The Batman (2022): 5 Twists No One Saw Coming (& 5 Things That Were Predictable)

The Batman brought not only one of the darkest versions of Batman to the big screen, but one of the most critically acclaimed movies in the franchise. However, on top of the story and the action, the film also relied on twists and changes from the source material to bring something fresh to the tale.

With that in mind, not all twists and turns in the story surprised anyone who knows anything about Batman. Some of them only served to tell the same story fans have heard many times before. However, there were some that took everyone by surprise and allowed fans to see a brand-new version of Batman that should start a new franchise for DC and Warner Bros.

No One Saw Coming

Carmine Falcone Killed A Reporter For Thomas Wayne

A big shock in the movie came with Bruce Wayne talking to the Gotham City crime boss, Carmine Falcone. Earlier in the movie, Bruce confronted Falcone and viewers learned that Thomas Wayne had saved Carmine’s life when Bruce was just a child.

However, what was shocking was what Carmine said later. Thomas was running for mayor and a local reporter was digging into Martha Wayne’s past. Thomas then asked Falcone to scare the reporter into silence, so Carmine killed the man. As Falcone said, Thomas had blood on his hands when he died.

Carmine Falcone Is Catwoman’s Dad

Carmine Falcone had one more dark secret that came to life in the movie. The Batman completely changed the origin of Catwoman. Rather than a cat burglar in Gotham City who Batman helped turn around, she was on a road to vengeance. While this story was told in Batman Returns, it was done in a surprising way here.

Catwoman was Carmine Falcone’s illegitimate daughter. When her mother died, Carmine never even gave her a second look when social services came to pick her up. This was more than personal for Catwoman in a way no one expected.

Falcone Was The Rat

Carmine Falcone was a bad guy. He took over the role of the Gotham City mob boss once Gotham City PD brought down Salvatore Maroni. It wasn’t remotely surprising that Carmine was taking over the role of Maroni once he was out of the picture.

What no one could have expected was that Falcone was the rat that Riddler was hinting at in the movie. Falcone, a man who controlled everything in the comics, was rolling over for the police and betrayed the men in the underworld who worked for him.

Ridder Thought He And Batman Were Partners

With the final confrontation in Arkham Hospital, the movie led fans to believe that Riddler knew that Bruce Wayne was Batman. Everything he said led to the moment where it seemed that he was about to reveal his secret identity to the world, and then the tables turned.

Riddler thought that he and Batman were working together. He let Batman know that he led Carmine Falcone out for his assassination and it was, in his head, the perfect team-up. This revelation that Riddler thought he and Batman were the good guys was truly shocking in the best way.

Joker In Arkham Hospital

When the Gotham PD arrested Riddler, the villain ended up in Arkham Hospital. Batman interrogated him and learned there was more coming and left him there. After Riddler watched Batman save the day, he started to lose control.

That is when a voice from another cell began to talk to him. While he was never shown in full, it was Joker. Batman had never mentioned fighting Joker before, and having him already in Arkham was a complete shock, setting up an interesting and unexpected future.

Predictable

Thomas Wayne Wasn’t A Bad Person

While Carmine Falcone was an evil character in The Batman movie, he tried to bring the reputation of Thomas Wayne down with him. That was a shocking twist, with Thomas losing faith in his own family’s name and leading him to a dark place.

What was predictable, though, was that it was all a twist of the facts. Thomas asked Carmine to silence the reporter, not to kill him. Alfred told Bruce that Thomas actually threatened to go to the police before someone killed him, proving that Wayne was a good guy after all.

Full Corruption Of Gotham City

If there is one thing that should surprise no one, it is that the corruption in Gotham City goes straight to the top. Batman was there to stop villains, and he put the fear of the Bat into all of them. However, Batman then learned that the new murders proved there were villains on both sides.

The dead men were all evil men, corrupt to the top of the Gotham City mayor’s office. Riddler was also bad, and Batman learned that almost everyone outside of Jim Gordon was evil too.

The Riddler’s Plan Worked

Just when Batman learned what Riddler’s plan was, the bombs around the city began to explode and destroy the infrastructure of Gotham City. While the moment played out like a surprise, showing that Batman learned the truth too late, it was predictable.

That is because, with all the mysteries of the movie playing out, there had yet to be a major comic book fight scene. If The Batman had ended without a big showdown, it likely would have disappointed mainstream Batman fans. There needed to be a major battle, and that made the Riddler’s plan working important to the movie.

Riddler Grew Up In Wayne Orphanage

When it comes to a Batman villain, they almost always seem like they need to have either a grudge against Batman or Gotham City in general. That led to the twist that Riddler was a man who was once a child growing up in the Wayne Orphanage.

This allowed him to hate the wealthy and corrupt in Gotham City. He hated the Wayne family and blamed them, as much as anyone, for the people of Gotham. Having him grow up in an orphanage with the Wayne name on it was just a little too on the nose.

Batman Becomes A Genuine Hero In The End

When The Batman started, he explained how he stopped the criminals of Gotham City. He used fear so that criminals would jump at the shadows and run when they saw the signal. However, the people of Gotham City also feared him, as a man he saved early in the movie cowered from Batman.

By the end of the movie, Batman realized he needed to be a hero and needed to help people, not just strike fear into everyone. This was the story of The Batman, the vigilante becoming a genuine hero, and that was the most predictable ending of them all.

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