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Script
BATMAN BEGINS
Written by
Christopher Nolan, David Goyer
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
Bats covering the sky.
EXT. GARDENS, WAYNE MANOR - DAY
A boy and a girl running in the Wayne Manor garden.
YOUNG BRUCE
Rachel, let me see. Can I see?
Bruce follows Rachel inside the greenhouse.
YOUNG BRUCE
Can I see?
RACHEL
Finders keepers. And I found it.
YOUNG BRUCE
In my garden.
Rachel shows him what she's hiding in her hands
and Bruce grabs it and runs away with it.
YOUNG BRUCE
Finders keepers!
Young Bruce hides on top of an abandoned well and peeks
at Rachel from above a wall. She follows him outside.
RACHEL
Bruce?
The top cover of the well breaks under Bruce's weight.
INT. OLD WELL - DAY
Bruce falls downs inside the well and lands painfully at
the botom of it.
EXT. KITCHEN GARDEN, WAYNE MANOR - DAY
Rachel runs to the well.
RACHEL
Bruce?!
INT. OLD WELL - DAY
Bruce rolls at the bottom of the well and looks up.
EXT. GARDEN, WAYNE MANOR - DAY
Rachel runs towards the house.
RACHEL
MOM! MISTER ALFRED!
INT. OLD WELL - DAY
Bruce squeaks and a wave of bats coming through an opening
in the wall washes over him on their way out.
INT. ASIAN JAIL - DAY
An adult man opens his eyes just waking up. Another old asian man
is in the cell with him.
OLD MAN
Did you have dream?
BRUCE
Nightmare.
OLD MAN
Worse than this place?
Bruce looks around and gets up from the bed.
EXT. PRISON COURTYARD - DAY
Bruce and the old man get in line to receive their meal.
Everyone is watching Bruce.
OLD MAN
They are going to fight you.
WAYNE
Again?
OLD MAN
Until they kill you.
Bruce holds out the plate for the food to be poured in it.
WAYNE
Can't they kill me before breakfast?
Large Asian man kicks the plate out of Bruce's hand.
LARGE MAN
You are in hell, little man...
He punches Bruce and grabs him by the hair.
LARGE MAN
...and I am the devil.
He hits him on the head and send him to the ground.
Bruce gets up.
BRUCE
You're not the devil... you're practice.
Bruce beats him up. A bunch of prisoners attacks him at once.
They fight in the mud. He takes them all down. The guards fire in the air.
GUARD
Solitary!
BRUCE
Why?
GUARD
For protection.
BRUCE
I don't need protection.
GUARD
Protection for them.
INT. SOLITARY, ASIAN JAIL - DAY
GUARD
Get in.
Bruce is tossed on the floor of the cell. He gets up.
DUCARD
Are you so desperate to fight criminals that
you lock yourself in to take them on one at a time?
Bruce hears the voice before seeing the man hiding in the shadow.
BRUCE
Actually, there were seven of them.
DUCARD
I counted six, Mr. Wayne.
Bruce sits down.
BRUCE
How do you know my name?
DUCARD
The world is too small for someone like
Bruce Wayne to disappear no matter how deep
he chooses to sink.
BRUCE
Who are you?
DUCARD
My name is merely Ducard, but I speak for
Ra's al Ghul a man greatly feared by the criminal
underworld. A man who can offer you a path.
BRUCE
What makes you think I need a path?
DUCARD
Someone like you is only here by choice.
You have been exploring the criminal fraternity
but whatever your original intentions... you have
become truly lost.
BRUCE
And what path can Ra's al Ghul offer?
DUCARD
The path of a man who shares his hatred of evil
and wishes to serve true justice. The path of the
League of Shadows.
BRUCE
You're vigilantes.
DUCARD
No, no, no. A vigilante is just a man lost in
the scramble for his own gratification. He can be
destroyed or locked up. But if you make yourself more
than just a man if you devote yourself to an ideal
and if they can't stop you then you become
something else entirely.
BRUCE
Which is?
DUCARD
Legend, Mr. Wayne.
Ducard moves to the door.
DUCARD
Tomorrow, you will be released. If you are bored
of brawling with thieves and want to achieve something
there is a rare blue flower that grows on the eastern
slopes. Pick one of these flowers. If you can carry it
to the top of the mountain you may find what you were
looking for in the first place.
BRUCE
And what am I looking for?
DUCARD
Only you can know that.
EXT. IN THE FIELD - DAY
Bruce is thrown out of a truck in the middle of an empty field.
It's winter, windy and cold. He walks all alone until he picks up
the blue flower. He goes up the mountain passing through a village.
OLD MAN
You turn back. You go back.
Bruce is continuing his climbing in spite of the bad weather.
He arrives at a monastery and knocks on the front door. He goes
inside. The door is closed behind him. A man is sitting on a throne.
BRUCE
Ra's al Ghul?
DUCARD
Wait.
Ra's al Ghul speaks in a foreign language.
DUCARD
What are you seeking?
BRUCE
I seek the means to fight injustice. To turn fear
against those who prey on the fearful.
Bruce pulls out the blue flowe and hands it to him.
Ducard show's it to Ra's, then pins it to the colar of his jacket.
DUCARD
To manipulate the fears in others you must first
master your own. Are you ready to begin?
BRUCE
I can... I can barely stand.
DUCARD
Death does not wait for you to be ready!
Ducard attacks him.
DUCARD
Death is not considerate or fair!
And make no mistake, here you face death.
After several blows Bruce catches Ducard's leg.
DUCARD
Tiger. Jujitsu. Panther.
Ducard recognized all the fighting styles he tries.
DUCARD
You're skilled. But this is not a dance.
Ducard sends him to the ground.
DUCARD
And you are afraid... But not of me.
Ducard places the blue flower on Bruce's chest.
DUCARD
Tell us, Mr. Wayne...
Bats all over the place
DUCARD
What do you fear?
INT. BOTTOM OF THE OLD WELL - DAY
Laying there young Bruce watches his father, Thomas Wayne,
slide down a rope.
THOMAS
Bruce?
Thomas reaches for his hand.
THOMAS
It's okay. It's okay. You'll be okay.
EXT. STAIRS LEADING TOWARDS WAYNE MANOR - DAY
Thomas carries his son towards the housE followed by Alfred.
ALFRED
Will we be needing an ambulance, Master Wayne?
THOMAS
No, I'll set the bone and take him for an x-ray later.
ALFRED
Very good, sir.
MAID
I'm very sorry, sir. I've told...
THOMAS
Don't worry. It's fine.
Bruce hands Rachel the item they have found.
INT. HALL, WAYNE MANOR - DAY
ALFRED
Took quite a fall, didn't we?
THOMAS
And why do we fall? So we can learn to pick
ourselves up. Just a little fall.
Bruce's mother, Martha, joins them at the bottom of the stairs.
THOMAS
It's just a small fracture.
INT. BRUCE'S ROOM - DAY
THOMAS
The bats again? You know why they attacked you,
don't you? They were afraid of you.
YOUNG BRUCE
Afraid of me?
THOMAS
All creatures feel fear.
YOUNG BRUCE
Even the scary ones?
THOMAS
Especially the scary ones.
I got something to show you.
He opens a box with a pearl necklace inside.
THOMAS
You think your mother will like them?
YOUNG BRUCE
Yeah.
THOMAS
I think it's time to get up.
YOUNG BRUCE
Maybe.
THOMAS
No going back to bed.
EXT. INSIDE THE WAYNE TRAIN - DAY
YOUNG BRUCE
Did you build this train, Dad?
THOMAS
Gotham's been good to our family, but the city's been suffering.
People less fortunate than us have been enduring very hard times.
So we built a new, cheap, public transportation system to unite
the city. And at the center... Wayne Tower.
YOUNG BRUCE
Is that where you work?
THOMAS
No, I work at the hospital.
I leave the running of our company
to much better men.
YOUNG BRUCE
Better?
THOMAS
Well... more interested men.
INT. THE OPERA HOUSE - NIGTH
The show reminds Bruce of the bats.
YOUNG BRUCE
Can we go? Please.
THOMAS
Okay. Let's go.
They walk out of the theatre.
EXT. THE OPERA HOUSE - NIGTH
MARTHA
What's wrong, Bruce?
THOMAS
No, no. It was me. I just needed some fresh air.
A little bit of opera goes a long way.
Right, Bruce? Come on. Let's go.
CHILL
Wallets, jewelry. Come on, fast.
THOMAS
That's fine.
CHILL
Fast.
THOMAS
Take it easy. Take it easy. Here you go.
The wallet falls on the ground.
THOMAS
It's fine. It's fine. Now just take it and go.
CHILL
I said, jewelry.
THOMAS
Hey...
Chill points the gun at Martha, Thomas gets in front,
startled Chill fires.
MARTHA
Thomas!
Another shot. Chill runs away.
THOMAS
Bruce... It's okay. Don't be afraid.
Young Bruce cries as his parents die.
INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT
GORDON
Is this your father's? It's okay.
Come here.
Gordon wraps the coat around Bruce.
GORDON
There you go. It's okay. It's okay.
LOEB
Gordon.
Gordon leaves.
LOEB
Hey. Good news. We got him, son.
EXT. OUTSIDE WAYNE MANOR - DAY, AFTER THE FUNERAL
EARLE
You're in excellent hands. We'll be watching
the empire. When you grow up, it'll be waiting for you.
