FAQ for
The Dark Knight (2008)

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable. Please note that the entries at the bottom of this page are about the ending of The Dark Knight and are not covered with tags.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDbs Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for The Dark Knight can be found at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/parentalguide.

There are no more scenes during or after the credits. A dedication to Heath Ledger and Conway Wickliffe appears about two minutes into the credits.

There are several official websites. Here's a list:

Warner Bros Official:

TheDarkKnight.com

Comcast Behind the Scenes/Teaser Content:

http://www.comcast.net/thedarkknightmovie/

Viral Websites (grouped by particular aspect of the movie or Gotham City):

Legend: #=Website updated within one week of last edit *=Interactive game being played very soon or immediately

The Joker:

Rent-A-Clown.com

WhySoSerious.com

IBelieveinHarveyDentToo.com

RorysDeathKiss.com

TheHaHaHaTimes.com

ClownTravelAgency.com

*#WhySoSerious.com/LaughTilItHurts/

ATasteFortheTheatrical.com (trailer 1)

WhySoSerious.com/HappyTrails (trailer 2)

WhySoSerious.com/MyHero (Harvey Dent Teaser Trailer)

Harvey Dent/Gotham Political Sites:

IBelieveinHarveyDent.com

DanaWorthington.com

TrustGarcetti.com

GothamCityClerk.com

GothamElectionBoard.com

WeAreTheAnswer.org

CCFABG.org

CitizensforBatman.org

Gotham News:

TheGothamTimes.com/

MaidenAvenueReport.com

GothamCableNews.com

Gotham Police Department:

GothamPolice.com

GPDIAD.com

GPDMCU.com

Gotham City, Business & Other:

GothamCityRail.org

GothamUSD.net

GCFerries.com

GothamNationalBank.com

GothamInterContinentalHotel.com

GothamCab.com

KinslyTravel.com

#www.GothamCityPizzeria.com

RossisDelicatessen.com

BettysHouseofPies.com

JosephCandoloro.com

AcmeSecuritySystems.com

GVAFoundation.org

SaintsWithunsChurch.org

RemeberingGina.org

If you know of any new updates or websites, please post them here.

As of 7/11, every website listed above has been hacked into and defaced by the Joker.

If you would like a unique and very descriptive overview on all of the sites, as well as news and other fan-made sites visit

batman.wikibruce.com/Home PLEASE NOTE: This is not an official website.

No. The Dark Knight is based on a script co-written by London-born screenwriters and brothers Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer (co-writer of Begins). Christopher also directed the movie. It is based on the DC Comics character Batman and is a sequel to Batman Begins (2005).

No. This film and Batman Begins are a reinvention of the Batman series. They have no ties to the previous Batman franchise.

Batman, who made his first appearance in DETECTIVE COMICS #27, and has been popular in comic books ever since, is a reference in himself.

Batman Begins referenced the comic book stories Year One, Long Halloween and Man Who Falls. The Dark Knight will continue the Long Halloween's idea of an alliance between Batman, Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon and make reference to such Joker stories as The Joker's Five-Way Revenge (from BATMAN #251), The Killing Joke and The Man Who Laughs.

Look for many references to The Killing Joke and The Man Who Laughs. Christopher Nolan handed a copy of each to Heath Ledger prior to filming in order to prepare for the role.

The title of this film is possibly inspired from Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, a comic book mini-series that ran from February 1986 to June 1986. A variety of subsequent series also incorporated the phrase "Dark Knight" into their titles, but this series has had the most influence on the "dark" tone of modern Batman tales.

Six actors from Batman Begins (2005) reprised their roles in The Dark Knight (2008). They are:

1. Christian Bale - Bruce Wayne / Batman

2. Michael Caine - Alfred Pennyworth

3. Morgan Freeman - Lucius Fox

4. Colin McFarlane - Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb

5. Cillian Murphy - Dr. Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow

6. Gary Oldman - Lt. James Gordon

The character Rachel Dawes appears in The Dark Knight (2008), played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Dawes was portrayed by Katie Holmes in Batman Begins (2005).

