but then freaks out at his transformation and Zoidbergs out of the tower before the bomb he set goes off. Outside, Gordon informs Batman that it’s been reported he’s acting out of line regarding his usual methods. If Batman ever needs to talk to someone…before Gordon can finish offering his ear, Batman is gone.
Robin and Jean-Paul crash the Bertinelli offices, and interrogate Franco over the Arkham bombing. This scene is pure Chuck Dixon, with Robin effortlessly knocking out the guards and tying Franco to his chair in seconds as the score triumphantly booms. As he puts the edge of his bo-staff to Franco’s neck, Paul gets nervous and starts to protest. “Watch and learn.” Robin says grimly, before Franco spills the beans. Sensational. Franco reveals that last week, the heads of the five major crime families were all duped into meeting together. Bane arrived and killed four of them, frightening Franco into giving him the intel on the explosive armaments of every mob. This led to Franco beefing his security, just before said security bursts through the door, getting the drop on the room. Then the System kicks in, and Paul dispatches of the armed men with lightning fast reflexes, before he snaps out of it and bolts.
Bruce arrives at Shondra’s office, heeding Gordon’s advice after all. He intends to talk to her but passes out from blood lost from Zsasz’s cut. Shondra closes her eyes, breathes in slowly and falls asleep alongside Bruce. Later, he’ll awaken to find that his wound is partially healed. Knowing where this is all headed, I’m still very curious to see how it will end up in the next film. This is the part of Knightfall that gets very convoluted, and ages the least well over the years.
Robin arrives at an abandoned subway entrance just before he’s knocked out by a creepy and shadowy Bane. He awakens tied to a chair, several stories above ground surround by rushing water. Bane reveals that he knows Robin’s real name, knows who Batman is, and violently prods Robin into deducing what his goals are. Robin figures that Bane was behind the Arkham breakout to stretch the police thin and wear Batman down to…what, kill him? “BREAK HIM.” Part of this scene was loosely adapted by Batman: The Animated Series in the third season episode “Bane”. The film has more time to adapt the detective back-and-forth between Robin and Bane, but there’s a creepiness that puts Tim over as a truly brave hero. I would be way too scared to talk if I were in his position, but Tim shows zero fear. Even when Bane goes to pop his head off to break Batman’s spirit further, Tim manages to stab his “R” insignia – which doubles as a shuriken – into Bane’s forehead, and frees himself from the chair. “So you’re crazy. Just like the rest of them.” I grin. He briefly tries to take Bane on before getting swatted away, and there’s an awesomely scary shot from Robin’s POV of Bane tearing through steel pipes as he makes his way towards him. Like in Detective Comics #660, Robin escapes when the concrete platforms give way to falling weight, and he hits the flood below, to wash up near the subterranean parts of the Batcave, presumably hoping he’ll never see Bane again.
Cut back to Jean-Paul, who’s kneeling inside of a confessional, begging aid from the priest on the other side for guidance on how to avoid being consumed by the System. The silhouetted priest assures him that God gifts those who can be a great service…to St. Dumas. Paul rushes over to find the priest’s compartment empty before a fiery vision of The Order of St. Dumas beckons him to accept his destiny as Azrael, The Avenging Angel. This is all really awesome to me, but I can’t help but think of the viewer who has no idea what’s going on. But it’s a wonderfully creepy scene in a way that a lot of Batman movies haven’t been in a long while, and I think the mood might sell itself.
Bruce awakens to a call from Alfred that Tim’s been hurt. He returns to the Batcave to find Tim getting his arm stitched up, but Tim gushes with excitement that he’s figured out the entire Arkham plot. “Where’s Jean-Paul?” Bruce asks. He ran off, but not before taking out a room full of the Bertinelli mob! This is the last thing Bruce wants to hear, and just as Tim tells him that the master planner is Bane, Bruce says he’s fired. This scene bothered some Robin fans online, who found Bruce’s reaction to be beyond what was presented in the comics. I was unfazed. For one, Bruce goes back on it ninety seconds later. Additionally, Bruce and Tim’s relationship in this film is very accurate to not just the Knightfall issues, but the issues well before Knightfall began. One can find nearly a dozen example of Bruce treating Tim with kid gloves, and it’s after this storyline when he begins to relent after Tim repeatedly proves himself. Nevertheless, Tim and Alfred elect to give Bruce space, leaving Bruce to look himself in the mirror before smashing it.
Bruce drudges up the stairs, catching himself against the wall as he groans in pain, short of breath. Beginning his apology to Alfred and Tim, the room goes dark and he finds them both knocked out as a hulking figure looms over all three of them. Bane. The mastermind behind the chaos in Gotham has arrived at Wayne Manor to finish the job. Bruce takes one last look at Tim before pulling his mask over his face, ready to fight.
This is where my one genuine disappointment with the differences in adaptation occurs. In Batman #497, there’s about four pages of Doug Moench-written dialogue between Bruce and Bane where the latter describes how he’s basically evil incarnate.
“I’d kill for anything. I’d kill to silence a grating voice. To darken the light in the eyes that dared to look at me.”
This charges Bruce up to gather his remaining strength and stop Bane once and for all, identifying him as exactly the kind of evil he’s dedicated his life to battling. Is it a bit much? Maybe, but it really excites in the moment, pumping the reader for one of the all-time generational beatdowns in the history of comics.
In the film, Bruce identifies Bane as being behind everything, Bane confirms and they begin scrapping. I understand cutting out much of Moench’s flowery language, but it felt like a final battle without a cutscene. I don’t know if I can argue leaving the original scene intact as-was, but at the same time I can’t help how I feel.
What doesn’t disappoint is the fight, which starts off less one-sided than the comics but quickly ends up where it needs to. After Bane pumps himself up with Venom, it’s only a matter of time before he gets his hands on Batman. Once he does, the two barrel through several walls of Wayne Manor until Batman is thrown through the grandfather clock that enters the Batcave. In the single most badass original moment of the film, Batman staggers down the stairs as Bane, unable to follow due to his size, wrecks the entrance with his bare hands, appearing behind Batman like an oncoming stampede.
The rest is fait accompli. Bane taunts Batman over his weakness to save the city, bashing him around the cave, and eventually hurling him into the costume case where Jason’s suit is kept in hallowed memory. Straight from the comics. The one addition is that we see other suits held in glass, like the Golden Age costume and the suit from Batman Returns (which is cute, since that film premiered a year before Knightfall). I think that actually cheapens Jason’s memorial case, and would prefer those costumes to be put in another room. But we still get Batman holding up Jason’s mask, saying his name with bloodied lips as Bane taunts him over all the death he’s suffered throughout his life. Like Eva Unit-02 going berserk far too late in End of Evangelion, this gives Bruce one last burst of fury before Bane just pounds the living crap out of him. ” Beg for mercy! SCREEEAM MY NAAAME!”
“Go to Hell.”
Questions: We Don't Have Answers 
