Essay Questions

What is the importance of the Bat not having autopilot?

When Bruce is introduced to the Bat, Lucius tells him the autopilot needs to be fixed. By way of this introduction the end of the film has greater weight when we see the nuclear bomb being carried off by Batman. We are lead to believe that the autopilot still does not work and that Batman has indeed given everything to save the people of Gotham. It makes us wonder if he actually did engage the autopilot as the techs at Wayne Enterprises say he did, or not. It puts a fitting end to Nolan's Batman era as well as The Dark Knight leaves his legacy as a hero.

Why was Bane excommunicated from The League of Shadows?

Bane was excommunicated by Ra's Al Ghul after being trained because every day that Ra's looked upon the face of Bane he was reminded of the torment that his wife endured to give birth to their child and the great loss that he suffered from this prison. Thus, Ra's Al Ghul banished him for the sake of never having to choose to be reminded of his great tragedy in life as it was too much to bear.

Why is the Dent Act so important to keep in place?

The Dent Act was created to keep criminals off the streets after Harvey Dent died. Gotham City went from a war zone of criminal activity to a city of peace as officers were given greater ability to arrest and try criminals. Commissioner Gordon and Batman have upheld a lie, that Dent was the White Knight of the city in order to keep this Act in place, but the truth is that he was not the hero they needed and that they used his death to protect the people of Gotham rather than telling them the truth of his demise and risk not getting the Act passed.