The character Barbara Gordon appears in The Dark Knight (2008), played by Melinda McGraw. Barbara was played by Ilyssa Fradin in Batman Begins (2005).

Note: the actors Nadia Cameron-Blakey and Jamie Cho were in Batman Begins (2005) and are also in The Dark Knight (2008) as different characters.

The director Christopher Nolan told Mean Magazine he wants to do something different from Batman Begins (2005), his first film in the series. The title is a way of telling the public as much. It also distances the film from kiddie comic books, Saturday morning cartoons, the campy 1960s TV series and the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher movies of the late 80s and 90s. In fact, this will be the first Batman movie not to have "Batman" in the title.

The title prepares us for the grim tone of the film. It is reinforced in a quotation from the trailer: "The night is darkest before the dawn."

Nolan said the title was carefully chosen. It certainly has precedent. The "Dark Knight" is a title first bestowed upon Batman in BATMAN #1 (Spring, 1940). And Frank Miller, whose work inspired Nolan in Batman Begins, used the term for his 1986 comic book mini-series, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

Teaser:

Apple: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thedarkknight/trailer1

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP2jFn9Zk-U

Theatrical Trailer #1:

Official Site: http://atasteforthetheatrical.com/deathtrap/default.htm

Apple: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thedarkknight/trailer2/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaIR9dAZRR0

Theatrical Trailer #2:

Official Site: http://whysoserious.com/happytrails/trailer.htm

YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=GhSwcK8PGek

TV Spot #1:

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vEau49Q-Jg&fmt=18 video has been removed

TV Spot #2:

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGFX-iD_HH4&fmt=18 video has been removed

TV Spot #3

Youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=x2c3L0TC22w

TV Spot #4

Youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=r_BkeNvvMZ0

First Offical Video of Two-Face

Official Site http://www.whysoserious.com/myhero/

Youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=YRjpfMHB2IE

12 Official clips

http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5143&Itemid=99

In Tim Burton's Batman (1989), Jack Nicholson gave the public a grimmer, scarier Joker than what it had known before. Their idea of the Joker had been Cesar Romero, one of the guest villains in the campy 1960s TV series, "Batman." Christopher Nolan continues the trend by making the Joker more sinister and less pranksterish than ever.

Heath Ledger based his Joker on Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange (1971), which wipes away any thought of Romero. Publicity photos show him with the sides of his mouth cut, giving him an unnaturally wide grin. The mutilated mouth links him to Conrad Veidt who played Gwynplaine, the clown with the carved smile, in The Man Who Laughs (1928). Bob Kane and Bill Finger had thought of the grinning Veidt when they created the Joker.

But don't expect to see Gwynplaine's sweet nature or gentle humor in Heath Ledger. The new Joker is a brutal killer with a macabre and malicious sense of humor.

You can't have Batman without the Joker. In the public imagination, he is more important to Batman than Robin (who has yet to appear in Nolan's series). Joker is Batman's arch-nemesis, omega to his alpha. He is also a nasty figure who is very much in keeping with the grim tone of the current series.

Whether the Joker will appear in the third film is another matter. See this FAQ entry.

1. The Joker (Heath Ledger)

2. Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts) (Maroni now runs Falcone's mob family)

3. Gamble (Michael Jai White) (Gamble is a Gotham crime lord at war with Maroni)

4. The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy)

5. Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart)

In keeping with the realistic tone of the film, Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson), who is immortal in the comic books, does not return from the dead. His daughter, Talia al Ghul, does not appear either.

Katie Holmes's publicists said she had scheduling conflicts because of her new movie, Mad Money. A Wall Street Journal article tells another story.

Anthony Michael Hall plays a reporter named Mike Engel.

To learn Engel's fate in the movie, see this FAQ entry.

Lucius Fox, a character original to the comic books, is the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and a secret ally of Batman.

In Batman Begins, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) is in research and development. Only at the end does Bruce Wayne fire Mr. Earle and hire Lucius as CEO. Lucius appeared in both Batman animated series in the '90s; he currently appears in the 2000s animated series called "The Batman." He did not appear in any of the four Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman films.

