Riddle Me This: Batman Begins

With Nolan's Batman trilogy wrapping up this week, I, like so many, took time over the weekend to watch the first two films again for the millionth time. Though I do love both, I have a fundamental issue with the Dark Knight's origins. This may be an issue with the actual comics, but I've never read those, and the following is what I know from the film. If I have to warn you there are "spoilers" below, just walk away...


A lot of Bruce Wayne's issues lie within a childhood trauma of witnessing his parents' murder when he was just eight years old. Now in Nolan's origin film (can't remember how it played out in the Burton/Schumacher films), the Wayne's are at the opera and young Bruce gets freaked out by bat-esque characters on stage. So he asks his father if they can leave. Here's where I take issue.

Does Dr. Thomas Wayne escort his lovely wife and very young son out the well-lit main entrance of the opera house to find a taxi? Um...no. He decides instead to lead his precious family, in their fine attire and jewels, out the back of the theater, through a door which spills into a dark and grizzly alley, littered with trash, graffiti and criminals with guns so that the Waynes can be mugged and killed. Good one, Dad!

We know Dr. Wayne isn't oblivious to the economic crapper Gotham City has been in for many years, as he gave young Master Bruce a nice little speech about it while riding the train (seriously, rich people?) on the way to the opera just moments before. Now I wouldn't even take my child down a dark alley in such a lovely place as Pleasantville (before Reese Witherspoon whores it up), let alone what is thought of to be a big and dangerous city like Gotham. You can still get mugged and murdered in the front of a building. At least I wouldn't think you're a complete dumbass if you did.

SO RIDDLE ME THIS:

Why did the Waynes leave through the creepy back door instead of the front?



(NOTE: If this is actually explained in the comic, please feel free to inform me of it.)

10 comments:

  1. I too watched the films this weekend in preparation for Friday. And, this also confused me a bit.

    But, it is much like the original (in that one the Joker ended up being the shooter) - so it must be pretty close to what happens in the comics (can't say for sure).

    Only reason I can think of him going out that way - not disturbing the other patrons in the theater as they left so early. Perhaps this door was close enough to their seats where just those few in their row would be disturbed. Just a guess - and it could be way off base.

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    1. That was my best guess too: not disturbing others and/or ushering Bruce out as quickly as possible to avoid a full on panic attack.

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  2. this did cross my mind too.

    Maybe the Wayne's are SO famous in Gotham, they needed to get out of the building in secret, hence the back entrance. As they left early, no security knew or could assist in their exit.

    Simon

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    1. Hadn't thought about their big names being an influence. Interesting theory, Simon.

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    2. Well if that were the case I think they would have had a hard time riding the sub to the opera right? Or is it the only means of transportation (I guess it is considering the end). If thats the case I think the train scene to to the opera needs to be re-written.

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    3. Well, I think they rode the train because Wayne Enterprises built it and Thomas Wayne wanted to help the lower class people and influence them to use the rail system, so he was leading by example by having the family ride it. Which would have been fine in broad daylight, but late at night after the opera, he should have called Alfred to come pick them up...in the front of the building.

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  3. I think I subscribe to something like Simon's theory. There may have been a special exit for people who leave in the middle of a show so as to not disrupt the performance.

    I too started noticing oddities when doing a recent rewatch. In one that stuck out to me, Bruce Wayne refuses to kill a man, so he instead blows up a building, most likely killing the very same man (as well as several others).

    Later on a woman approaches Bruce at his birthday party and says something like "You have to meet this man. Am I pronouncing this right? Mr. Ra's Al Ghul?" Bruce says something to Liam Neeson like "You can't be Ra's Al Ghul. I watched him die" to which Liam Neeson responds "But is Ra's Al Ghul immortal?" It's at this point that the woman who introduced them decides to leave the conversation, but I can't imagine what must be going through her mind.

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    1. Ha! I thought the EXACT same thing about that woman who was in the conversation at the birthday party. She just turns around and wanders off like she wasn't witness to the weirdest conversation ever.

      The thing about blowing up the building didn't occur to me, but you make perfect sense. Not Bruce's best moment.

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  4. Yeah, I'm with you... and I have no idea.

    In the Burton film, they're walking down a dark, deserted street, the theatre far behind them. Might as well have been a back alley. But I don't know the comics, either, so I couldn't tell ya.

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    1. I thought the original was something like that, but it's been so long since I've seen it, I wasn't sure. I remember at one point Bruce went to put roses in that spot during the day (when Vicky follows him taking pictures) and it looked like it was at a busy intersection. Still baffled in both movies why Alfred wasn't there to pick them up.

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