INT. WAYNE MANOR - DAY
ALFRED
I thought I might prepare a little supper.
Bruce doesn't answer.
ALFRED
Very well.
YOUNG BRUCE
Alfred?
ALFRED
Yes, Master Bruce?
YOUNG BRUCE
It was my fault, Alfred. I made them leave the theater.
ALFRED
No.
YOUNG BRUCE
If I hadn't gotten scared...
ALFRED
It was nothing that you did. It was him,
and him alone. Do you understand?
YOUNG BRUCE
I miss them, Alfred. I miss them so much.
ALFRED
So do I, Master Bruce. So do I.
INT. MONASTERY BALCONY - DAY
DUCARD
And do you still feel responsible for your parents' death?
BRUCE
My anger outweighs my guilt.
DUCARD
Come.
INT. MONASTERY - DAY
DUCARD
You have learned to bury your guilt with anger.
I will teach you to confront it and to face the truth.
EXT. ON A FROZEN LAKE - DAY
Training is taking place.
DUCARD
You know how to fight six men. We can teach you
how to engage 600. You know how to disappear.
We can teach you to become truly invisible.
BRUCE
Invisible?
DUCARD
The ninja understands that invisibility is a matter
of patience and agility. Always mind your surroundings.
Ninjitsu employs explosive powders.
BRUCE
As weapons?
DUCARD
Or distractions. Theatricality and deception
are powerful agents. You must become more than just a man
in the mind of your opponent.
INT. MONASTERY - DAY
They see a man in a cage.
BRUCE
Who is he?
DUCARD
He was a farmer. Then he tried to take
his neighbor's land and became a murderer.
Now he is a prisoner.
BRUCE
What'll happen to him?
DUCARD
Justice. Crime cannot be tolerated. Criminals thrive
on the indulgence of society's understanding.
EXT. ON A FROZEN LAKE - DAY
Training is taking place.
DUCARD
Your parents' death was not your fault. It was
your father's. Anger does not change the fact that
your father failed to act.
BRUCE
The man had a gun.
DUCARD
Would that stop you?
BRUCE
I've had training.
DUCARD
The training is nothing! Will is everything!
The will to act.
Bruce and Ducard fight. Ducard is sent on down on the ice.
BRUCE
Yield.
DUCARD
You haven't beaten me. You have sacrificed sure footing
for a killing stroke.
Bruce falls under the ice.
INT. MONASTERY - NIGHT
DUCARD
Rub your chest. Your arms will take care of themselves.
You are stronger than your father.
BRUCE
You didn't know my father.
DUCARD
But I know the rage that drives you. That impossible
anger strangling the grief until the memory of your
loved one is just poison in your veins. And one day,
you catch yourself wishing the person you loved had never
existed so you'd be spared your pain. I wasn't always here
in the mountains. Once, I had a wife. My great love.
She was taken from me. Like you, I was forced to learn
there are those without decency who must be fought
without hesitation, without pity. Your anger gives you
great power. But if you let it, it will destroy you
as it almost did me.
BRUCE
What stopped it?
DUCARD
Vengeance.
BRUCE
That's no help to me.
DUCARD
Why, Bruce? Why could you not
avenge your parents?
INT. WAYNE MANOR - DAY
Bruce and Alfred are walking through the house and along
the stairs to the masted bedroom.
ALFRED
Will you be heading back to Princeton
after the hearing, sir or can I persuade you
to stay on for a day or two?
BRUCE
I'm not heading back at all.
ALFRED
You don't like it there?
BRUCE
I like it fine. They just don't feel the same way.
ALFRED
I've prepared the master bedroom.
BRUCE
No. My room will be fine.
ALFRED
With all due respect, sir,
Wayne Manor is your house.
BRUCE
No, Alfred, it's my father's house.
ALFRED
Your father is dead.
BRUCE
This place is a mausoleum.
If I have my way, I'll pull
the damn thing down brick by brick.
ALFRED
This house, Master Wayne, has sheltered
six generations of your family.
BRUCE
Why do you give a damn, Alfred?
It's not your family.
ALFRED
I give a damn because a good man
once made me responsible for what was
most precious to him in the whole world.
ALFRED
Miss Dawes has offered to drive you to the hearing.
She probably hopes to talk you out of going.
BRUCE
Should I just bury the past
out there with my parents, Alfred?
ALFRED
I wouldn't presume to tell you
what to do with your past, sir.
Just know that there are those of us who
care about what you do with your future.
BRUCE
Haven't given up on me yet?
ALFRED
Never.
Bruce looks at old things. He finds a gun inside the suitcase.
INT. WAYNE MANOR, KITCHEN - DAY
BRUCE
Alfred still keeps the condensed milk
on the top shelf.
RACHEL
Hasn't he noticed you're tall enough to reach now?
BRUCE
Old habits die hard, I guess.
RACHEL
Never used to stop us anyway.
BRUCE
No, it didn't. How's your mom?
RACHEL
She misses this place. So do I.
BRUCE
Yeah. But it's nothing without the people
who made it what it was. Now there's only Alfred.
RACHEL
And you.
BRUCE
I'm not staying, Rachel.
RACHEL
You're just back for the hearing.
Bruce, I don't suppose there's any way
to convince you not to come.
BRUCE
Someone at this proceeding... should stand for my parents.
RACHEL
We all loved your parents, Bruce.
What Chill did is unforgivable.
BRUCE
Then why is your boss letting him go?
RACHEL
In prison, he shared a cell with Carmine Falcone.
He learned things, and he will testify
in exchange for early parole.
BRUCE
Rachel, this man killed my parents.
I cannot let that pass. And I need you to
understand that, please.
RACHEL
Okay.
INT. JUSTICE COURT - DAY
FINCH
The depression hit working people, like
Mr. Chill, hardest of all. His crime was appalling, yes,
but it was motivated not by greed but by desperation.
Given the 14 years served, as well as his extraordinary
level of cooperation with one of this office's most
important investigations we strongly endorse his petition
for early release.
FADEN
Mr. Chill?
CHILL
Your Honor... not a day goes by that I don't wish
I could take back what I did. Sure, I was desperate, like
a lot of people back then but that don't change what I did.
FADEN
I gather there is a member
of the Wayne family here today.
Has he got anything to say?
Bruce gets up and leaves the room.
INT. JUSTICE COURT HALLWAY - DAY
Bruce loads the gun and hides it inside the sleeve.
WOMAN 1
He's coming out the side!
MAN 1
He's coming out the side, guys!
Chill walks out of the court as Bruce walks towards him.
MAN 2
Bruce Wayne!
WOMAN 2
Joe! Hey, Joe! Falcone says hi.
The woman shoots Chill.
RACHEL
Come on, Bruce. We don't need to see this.
BRUCE
I do.
EXT. INSIDE RACHEL'S CAR - DAY
RACHEL
The DA couldn't understand why Judge Faden
insisted on making the hearing public.
Falcone paid him off to get Chill out in the open.
BRUCE
Maybe I should thank them.
RACHEL
You don't mean that.
BRUCE
What if I do, Rachel? My parents deserved justice.
RACHEL
You're not talking about justice.
You're talking about revenge.
BRUCE
Sometimes, they're the same.
RACHEL
No, they're never the same.
Justice is about harmony. Revenge is
about you making yourself feel better.
It's why we have an impartial system.
BRUCE
Your system is broken.
Rachel turns the car abruptly and goes through a poor neighborhood.
RACHEL
You care about justice? Look beyond your own pain, Bruce.
This city is rotting. They talk about the depression
as if it's history. It's not. Things are worse than ever
here. Falcone floods our streets with crime and drugs
preying on the desperate, creating new Joe Chills every day.
Falcone may not have killed your parents, Bruce but he's
destroying everything that they stood for.
Rachel stops the car in front of Falcone's headquarters.
RACHEL
You wanna thank him for that? Here you go.
We all know where to find him. As long as he keeps
the bad people rich and the good people scared,
no one'll touch him. Good people like your parents,
who'll stand against injustice, they're gone. What chance
does Gotham have when the good people do nothing?
BRUCE
I'm not one of your good people, Rachel.
RACHEL
What do you mean?
BRUCE
All these years, I wanted to kill him. Now I can't.
Bruce shows her the gun. Rachel slaps him. Twice.
RACHEL
Your father would be ashamed of you.
Bruce gets out of the car. He throws the gun into the river.
INT. THE PUB WHERE FALCONE DOES BUSINESS - DAY
FALCONE
You're taller than you look in the tabloids,
Mr. Wayne. No gun? I'm insulted.
Bruce is searched for weapons by a thug than slammed down in a booth
facing Falcone.
FALCONE
You could've just sent a thank-you note.
BRUCE
I didn't come here to thank you.
I came to show you that not everyone
in Gotham's afraid of you.
FALCONE
Only those who know me, kid. Look around you.
You'll see two councilmen a union official,
couple off-duty cops and a judge. I wouldn't
have a second's hesitation of blowing your
head off in front of them. Now, that's power
you can't buy. That's the power of fear.
BRUCE
I'm not afraid of you.
FALCONE
Because you think you got nothing to lose.
But you haven't thought it through. You haven't
thought about your lady friend in the DA's office.