See also: the character's page on Wikipedia

No. Christopher Nolan said he is depicting the early days of Batman. Robin is "in a crib, out there somewhere."

No.

Rumors of Harleen Quinzell, aka Harley Quinn, appearing towards the end of the film floated about the Internet. One site falsely claimed she was to appear along with a list of Arkham inmates consisting of various members of Batman's Rogues Gallery.

No. There is a Barbara Gordon in Batman Begins (played by Ilyssa Fradin) and The Dark Knight (played by Melinda McGraw). But this is the wife of James Gordon (Sr.), not his daughter or niece. She is obviously not playing the role of Batgirl.

In The Dark Knight, when cops are visiting Jim Gordon's wife, Mrs. Gordon tells his son to go with his sister. And when Two-Face kidnaps Gordon's family, it's again clear Gordon has both a son and a daughter. It's likely the daughter is the younger Barbara Gordon, who will become Batgirl. Although, Nolan's stated disinterest in Robin as a character in his franchise makes the appearance of Batgirl particularly unlikely.

The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), aka Dr. Jonathan Crane, returns for a brief appearance at the beginning of the movie. Batman wannabes try to interrupt a mob meeting, which Scarecrow is a part of. The real Batman shows up and subdues them all. In the next scene, Scarecrow (with his mask off) disagrees with Batman's assertion that he doesn't need any help, implying that he is using his judgment as a mental health care professional.

The Scarecrow survives the film and may appear in the third entry.

No. But there may be an inside reference to the character when Lucius Fox says that Batman's new armor can stop a cat.

Before the release, Christopher Nolan said that the Joker doesn't have an explicit origin story. We can pick up clues to his past by the things he says. In his jokes, for instance, he hints at rancor toward his father.

He won't go by Jack Napier (his real name in Tim Burton's Batman) or any other moniker besides "The Joker."

Various writers have given the Joker different origins. The character has even given himself a variety of origins and doesn't remember which one is real. For a look at his previous incarnations, see the character's Wikipedia page.

In most of the stories about his origin, the Joker becomes the way he is through an unlikely freak accident. For instance, Jack Nicholson's Joker, in the 1989 Batman, fell into a vat of chemicals, which scarred him and changed his skin and hair color, giving him the look of a clown. His freakish appearance causes his mind to snap, turning him into a psychopath. It is a storyline adapted from the graphic novel The Killing Joke, a one-shot written by Alan Moore & drawn by Brian Bolland. It was released in 1988.

But in this film, it's made clear that a freak accident hasn't made him look like a clown. He wears make-up, his clown colleagues says as much, and we can see the makeup change throughout the movie as he sweats.

As for his scars, the Joker gives two conflicting explanations for them. He states that his father gave him the cuts on his cheek as a child after he (the Joker) took his father performing the same act on his mother "too seriously." The Joker also tells Rachel Dawes that his wife had her cheeks cut and that he cut his own cheeks with a razor blade (most likely to sympathize with her disfigurement).

He also nearly tells Batman a third way in which he might have been disfigured and it is very possible that none of these statements are true. It would add to the mystique of the Joker as a nobody who comes from nowhere; and it keeps the audience guessing.

Harvey Dent is kidnapped and tied up. He falls over while trying to escape, which knocks over a gas barrel, spilling its contents and splashing some on his face. As Batman saves Dent from the building rigged by the Joker, it explodes. Both narrowly escape, but Dent is burned as fire shoots out from the explosion and ignites the fuel.

In the hospital, Dent demands that Gordon say the nickname given to him (Dent) when he was working with Internal Affairs. Gordon replies "Two-Face." Dent adopts the nickname as his own.

