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In the cave, Batman reveals to Vicki how Joker's toxin works. He's figured it out via some old fashioned detective work - the toxin requires a certain mixture of beauty products to take effect. After giving her these details, he somehow knocks her out? Or sedates her? And brings her back to her apartment. Oh, and he takes the film from her camera, so she's without any Batman pics to give to the press.
Vicki contacts Knox and tells him she has a "hot" story for the press that needs to make the evening edition. Its "super hot," she says seductively (?). Seems an odd line delivery to me.
In the cave, Batman reveals to Vicki how Joker's toxin works. He's figured it out via some old fashioned detective work - the toxin requires a certain mixture of beauty products to take effect. After giving her these details, he somehow knocks her out? Or sedates her? And brings her back to her apartment. Oh, and he takes the film from her camera, so she's without any Batman pics to give to the press.
Vicki contacts Knox and tells him she has a "hot" story for the press that needs to make the evening edition. Its "super hot," she says seductively (?). Seems an odd line delivery to me.
After some news broadcasts let the word out, we cut to Bruce knocking on Vicki's apartment door, having dropped by to explain why he's acting a bit strange. Alfred suggested to Bruce that he might try telling her the truth. And at this point Vicki has broken through Bruce's defenses enough that he too thinks this might be a good idea. Unfortunately, he's unable to reconcile the duality. Its one thing to be Bruce Wayne (the disguise) by day and Batman (the true identity) by night, or Bruce alone brooding as Batman. Its another to be Bruce trying to take off that mask and reveal himself as Batman. He rambles on without getting to the point, and the doorbell rings.
Its the Joker, who has also come to call on Vale. Bruce, when he entered the apartment, said "nice place, lots of space," and Joker says virtually the same thing when he enters. (A similar parallel is presented in The Dark Knight, in which both Bruce and the Joker enter the penthouse party at different times asking "where is Harvey Dent?") As these characters collide, similarities between them are highlighted. They've both suffered tragedy. They both pine for Vale. They are both monsters of the night. Where they diverge is how they act out in response to these parallel factors. They are two sides of the same coin, but that means that though they share much in common they are in other respects opposites.
Joker reveals to Vicki that his former girlfriend, Alicia, threw herself out of a window to her death. Which implies she fell from a height, meaning her death foreshadows Joker's own death later in the film. Joker muses that she was a failed work of art, but then cackles "you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs!" Vicki is the next "egg" in the carton.
Joker reveals to Vicki that his former girlfriend, Alicia, threw herself out of a window to her death. Which implies she fell from a height, meaning her death foreshadows Joker's own death later in the film. Joker muses that she was a failed work of art, but then cackles "you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs!" Vicki is the next "egg" in the carton.
Bruce steps forward and confronts Joker. This is one of the most fascinating scenes in the film, to me. Its a very contrived, overly convenient, first draft screenplay sort of scene. The fact that it is primarily here to set up the final act of the film is rather painfully obvious. Yet the surreal nature of the scene is also very comic-booky... featuring elements and oddities I would not be surprised to find in a Batman comic during the 80s or 90s.
Bruce says to the Joker "I know who you are," and then tells him a story about a guy named Jack with a head full of bad wiring. This is the sort of story Joker hates, because it indicates the truth about himself... he's always been broken, and his monstrous, gremlin like face merely externalizes that inner ugliness. There's a similar scene in the finale of the Dark Knight, in which Batman says "What are you trying to prove? That deep down, everyone's as ugly as you?"
Next, Bruce yells out "you want to get nuts? Let's get nuts!" And to be honest I'm not sure what he's doing. Is he trying to goad Joker into a brawl with him? Bruce's actions in this scene don't make much sense.
Joker responds with "have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" He says he asks that of all his prey because he likes the sound of it. A very Joker thing to do. Joker's always preferred to instill his crimes with a sort of theatricality and poetry. He shoots Bruce in the gut. Vicki screams.
The scene progresses, Joker makes his exit in a rather funny way, and Vicki turns to find Bruce gone. There's a metal tray or platter on the ground with a bullet-shaped dent in it, implying he stuffed the platter up his shirt as a sort of makeshift bulletproof armor. Which begs some questions...
Like I said, comic-book logic. Bruce's makeshift body armor is something you might see in an old Batman comic. The scene's lack of "realism," however, isn't particularly important. Its what's happening between the characters in the scene that is of significance. Here some new layers are thrown upon the Bruce-Vicki-Joker relationship. As this scene is mostly set-up for the finale, I'll discuss those layers in that context. No point in jumping too far ahead.