You haven't thought about your old butler. Bang!
People from your world have so much to lose.
Now, you think because your mommy and your daddy
got shot you know about the ugly side of life,
but you don't. You've never tasted desperate.
You're... You're Bruce Wayne, the prince of Gotham.
You'd have to go 1000 miles to meet someone who
didn't know your name. So don't come here with your
anger, trying to prove something to yourself.
This is a world you'll never understand.
And you always fear what you don't understand.
All right.
At Falcone's sign his thugs beat him up.
FALCONE
Yeah, you got spirit, kid. I'll give you that.
More than your old man anyway. In the joint, Chill
told me about the night he killed your parents.
He said your father begged for mercy. Begged. Like a dog.
Bruce is thrown out in the street.
HOMELESS MAN
Should've tipped better.
Bruce hands him some money.
HOMELESS MAN
For what?
BRUCE
Your jacket.
HOMELESS MAN
Okay.
Bruce takes the jacket and wants to burn his own coat.
HOMELESS MAN
Hey, hey, hey. Let me have it.
It's a nice coat.
BRUCE
Be careful who sees you with that.
They're gonna come looking for me.
HOMELESS MAN
Who?
BRUCE
Everyone.
HOMELESS MAN
It's... It's a nice coat.
EXT. ASIAN MARKET - DAY
Bruce is seen wandering through the market, stealing food.
DUCARD (V.O)
When you lived among the criminals,
did you start to pity them?
Bruce hands over some of his food to a hungry child.
BRUCE (V.O)
The first time I stole so that I wouldn 't starve,
yes. I lost many assumptions about the simple nature of
right and wrong. And when I traveled...
Bruce is caught in a raid while watching a truck full of crates.
BRUCE (V.O)
I learned the fear before a crime and the thrill
of success. But I never became one of them.
Bruce is arrested in the wearhouse along the others.
OFFICER
Fool. What do I care what your name is?
You're a criminal.
BRUCE
I'm not a criminal.
OFFICER
Tell that to the guy who owned these.
The crates are made by Wayne Enterprises.
INT. INSIDE THE MONASTERY - DAY
DUCARD
You've traveled the world to understand the criminal
mind and conquer your fears. But a criminal
is not complicated. And what you really fear
is inside yourself. You fear your own power.
You fear your anger the drive to do great
or terrible things. Now you must journey inwards.
You are ready.
Ducard makes Bruce inhale vapors from the blue flowers.
DUCARD
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe in your fears.
Face them. To conquer fear, you must become fear.
You must bask in the fear of other men.
Bruce starts hallucinating.
DUCARD
And men fear most what they cannot see.
Bruce has to identify Ducard among a group of League of Shadows
members all looking alike.
DUCARD
You have to become a terrible thought.
A wraith. You have to become an idea!
Feel terror cloud your senses.
Feel its power to distort.
To control. And know that this power
can be yours. Embrace your worst fear.
Become one with the darkness.
Bruce opens a chest from which bats flies out.
DUCARD
Focus. Concentrate. Master your senses.
Bruce's arm is cut so he cuts others too in order to
not to be identified.
DUCARD
You cannot leave any sign.
Ducard puts the sword at the throat of one masked man.
Bruce shows up from behind.
BRUCE
I haven't.
RA'S AL GHUL
Impressive.
DUCARD
We have purged your fear.
You are ready to lead these men.
You are ready to become a member
of the League of Shadows.
But first, you must demonstrate
your commitment to justice.
Bruce is given a sword to execute the prisoner.
BRUCE
No. I'm no executioner.
DUCARD
Your compassion is a weakness your enemies
will not share.
BRUCE
That's why it's so important.
It separates us from them.
DUCARD
You want to fight criminals.
This man is a murderer.
BRUCE
This man should be trialed.
DUCARD
By whom? Corrupt bureaucrats?
Criminals mock society's laws.
You know this better than most.
RA'S A GHUL
You cannot lead these men unless you are prepared
to do what is necessary to defeat evil.
BRUCE
And where would I be leading these men?
RA'S A GHUL
Gotham. As Gotham's favored son you will be
ideally placed to strike at the heart of criminality.
BRUCE
How?
RA'S A GHUL
Gotham's time has come. Like Constantinople or Rome
before it the city has become a breeding ground
for suffering and injustice. It is beyond saving and
must be allowed to die. This is the most important
function of the League of Shadows. It is one we've
performed for centuries. Gotham... must be destroyed.
BRUCE
You can't believe in this.
DUCARD
Ra's al Ghul rescued us from
the darkest corners of our own hearts.
What he asks in return is the courage
to do what is necessary.
BRUCE
I will go back to Gotham and I will fight
men like this but I will not become an executioner.
DUCARD
Bruce, please. For your own sake,
there is no turning back.
Bruce takes the sword but uses it to set the place on fire.
DUCARD
What are you doing?
BRUCE
What's necessary, my friend.
Bruce fights with Ra's al Ghul. The entire place explodes
collapsing over them but Bruce saves Ducard from falling
over a cliff and entrusts him to a village man to be healed.
VILLAGE MAN
I will tell him you saved his life.
EXT. ON THE LANDING STRIP NEAR THE JET - DAY
ALFRED
Master Wayne, you've been gone a long time.
BRUCE
Yes, I have.
ALFRED
You look very fashionable. Apart from the mud.
INT. INSIDE THE JET - DAY
ALFRED
Are you coming back to Gotham for long, sir?
BRUCE
As long as it takes. I want to show the people
their city doesn't belong to the criminals and the
corrupt.
ALFRED
In the depression, your father nearly
bankrupted Wayne Enterprises combating poverty.
He believed his example could inspire
the wealthy of Gotham to save their city.
BRUCE
Did it?
ALFRED
In a way. Their murder shocked the wealthy
and the powerful into action.
BRUCE
People need dramatic examples to shake them
out of apathy. I can't do that as Bruce Wayne.
As a man... I'm flesh and blood, I can be ignored,
destroyed. But as a symbol... As a symbol, I can be
incorruptible. I can be everlasting.
ALFRED
What symbol?
BRUCE
Something elemental... something terrifying.
ALFRED
I assume that as you take on the underworld
this symbol is a persona to protect
those you care about from reprisals?
BRUCE
You're thinking about Rachel?
ALFRED
Actually, sir, I was thinking of myself.
BRUCE
Have you told anyone I'm coming back?
ALFRED
I couldn't figure the legal ramifications
of bringing you back from the dead.
BRUCE
Dead?
ALFRED
You've been gone seven years.
BRUCE
You had me declared dead?
ALFRED
Actually, it was Mr. Earle. He's taking the
company public. He wanted to liquidate your majority
shareholding. Those shares are worth quite a bit of
money.
BRUCE
Well, it's a good thing
I left everything to you, then.
ALFRED
Quite so, sir. And you can borrow the Rolls,
if you like. Just bring it back with a full tank.
INT. JUSTICE COURT - DAY
CRANE
In my opinion, Mr. Zsaz is as much
a danger to himself as to others
and prison is probably not the best
environment for his rehabilitation.
INT. JUSTICE COURT HALLWAY - DAY
RACHEL
Dr. Crane.
CRANE
Miss Dawes.
RACHEL
You think a man who butchers people
for the mob doesn't belong in jail?
CRANE
I would hardly have testified to that
otherwise, would I?
RACHEL
This is the third of Falcone's thugs
you've had declared insane
and moved into your asylum.
CRANE
The work offered by organized crime
must have an attraction to the insane.
RACHEL
Or the corrupt.
JUDGE
Mr. Finch. You should check
with Miss Dawes here just what implications
your office has authorized her to make. If any.
FINCH
What are you doing?
RACHEL
What are you doing, Carl?
FINCH
Looking out for you. Falcone has half the city
bought and paid for. Drop it.
RACHEL
How can you say that?
FINCH
Because as much as I care about
getting Falcone, I care more about you.
RACHEL
That's sweet.
Bruce sees Rachel kissing Finch on the cheek.
RACHEL
We've been through all that.
INT. WAYNE MANOR - DAY
A bat flies around the ceiling.
ALFRED
Blessed bat again, sir.
They nest somewhere in the grounds.
Bruce goes into the abandoned well and discovers a huge cave
underneath filled with bats.
INT. FALCONE'S OFFICE - DAY
CRANE
No more favors. Someone is sniffing around.
FALCONE
Hey, I scratch your back, you scratch mine, doc.
I'm bringing in the shipments.
CRANE
We are paying you for that.
FALCONE
Maybe money isn't as interesting to me as favors.
CRANE
I am more than aware that you are not intimidated
by me, Mr. Falcone. But you know who I'm working for,
and when he gets here...
FALCONE
He... He's coming to Gotham?
CRANE
Yes, he is. And when he gets here, he's not going
to wanna hear that you've endangered our operation
just to get your thugs out of jail time.
FALCONE
Who's bothering you?
CRANE
There's a girl at the DA's office.
FALCONE
We'll buy her off.
CRANE
Not this one.
FALCONE
Idealist, huh? Well, there's an answer to that too.
CRANE
I don't want to know.
FALCONE
Yes, you do.
INT. WAYNE ENTERPRISE MEETING ROOM - DAY
MAN 1
No, we are showing very healthy growth in these
sectors.
MAN 2
I don't think Thomas Wayne would have viewed
heavy-arms manufacture as a suitable cornerstone
for our business.