Possibly. While the film tries to keep the characters relatively realistic, the film still requires us to suspend our disbelief. The left side of Dent's face is soaked in an accelerant, which is ignited, completely burning and charring the skin on the left side of his face. His left eyelid is completely burned as well as most of his cheek, exposing his jaw muscles and the inside of his mouth. While there are no vital arteries to be destroyed, he would be in an unimaginable amount of pain. Perhaps his grief over Rachel's death overshadowed his pain (hence the aforementioned suspension of disbelief). Given the pain, grief and trauma Harvey suffers, it's not difficult to imagine him going insane. Harvey's internal battle, at least according to the classic mythos of the character, is the battle between his evil, revenge-driven half and his sane, compassionate half, hence his new name, Two-Face.

Some concept art was shown on Slashfilm.com, but was removed under request of Warner Bros. The leaked concept art of Two-Face can be viewed here: http://www.wwtdd.com/photo.phtml?post_key=5892&photo_key=13212

In the aftermath of the film's release, we can now see that the concept art was right on the money, though the eye's not *quite* right.

A new video of Two-Face, released by Warner Brothers, has surfaced on the internet. It does not show all of his face, but enough to give some validity to the leaked concept art: the flesh is charred black and there's a gaping hole where the cheek should be. The video can be viewed either here (http://www.whysoserious.com/myhero/) or here (http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=MUlWVd3ouWc).

You can see a screen capture of Two-Face from one of the trailers here:

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n157/joshm9393/Movie%20Stuff/Darkknightscreen4-1.jpg

Be sure to look at the other side of the suit (near the window).

The suit was changed both for story and production reasons. During the production of Batman Begins, Christian Bale and the stunt men were constantly in danger of overheating because of the dense nature of the foam latex used to create the suit. It was also difficult for Bale to move, rotate, or to show expression in the head and neck area. The suit also damaged easily.

The new suit is made of polyurethane; it's a lot cooler and more durable, despite the increase of eight pounds.

In the movie, Bruce Wayne asks Lucius for a new suit that will allow him to turn his head (which, he comments, will make it easier to back out of the driveway) and also protect him from dogs (referring to a prior attack). Lucius warns that increased agility means an increased vulnerability to bullets and knives.

Yes. Batman has a new vehicle called a Batpod. Within the film it is actually a detachment from the Tumbler (the Batmobile) after that vehicle is catastrophically damaged by an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) fired at close range by the Joker. The Tumbler self-destructs afterward for security reasons.

See: a picture of the Batpod at movieblog.ugo.com here.

The secret garage is not connected to the penthouse. Instead it's located underneath a shipping dock owned by Wayne Enterprises.

Louise Simonson's novelization of the animated Batman: Gotham Knight provides a reasonable explanation of how Bruce was able to modify his penthouse apartment in The Dark Knight (boldface added for emphasis):

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Despite a recent effort by an ex-CEO to take the company public while Bruce was out of the country and presumed missing, Bruce had managed to buy up the majority of the stock. He continued to own the controlling shares in Wayne Enterprises, which had given him a great deal of leeway when it came to remodeling the corporate headquarters.

The Wayne Enterprises building took up an entire city block. It rose in art-deco splendor into the skies of Gotham, just as splendid, in its way, as the taller Aparo Tower. It was one of Gotham's indespensable hubs of financial power and a vital center for public transportation. Half of its first floor and basement level was a nexus for subway, monorail, and commuter train lines.

The building had been badly damaged during the violence that followed the recent outbreak at Arkham. Wayne had used the excuse of much-needed repairs to install a private elevator that ran from his office, through the basement, and into the subbasement level that housed the newly refurbished Applied Sciences Division.

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BRUCE WAYNE MOVES INTO "MAMMOTH" PENTHOUSE APARTMENT

Where does the richest man in Gotham move when his house burns down? For Bruce Wayne, the answer was easy - find the priciest luxury tower in town and buy the entire top two floors.

With seven bedrooms, six baths, marble flown in from Italian rockyards, two ballrooms, and panoramic city views, Wayne's new residence represents the ultimate in city living.

Wayne Industries is using the apartment to test out radical new technologies for home use. It's a "digital home" where your every whim - from music to lighting to video and games -- can be granted via fingertip access points.

