121. The Batman Rises

Title: The Batman Rises
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Year: 2012

Summary: Eight years after the death of Harvey Dent, the Gotham City Police Department has nearly eradicated organized crime with powers granted by the Dent Act, legislation inspired by Dent. Batman has disappeared, with Bruce Wayne becoming a recluse. Feeling guilty over his role in the cover-up of Dent's crimes, Police Commissioner James Gordon writes a resignation speech confessing the truth, but decides that the city is not ready to hear it. While pursuing criminals in the sewers, Gordon is captured and his speech is taken by a terrorist named Bane. Gordon escapes and is found by patrol officer John Blake. While recuperating, Gordon promotes Blake to detective, with Blake reporting directly to him.

Wayne Enterprises is nearly bankrupt after Bruce invested in board member Miranda Tate's sustainable energy project for a fusion reactor, only to shut it down after discovering the reactor core could be used as a nuclear weapon. Blake—who has deduced Batman's identity—and Gordon encourage Batman to return, but Alfred Pennyworth resigns after a failed attempt to dissuade him, including informing Bruce that Rachel Dawes had intended to marry Dent before she died. Bane attacks a stock exchange and bankrupts Bruce, using fingerprints cat burglar Selina Kyle obtained of Bruce to make ruinous trades. Fearing that John Daggett—who employed Bane to aid in a hostile takeover—would gain access to the reactor, Bruce asks Tate to take control of Wayne Enterprises. Bane subsequently kills Daggett when he is no longer of use.

Batman asks Selina to lead him to Bane, but Selina double-crosses him, leading him into a trap. Bane then reveals that he knows Batman's true identity and intends to fulfill Ra's al Ghul's mission to destroy Gotham. He breaks Batman's back and locks him away in prison that he controls. While there, the inmates relate to Bruce the story of Ra's al Ghul's child, who was born in the prison and is the only person known to have escaped; Bruce believes that the child is Bane. Meanwhile, using bombs throughout the city, Bane traps most of Gotham's police force underground and cuts Gotham off from the rest of the world, using the weaponized reactor core to keep anyone from leaving the city. Bane reveals the cover-up of Dent's crimes and releases the prisoners in Blackgate Penitentiary under the pretense of starting a social revolution. The wealthy and powerful are dragged from their homes and given show trials, presided over by Dr. Jonathan Crane, where the "convicted" die no matter the sentence.

Bruce spends months recuperating and retraining himself. He escapes from the prison and enlists Selina, Blake, Tate, Gordon and Lucius Fox to help liberate Gotham and stop the nuclear bomb. During a confrontation between the police and Bane's forces, Batman subdues Bane. Tate comes to Bane's aid, revealing herself to be Ra's al Ghul's daughter Talia. She escaped the prison as a child, returning with her father and the League of Shadows to rescue Bane who had helped her. She plans to complete her father's work by detonating the bomb and destroying Gotham. Selina kills Bane before he can execute Batman, while Gordon blocks the bomb's ability to be remotely detonated. Batman gives chase to force Talia to take the bomb to the fusion chamber where it can be stabilized, but she floods the chamber to prevent its disarming before she dies, confident that bomb cannot be stopped. Batman realizes that the only way to stop it is to use "the Bat", an aircraft developed by Fox, to haul the bomb far from Gotham. He escorts the bomb out over the ocean where it detonates, presumably killing Batman.

In the aftermath, Batman is praised as a hero, while Bruce is assumed killed in the riots. After Bruce's funeral, Wayne Manor is left to the city to become an orphanage, and Bruce's remaining estate is left to Alfred. Fox discovers Bruce fixed the Bat's on-board autopilot system before hauling the bomb away. Alfred witnesses Bruce and Selina together while visiting Florence, and Blake inherits the Batcave.