Blatant Plot Holes and Absurdities in The Dark Knight Trilogy

Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy ended thirteen years ago, but it is still considered by many film lovers not only as the best portrayal of the famous DC superhero but also as the perfect example of a comic book adaptation. The middle part of the trilogy, The Dark Knight, leads the way among viewers, also remembered for Heath Ledger’s outstanding performance.

Although Nolan is undoubtedly a perfectionist, even he sometimes slips up. Below are some plot holes and absurdities from The Dark Knight trilogy, gathered by fans.

Batman Begins

League of Shadows Plan

The League of Shadows, led by Ra’s al Ghul, plans to evaporate all the water in Gotham in order to release the gas already present in it, which would drive the inhabitants mad. Here’s the problem: if evaporating the water is enough to release the gas, shouldn’t it evaporate whenever the residents of Gotham are boiling water in a pot or kettle, or taking a hot shower?

Wayne Technology

Bruce Wayne is supplied with technology by Lucius Fox – including vehicles and armor. Though Batman’s versions have different colors, they are still distinctive enough that it’s hard to imagine that no one involved in their production or construction noticed the similarities and started to investigate.

The Dark Knight

Joker’s Plan

After the Joker sends Batman to rescue Harvey Dent (though Batman believes he’s going to Rachel), he proceeds with the next phase of his plan – escaping from prison. To do so, he needs to call a number that activates a bomb implanted under the skin of one of the thugs in the jail, which in turn requires getting out of the interrogation room. The Joker is lucky that one of the police officers – who is easily provoked – was left in the room with him and was persuaded to approach. Otherwise, his escape might not have worked (by the way, it’s interesting that after the bomb explodes, everyone is wiped out except for the Joker!).

The Party

One of the most famous scenes in The Dark Knight is when the Joker crashes a party, looking for Harvey Dent. At the scene’s conclusion, Batman arrives to stop him and orders the Joker to release Rachel, to which the Joker replies with the famous line about the wrong choice of words, then throws her out of the window. Batman, of course, saves her, but… what about the other guests at the party? How did the Joker leave the building unnoticed? Did Batman return to make sure no one else got hurt? So many questions!

The Bus

At the end of the prologue, showing the Joker’s gang robbing a bank, the antagonist leaves “unnoticed” inside a school bus. It would be a good hiding spot if not for the fact that the bus literally drives out of a hole in the building’s wall and joins the others. Didn’t anyone wonder why the vehicle was inside the bank?

The Dark Knight Rises

Bane’s Plan

In the prologue of the closing chapter of Nolan’s trilogy, Bane executes his plan to kidnap Dr. Pavel and suggest that he died in a plane crash. To do this, Bane’s team fakes the accident by tearing the wings off one of the two planes present in the scene, and one of the henchmen sacrifices himself to make it appear that Pavel is dead. Earlier, he transferred some of Pavel’s blood through a transfusion. One can only wonder why Bane didn’t think that the authorities could easily verify the staged disaster, and the identity of the deceased could be checked, for example, via dental records, and a small blood transfusion would not help much. In Nolan’s world, however, that seems to be enough because when Bane later reveals that Pavel is alive (just before killing him), everyone seems surprised.

Teleportation

Bruce, physically and mentally scarred, is imprisoned by Bane in a deep pit. Despite a spinal injury, he somehow manages to recover in just a few months (let’s overlook that part) and escape to the surface to return to Gotham and face his foe again. The question is: how exactly did he manage that? He had no money or passport with him, and it’s unclear whether he contacted Alfred about it. One thing is for sure: he had to get to the U.S. – remember that Gotham itself was barricaded.

The Stunts

Let’s continue – after arriving in Gotham, Bruce decides to spend his time and energy by painting his symbol in gasoline on one of the bridges. Somehow, he does this completely unnoticed, and in addition, he perfectly timed his appearance to coincide with the moment when Gordon will arrive to set fire to the gasoline leading to the symbol. With his fiery bat, he signals to Bane that he’s back in town, though perhaps a better idea would have been to operate in secrecy until the confrontation?

Do Not Kill

Finally, a topic discussed online in the context of the entire trilogy: does Batman truly follow his “no kill” rule? Of course, he doesn’t do it directly, like Batman in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman, but he allows Ra’s al Ghul to die (even commenting on it), causes Harvey Dent’s death, and during the tunnel chase, he doesn’t seem particularly concerned with the surroundings or whether there are any casualties along the way.

Have you noticed any other plot holes in Nolan’s trilogy?