EARLE
Well, that's 20 years ago, Fredericks.
I think after 20 years we can allow ourselves
to stop thinking about what Thomas Wayne would
have done.
INT. WAYNE ENTERPRISE OFFICE - DAY
JESSICA
Good morning, Mr. Earle's office.
Yes, he's confirmed for the dinner tomorrow
evening.
BRUCE
Good morning. I'm here to see Mr. Earle.
JESSICA
Name?
BRUCE
Bruce Wayne.
INT. WAYNE ENTERPRISE MEETING ROOM - DAY
EARLE
Thomas would probably not have taken
the company public. But that is what we, as
responsible managers, are going to do. Jessica?
Jessica? Where are you?
INT. WAYNE ENTERPRISE OFFICE - DAY
bruce teaches Jessica how to play golf.
BRUCE
Eye on the ball, and...
Earl opens the meeting room doors.
EARLE
Why is no one answering the phone?
BRUCE
It's Wayne Enterprises, Mr. Earle.
I'm sure they'll call back.
EARLE
Bruce? You're supposed to be dead.
BRUCE
I'm sorry to disappoint.
INT. D.A. OFFICE - DAY
RACHEL
I need you to take a look at this.
FINCH
Have you seen him yet?
RACHEL
Who?
FINCH
Wayne. It's been all over the news. He's back.
INT. EARLE'S OFFICE - DAY
EARLE
I'm sure you realize I can't stop the big machine.
Too many wheels turning. We're going public.
BRUCE
I understand. And I'll be handsomely rewarded
for my shares. I'm not looking to interfere.
I am looking for a job.
EARLE
Oh?
BRUCE
I just want to get to know the company
that my family built.
EARLE
Any ideas where you would start?
BRUCE
Applied Sciences caught my eye.
EARLE
Fox's department. I'll let him know you're coming.
You look like him. Your dad. You're the only one
left of the Wayne family. This is where you belong.
Welcome home.
INT. APPLIED SCIENCE DEPARTMENT - DAY
FOX
Environmental procedures, defense projects,
consumer products. All prototypes. None in
production. On any level whatsoever.
BRUCE
None?
FOX
What did they tell you this place was?
BRUCE
They didn't tell me anything.
FOX
Earle told me exactly what it was
when he sent me down here. Dead end.
Place to keep me from causing
the board any more trouble. Come on.
BRUCE
You were on the board?
FOX
When your father ran things.
BRUCE
You knew my father?
FOX
Oh, yeah. Helped him build his train.
Here we are. Kevlar utility harness.
Gas-powered, magnetic grapple gun.
The 350-pound test monofilament.
Wonderful project, your dad's train.
Routed it right into Wayne Tower,
along with the water and power utilities.
Kind of made Wayne Tower
the unofficial center of Gotham City.
Of course, Earle let it go to rot.
Here we are. Nomex survival suit
for advanced infantry.
Kevlar biweave, reinforced joints.
BRUCE
Tear-resistant?
FOX
This sucker will stop a knife.
BRUCE
Bulletproof?
FOX
Anything but a straight shot.
BRUCE
Why didn't they put it into production?
FOX
Bean counters didn't think a soldier's life
was worth 300 grand. So, what's your interest
in it, Mr. Wayne?
BRUCE
I want to borrow it. For spelunking.
FOX
Spelunking?
BRUCE
Yeah, you know, cave diving?
FOX
You expecting to run into
much gunfire in these caves?
BRUCE
Look, I'd rather Mr. Earle
didn't know about me borrowing...
FOX
Mr. Wayne... the way I see it...
all this stuff is yours anyway.
INT. CAVE UNDERNEATH WAYNE MANOR - DAY
BRUCE
Okay. Give it a try.
Alfred turns on the light.
ALFRED
Charming.
Sees bats.
ALFRED
At least you'll have company.
This must be the lowest foundation of the
southeast wing. Your great-great-grandfather was
involved in the Underground Railroad
secretly transporting freed slaves
to the North and I suspect these caverns
came in handy.
Bruce discovers an elevator shaft leading to the manor upstairs.
BRUCE
Alfred! Come up here!
ALFRED
I can see everything all right
from down here, sir, thank you very much.
INT. BRUCE'S WORKSHOP - DAY
Bruce is painting the suit black.
ALFRED
We order the main part of this cowl from Singapore.
BRUCE
Via a dummy corporation.
ALFRED
Indeed. And then, quite separately we place an order
to a Chinese company for these.
BRUCE
Put it together ourselves.
ALFRED
Precisely. They'll have to be large orders,
to avoid suspicion.
BRUCE
How large?
ALFRED
Say 10,000.
BRUCE
Well, at least we'll have spares.
ALFRED
Yes.
EXT. INSIDE GORDON'S CAR - NIGHT
FLASS
Don't suppose you want a taste.
I just keep offering, thinking maybe
someday you'll get wise.
GORDON
There's nothing wise in what you do, Flass.
FLASS
Well, Jimbo, you don't take the taste,
makes us guys nervous.
GORDON
I'm no rat. In a town this bent,
who's there to rat to anyway?
INT. GORDON'S OFFICE - NIGHT
BATMAN
Don't turn around. You're a good cop.
One of the few.
GORDON
What do you want?
BATMAN
Carmine Falcone brings in shipments of drugs
every week. Nobody takes him down. Why?
GORDON
He's paid up with the right people.
BATMAN
What will it take to bring him down?
GORDON
Leverage on Judge Faden and a DA brave enough
to prosecute.
BATMAN
Rachel Dawes.
GORDON
Who are you?
BATMAN
Watch for my sign.
GORDON
You're just one man?
BATMAN
Now we're two.
GORDON
We?
Gordon follows Bruce outside, and Bruce has a nearly desastrous
fall whille trying to escape.
OFFICER
Freeze! What the hell was that?
GORDON
Just some nut.
INT. APPLIED SCIENCE DEPARTMENT - DAY
FOX
Well, what is it today? More spelunking?
BRUCE
No. Today it's BASE-jumping.
FOX
BASE-jumping. That like parachuting?
BRUCE
Kind of. Do you have any lightweight fabrics?
FOX
You know, I think I have just the thing.
It's called memory cloth. Notice anything?
Regularly flexible but put a current through it
molecules realign, it becomes rigid.
BRUCE
What kind of shapes can you make?
FOX
Can be tailored to fit any structure
based on a rigid skeleton.
BRUCE
Too expensive for the Army?
FOX
I don't think they tried to market it
to the billionaire, BASE-jumping crowd.
BRUCE
Look, Mr. Fox.
FOX
Yes, sir?
BRUCE
If you're uncomfortable...
FOX
Mr. Wayne, if you don't want to tell me
exactly what you're doing when I'm asked, I don't
But don't think of me as an idiot.
BRUCE
Fair enough. What's that?
FOX
The Tumbler? Oh, you wouldn't be interested in that.
INT. INSIDE THE TUMBLER - DAY
FOX
She was built as a bridging vehicle.
During combat, two of these would jump over a river,
towing cables. Over here on the throttle, flip that
open and throttle up. This will boost you into a
rampless jump... Not now! Not... Not now, sir.
COMPUTER
Afterburner disengaged.
FOX
We never could get the damn bridge to work
but this baby works just fine.
Bruce stops the Tumbler
FOX
So, what do you think?
BRUCE
Does it come in black?
INT. FALCONE'S PUB - DAY
FALCONE
I need you at the docks Thursday.
FLASS
Problems?
FALCONE
I don't want any trouble with the last shipment.
FLASS
Sure. Word on the street is you got a beef
with somebody in the DA's office.
FALCONE
Is that right?
FLASS
And that there's a fat prize waiting for
anybody willing to do anything about it.
FALCONE
So, what's your point, Mr. Flass?
FLASS
Have you seen the girl?
Bruce is listening their conversation on the radioo.
FLASS
It's a cute little assistant D A.
Don 't you think that's a little too much
heat to bring down, maybe? Even for this town.
FALCONE
Never underestimate Gotham City.
People get mugged coming home
from work every day of the week. Sometimes...
Sometimes things just go bad.
INT. CAVE OPERATIONAL BASE - DAY
ALFRED
It's a problem with the graphite, sir.
The next 10,000 will be up to specifications.
BRUCE
At least they gave us a discount.
ALFRED
Quite. In the meantime, sir, may I suggest
you try to avoid landing on your head?
Bruce is adjusting everything for his costume.
ALFRED
Why bats, Master Wayne?
BRUCE
Bats frighten me. It's time my enemies shared
my dread.
EXT. AT THE DOCKS - NIGHT
Flass checks the crates loaded.
FLASS
What is this? Continue.
Flass gets into Falcone's car.
FLASS
Looks fine out there.
FALCONE
The bears go straight to the dealers.
Yeah, and the rabbits go to the man in the Narrows.
FLASS
What's the difference?
FALCONE
Ignorance is bliss, my friend. Don't burden
yourself with the secrets of scary people.
EXT. AT THE DOCKS - NIGHT
WORKER
Hey. Steiss. Steiss?
A metal bat sigh blows up a light bulb.
WORKER
What? What the...?
Workers see only a shadow. One of them fires.
FLASS
I better check it.
Flass gets out of the car.
FLASS
There's a problem out here. You better bail.