Wayne gutted the interior and invested millions in a renovation. And today was the move-in date.

Curiosity seekers and photographers jostled for a view as Bruce Wayne moved his belongings - thinned out from the fire -- into the penthouse suite at Gotham Century Towers.

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Gotham City is a fictional U.S. port city located on the north-eastern Atlantic coast. It was originally a stand-in for New York City, but has also resembled other crime-ridden urban centers such as Chicago and Detroit. Some sources, including Mayfair Games' authorized (but now out-of-print) Atlas of the DC Universe, have placed Gotham City in the state of New Jersey.

Christopher Nolan's Gotham City is located in the middle of the estuary of the Liberty River, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The river separates most of Gotham from the mainland. The River Merchant divides Uptown from Midtown, while Midtown is separated from Downtown by the Gotham River. The Narrows is a small island in the Gotham River. A creek divides the district of South Hinkley from the rest of Gotham City. Gotham International Airport is in Pettsburg, to the north of the Liberty River estuary.

The current DC Universe version of Gotham City is separated from the mainland by the Gotham River, bridged by a series of bridges and tunnels. The east and south sides of Gotham face the Atlantic Ocean. The city is further divided by the Sprang River (named for Dick Sprang) on the northern end and the Finger River (for Bill Finger) to the south. Tiny Blackgate Isle to the south-east is home to Blackgate Maximum Security Penitentiary. (Blackgate is replaced by Stonegate Penitentiary in the animated series "Batman" (1992) and its spin-offs.)

Batman Begins and The Dark Knight both have scenes that were filmed in Chicago. In The Dark Knight, the US Post Office entrance on Van Buren was transformed into Gotham National Bank. After wrapping in Chicago, the production has headed to Hong Kong. "The filming locations will include the Central-Mid-Levels escalator, some parts of Queen's Road Central and The Centre," notes the newspaper The Standard.

Several:

Gotham City Map (by district): http://www.ibelieveinharveydent.com/youinaction.aspx

City Rail Map: http://www.gothamcityrail.com/map.htm

And, for comparison, DC Comics' Gotham City: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/Gothammap.jpg

http://www.holycow.com/joe/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/joker_darknight.jpg

Many had been fooled into thinking that this was the official poster for the movie. It's a fake. Not only is it not a genuine poster for The Dark Knight, it is not even of Heath Ledger. This poster was made from a picture of Conrad Veidt, an actor who had starred in the 1928 adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel, The Man Who Laughs. Veidt's Gwynplaine, a gypsy clown whose smile had been carved into his face when he was a boy, was the main inspiration for the Joker in 1940.

The original, undoctored photo of the fake poster can be seen here.

You can view all of the official posters here: http://www.impawards.com/2008/dark_knight.html.

The quotations came from footage shown at Wizard World Convention in Chicago, 2007.

Heath Ledger, who died Jan 22, 2008, had finished filming his role of the Joker in the The Dark Knight. His death had little, if any, effect on the finished film. Certainly, the Joker still appeared and was not played by another actor.

Warner Bros. had restructured its marketing campaign to focus more on Batman. Up until Ledger's death, it had concentrated on the Joker. No announcement has been made on whether the character will appear in the sequel. By the end of Dark Knight, the Joker is arrested.

Ledger's death did not affect the U.S. release date, which was July 18., 2008.

The film is dedicated to Heath Ledger. The dedication appears at the end of the film. (See the entry directly below.)

Yes. It's only a couple of minutes into the credits. The dedication screen is shared with the New Zealand special effects technician, Conway Wickliffe, who died working on the film.

Yes. Warner Bros. Animation teamed with Japanese animators to produce Batman: Gotham Knight, an anime-style direct-to-video prequel to Christopher Nolan's film The Dark Knight. An internal DC/Warner Bros. Animation marketing document described the project as follows:

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Set in the period between BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT, this brand new adventure follows BATMAN as he unravels a mystery over six original stories done in the style of Japanese Anime. Each of the six original stories has been written by a highly respected screenwriter or comic book creator. The talent includes Academy Award nominee Josh Olson (A History of Violence), screenwriter of the Blade films and BATMAN BEGINS David S. Goyer, and famed comic book writer Brian Azzarello, among others." Warner Bros. Animation is anticipating this to be rated PG-13 (most likely for animated violence).