Bruce says to the Joker "I know who you are," and then tells him a story about a guy named Jack with a head full of bad wiring. This is the sort of story Joker hates, because it indicates the truth about himself... he's always been broken, and his monstrous, gremlin like face merely externalizes that inner ugliness. There's a similar scene in the finale of the Dark Knight, in which Batman says "What are you trying to prove? That deep down, everyone's as ugly as you?"
Next, Bruce yells out "you want to get nuts? Let's get nuts!" And to be honest I'm not sure what he's doing. Is he trying to goad Joker into a brawl with him? Bruce's actions in this scene don't make much sense.
Joker responds with "have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" He says he asks that of all his prey because he likes the sound of it. A very Joker thing to do. Joker's always preferred to instill his crimes with a sort of theatricality and poetry. He shoots Bruce in the gut. Vicki screams.
The scene progresses, Joker makes his exit in a rather funny way, and Vicki turns to find Bruce gone. There's a metal tray or platter on the ground with a bullet-shaped dent in it, implying he stuffed the platter up his shirt as a sort of makeshift bulletproof armor. Which begs some questions...
- We've already seen Bruce wearing bullet-proof armor on the street, so why is he not wearing it now?
- Why doesn't Joker shoot Bruce in the head?
- Why does Bruce pick up a fire poker to use as a weapon if he's just trying to goad Joker into shooting him?
Like I said, comic-book logic. Bruce's makeshift body armor is something you might see in an old Batman comic. The scene's lack of "realism," however, isn't particularly important. Its what's happening between the characters in the scene that is of significance. Here some new layers are thrown upon the Bruce-Vicki-Joker relationship. As this scene is mostly set-up for the finale, I'll discuss those layers in that context. No point in jumping too far ahead.
Bruce goes back to the cave to brood over Joker's words. There's some magnificent acting from Keaton in this scene, communicating anguish and pain with subtlety. There hasn't yet been a live-action Batman who could brood like Keaton. He's got it down.
He remembers his parents' deaths in a flashback sequence, which reveals that Jack Napier killed the Waynes. "Hey kid, ever danced with the devil in the pale moon light?" Jack asks young Bruce, before a second goon (presumably Joe Chill) pulls him away from the scene. I have to say, the guy who plays the younger Napier is chilling looking. Slap some facepaint and green hair on him, and he'd be Joker straight from the comics. Perfect casting, even though its just for this one scene.
He remembers his parents' deaths in a flashback sequence, which reveals that Jack Napier killed the Waynes. "Hey kid, ever danced with the devil in the pale moon light?" Jack asks young Bruce, before a second goon (presumably Joe Chill) pulls him away from the scene. I have to say, the guy who plays the younger Napier is chilling looking. Slap some facepaint and green hair on him, and he'd be Joker straight from the comics. Perfect casting, even though its just for this one scene.
Now this scene has inspired no shortage of complaints from fanboys who insist that Joe Chill should be the one to kill the Waynes, as in the comics. Granted, this is a fairly big change to Bruce's backstory. But in terms of the themes communicated in this film, it works. It just wouldn't make sense in this film for Chill to kill the Waynes, given the way Joker and Batman's story arcs intertwine and mirror one another.
The imagery of this story is that Joker is the personification of the evil that took Bruce's parents. Joker is tragedy incarnate. He paints tragedy wherever he goes. He's not just some thug who became a clown. Here, his true identity is revealed - a devil type figure, an adversary, a Satan. The character is elevated here to a supernatural status on par with Batman. Just as Batman is a gargoyle, a vampire, a knight... so the Joker is a chaotic demon. Monsters creating monsters.
Batman isn't just facing a clown here, he's facing his own tragedy, his own past. He's facing the reason for his existence. Their origins and fates are intertwined. Joker is now more than a person, he's an event. He is Bruce's tragedy, and Batman is the moment of justice that has long followed behind him. Joker sows, and Batman is what he reaps. Sin and judgement, crime and punishment, tragedy and vengeance. Joker is the personification of that evil that all of us have experienced or witnessed... that evil that shoots innocents in schools, that takes parents from their children and children from their parents, that preys on those who cannot fight back. And Batman is the personification of that justice, that vengeance, that we all wish would catch up to those evildoers. By tying Joker into Bruce's tragic backstory, and by setting the stage for this development through archetypal, larger than life characters, the filmmakers have tapped into our human emotions. The Joker is the specter of our own tragic pasts. Batman is the final judgment that will set things right again.