THUG
Where are you?!
Batman comes hanging upside down.
BATMAN
Here.
Falcone gets out of the car and sees Batman fighting
all the thugs at one. He rushes back in.
FALCONE
Take a ride. Oh, shit.
The driver is dead. Falcone loads his shotgun.
FALCONE
What the hell are you?
He's pulled out through the top of the car.
BATMAN
I'm Batman.
Batman hits him in the head to incapacitate him.
He sees the homeless man he's given his coat years ago.
BATMAN
Nice coat.
HOMELESS MAN
Thanks.
INT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT
Rachel is being cornered by two thugs. She pulls out her
electoshock gun.
RACHEL
Hold it. That's right, you better run.
She turns around and sees Batman behind her. The gun
doesn't work on him.
BATMAN
Falcone sent them to kill you.
RACHEL
Why?
BATMAN
You rattled his cage.
Barman gives her some photos.
RACHEL
What's this?
BATMAN
Leverage.
RACHEL
For what?
BATMAN
To get things moving.
RACHEL
Who are you?
BATMAN
Someone like you. Someone who'll rattle the cages.
OFFICER
Ma'am? Everything okay?
EXT. AT THE DOCKS - NIGHT
OFFICER
Falcone's men?
GORDON
Does it matter? We'll never tie him to it anyway.
OFFICER
I wouldn't be too sure of that.
GORDON
What the hell is that?
He sees Falcone tied to a spotlight with his coat cut
to look like a bat.
GORDON
Cut him down.
INT. POLICE STATION - DAY
LOEB
Unacceptable. Now, I don't care if it's rival gangs,
Guardian Angels or the goddamn Salvation Army
get them off the street and off the front page.
OFFICER
They say it was just one guy. Or a creature.
LOEB
It was some asshole in a costume. Yeah?
GORDON
This guy did deliver us one of the city's
biggest crime lords.
LOEB
No one takes the law into their own hands
in my city. Understand?
INT. D.A. OFFICE - DAY
RACHEL
No way to bury it now.
FINCH
There's still Judge Faden.
RACHEL
I've got Faden covered.
FINCH
What about this bat they babble about?
RACHEL
Even if these guys will swear to being thrashed
by a giant bat we've got Falcone at the scene.
Drugs, prints, cargo manifests.
This bat character gave us everything.
FINCH
Okay. Let's do it.
INT. BRUCE'S BEDROOM - DAY
BRUCE
Bats are nocturnal.
ALFRED
Bats may be. But even for billionaire playboys,
3:00 is pushing it. The price for leading a double life,
I fear. Your theatrics made an impression.
BRUCE
Theatricality and deception are powerful weapons,
Alfred. This is a good start.
ALFRED
If those are to be the first of many injuries
to come it would be wise to find a suitable
excuse. Polo, for instance.
BRUCE
I'm not learning polo, Alfred.
ALFRED
Strange injuries, a nonexistent social life.
These things beg the question as to what exactly
does Bruce Wayne do with his time and his money.
BRUCE
What does someone like me do?
ALFRED
Drive sports cars, date movie stars.
Buy things that are not for sale. Who knows,
Master Wayne, you start pretending to have fun
you might even have a little by accident.
INT. WAYNE ENTERPRISES - DAY
MAN
Sir. We have a situation.
EARLE
All right.
MAN
The Coast Guard picked up one of our cargo
ships last night heavily damaged, all crew missing,
probably dead. The ship was carrying a prototype weapon.
It's a microwave emitter. It's designed for desert
warfare, but it... It looks like somebody turned it on.
It uses focused microwaves to vaporize the enemy's water
supply. The damage to the ship was catastrophic.
The weapon itself is...
EARLE
Missing?
MAN
Yeah.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOTEL - NIGHT
VALET
Mr. Wayne. Nice car.
BRUCE
You should see my other one.
INT. THE HOTEL'S RESTAURANT - NIGHT
WOMAN
He's done something the police never have.
MAN
You can't take the law into your own hands.
WOMAN
Well, at least he's getting something done.
MAN
Bruce, help me out here.
BRUCE
Huh? Well, a guy who dresses up
like a bat clearly has issues.
WOMAN
But he's put Falcone behind bars.
MAN
Now the cops want him.
What does that tell you?
WOMAN
They're jealous.
EMPLOYEE
Sir, the pool is for decoration and your friends
do not have swimwear.
BRUCE
Well, they're European.
EMPLOYEE
I'm going to have to ask you to leave.
Bruce writes a cheque.
EMPLOYEE
It is not a question of money.
BRUCE
Well, you see I'm buying this hotel
and setting some new rules about the pool area.
WOMAN
I think the Batman deserves a medal.
EARLE
And a straitjacket to pin it on.
MAN
Thank you.
Rachel walks in.
RACHEL
Bruce?
BRUCE
Rachel?
RACHEL
I'd heard you were back. What are you doing?
BRUCE
Just swimming here. Wow, it is good to see you.
RACHEL
You were gone a long time.
BRUCE
I know. How are things?
RACHEL
The same. Job's getting worse.
BRUCE
Can't change the world on your own.
RACHEL
What choice do I have when you're too busy swimming?
BRUCE
Rachel, all of... All this... It's...
It's not me. It's... Inside, I am...
I am more.
WOMAN 1
Come on, Bruce. Come on.
WOMAN 2
Bruce, we have some more hotels for you to buy.
RACHEL
Bruce... deep down you may still be
that same great kid you used to be.
But it's not who you are underneath...
...it's what you do that defines you.
INT. JAIL - NIGHT
WOMAN
Dr. Crane, thanks for coming.
CRANE
Not at all. He cut his wrists?
WOMAN
Probably looking for the insanity plea.
But if anything should happen...
CRANE
Of course, better safe than sorry.
INT. JAIL VISITATION ROOM - NIGHT
FALCONE
Yeah, Dr. Crane, I can't take it anymore.
It's all too much. The walls are closing in.
Blah, blah, blah. A couple of days of this food,
it'll be true.
CRANE
What do you want?
FALCONE
I wanna know how you're gonna convince me
to keep my mouth shut.
CRANE
About what? You don't know anything.
FALCONE
I know you don't want the cops to take
a closer look at the drugs they seized.
And I know about your experiments
with the inmates of your nut house.
See, I don't go into business with a guy
without finding out his dirty secrets.
And those goons you used. I own the muscle
in this town. Now, I've been bringing your
stuff in for months so whatever he's planning,
it's big, and I want in.
CRANE
Well, I already know what he'll say.
That we should kill you.
FALCONE
Even he can't get me in here.
Not in my town.
CRANE
Would you like to see my mask?
I use it in my experiments. Now, I'm
probably not very frightening to a guy like you.
But these crazies, they can't stand it.
Crane puts on the sack mask and releases the gas.
FALCONE
So when did the nut take over the nut house?
SCARECROW
They scream and they cry much as you're doing now.
INT. JAIL CORRIDOR - NIGHT
CRANE
Well, he's not faking. Not that one.
I'll talk to the judge and see if
I can get him moved to the secure
wing at Arkham. I can't treat him here.
EXT. OUTSIDE GORDON'S HOUSE - NIGHT
BATMAN
Storm's coming.
GORDON
The scum is getting jumpy
because you stood up to Falcone.
BATMAN
It's a start. Your partner
was at the docks with Falcone.
GORDON
Well, he moonlights
as a low-level enforcer.
BATMAN
They were splitting the shipment in two.
Only half went to the dealers.
GORDON
Why? What about the other half?
BATMAN
Flass knows.
GORDON
He won't talk.
BATMAN
He'll talk to me.
GORDON
Commissioner Loeb set up a massive task force to
catch you. He thinks you're dangerous.
BATMAN
What do you think?
GORDON
I think you're trying to help.
But I've been wrong before.
INT. STREET CORNER - NIGHT
FLASS
Come on, I ain't got all night.
STREET VENDOR
Flass, I have kids to feed.
FLASS
What, they don't like falafel?
Flass is pulled up by a cord and kept hanging upside down.
BATMAN
Where were the other drugs going?
FLASS
I never knew. I don't know.
I swear to God.
BATMAN
Swear to me!
FLASS
I don't... I don't know.
I never knew. Never.
They went to some guy for a couple days
before they went to the dealers.
BATMAN
Why?
FLASS
There was something...
Something else in the drugs...
...something hidden.
BATMAN
What?
FLASS
I never went to the drop-off point.
It was in the Narrows. Cops only go
there in force.
BATMAN
Do I look like a cop?
FLASS
No...!
Flass is dropped close to the ground level.
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
FINCH
This is the one I'm talking about.
GUARD
What's your problem with it?
FINCH
It shouldn't exist. This ship left Singapore with
246 containers, but arrived with 247. I'm guessing
there's something I'm not supposed to find in there.
GUARD
Listen, counselor, we don't wanna
know what's in Mr. Falcone's crate.
FINCH
Things are working a little differently now.
Open it up.
Inside the crate we see the Wayne Enterprises label
FINCH
What the hell is this?
The guard shoots Finch.
EXT. NARROWS - NIGHT
Batman is checking out the apartment with stuffed toys from
outside.
LITTLE BOY
It's you, isn't it?
Everybody's been talking about you.
MAN
Get in here!
LITTLE BOY
The other kids won't believe me.
