10 Worst Things That Happened To Christopher Nolan’s Batman

The final installment of The Dark Knight trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. With Matt Reeves’ The Batman releasing recently worldwide, it is bound to be compared to Nolan’s trilogy.

RELATED: 10 Cliches In Almost Every Christopher Nolan Movie

In every rendition, Batman has had to go through adversities while trying to maintain justice and order in Gotham city. Nolan’s Batman also, being a human with no superpowers, went through plenty of hardships through the three films.

His House Being Burned Down

At the end of Batman Begins, Ra’s Al Ghul and his men burn down the Wayne Manor. With it, they also burned down Bruce Wayne’s spirit. He became dispirited and lost hope in himself for a short time until Alfred helped him stand up and be the hero his city needed.

Even though this was one of the worst things that happened to him, it was still an important aspect of Bruce Wayne’s journey. This is so because up until that point, he was still attached to the Wayne legacy which clouded his duties as the Batman. The Wayne legacy is not at all as perfect as it seemed to Bruce for a major part of his life so, it was important for him to let go of that and this incident helped him do that.

Losing Harvey Dent’s Friendship

Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne had been vying for the same girl, which caused differences between the two. However, Harvey was one of the few friends Batman had. So, losing Harvey Dent’s friendship after Joker corrupted him and then losing him altogether must have been pretty hard on Nolan’s Batman.

Seeing his friend turn into Two-face, a monster, should be enough to break Batman. Not to mention, it also meant that Joker had defeated him.

Alfred Hiding Rachel’s Letter From Him

Alfred hid Rachel’s letter from Bruce in which she revealed that her affections lie with Harvey and not Bruce. This might have come as a huge blow to Bruce, but it also would have shown him the reality.

This decision from Alfred made Bruce live in an illusion that Rachel was going to be with him, which made her death hurt him a lot more than it should have. He stopped being the Batman, which could be a reason for how Bane took over the city in The Dark Knight Rises.

Ra’s Al Ghul Turning Against Him

Superheroes always have a deep relationship with their mentors and in Batman’s case, it was Ra’s Al Ghul. Ra’s Al Ghul turned Bruce from an angry brat to the skilled hero of Gotham. Ra’s Al Ghul’s principles were different from that of Bruce’s which strained their relationship.

Bruce still respected him and had an emotional connection to him because after burning the League Of Shadows temple, he saved Ra’s Al Ghul’s life. However, Ra’s Al Ghul came to Gotham with his men and turned against Bruce with a plan to doom the entire Gotham city. Bruce had to fight his mentor and lead him to his death, which had to be one of the hardest things he ever had to do.

Taking The Blame For Harvey’s Crimes

One of the main characteristics of Batman in The Dark Knight Trilogy is his sacrificial streak. He has sacrificed plenty during the trilogy. One of his biggest sacrifices is when he incriminated himself for the crimes of Harvey Dent at the end of The Dark Knight. The people of Gothan loved Harvey and he didn’t want them to lose hope and give in to corruption.

So, Batman himself took the fall and became the city’s biggest villain. The people started hating him and the authorities turned against him. Every superhero likes it when the people acknowledge and appreciate their heroic efforts, but his city hating him, a city for which he had dedicated his whole life, must have hurt like hell.

Getting Betrayed By Miranda

Bruce Wayne was betrayed by his love interest, Miranda, in The Dark Knight Rises. She bought major shares of his company, won his trust enough to be privy to his company’s secret plans, got close to him physically and emotionally before literally stabbing him with a knife.

While Bane gave him larger and more serious wounds, it was Miranda Tate aka Talia’s wounds that must have hurt him deeper. He trusted her blindly and protected her before being backstabbed by her and learning that she was in collusion with Bane all this time.

Losing His Parents As A Kid

Even if it’s Bruce Wayne, the heir to a multi-million dollar business, losing his parents at a tender age has to be one of the most difficult things. Years after his parents’ death, he remained consumed by his desire to take revenge, which ate him for most of his youth.

In Batman Begins, he almost tried to kill the person who caused the death of his parents. This incident reminded the fans that there is a fine line between being a hero and a villain. If he had crossed the line that day, Bruce Wayne may have used his power and wealth to become a killer instead of Batman, who has saved countless lives.

Bane Beating Him Down

In The Dark Knight Rises, Batman underestimated Bane’s intelligence and strength and went to fight against him in his territory. The result was that he was beaten brutally by Bane and broke his back.

Being the Batman, Bruce has always been proud of his fighting abilities, speed, and agility. Thus, Bane knocking him down so easily not only damaged his body but also damaged his self-confidence and his belief in himself.

Staying In The Pit

After Bane beat him brutally, he left Bruce in the Pit, which enjoys the reputation of being the ‘worst Hell on Earth’. Bruce’s body and spirit, both were broken while he stayed in the Pit but he knew he had to go back to save his city from Bane.

Bruce built himself back up and tried to escape the place, but he failed miserably in the first two tries and damaged his body further. It has to be one of the worst experiences of Bruce Wayne’s life because he just didn’t have to regain his strength, but also rebuild his self-belief.

Losing Rachel

Bruce Wayne had loved Rachel probably since they were kids. She didn’t want to be with him because of his life as the Batman, but that didn’t stop him from pining after her. She moved on with Harvey but Bruce still carried a torch for her reciprocating his feelings one day.

Thus, her death was incredibly hard on him, which was worsened by the fact that he blamed himself for her death because he couldn’t reach her in time. He carried that grief and guilt for years to follow and hardly left his room.

About The Author

Sakcham Tiwari
(61 Articles Published)

An avid fangirl of books, TV shows, and movies at her core, Sakcham is a content writer with an MA in Digital Publishing from Oxford Brookes University. When she is not working, she can be found reading fanfiction or scrolling through Twitter.

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