The imagery of this story is that Joker is the personification of the evil that took Bruce's parents. Joker is tragedy incarnate. He paints tragedy wherever he goes. He's not just some thug who became a clown. Here, his true identity is revealed - a devil type figure, an adversary, a Satan. The character is elevated here to a supernatural status on par with Batman. Just as Batman is a gargoyle, a vampire, a knight... so the Joker is a chaotic demon. Monsters creating monsters.
Batman isn't just facing a clown here, he's facing his own tragedy, his own past. He's facing the reason for his existence. Their origins and fates are intertwined. Joker is now more than a person, he's an event. He is Bruce's tragedy, and Batman is the moment of justice that has long followed behind him. Joker sows, and Batman is what he reaps. Sin and judgement, crime and punishment, tragedy and vengeance. Joker is the personification of that evil that all of us have experienced or witnessed... that evil that shoots innocents in schools, that takes parents from their children and children from their parents, that preys on those who cannot fight back. And Batman is the personification of that justice, that vengeance, that we all wish would catch up to those evildoers. By tying Joker into Bruce's tragic backstory, and by setting the stage for this development through archetypal, larger than life characters, the filmmakers have tapped into our human emotions. The Joker is the specter of our own tragic pasts. Batman is the final judgment that will set things right again.
Bruce's brooding is interrupted by Vicki, who Alfred has allowed into the batcave in another punch to the gut of fanboys everywhere. Again, this is a change I don't mind at all. We've seen Bruce is psychologically damaged. Alfred is concerned for his wellbeing. He knows the Batman persona is a dark vortex consuming all that is left of Bruce Wayne... all that is human about him. Alfred has tried to push Bruce towards Vicki in the hopes that he mind find normalcy in his life... that he might find a little light to draw him out from his internal despair. It makes sense for Alfred to push harder at this, the tipping point, where Bruce has discovered his parents' killer. The return of his tragic past has to be counterbalanced by the hope of a better future.
Besides, Bruce has allowed past girlfriends to know about his crime fighting persona in the comics. Here, in a feature film, there's not time to develop that relationship as slowly. Things have to progress. Bruce and Vicki's romance is condensed. But that doesn't make the story's meaning any less obvious. Bruce loves Vicki, she loves him, Alfred is trying to keep them together rather than allowing Bruce's other identity to tear them apart. These are all classic Batman plotlines, true to the characters, and I'm willing to forgive a little security breach for the sake of characterization and story arcs. Priorities, priorities.
The dialogue here is great.
Vicki: "Why won't you let me in? Why?"
Bruce: "You got in."
Vicki: "I don't know what to think of all this. I really don't."
Bruce: "Look, sometimes I don't know what to think of all this. Its just something I have to do."
Vicki: "Why?"
Bruce: "Because nobody else can."
The first two lines sum up Bruce and Vicki's relationship thus far. The rest sum up how they are still being pulled apart. Bruce has to do this. He has to be there to prevent his tragedy from reoccurring. Because no one else will. He sees himself as the personification of that longing for justice, an angel called out of the night by a young boy crying over his dead parents. It would break him psychologically to not be Batman, to try to live a happy life knowing that he was not doing all he could to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
Bruce Wayne died with his parents. There's a ghost of him left that wants to live again, to be happy, but there's a lifetime of darkness in between that cannot be healed.
Bruce: "Look. I tried to avoid all this but I can't. This is how it is. Its not a perfect world."
Vicki: "It doesn't have to be a perfect world."
Vicki is reminding Bruce... the world is going to be ****ed up no matter what he does. Bruce wants it to be a perfect world. He wants the world to be free of tragedy and evil. But its an unachievable goal, one that Alfred and Vicki both see will consume his entire life. Vicki is trying to bring him back to reality.
Remember that Vicki is the one in this story untainted by tragedy. She took pictures of the death and destruction in Corto Maltese, but there's no sense that she was affected by it or kept up at night because of it. She's seen tragedy at a personal distance, through a camera lens. It hasn't hit her directly. She's sympathetic to it... she feels for Bruce and his pain. But she can't fully understand it. For her, reality is that tragedies happen, you can't stop them no matter how much you want to. But for Bruce, this tragedy from his past is his only reality. And he's been trying to undo it, trying to prevent it after the fact, for his entire life.
Vicki: "I just gotta know. Are we going to try to love each other?"