Batman throws him a little remider.
INT. APARTMENT IN NARROWS - NIGHT
Batman checks on the stuffed toys.
CRANE
Get rid of all traces.
MAN
Better torch the whole place.
CRANE
All right.
Batman barges in but Crane gases him.
SCARECROW
Having trouble? Take a seat. Have a drink.
You look like a man who takes himself too seriously.
Do you want my opinion? You need to lighten up.
Batman jumps out through the window into the rain and
rolls on the pavement to put out the flames surrounding
his costume. He pulls himself up on a roof with dificulty.
BATMAN
Alfred, help me.
Batman is delirious inside Alfred's car.
BATMAN
Blood. Take. Take poison. Blood poison.
Poisonous. Poisonous.
INT. WELL, FLASHBACK - DAY
THOMAS
Bruce... why do we fall?
INT. BRUCE'S BEDROOM - DAY
BRUCE
How long was I out?
ALFRED
Two days. It's your birthday.
Many happy returns.
BRUCE
I've felt these effects before, but this
was so much more potent. It was some kind of
hallucinogen, weaponized, in aerosol form.
FOX
You have been hanging out
in the wrong clubs, Mr. Wayne.
ALFRED
I called Mr. Fox when your condition
worsened after the first day.
FOX
I analyzed your blood... isolating the
receptor compounds and the protein-based catalyst.
BRUCE
Am I meant to understand any of that?
FOX
Not at all. I just wanted you to know
how hard it was. Bottom line, I synthesized an
antidote.
BRUCE
Could you make more?
FOX
You planning on gassing yourself
again, Mr. Wayne?
BRUCE
Well, you know how it is. You're out at
night, looking for kicks... someone's passing
around the weaponized hallucinogens...
FOX
I'll bring what I have.
The antidote should inoculate you for now.
Alfred, always a pleasure.
ALFRED
Lucius.
INT. WAYNE MANOR ENTRANCE - DAY
ALFRED
You sure you don't want to come in?
RACHEL
I have to get back.
I wanted to leave this.
ALFRED
Thank you.
BRUCE
Rachel?
RACHEL
Looks like someone's been
burning the candle at both ends.
Must've been quite an occasion.
BRUCE
It is my birthday.
RACHEL
I know. I'm sorry I can't come tonight.
I was just dropping off your present.
BRUCE
You've got better plans?
RACHEL
My boss has been missing for two days
which in this town means I should probably
start by looking at the bottom of the river.
BRUCE
Rachel...
Her cellphone rings.
RACHEL
Excuse me. Rachel Dawes.
Who authorized that? Get Crane down
there now. Don't take no for an answer.
Call Dr. Lehmann, tell him we need our
own assessment to the judge by morning.
BRUCE
What's wrong?
RACHEL
It's Falcone. Dr. Crane moved him to
Arkham Asylum on suicide watch.
BRUCE
You're going to Arkham now?
It's in the Narrows, Rachel.
RACHEL
You enjoy your party, Bruce.
Some of us have work to do.
BRUCE
You be careful.
RACHEL
Happy birthday.
Rachel leaves. Bruce checks her present and rushes off too.
ALFRED
But, Master Wayne, the guests will be arriving.
BRUCE
Keep them happy until I arrive.
Tell them that joke you know.
INT. APPLIED SCIENCE DEPARTMENT - DAY
EARLE
Having fun?
FOX
Bill? Now, what's a big shot like you
doing in a place like this?
EARLE
I need some information.
The Wayne Enterprise 47-B, 1 -ME.
FOX
1 -ME. It's a microwave emitter. It was designed
to vaporize an enemy's water supply.
Rumor was they tested dispersing
water-based chemicals into the air
but isn't that illegal?
EARLE
I want all the information
on the development of this project
all data, files, backup disks,
on my desk right away.
FOX
Did you lose one?
EARLE
I'm merging your department with Archives.
And I am firing you. Didn't you get the memo?
INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
FALCONE
Scarecrow. Scarecrow. Scarecrow.
CRANE
Miss Dawes, this is most irregular.
I have nothing to add to the report I
filed with the judge.
RACHEL
I have questions about your report.
CRANE
Such as?
RACHEL
Isn't it convenient for a 52-year-old man
who has no history of mental illness to have
a psychotic breakdown just when he's about to
be indicted?
CRANE
As you can see for yourself, there is
nothing convenient about his symptoms.
FALCONE
Scarecrow.
RACHEL
What's "scarecrow"?
CRANE
Patients suffering delusional episodes
often focus their paranoia on an external
tormentor usually one conforming to Jungian
archetypes. In this case, a scarecrow.
RACHEL
He's drugged?
CRANE
Psychopharmacology is my primary field.
I'm a strong advocate. Outside, he was a giant.
In here, only the mind can grant you power.
RACHEL
You enjoy the reversal.
CRANE
I respect the mind's power over the body.
It's why I do what I do.
RACHEL
I do what I do to keep thugs like Falcone
behind bars, not in therapy. I want my own
psychiatric consultant to have full access
to Falcone including blood work.
Find out what exactly you put him on.
CRANE
First thing tomorrow, then.
RACHEL
Tonight. I've already paged Dr. Lehmann
at County General.
CRANE
As you wish. This way, please.
There's something I think you should see.
This is where we make the medicine.
Rachel sees the substance being dumped in the city water
system.
CRANE
Perhaps you should have some, clear your head.
Rachel runds away but Crane catches her. He drugs her and
takes her to the basement.
CRANE
Who knows you're here? Who knows?
The light goes off.
CRANE
He's here.
MAN 1
Who?
CRANE
The Batman.
MAN 1
What do we do?
CRANE
What anyone does when a prowler comes around.
Call the police.
MAN 1
You want the cops here?
CRANE
At this point, they can't stop us.
But the Batman has a talent for disruption.
Force him outside, the police will take him down.
Go.
MAN 1
What about her?
CRANE
She hasn't got long.
I gave her a concentrated dose.
The mind can only take so much.
Now go.
MAN 2
The things they say about him. Can he really fly?
MAN 3
I heard he can disappear.
CRANE
Well, we'll find out. Won't we?
Batman takes down all the thugs and catches Crane.
BATMAN
Taste of your own medicine, doctor?
What have you been doing here?
Who are you working for?
CRANE
Ra's... Ra's al Ghul.
BATMAN
Ra's al Ghul is dead.
Who are you working for, Crane?
CRANE
Dr. Crane isn't here right now.
But if you'd like to make an appointment...
EXT. OUTSIDE ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
OFFICER
Batman, put down your weapons and surrender.
You're surrounded.
INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
Batman picks up Rachel and carries her away.
EXT. OUTSIDE ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
FLASS
What are you waiting for?
OFFICER
Backup.
FLASS
Backup?
OFFICER
The Batman's in there. SWAT's on the way.
But if you wanna go in now I'll be right
behind you, sir.
FLASS
SWAT's on the way.
Gordon enters alone.
FLASS
Hey... Hey!
INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
Batmam brings Gordon up. He sees Rachel.
GORDON
What's happened to her?
BATMAN
Crane poisoned her with a psychotropic
hallucinogen, a panic-inducing toxin.
GORDON
Let me get her down to the medics.
BATMAN
They can't help her, but I can.
Get her downstairs. Meet me in an alley of
Narrows side. Crane's been smuggling his toxin
hidden in Falcone's drugs and they're dumping it
into the water supply.
GORDON
What was he planning?
BATMAN
I don't know.
GORDON
Was he working for Falcone?
BATMAN
He mentioned someone else, someone worse.
She needs the antidote before the damage
is permanent.
GORDON
How long does she have?
BATMAN
Not long.
GORDON
What is that?
BATMAN
Backup.
GORDON
What the...?
They are surrounded by bats. Gordon takes Rachel outside
while Batman goes through the inmates' cells.
GORDON
Excuse me.
EXT. NARROWS ALLEY - NIGHT
BATMAN
How is she?
GORDON
She's fading. We gotta go.
I'll get my car.
BATMAN
I brought mine.
GORDON
Yours? I've gotta get me one of those.
EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
OFFICER 1
He is in a vehicle.
OFFICER 2
Make and color?
OFFICER 1
It's a black... tank.
INT. THE TUMBLER - NIGHT
BATMAN
Stay calm. You've been poisoned.
OFFICER 1
I'm on him.
BATMAN
Breathe slowly. Hold on.
RACHEL
What are you doing?
BATMAN
Shortcut.
OFFICER 3
Air One to ground, block that ramp.
He's got no way off that roof.
Turn off your engine.
Step away from the car.
BATMAN
Trust me.
COMPUTER
Weapons system activated.
OFFICER 3
Who is this guy?
OFFICER 2
Where's he going?
OFFICER 3
He's on the roof.
OFFICER 2
What street is he taking?
OFFICER 3
He's not on a street.
He's flying on rooftops.
OFFICER 2
At least tell me what it looks like.
Never mind. Got him. Coming right up on his butt.
OFFICER 3
We're tracking suspect vehicle heading west
on l- 17. Air One to ground.
OFFICER 2
I lost him.
OFFICER 3
We've lost visual. Exit 9 is blocked.
OFFICER 2
We'll loop back to check the frontage road.
COMPUTER
Stealth mode activated.
BATMAN
Stay with me.
