Batman (Robert Pattinson)

Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman in The Batman

Dylan Clark

### Abilities

Genius intellect, Expert detective, Skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant, Utilizes high-tech equipment

Bruce Wayne also known as Batman is a reclusive billionaire, the owner of Wayne Enterprises, and the wrathful vigilante known as the Batman. After the ruthless murder of his parents at the hands of an unknown mugger, Bruce swore vengeance against all criminals, an oath tempered by a sense of justice for which he trained himself physically and intellectually, all to become Gotham City's embodiment of vengeance, using a lethal combination of mental mastery, physical strength, and expert technology to fight crime at night.

## Role in the Film

### Early Life

Bruce Wayne was the sole son of Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne and enjoyed a happy life with them as a child with Alfred as his other guardian. During his father's tenure as Gotham City's mayor, Thomas Wayne decided to give away their home, Wayne Manor, as an orphanage as part of his Gotham Renewal Plan which resulted in the family moving to Wayne Tower.

### Losing his Parents

A reporter named Edward Elliot threatened to expose Martha Wayne's troubled past as a mentally ill patient from Arkham Asylum. Thomas, who was more concerned and desperate for his wife and son's safety than his reputation, turned to Carmine Falcone for help in an act of desperation. Wayne did not anticipate Falcone to actually killing the reporter and threatened to tell the authorities about it. However, that never came to be as Thomas and Martha were gunned down by an unknown assailant in front of a young Bruce. Forever changed and scarred by his parents' deaths, he dedicated his life to fighting the injustices plaguing Gotham with Alfred now as his surrogate father and trainer.

Bruce grew to be a antisocial, standoffish person because of his trauma but was clearly gifted, albeit troubled. He was the top of his class, was valedictorian in high school, and had a affinity for chemistry. Also in his adolescence, he would participate in street races with other kids his age and worked on a car that would later become the Batmobile. On one particular incident, a delivery boy named Edward Nashton who almost got hurt from their street racing, decided to take revenge by rigging one of their cars to explode. Bruce, while unaware Nashton was behind the crime, still noted the car was about to blow up and saved his friend from the explosion. The two had a brief romantic relationship after this.

### Becoming Batman

Now in his late twenties, after years of training, Bruce honed his intellect, strength, and anger to become a vigilante with the funding of his vast fortune as the now CEO of Wayne Enterprises. He would document his crusade as “The Gotham Project” and dubbed his alter-ego The Batman. He spent the first two years of his career creating a reputation of fear striking not only Gotham's criminals but also its citizens and has lead to a tense relationship between him and the GCPD. Although Jim Gordon is one of the few, if not only, cop within the police department to trust Batman. While Alfred aids in his crusade, he voices his concern for Bruce's well-being as this crusade has left him haggard and withdrawn.

During his first year as a vigilante, Batman went at odds with a psychopathic killer known only as the Joker and incarcerated him. Joker took a particular interest in the vigilante and would continue to be locked up for about a year.

### The Batman

Towards the end of his second year as a vigilante, on Halloween, Batman began investigating the murder of Gotham's current mayor, Don Mitchell Jr.. In the crime scene, he found a note specifically for him containing a cipher and a message. With Alfred's help, the long cipher was transcripted to say the word "DRIVE". With Gordon, he found that in one of Mitchell's cars contained a flash drive and the late mayor's severed thumb. The drive contained information regarding the next clue, had pictures of Mitchell with a woman at the Iceberg Lounge, and revealed the killer who calls himself the Riddler. They are even given the phrase "You are el rata alada" as a clue. Batman decides to go the club directly and get answers from its owner, Oswald Cobblepot aka the Penguin. While Penguin gives him no intel, Bruce decides to trail one of the waitresses, Selina Kyle, back to her home where he finds the woman, named Annika, living with her. He follows and confronts Selina at Mithcell's house while she was trying to get Annika's passport. The two return to the apartment with her gone. Batman sees the Riddler broadcasting his second murder of Gotham's police commissioner and he and Gordon investigate the death trap he was put in. They find out that the commissioner had taken bribes from the aforementioned rat and the next clue says for them "to bring the rat into the light". Batman decides to have Selina go back to the Lounge to get more information. There, he finds a good portion of employees within Gotham's legal system are in collusion with the mob, Penguin and his boss, Carmine Falcone. Selina decides to cease communication with Batman when he confronts her about her strange relation to Falcone.