Bruce: "I'd like to. But he's out there right now. And I've got to go to work."
Vicki see's Bruce's crime-fighting life as a fantasy, and a normal life as reality. Bruce sees a normal life as a fantasy (its something he'd like to do) but his life as Batman is his reality, his normalcy (I've got to go to work). Bruce and Vicki are also two sides of a coin, opposites. And that's why their relationship is doomed to fail.
Besides, Bruce has allowed past girlfriends to know about his crime fighting persona in the comics. Here, in a feature film, there's not time to develop that relationship as slowly. Things have to progress. Bruce and Vicki's romance is condensed. But that doesn't make the story's meaning any less obvious. Bruce loves Vicki, she loves him, Alfred is trying to keep them together rather than allowing Bruce's other identity to tear them apart. These are all classic Batman plotlines, true to the characters, and I'm willing to forgive a little security breach for the sake of characterization and story arcs. Priorities, priorities.
The dialogue here is great.
Vicki: "Why won't you let me in? Why?"
Bruce: "You got in."
Vicki: "I don't know what to think of all this. I really don't."
Bruce: "Look, sometimes I don't know what to think of all this. Its just something I have to do."
Vicki: "Why?"
Bruce: "Because nobody else can."
The first two lines sum up Bruce and Vicki's relationship thus far. The rest sum up how they are still being pulled apart. Bruce has to do this. He has to be there to prevent his tragedy from reoccurring. Because no one else will. He sees himself as the personification of that longing for justice, an angel called out of the night by a young boy crying over his dead parents. It would break him psychologically to not be Batman, to try to live a happy life knowing that he was not doing all he could to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
Bruce Wayne died with his parents. There's a ghost of him left that wants to live again, to be happy, but there's a lifetime of darkness in between that cannot be healed.
Bruce: "Look. I tried to avoid all this but I can't. This is how it is. Its not a perfect world."
Vicki: "It doesn't have to be a perfect world."
Vicki is reminding Bruce... the world is going to be ****ed up no matter what he does. Bruce wants it to be a perfect world. He wants the world to be free of tragedy and evil. But its an unachievable goal, one that Alfred and Vicki both see will consume his entire life. Vicki is trying to bring him back to reality.
Remember that Vicki is the one in this story untainted by tragedy. She took pictures of the death and destruction in Corto Maltese, but there's no sense that she was affected by it or kept up at night because of it. She's seen tragedy at a personal distance, through a camera lens. It hasn't hit her directly. She's sympathetic to it... she feels for Bruce and his pain. But she can't fully understand it. For her, reality is that tragedies happen, you can't stop them no matter how much you want to. But for Bruce, this tragedy from his past is his only reality. And he's been trying to undo it, trying to prevent it after the fact, for his entire life.
Vicki: "I just gotta know. Are we going to try to love each other?"
Bruce: "I'd like to. But he's out there right now. And I've got to go to work."
Vicki see's Bruce's crime-fighting life as a fantasy, and a normal life as reality. Bruce sees a normal life as a fantasy (its something he'd like to do) but his life as Batman is his reality, his normalcy (I've got to go to work). Bruce and Vicki are also two sides of a coin, opposites. And that's why their relationship is doomed to fail.
The Batmobile attacks Ace Chemicals, dropping bombs and killing goons. Yes, killing. Batman's tragedy has resurfaced, and he's going out for blood. I don't personally mind it if Batman kills. In this case, its part of a two-film story arc. More on that later, if I can get around to analysis of Batman Returns.
The Batmobile, in a fun reveal, is only being remotely controlled by Batman. Joker, however, has escaped the chaos. He mocks Batman from his helicopter, and flies off. Things are building up to the main event.
Joker, having previously promised to drop millions in cash upon the denizens of Gotham during the anniversary parade, makes good on his word. He rides a float down a Gotham street while money rains down from above and some Prince blares through some speakers. The people of Gotham go wild.
Here Joker is exposing the ugliness of Gotham. Its greed, its selfishness. He's making the case that these people, too, are ugly on the inside. Interestingly, Joker's social experiment in this film works, whereas in Nolan's The Dark Knight film it fails. Very different takes on Gotham.
The Batmobile, in a fun reveal, is only being remotely controlled by Batman. Joker, however, has escaped the chaos. He mocks Batman from his helicopter, and flies off. Things are building up to the main event.
Joker, having previously promised to drop millions in cash upon the denizens of Gotham during the anniversary parade, makes good on his word. He rides a float down a Gotham street while money rains down from above and some Prince blares through some speakers. The people of Gotham go wild.