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With roughly 105,000 votes and a 9.5 weighted average as of Wednesday, July 23, 2008, this became the #1 movie on IMDb's list of Top 250 movies.

There is no single, definite answer for why this movie is number one. Obviously, IMDb's list is not the only list of all-time best movies, and The Dark Knight may not have scored as high as #1 on other lists. But its high rating on this list is probably due to a combination of the following:

1. This is one of the few comic book movie adaptations that are done well:

- Great acting;

- This is an example of perfect good versus evil story and a prime example of humankind's characteristics;

- Characters show different emotions and different sides of their personalities;

- Many of the characters stay true to the comic books;

- We see why and how the dynamic characters change.

2. The death of a well-known and well respected actor, Heath Ledger, might have increased the ratings for the movie.

3. Audiences already have a high respect for the director, Christopher Nolan. Their respect for him may have increased audience numbers, and once in their seats, the audiences overwhelmingly approved of his new film.

4. With many sold out shows in the opening weekend, a large percentage of those who bought tickets early and/or waited in hour-plus lines were the most ardent fans bound to rate the film highly. Though it's likely to remain high in the Top #250, the abnormally high 9.6 rating has already begun to drop as less excited film-goers take the time to see the film.

5. There is also a tendency for new releases to score highly. In particular hugely anticipated movies will score high as the core fans watch and love it, and give a high rating. Then when the initial rush is over the casual fans who may not get all the nuances, or who may view the film without the bias of a hardcore fan will not rate it so highly and the average weighted rating falls. This may not occur for a few weeks or even a month. Come Christmas, this movie may have dropped down the list. Time will tell.

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable. Please note that from this point on the entries are about crucial plot points, including the ending, and are not covered with tags.

Batman uses some sort of hydraulic hand device to snap the gun. He also uses this same device on Scarecrow's van. He tries to rip a hole in the side in an attempt to apprehend the villain. After the device jams, Batman is slammed into a wall and Scarecrow almost escapes. Batman then jumps onto his van from a few stories up, and crushes it. He captures and ties up the Scarecrow, his henchmen, and the fake Batmen. This is the only time we see this device used, as he gets a new suit shortly after.

There is only one real Batman. The other ones are a gang of vigilantes who are inspired by Batman, which is why they use guns instead of gadgets and wear goalie pads. When the Joker is trying to draw Batman out, he starts killing these would-be followers of the Dark Knight. These impostor "Batmen" are likely inspired by the "Sons of the Batman" vigilante gang as featured in Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" graphic novel (1986).

He's not. Nestor Carbonell, who plays the mayor, looks like that naturally.

Step by step:

1. Batman takes a piece of concrete containing all the pieces of the shattered bullet since that is what he will need at the end.

2. The gunshots were to test different bullet types in hopes of finding what type of bullet was used by (a) matching the hole size made in the concrete and (b) matching the wave patterns between the two blocks of concrete through sonar.

3. Once the bullet type was determined, Fox's new type of sonar imaging was used in visualizing the bullet fragments and allowing them to be recombined to match the known bullet type. (a) Why the image could be gathered at the new Batcave but only be pieced together at Wayne Enterprises is unclear. (b) It is a plot point which allows the sonar device to resonate an image of a fingerprint since the oil found on someone's skin would not be picked up that easily (or clearly) by a soundwave.

4. The fingerprint is matched to all possible suspects who have their fingerprints on file.

5. Of the four, the one they chose (Melvin White) had a known address which was on the procession route for the funeral march.

Melvin White, at the time of discovery, is assumed to be the real name of the Joker (since Wayne thinks that the Joker is the one who loaded the bullet), but White turns out to only be one of the Joker's assassins. Wayne goes to White's apartment, where the Joker has set up the trap.