Bruce decides to attend the mayor's funeral to gather intel on Riddler where he meets Falcone, who told him about how Thomas Wayne saved him one night. He also meets with Bella Réal and she tells him he could be doing more for Gotham like his family has in the past. The funeral is interrupted by Riddler when he had the DA, Gil Colson, ram his car through the church where Bruce saved the mayor's son. He got out with a bomb on his neck, a phone taped his hand, and letter from Riddler to the Batman. Hours later, Batman came back to the church where he spoke directly to the Riddler for the first time. The latter then had Colson answer three riddles in two minutes, which if he answered correctly, would let Colson have the code for the bomb. With Batman's help, he answers all the riddles except for the last one; he would have to give up the name of the informant or "rat" who told the police about Salvatore Maroni's drug operation. Colson refused to answer it due to the massive repercussions it would have and thus the bomb kills him. Batman gets knocked out from the explosion but is hauled away by the cops at the GCPD station. They threaten to arrest and unmask him but Gordon allows him to escape via the roof.

The two then go after Penguin who they believe to be the informant and find him making a drug deal where they realize Sal Maroni's supposedly busted drug operation was still ongoing. Batman spots Selina at the dealing, who was gonna steal their money, and the two find Annika's corpse there. They are spotted by Penguin whom Batman engages in a car chase with using the Batmobile. Batman manages to capture Penguin, where he and Gordon find out he isn't the informant and find out the phrase " You are el rata alada" refers to a website, *rataalada.com*, where they're given more clues*.* The investigation leads them to the abandoned Wayne Manor orphanage where they learn about Riddler's vendetta against the Waynes. They realize that his next target is Bruce Wayne and Batman realizes that Alfred is in danger and rushes to Wayne Tower, only to realize Riddler had gotten to him already. Bruce finds a letter from Riddler that survived the explosion saying "See you in hell". While Alfred was left comatose, Bruce got back into contact with Selina where she admitted to being Falcone's illegitimate daughter and the two share a romantic moment together and agree to a truce. Bruce then watches another of Riddler's broadcasts, where he reveals how his parents were involved with Elliot and Falcone. Shaken by this revelation, Bruce confronted Falcone directly and confirmed murdering the journalist. He then spoke to Alfred as soon as he woke up from his coma, accusing him of lying to Bruce for so long. But Alfred gave his side of the incident, saying that his father never wanted Falcone to kill the journalist but just to scare him. And that he cared more about his wife's wellbeing and Bruce's than his mayoral campaign. The two make up quickly afterwards.

Batman and Gordon are summoned by the Batsignal to find Selina with Kenzie, another cop in Falcone's payroll. The two learn that Falcone killed Annika for knowing the biggest conspiracy in Gotham; Falcone has pretty much the entire police and legal department within the city in his pocket for the past two decades by using Thomas Wayne's Gotham Renewal Act for laundering money as it went unsupervised. Batman deduces that Falcone is the true rat Riddler was mentioning who gave up Maroni's drug operation to the police to gain power for himself. Selina, motivated by revenge on her father, tries to kill Kenzie but Batman and Gordon save him and she rushes to the Iceberg Lounge to kill Falcone. Batman goes after her personally and starts by cutting off the power supply in the club while Gordon has the voicemail of Falcone admitting to the conspiracy and him killing Annika sent to the news. After making his way through armed mobsters, Batman saved Selina from almost being killed from Falcone and stopped her from killing him. While Falcone was being arrested by the GCPD, at least the ones not on his payroll, he was shot dead by Riddler from his own apartment. He escaped afterwards but then quickly turned himself into the police and was sent to Arkham. At his apartment, they found disturbing journal entries written by Riddler, now identified as Edward Nashton and the copious amounts of devices he used to formulate his plan which he had premeditated for years. Batman had found a bat locked in a cage with one last letter addressed to him, with "My Confession" written in it and they found the bloodied tool that Nashton used to kill Mitchell with. When observing a wall of plastered pictures of Bruce Wayne and newspapers about his vigilante counterpart, Batman was given the impression that Riddler discovered his identity. Gordon then told Batman that Riddler wants to speak with Batman at Arkham. Believing this to be the end of his crusade, he tells Gordon he's a good cop and leaves.