Here Joker is exposing the ugliness of Gotham. Its greed, its selfishness. He's making the case that these people, too, are ugly on the inside. Interestingly, Joker's social experiment in this film works, whereas in Nolan's The Dark Knight film it fails. Very different takes on Gotham.
Joker's going to externalize the city's ugliness. His giant parade balloons leak smilex gas on the crowd, and the people begin coughing and gagging, their faces contorting into vicious Joker grins. Joker is here killing hundreds, maybe thousands of people. Probably one of the biggest villain killcounts in a comic book movie, at least as far as I can think of off the top of my head. The death count in the Narrows after Ra's Al Ghul's microwave emitter attack in Batman Begins might be comparable, I'm not sure. There's also Zod's kills in Man of Steel. DC/WB films don't mess around with the stakes.
Batman shows up in the batwing, another insanely cool vehicle. I love that it is shaped like the batsymbol, and that Batman juxtaposes this with the full moon.
Batman shows up in the batwing, another insanely cool vehicle. I love that it is shaped like the batsymbol, and that Batman juxtaposes this with the full moon.
Something else that is great about the batwing is that it looks well-used. There are all kinds of scratch marks on the windshield, the black armor of it is dusty and weathered looking. It reminds me of something you might see in an antique shop. Despite the novelty of it all - the fact that this thing is supposedly cutting-edge in a technological sense - there's an air of oldness to it, it seems ancient. This weird mix gives it a timeless feel, and fits well with Keaton's portrayal of Batman. He's not just a technologically savvy James Bond in a bat-costume, there's something timeless and elemental and archetypal to his identity. He's both ancient and new, both scientific and in a way supernatural.
Batman cuts Joker's balloons away, which leads Joker to fulfill his Grissom play-acting and shoot his "number one guy" Bob. This sort of act is funny to Joker because he doesn't see himself as deserving of the tragedy that befell him at Ace Chemicals. Similarly, Bob doesn't deserve to be punished for his inability to predict that Batman had a plane, but he's killed for it anyway. Joker is no longer the victim of tragedy, he's the one dishing it out. That's how he's always preferred it. For him its all about being the alpha male, the guy on top, the one in control.
Batman flies toward Joker, firing the guns on the batwing while Joker goads him on (another scene given homage by Nolan's The Dark Knight - "hit me! c'mon, hit me!"). Joker pulls out a ridiculously long gun and shoots the batwing, which sparks and smokes as it careens out of control, crashing into the steps of the Gotham cathedral. You wouldn't see this kind of thing in a comic book movie today (they tend to put a high purchase on being "grounded" and "realistic") which is one reason I love it so much... its exactly the sort of thing you'd see in a Batman comic from the time. Except, of course, the comic would end with a "to be continued... next issue, THE CLIMACTIC FIGHT TO THE DEATH!"
Vicki goes to check on Batman, who she can't find in the wreckage, and Joker takes her captive. He needs an escape route, so he radios his goons and asks them to pick him up by helicopter from the roof of the Gotham cathedral.
I just love the design of the cathedral, by the way. Its dark and gothic and musty. Clearly hasn't been used in a long time. That imagery perhaps speaks to the spiritual impoverishment of Gotham. Here is a city where churches are dead while corrupt businesses and the like are alive. This is less of a cathedral and more a giant crypt. It really bolsters the "hell on earth" feel of Gotham to give it a ruined church, an empty symbol of "heaven on earth," so to speak.
Batman emerges from the wreckage of the batwing, and staggers into the church, knocking over some pews and alerting Joker to his presence. Joker is on his way up the creaking wooden stairs to the peak of the cathedral tower. Once at the top, he uses his acid to send a giant bell crashing down, obliterating the staircase and preventing the cops from pursuing him. Fortunately, the bell narrowly misses Batman, who is already on his way up.
Batman flies toward Joker, firing the guns on the batwing while Joker goads him on (another scene given homage by Nolan's The Dark Knight - "hit me! c'mon, hit me!"). Joker pulls out a ridiculously long gun and shoots the batwing, which sparks and smokes as it careens out of control, crashing into the steps of the Gotham cathedral. You wouldn't see this kind of thing in a comic book movie today (they tend to put a high purchase on being "grounded" and "realistic") which is one reason I love it so much... its exactly the sort of thing you'd see in a Batman comic from the time. Except, of course, the comic would end with a "to be continued... next issue, THE CLIMACTIC FIGHT TO THE DEATH!"
