The Batman comes to theaters a month from today and I thought it would be cool to hear from my fellow members of the community what your favorite scene from a Batman movie released in theaters is and why it is your favorite. We’ve all got our favorites of the movies, whether that be Dark Knight, Batman 1989, Mask of the Phantasm and so on, but interestingly some of my favorite scenes come from films that are lower down the list; the ending of The Dark Knight Rises and the “Let’s Get Nuts!” scene Batman 1989 are some that come to mind, so I’m sure some answers will be fairly interesting.
Mine is a scene from Batman Forever where Bruce talks to Dick about the dangers of revenge. I’ve heard the common complaint about how strange it is that Bruce adopted a 20 year old man, but I feel like Dick being younger could’ve jeopardized the plot point of Dick’s desire to kill the man who murdered his family. And that’s how I view this scene, a telling of how killing someone does not bring closure, because as Bruce said it, “Your pain doesn’t end with Harvey, it grows.” I know a common interpretation is that Bruce was advising Dick not to go down the path he followed, since Batman Forever may or may not be a continuation of the Burton films, but even without that angle I think it is immensely powerful. I am aware that the opening of The Dark Knight, the Joker’s laugh from Phantasm and the interrogation are all, far and away better scenes, but I personally do not feel like any other scene from a theatrically released Batman film has been a better Batman scene than this one.
(this scene has particular resonance for me as after I watched the movie and began learning about B’Man I realized that I had gotten to watch the DCU’s ultimate hand to hand combat legend in live action, so that was kinda’ neat. )
It’s not my favorite Batman movie (that would be The Dark Knight), but I love the scene in The Dark Knight Rises where Batman and Commissioner Gordon speak for one last time
before Batman goes to save the city and certain death. I love the exchange between them:
Jim Gordon: “I never cared who you were…”
Batman: “And you were right.”
Jim Gordon: “…but shouldn’t the people know the hero who saved them?”
Batman: “A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy’s shoulders to let him know that the world hadn’t ended.”
Jim Gordon: “Bruce Wayne?”
My second favorite is from the Batman '66 movie. “Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb!”