At a pivotal point in the film, Batman is given two addresses and told that he can only save one of the people, those two people being either Harvey Dent or Rachel. Batman leaves the station and says he is going for Rachel. He leaves the police to rescue Harvey. Unfortunately, with his trademark black humor, the Joker lied about which victim was at which address. Thus while Batman intended to save Rachel, he "saves" Harvey instead.

Bruce Wayne indicates to Lucius Fox that he has budgeted a large amount of money to a government telecommunications project. When Lucius asks, Bruce indicates that he is "playing this one pretty close to his chest." The audience can only assume that this was all part of a plan that Bruce had, knowing the technology would come in handy against the Joker.

Later in the film, it becomes clear why Bruce did not tell Lucius, as Lucius is upset by Batman's spying.

He was the first hostage that Batman tackled when he flies into the construction building. Batman tells Engel to stay down. Engel nods. That is the last we see of him. The SWAT team goes inside to take out all the clowns, but they were actually hostages dressed up as Joker's men. Batman stops the SWAT team from killing any of them.

So in short: he lives.

At the end of the film, Gordon says, "five dead, two of them cops," referring to Harvey Dent's (Two Face's) victims, but it isn't completely clear how Gordon arrived at this number.

Here is what we know and what we can speculate on:

The first death was Detective Wuertz, who Dent shot in the bar.

Then, just before the car ride where Dent kills Maroni, we see Maroni get into his car with another passenger entering from the other side. Maroni is surprised when he starts talking to the person who is supposed to be in the car with him, and then realizes it's Dent instead. We can assume Dent killed the passenger to take his place in the car.

Next was Maroni's driver, who Dent shoots, and then Maroni himself, who we presume died in the resulting crash.

The tally is now four: Wuertz, Maroni's driver, Maroni, and the unnamed passenger.

Since Ramirez (the female cop) was only punched out and not killed, the fifth would have to be the cop in the hospital, the one who goes to retrieve Harvey, only to be gunned down by the Joker. Since no one knows that the Joker was there, it would be presumed that Harvey killed him--though we in the audience know better.

Another possibility is that Dent killed some of the cops that were guarding Mrs. Gordon's house when they were "called off" by Detective Ramirez.

It's also possible that more of Dent's murders were filmed but cut out of the final release, resulting in this slight continuity problem.

Most likely no. When he types in his name and the machine starts to fry itself, he nods with satisfaction that the machine is being destroyed. He says, "As long as this machine is at Wayne Enterprises, I won't be." Therefore, since the machine is destroyed, we can assume he is planning to stick around. After all, where would Batman get those wonderful toys if not from Fox?

Why do Gordon and Batman choose to pin Two-Face's crimes on Batman?

A number of reasons:

1) When Dent had Gordon's family at the place where Rachel died, the police had a border already set up. By this time, Joker was in custody. Had they blamed Joker, everyone would have known they were lying. That would prompt an investigation into the other deaths. Batman and Gordon wanted to preserve Dent's image as the "White Knight," giving the citizens of Gotham hope.

2) Batman wouldn't want to falsely pin crimes on even someone like the Joker.

3) After the events of The Dark Knight, Batman can no longer allow himself to be affiliated with Gotham Police without risking more deaths. By "rebranding" himself, he not only severs all ties to authority, he is also "becoming the villain." As Dent is allowed to die a hero, Batman must accept the opposite responsibility. (i.e.- Dent's phrase, "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.")

4) Harvey Dent is a leading prosecutor. If word was to get out that he's a crazy killer, all the crime bosses in prison would have sufficient grounds for appeal. All the convictions of all the cases Dent has ever tried could be overturned, and all the crime bosses would be back on the street. The movie mentions this a few times. In their first meeting, the mayor cautioned Dent that he had better watch himself, because all they need is a little dirt on him and all the cases would crumble. During the scene where Dent threatens the fake honor guard who was actually a paranoid schizophrenic, Batman warns Dent that killing him would put all the cases in jeopardy. Batman reiterates this to Gordon at the end.