Vicki goes to check on Batman, who she can't find in the wreckage, and Joker takes her captive. He needs an escape route, so he radios his goons and asks them to pick him up by helicopter from the roof of the Gotham cathedral.
I just love the design of the cathedral, by the way. Its dark and gothic and musty. Clearly hasn't been used in a long time. That imagery perhaps speaks to the spiritual impoverishment of Gotham. Here is a city where churches are dead while corrupt businesses and the like are alive. This is less of a cathedral and more a giant crypt. It really bolsters the "hell on earth" feel of Gotham to give it a ruined church, an empty symbol of "heaven on earth," so to speak.
Batman emerges from the wreckage of the batwing, and staggers into the church, knocking over some pews and alerting Joker to his presence. Joker is on his way up the creaking wooden stairs to the peak of the cathedral tower. Once at the top, he uses his acid to send a giant bell crashing down, obliterating the staircase and preventing the cops from pursuing him. Fortunately, the bell narrowly misses Batman, who is already on his way up.
Joker starts dancing with Vicki while he awaits his getaway helicopter. There's a nice play on words here about beauty and the beast. Meanwhile, Batman fights Joker's rather comically inept goons. Even with his injuries, he makes short work of them. In a sense, two dances are being performed simultaneously.
At last, Batman confronts the Joker. He utters the "dance with the devil" line, and here we enter into a third dance. Batman reveals that the Joker killed his parents, and they conclude that each was responsible for the other's creation - Joker by murdering the Waynes created Batman, and Batman by knocking Jack into a vat of chemicals created Joker.
There's a bit of a scuffle, and Joker gains the upper hand, with Batman and Vicki hanging precariously off the side of the cathedral. Joker's helicopter is inbound, and things look grim.
At last, Batman confronts the Joker. He utters the "dance with the devil" line, and here we enter into a third dance. Batman reveals that the Joker killed his parents, and they conclude that each was responsible for the other's creation - Joker by murdering the Waynes created Batman, and Batman by knocking Jack into a vat of chemicals created Joker.
There's a bit of a scuffle, and Joker gains the upper hand, with Batman and Vicki hanging precariously off the side of the cathedral. Joker's helicopter is inbound, and things look grim.
Joker holds on to a gargoyle. Interestingly, in cathedral architecture gargoyles served two symbolic purposes: some were depicted as angels which would ward off demons, while others were depicted as monstrous demons "fleeing" the church. Here, this gargoyle combines this imagery, and so combines the imagery of Batman and Joker. The gargoyle is smiling like Joker (who at one point addresses the statue: "what are you laughing at?") and also looks quite a bit like Batman with its combination of wings and horns.
There's a lot of imagery going on here: in one sense, as a combination of the two characters, the gargoyle symbolizes their conflict. On the other hand, as a religious image, the gargoyle symbolizes a heavenly hero driving the "devil" (who dances in the pale moonlight) from the church. When the gargoyle is displaced, it drags Joker down into Gotham, which you'll recall Furst described as "hell on earth." The devil is being cast back into hell.
There's a lot of imagery going on here: in one sense, as a combination of the two characters, the gargoyle symbolizes their conflict. On the other hand, as a religious image, the gargoyle symbolizes a heavenly hero driving the "devil" (who dances in the pale moonlight) from the church. When the gargoyle is displaced, it drags Joker down into Gotham, which you'll recall Furst described as "hell on earth." The devil is being cast back into hell.
The movie wastes no time hurrying to a conclusion after this. Batman leaves a batsignal that Harvey Dent and Gordon can use to contact him. Its a move of permanence. Even though Jack Napier - Joker - is now gone, Bruce isn't going to give up the Batman persona. He's not going to stop trying to prevent tragedies and make this into a perfect world. As Vicki gets into a car and rides away, she realizes that Bruce is lost in this Batman identity, that he's not going to give that up. She looks clearly unsettled by this.
Meanwhile, Elfman's Batman theme blares triumphant. Batman stands watchful over the city. The victim of tragedy has defeated the one who inflicts tragedy. The gargoyle has sent the demon back to hell. Bruce's parents are avenged, but the war goes on.
Meanwhile, Elfman's Batman theme blares triumphant. Batman stands watchful over the city. The victim of tragedy has defeated the one who inflicts tragedy. The gargoyle has sent the demon back to hell. Bruce's parents are avenged, but the war goes on.