OFFICER 2
What...? There he is.
BATMAN
Just hold on. Rachel!
Batman brings Rachel to the cave and gives her the antidote.
INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
GORDON
They get any of this into the mains?
OFFICER
Yeah.
GORDON
Notify the water company. There's gotta be a
way to isolate it.
OFFICER
No. They put it all in. They must've been
at this for weeks. Gotham's entire water
supply is laced.
GORDON
Why haven't we felt the effects?
OFFICER
Must be a compound that has to be absorbed
through the lungs.
INT. BAT CAVE - NIGHT
BATMAN
How do you feel?
RACHEL
Where are we? Why did you bring me here?
BATMAN
lf I hadn't, your mind would be lost.
You were poisoned.
RACHEL
It was... It was Dr. Crane.
BATMAN
Rest. Gordon has Crane.
RACHEL
Is Sergeant Gordon your friend?
BATMAN
I don't have the luxury of friends.
I'm gonna give you a sedative.
You'll wake up back at home.
When you do, get these to Gordon,
and Gordon alone. Trust no one.
RACHEL
What are they?
BATMAN
The antidote. One for Gordon to inoculate himself,
the other for mass production.
RACHEL
Mass production?
BATMAN
Crane was just a pawn.
We need to be ready.
INT. WAYNE MANOR - NIGHT
ALFRED
When you told me your grand plan
for saving Gotham the only thing that stopped me
from calling the men in white coats
was when you said it wasn't about
thrill-seeking.
BRUCE
It's not.
ALFRED
What would you call that?
BRUCE
Damn good television.
ALFRED
It's a miracle no one was killed.
BRUCE
I didn't have time to observe
the rules of the road, Alfred.
ALFRED
You're getting lost inside
this monster of yours.
BRUCE
I'm using this monster to help
other people, just like my father did.
ALFRED
For Thomas Wayne, helping others
wasn't about proving anything
to anyone, including himself.
BRUCE
It's Rachel, Alfred. She was dying.
She's downstairs, sedated.
I need you to take her home.
ALFRED
Well, we both care for Rachel, but what
you're doing has to be beyond that.
It can't be personal, or you're just
a vigilante.
BRUCE
Is Fox still here?
ALFRED
Yes, sir.
BRUCE
We need to send these people away.
ALFRED
Those are Bruce Wayne's guests.
You have a name to maintain.
BRUCE
I don't care about my name.
ALFRED
It's not just your name, sir.
It's your father's name. And it's all
that's left of him. Don't destroy it.
INT. WAYNE MANOR RECEPTION ROOM - NIGHT
GUESTS
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,
happy birthday dear Bruce, happy birthday to you!
BRUCE
Mr. Earle.
EARLE
Happy birthday, Bruce.
BRUCE
Thank you. How did the stock offering go?
EARLE
Prices soared.
BRUCE
Who was buying?
EARLE
All kinds of funds and brokerages.
It's a bit technical. The key thing is
our company's future is secure.
BRUCE
Great.
EXT. WAYNE MANOR GARAGE - NIGHT
Alfred carries Rachel to his car while the staff is watching.
ALFRED
A little the worse for wear, I'm afraid.
INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
GORDON
What was the plan, Crane? How were you
gonna get your toxin into the air?
CRANE
Scarecrow. Scarecrow.
GORDON
Who were you working for, Crane?
CRANE
Oh, it's too late. You can't stop it now.
Gordon hands over the mask to an officer.
GORDON
Here.
INT. WAYNE MANOR RECEPTION ROOM - NIGHT
MAN
Happy birthday, Bruce.
BRUCE
Thank you. Thanks. And thank you for that item.
FOX
You're welcome. I know you'll put it to good use.
BRUCE
I already have. How long would it take
to manufacture on a large scale?
FOX
Weeks. Why?
BRUCE
Somebody's planning to disperse
the toxin using the water supply.
FOX
The water supply won't help you
disperse an inhalant.
BRUCE
What?
FOX
Unless you have a microwave emitter
powerful enough to vaporize all the water
in the mains. A microwave emitter like the one
Wayne Enterprises just misplaced.
BRUCE
Misplaced?
FOX
Earle just fired me for asking
too many questions about it.
BRUCE
I need you to go back to Wayne Enterprises
right now and start making more of that antidote.
The police are gonna need as much
as they can get their hands on.
FOX
My security clearance has been revoked.
BRUCE
That wouldn't stop a man like you,
would it?
FOX
I suppose not.
MRS. DELANE
Bruce, there's somebody here you must meet.
BRUCE
Not now, Mrs. Delane.
MRS. DELANE
Now, am I pronouncing this right...
Mr. Ra's al Ghul?
BRUCE
You're not Ra's al Ghul. I watched him die.
DUCARD
But is Ra's al Ghul immortal?
Are his methods supernatural?
BRUCE
Or cheap parlor tricks to conceal
your true identity, Ra's?
DUCARD
Surely a man who spends his nights
scrambling over the rooftops of Gotham
wouldn't begrudge me dual identities.
BRUCE
I saved your life.
DUCARD
I warned you about compassion, Bruce.
BRUCE
Your quarrel is with me.
You let these people go.
DUCARD
You are welcome to explain
the situation to them.
BRUCE
Everyone. Everybody? I...
I want to thank you all for coming here
tonight and drinking all of my booze.
No, really. There's a thing about being
a Wayne that you're never short of
a few freeloaders, like yourselves
to fill up your mansion with.
So here's to you people. Thank you.
COUNCIL MEMBER
That's enough, Bruce.
BRUCE
I'm not finished. To all of you...
All of you phonies, all of you two-faced friends...
you sycophantic suck-ups who smile through
your teeth at me... please, leave me in peace.
Please go. Stop smiling, it's not a joke.
Please leave. The party's over, get out.
COUNCIL MEMBER
The apple has fallen very far
from the tree, Mr. Wayne.
MAN
He's turning into a jerk.
DUCARD
Amusing. But pointless. None of these
people have long to live. Your antics at the asylum
have forced my hand.
BRUCE
So Crane was working for you.
DUCARD
His toxin is derived from the organic
compound found in our blue flowers.
He was able to weaponize it.
BRUCE
He's not a member of the League of Shadows?
DUCARD
Of course not. He thought our plan
was to hold the city to ransom.
BRUCE
But really, you are gonna release Crane's
poison on the entire city.
DUCARD
Then watch Gotham tear itself apart through fear.
At the asylum all the cell doors open.
BRUCE
You're gonna destroy millions of lives.
DUCARD
Only a cynical man would call
what these people have "lives," Wayne.
Crime. Despair. This is not how man
was supposed to live The League of
Shadows has been a check against human
corruption for thousands of years.
We sacked Rome. Loaded trade ships with
plague rats. Burned London to the ground.
Every time a civilization reaches
the pinnacle of its decadence
we return to restore the balance.
BRUCE
Gotham isn't beyond saving.
Give me more time. There are good
people here.
DUCARD
You're defending a city so corrupt
we have infiltrated every level of
its infrastructure.
Crane receives his mask.
LEAGUE MEMBER
Time to play.
DUCARD
When I found you in that jail,
you were lost. But I believed in you.
I took away your fear, and I showed
you a path. You were my greatest student.
It should be you standing by my side,
saving the world.
BRUCE
I'll be standing where I belong.
Between you and the people of Gotham.
DUCARD
No one can save Gotham.
The League members start setting the manor on fire.
DUCARD
When a forest grows too wild, a purging fire
is inevitable and natural. Tomorrow the world
will watch in horror as its greatest city destroys
itself. The movement back to harmony will be
unstoppable this time.
BRUCE
You attacked Gotham before?
DUCARD
Over the ages our weapons have grown more
sophisticated. With Gotham we tried a new one.
Economics. But we underestimated certain
of Gotham's citizens such as your parents.
Gunned down by one of the very people
they were trying to help. Create enough hunger
and everyone becomes a criminal. Their deaths
galvanized the city into saving itself and
Gotham has limped on ever since. We are back
to finish the job. And this time no misguided
idealists will get in the way. Like your father,
you lack the courage to do all that is necessary.
If someone stands in the way of true justice you
simply walk up behind them and stab them in
the heart.
BRUCE
I am gonna stop you.
DUCARD
You never did learn to mind your surroundings.
Ducard pushes Bruce in the path of a falling beam.
DUCARD
Justice is balance. You burned my house
and left me for dead. Consider us even.
No one comes out. Make sure.
INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
GORDON
They're all gone? How many from maximum security?
FLASS
Every one of them. Serial killers, rapists.
GORDON
Get them to raise the bridges.
We don't want any getting off the island.
FLASS
Yeah, I'll raise the bridges
when I get every available unit out here
to catch the homicidal maniacs
that are running loose out there.
GORDON
Come on!
INT. RACHEL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Rachel wakes up, sees the antidote and remembers
what she has to do.
INT. WAYNE MANOR - NIGHT
ALFRED
I hope you're not a member of the fire
brigade. Master Wayne! Master Wayne!
What is the point of all those pushups
if you can't even lift a bloody log?
BRUCE
What have I done, Alfred? Everything
my family... my father, built...
ALFRED
The Wayne legacy is more
than bricks and mortar, sir.
BRUCE
I wanted to save Gotham. I failed.