Batman meets Riddler at Arkham where he tells him about his horrid life in the Wayne Manor orphanage and his resentment towards the Waynes for not living up to their promises for change. He particularly hated Bruce Wayne for the attention he was getting as an orphan while Nashton and the other orphans were just forgotten and said Bruce was never really an orphan due to his privileged life. Batman realizes though that his identity is safe when Riddler tells them that Bruce Wayne was the only one they didn't get in the end. Batman then questions why he's been writing to him, to which Nashton reveals to be inspired by the vigilante and claims that they have been working together this entire time to enact his crusade. When Batman tells him he's insane, he has a breakdown and tells him that the two would've watched his plan reached its climax safely in Arkham. Batman is startled by this, while Riddler deduces that the former didn't find everything at his apartment regarding the rest of his plans and says he would die if he tries to stop it.

Back at the apartment, Batman realizes that the murder weapon for Mithcell is a carpeting tool and he removes the carpet with it to reveal a roughly drawn map of Gotham with blinking lights titled "A REAL CHANGE". Batman and Officer Martinez were able to watch Riddler's last stream where he reveals that he and his followers had set up explosive cars at certain parts of the city to blow up, causing a massive flood almost instantly. And that said followers will sneak their way to Gotham Stadium to assassinate the newly elected Mayor Réal. They discover this too late as the explosions have already occurred and Riddler's followers are already at the stadium so Batman swiftly leaves. Some time later, with Riddler's followers already causing chaos, the stadium flooded and the mayor shot (albeit nonfatally), Batman arrives from the rooftop and begins to dispatch the followers. However, he begins to struggle due to the multiple enemies, lofty platforming and his armor's weakened state. Gordon and Catwoman see this and try and reach the scaffolding to help him. Just as Batman is about to be shot while hanging on to a ledge, Selina knocks the follower out and helps Batman up. However, the follower then begins to attack her so Batman, dazed and wounded, takes a shot of adrenaline to regain his strength and brutally beats the man until Gordon comes to stop him. The follower is unmasked and asked who he is to which he responds with "Me? I'm vengeance." Batman is shocked by the negative effect by inspiring extremists like the Riddler and his followers. Batman notices a dangling powerline over the flooded ground and cuts off the wiring, sending him down to the water. He then lights a flare and helps out the trapped citizens to safety.

Batman narrates that Gotham has now been placed in martial law and things will get worse before they get better. But he realizes he needs to change his approach and decides to being a more heroic figure to the city instead of just a symbol of fear and he's seen helping the citizens in the daylight. He meets with Selina who decides to move to Bludhaven, telling Batman that Gotham won't really change and that he should come with her. Batman declines, still wanting to try and make a difference, with Selina recognizing his resolve. The two then part ways as Selina goes in the opposite direction and Batman heads towards the city as the Batsignal shines in the early night sky.

## Appearances

* The Batman - Robert Pattinson
* The Penguin - Robert Pattinson
* The Batman: Part II - Robert Pattinson

## See Also

* Batman (Lewis Wilson)
* Batman (Robert Lowery)
* Batman (Adam West)
* Batman (Michael Keaton)
* Batman (Val Kilmer)
* Batman (George Clooney)
* Batman (Christian Bale)
* Batman (The Lego Movie)
* Batman (DC Extended Universe)