The Batman Takes One Dark Knight Idea Further Than Nolan Ever Could
Warning: Contains spoilers for The Batman.
Matt Reeves’ grounded vision for Gotham has prompted many comparisons to Christopher Nolan's award-winning trilogy, but The Batman takes one idea further than its predecessors ever could. Both versions of the Caped Crusader utilize the concept of fear, but The Batman’s emphasis on Gotham’s corruption better explores this idea. Reeves’ use of the bat signal expertly demonstrates both the power and frailty of reliance on fear.
Robert Pattinson stars as Batman, still in the early days of crimefighting and uninterested in balancing a double life as Bruce Wayne. His attempt to apprehend the Riddler (Paul Dano) and various clashes with Gotham’s criminal underground lead the masked vigilante to believe the city is broken. Although The Batman’s ending sees Bruce with renewed hope for Gotham’s future, he had to learn a crucial lesson about the value of fear – one which Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy never fully realized.
Related: The Batman Fixed Nolan's Biggest Bruce Wayne Mistake
The Batman’s opening is an excellent showcase for how the vigilante spreads fear throughout Gotham. The bat signal is viewed as a terrifying symbol, as Pattinson’s Batman states, “When that light hits the sky, it’s not just a call. It’s a warning.” Nolan tackled the same idea in The Dark Knight but never showed the depths of Batman's fear tactics or how he caused criminals to reconsider their actions. The Batman simultaneously illustrates how its hero perfectly embodies fear, while also proving its ineffectiveness for deterring crime.
Batman cannot be everywhere at once, but Reeves' film uses the signal to provide an illusion to the contrary. The bat signal is normally presented as a hopeful reminder that Batman
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