ALFRED
Why do we fall, sir? So that we
can learn to pick ourselves up.
BRUCE
You still haven't given up on me?
ALFRED
Never.
EXT. AT THE ASYLUM - NIGHT
GORDON
Down!
MAN
Harassment! I see harassment!
FLASS
Maybe you'd like to see
some excessive force?
MAN
Madman with a gun.
WOMAN
With residents furious
at the unprecedented show of police
strength to round up the inmates...
OFFICER 1
Lady, we're about to raise these bridges.
RACHEL
Officer, I am a Gotham City
district attorney. Let me pass.
FLASS
Just shut up!
GORDON
Hey, Flass, cool it!
OFFICER 1
Hold these people back.
OFFICER 2
Hey, Gordon. Somebody here to see you.
GORDON
What are you doing here?
RACHEL
Our mutual friend sent me with this.
It counteracts Crane's toxin.
Hopefully you won't need it.
GORDON
Not unless he's got some way
of getting that crap into the air.
FLASS
All right, last one across.
The League of Shadow passes through in a SWAT van.
OFFICER 1
People, they want this bridge up in
no more than three minutes!
GORDON
Better get you off the island before
they raise the bridges. Patrolman! Go!
LITTLE BOY
I can't find my mom.
RACHEL
Hey! What the hell are you doing?
DUCARD
Gentlemen... time to spread the word.
And the word is... panic.
Ducard turns on the microwave emitter.
INT. WATER CONTROL CENTER - NIGHT
MAN
Jesus. The pressure, it's spiking.
Right there. That water main
is right under the Narrows.
EXT. AT THE ASYLUM - NIGHT
RACHEL
It's okay.
Gordon injects himself with the antidote.
LOEB
This is Commissioner Loeb.
Come on, somebody talk to me. Come on!
GORDON
Loeb, Loeb. This is Gordon.
LOEB
What the hell is going on?
GORDON
We need reinforcements.
TAC teams, SWAT, riot cops!
LOEB
Gordon! All the city's riot police
are on the island with you!
GORDON
Well, they're completely incapacitated!
RACHEL
It's okay, it's okay.
No one's gonna hurt you.
SCARECROW
Of course they are!
RACHEL
Crane?
SCARECROW
No. Scarecrow.
LOEB
Gordon... there's nobody left to send in.
GORDON
So I'm on my own?
The Tumbler jumps over.
GORDON
The Narrows is tearing itself to pieces.
BATMAN
This is just the beginning. If they hit
the whole city there's nothing to stop
Gotham tearing itself apart from mass panic.
GORDON
How are they gonna do that?
BATMAN
They'll be using the train.
The monorail follows the water mains to
the central hub beneath Wayne Tower.
If they get the machine to Wayne station
it'll cause a chain reaction
that'll vaporize the entire city's water
supply.
GORDON
Covering Gotham in this poison.
BATMAN
I'm gonna stop him from loading
that train, but I may need your help.
GORDON
What do you need?
BATMAN
Can you drive stick?
SCARECROW
There you are! There is nothing to fear
but fear itself! I am here to help you!
Rachel uses the electroshock gun against Scarecrow.
She and the boy are surrounded by a group of escaped
inmates.
LITTLE BOY
Batman will save us. He'll come. He'll come.
RACHEL
Don't peek.
GORDON
This is Gordon. Prepare to lower the bridge.
Batman takes Rachel and the boy on a rooftop.
LITTLE BOY
I told you he'd come.
RACHEL
Wait. You could die.
At least tell me your name.
BATMAN
It's not who I am underneath
but what I do that defines me.
RACHEL
Bruce?
EXT. AT THE MONORAIL TRAIN - NIGHT
DUCARD
Well, well. You took my advice
about theatricality a bit literally.
BATMAN
It ends here.
DUCARD
For you and the police, maybe.
My fight, however, lies with the rest of Gotham.
Now, if you'll excuse me,
I have a city to destroy.
BATMAN
I can't beat two of your pawns?
DUCARD
As you wish.
Ducard leaves leaving to fight the League members.
EXT. INSIDE THE TUMBLER - NIGHT
COMPUTER
GPS online. In 100 yards.
EXT. AT THE MONORAIL TRAIN - NIGHT
DUCARD
Gentlemen.
The train leaves the station. Batman is outnumbered by
gased people, he has to send a cord to attach himself to
the departing train.
LOEB
Who the hell authorized this?
EXT. INSIDE THE TUMBLER - NIGHT
COMPUTER
Distance to Wayne Tower, three miles.
INT. WATER CONTROL CENTER - NIGHT
MAN
The pressure's moving along the mains,
blowing the pipes. If that pressure reaches us
the water supply right across the whole city
is gonna blow!
EXT. INSIDE THE TUMBLER - NIGHT
COMPUTER
At the next intersection, turn right.
EXT. INSIDE THE TRAIN - NIGHT
DUCARD
You will never learn.
BATMAN
Sorry.
DUCARD
Familiar. Don't you have anything new?
BATMAN
How about this?!
Batman runs the sword through the train board panel.
EXT. INSIDE THE TUMBLER - NIGHT
COMPUTER
You have arrived at Wayne Tower.
INT. WATER CONTROL CENTER - NIGHT
MAN
Evacuate the building. We're on top of the
main hub and it's gonna blow.
EXT. INSIDE THE TUMBLER - NIGHT
COMPUTER
Weapons system activated.
MAN
Nice ride.
COMPUTER
Armed.
EXT. INSIDE THE TRAIN - NIGHT
DUCARD
Don't be afraid, Bruce.
EXT. INSIDE THE TUMBLER - NIGHT
GORDON
Come on. Come on.
EXT. INSIDE THE TRAIN - NIGHT
DUCARD
You are just an ordinary man in a cape.
That's why you couldn't fight injustice,
that's why you can't stop this train.
BATMAN
Who said anything about stopping it?
EXT. INSIDE THE TUMBLER - NIGHT
Gordon fires into the rails.
GORDON
Yes!
EXT. INSIDE THE TRAIN - NIGHT
BATMAN
You never learned to mind your surroundings!
DUCARD
Have you finally learned to do what is necessary?
BATMAN
I won't kill you... but I don't have to save you.
Batman jumps out of the train that falls over and explodes.
INT. WAYNE ENTERPRISE - DAY
JESSICA
The meeting's already started.
EARLE
What meeting? Fox, I seem to remember firing you.
FOX
You did. I got another job. Yours.
EARLE
On whose authority?
INT. BRUCE'S CAR - DAY
ALFRED
Batman may have made the front page
but Bruce Wayne got pushed to page eight.
BRUCE
Bruce Wayne.
EARLE
What makes you think you can decide
who's running Wayne Enterprises?
BRUCE
The fact that I'm the owner.
EARLE
What are you talking about?
The company went public a week ago.
BRUCE
And I bought most of the shares.
Through various charitable foundations
and trusts and so forth. Look, it's all
a bit technical, but the important thing
is that my company's future is secure.
Right, Mr. Fox?
FOX
Right you are, Mr. Wayne.
Didn't you get the memo?
EXT. AT THE ABANDONED WELL - DAY
BRUCE
I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Rachel.
RACHEL
No. No, Bruce... I'm sorry.
The day that Chill died, I...
I said terrible things.
BRUCE
But true things. I was a coward with a gun...
and justice is about more than revenge, so thank you.
RACHEL
I never stopped thinking about you.
About us. And when I heard you were back, I...
I started to hope.
Rachel kisses Bruce.
RACHEL
But then I found out about your mask.
BRUCE
Batman's just a symbol, Rachel.
RACHEL
No. This... is your mask. Your real face
is the one that criminals now fear. The man I
loved... the man who vanished... he never came
back at all. But maybe he's still out there
somewhere. Maybe someday, when Gotham no longer
needs Batman... I'll see him again.
They walk hand in hand through the ruins of the manor.
RACHEL
Proved me wrong, you know.
BRUCE
About what?
RACHEL
Your father would be very proud of you.
Just like me. What will you do?
BRUCE
Rebuild it. Just the way it was,
brick for brick.
ALFRED
Just the way it was, sir?
BRUCE
Yeah, why?
ALFRED
I thought this might be a good opportunity for
improving the foundations.
BRUCE
In the southeast corner?
ALFRED
Precisely, sir.
EXT. ROOFTOP NEAR THE BAT SIGN - NIGHT
BATMAN
Nice.
GORDON
I couldn't find any mob bosses.
BATMAN
Well, sergeant...
GORDON
It's "lieutenant" now. You really started something.
Bent cops running scared. Hope on the streets.
BATMAN
But?
GORDON
The Narrows is lost. And we still haven't
picked up Crane or half the inmates of Arkham
that he freed.
BATMAN
We will. We can bring Gotham back.
GORDON
What about escalation?
BATMAN
Escalation?
GORDON
We start carrying semiautomatics,
they buy automatics. We start wearing Kevlar,
they buy armor-piercing rounds.
BATMAN
And?
GORDON
And you're wearing a mask and jumping off rooftops.
Now, take this guy. Armed robbery, double homicide.
Got a taste for the theatrical, like you.
Leaves a calling card.
Gordon shows him a Joker playing card.
BATMAN
I'll look into it.
GORDON
I never said thank you.
BATMAN
And you'll never have to.
FADE OUT.
CREDITS.
END.
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