5) During their final confrontation, the Joker explains that Batman's weakness is his adherence to rules. Why abide by a code when your enemies obviously don't? Pinning Two-Face's crimes on Batman is sending a message to the public, and it's not a terribly positive one. This also plays into his psychological dilemma evidenced by the line "I've seen what I have to become to stop men like him."

Two-Face is knocked to the ground by Batman, off the building where he has taken Gordon's family. He is immobile on the ground, good eye closed, and is presumably dead. Gordon and Batman decide to pin the crimes on Batman in order to preserve Dent's image as the "White Knight," giving the citizens of Gotham hope. A memorial service is held for Dent, where Gordon can be seen making a speech.

Dent's fate and Batman's subsequent decision to take the blame for Dent's murders holds one of the film's greatest ironies. Batman broke his own code and killed Dent, the White Knight of Gotham, which was the only way to save Gotham from being lost forever.

Note: There is speculation among audiences that the funeral is faked and that Harvey Dent survived the fall. After the fall, we do see Two-Face's coin landing heads-up, i.e. the "good" side. But keep in mind, he was flipping the coin to determine the fate of Gordon's son, not himself. Nothing else in the film supports the speculation. In fact, the shooting script specifies that Two-Face snaps his neck and dies. We'll have to wait for the next movie to see if Nolan changes his mind.

Yes. Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman are all under contract for three films.

Two-Face. It was widely believed that Two-Face would be the villain of the third installment. David Goyer, who penned Batman Begins and helped on The Dark Knight, had said that the Joker would disfigure Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, in the third film. But we now know that Dent's disfigurement occurs in Dark Knight. And, of course, he dies at the end. (There is speculation on how and why he might still be alive. See: this FAQ entry.)

The Joker Asked about whether the Joker would appear again (which would require the role to be recast), Christopher Nolan said, "I don't know. I honestly have not taken a moment away from what is going on with the film now to even think about that. I don't know. I simply don't know." [source needed] It has been rumored by an unconfirmed source that there is some extra footage of Heath Ledger's Joker that can be used in the next sequel.

The Riddler. In an interview with Movie Hole, Gary Oldman said, "Maybe we don't need the Joker. Because we'll have The Riddler."

There has been speculation on the web that that either Coleman Reese (played by Joshua Harto) or Mike Engel (played by Anthony Michael Hall) might turn into the Riddler, although neither character fits the traditional origin or characteristics of the Riddler character, known by the real name of Edward Nigma in most incarnations.

In one of the newspapers released with the viral marketing, there is a 'letter to the editor' that is authored by Edward Nashton, a common alias of the Riddler.

The Catwoman. There is one point where Lucius Fox and Batman are discussing the new Bat-suit. Batman makes a comment about the strength of the suit, asking if it would be able to protect him from large dogs. Lucius says it should protect him from "cats"--a possible, however very unlikely, reference to Catwoman.

The Scarecrow. Some fans were disappointed about the Scarecrow's small role in the film. But he does survive the movie, which means he could return with a larger role in the third film.

The Black Mask. David Goyer has expressed a desire to use a villain that has not received previous film treatment. [source of statement needed] The news has put Roman Sionis/The Black Mask on the list of possibilities.

The Mad Hatter. There has been online speculation that Jervis Tetch (alias the Mad Hatter) makes a brief appearance in The Dark Knight, though this name is never used in the movie or in the credits. David Dastmalchian, who is supposedly playing Tetch, is simply billed as "Joker's thug."

The Penguin. Christopher Nolan has said that the Penguin is too "campy" a character for use in the reinvented Batman series. [source of statement needed]

Nothing at the moment, although there were many scenes cut, as evidenced by various trailers and T.V. spots. Also, knowing Nolan and his attention to detail, it would be highly likely we will either see those scenes on a special cut, or in the special features. Additionally, www.IGN.com is running a story of what they would like to see on the DVD. That article can be found here: http://dvd.ign.com/articles/892/892659p1.html