The Batman ending explained | Riddler, Catwoman mysteries solved | Radio Times

don’t worry, this isn’t an origin story, so we’re saved from another slow-motion shot of martha wayne’s pearls cascading to the ground in crime alley.

Instead, Bruce is already an effective vigilante on the streets, but this new threat forces him to become more than just a brawler to unravel the mystery behind the killer. The gripping story draws inspiration from classic thrillers like William Friedkin’s French Connection and David Fincher’s Se7en with its many twists, as well as the noir version of the Caped Crusader.

but how does it all play out for bruce, the riddler and gotham? Read on for everything you need to know about Batman’s ending.

be careful, there are full spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t seen batman yet, look away now.

batman ending explanation

who is the winged rat?

At the center of the riddle’s twisted machinations is a mysterious figure he calls “the winged rat,” also known as the winged rat. This person is the anonymous informant within the mafia responsible for giving information to the police to imprison the notorious mobster Salvatore Maroni, which dealt a serious blow to Gotham’s drug trade. Although Batsy is suspicious of Penguin (Colin Farrell) at first, he just doesn’t know enough to be the rat.

Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz) is the one who finally realizes this while desperately investigating the death of her best friend, Annika, who had a secret affair with Mayor Mitchell (Rupert Penry-Jones). the mayor told him all about the renovation money that became a criminal bribe fund as well as the truth about sal maroni as gcpd and the mayor worked with another gangster carmine falcone (john turturro) to put maroni away . falcone even took over the narcotics business while the gcpd was applauded for the big drug bust, though it didn’t really have any effect.

Unfortunately, this gives the falcone a lot of power over the city, because he can blackmail anyone involved in the scheme into doing whatever he pleases. he even sees himself as the real mayor of gotham. When Gordon and Batman arrest Falcone, the Riddler shoots him with a sniper rifle, effectively cutting through the rotten core of the city.

why does the riddle point to corrupt officials in gotham?

so what is the whole riddler plan about? Paul Dano’s twisted assassin takes Batman and the GCPD on a merry chase through the city as a way to prove that the wealthy and corrupt elite is the true cause of Gotham’s rotten core. When Batman and James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) lock the Riddler up in Arkham following Falcone’s death, the killer is revealed to be Edward Nashton. He grew up in Gotham’s underfunded orphanages before becoming a forensic accountant, where he stumbled upon the financial records of the renovation project.

renewal was originally founded by thomas wayne and was intended to help the poorest citizens in gotham, including orphanages, but after the waynes were killed, this money disappeared. As media attention focused on the tragedy surrounding newly orphaned Bruce Wayne, officials worked with gangster Sal Maroni to line his own pockets while the $1 billion renovation fund was repurposed. discreetly. This obviously meant that orphans like Nashton were doomed to live in poverty, all because of the greedy and corrupt elite. he even explains that it caused the deaths of babies every year in the winter because the orphanages just didn’t have the money to properly house the children.

To make matters worse for Bruce, he has to deal with the true nature of Wayne’s legacy and his father’s campaign for mayor. The riddle reveals that Martha Wayne was part of the Arkham family, and she struggled with mental illness over the years, leading to her being briefly institutionalized. The riddle hinted that Thomas had a journalist killed so that Martha’s past would not come to light and ruin his candidacy for mayor. But as Alfred (Andy Serkis) reveals, Thomas just wanted to keep the story quiet so his wife’s struggles would be kept secret, and he was heartbroken that Falcone had killed the journalist instead of scaring him.

what’s interesting is that the riddle was actually inspired by batman’s own war on crime because he saw that someone could actively make a difference in the city by taking matters into their own hands. it’s that old “two sides of the same coin” approach, where the hero and the villain are alike in different ways. But where Bruce turns his pain into a force for good, Riddler’s twisted personality transforms him into a sadistic serial killer. Unfortunately, he also has a devastating plan to flood Gotham as a way to cleanse the city of his endless list of sins.

how does catwoman fit into the movie?

batman met selina kyle at the penguin’s club, the iceberg lounge, where she works, but his investigations into the death of his friend annika reveal another twist: selina is the abandoned daughter of carmine falcone.

Selina’s mother used to work under the iceberg saloon and was a falcon lover.

When it is revealed that Falcone’s actions were responsible for Annika’s death, Selina confronts Falcone with the plan to kill him.

despite the fight, bruce finally talks selina out of revenge and falcone is arrested.

However, he is ultimately killed due to the Riddler’s machinations.

selina leaves but then saves bruce’s life from the riddler’s cronies.

Despite a strong romantic connection, Selina eventually leaves Gotham at the end of the film and separates from Bruce.

how does batman save gotham?

Surprisingly, the Riddler manages to carry out his plan, using seven bombs to destroy Gotham’s seawall, flooding most of the city and causing massive chaos. Though he misses the carnage because he’s locked up in Arkham, a small group of his online fans show up at the Gotham arena where thousands of citizens seek refuge. they start shooting from the rafters, even injuring the new mayor, bella real (jayme lawson). But luckily, Batman and Catwoman swoop in and start pummeling the living snot out of the Riddler Gunslingers.

Though Gotham is devastated by floods, the tragedy makes Bruce realize that he can become something more significant than a brutal vigilante. the way she helps survivors out of the rubble and into the light shows that she can be a vigilant protector. Although Bruce’s quest for “revenge” was born out of pain and tragedy, she ends the film knowing that she is being transformed into a symbol of hope.

Unfortunately, she also sacrifices any chance she has for happiness with Selina Kyle, who leaves Gotham for Blüdhaven (hello Nightwing!) at the end of the movie. Given the huge personal journey she’s just been through, it’s understandable that she wants to stay and do her duty to the city.

is barry keoghan playing joker?

Okay, let’s talk about the clown in the room. When Riddler cries over being thwarted by Batman, he is comforted by a sinister inmate in the adjacent cell at Arkham Correctional Facility. This unknown individual has a creepy smile and a scary voice, as he tells Nashton, “You know what they say, one day you’re on top of the world and the next day you’re a clown.”

well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this implies that the prankster is already in gotham waiting to wreak havoc, though it’s unclear why he’s in arkham, or if he’s already crossed the bat at two Years since Bruce first put on his cape and cowl.

The Eternals star Barry Keoghan is the man behind the clown in this new take on the Batman mythos, which is a bit surprising given the huge success surrounding Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker movie in 2019. But By introducing their own clown prince of crime, Matt Reeves and co-writer Peter Craig have complete creative control instead of having to deal with the character of Phoenix and the timeline that the film established.

will we get batman 2?

matt reeves has already teased the possibility of batman 2, telling the independent “we’ve started talking about another movie,” so it’s very likely keoghan will reprise the role in the future.

That said, the director also told collider that he’d love to explore a ground-based version of mr freeze, saying “I think there’s actually a ground-based version of that story, which could be really powerful and could be really cool.”

so wait a few years and we may see robert pattinson take on a gritty version of victor fries, assuming warner bros greenlights reeves for batman 2, anyway.

is there a post credits scene for batman?

well, it’s not a complete scene, but there is a little tease related to the riddle.

• read more: meet the cast of batman: complete list of dc comics characters
• read more: how to watch batman movies in order and where to stream
• read more: batman producer reveals there are ideas “inevitably” for sequels
• read more: where was batman filmed?
• read more: the batman soundtrack: complete list of music in the dc comics movie

batman is now in UK cinemas. For more information, check out our dedicated movies page or our full TV guide.

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