Summary
- The Dark Knight Rises ending parallels a memorable scene from the 1966 Batman movie, showcasing the strength and diversity of the Batman franchise.
- Despite their different tones, both movies successfully use a similar plot point to create an impact.
- The connection between the two films highlights how the Batman franchise can seamlessly blend comedy and drama to cater to different audiences.
The Dark Knight Rises ending makes the 1966 Batman: The Movie much cooler in retrospect. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is regarded as one of the best Batman – and best superhero – adaptations of all time, changing the landscape of how the genre was regarded permanently. It arguably also began the current media upsurge of the superhero genre, due to both its immense critical and commercial success, and because it provided a look at just how realistic superhero movies could now be.
Interestingly, though, the movie also has some similarities to one of the least realistic Batman series of all time as well. The 1966 Batman: The Movie came about as a movie tie-in to the live-action television series, and its playful approach to the Batman mythos means it’s still often quoted and discussed to this day, especially with Batman adaptions largely being far more serious in tone. However, Nolan’s Batman being a prime example of this only makes its ties to the 1966 movie all the better.
The Dark Knight Rises Ending Mirrors An Infamous Batman 1966 Scene
The Dark Knight Rises movie ending – wherein Batman seemingly sacrifices his life in order to pilot a plane taking a bomb away from Gotham in order to set up the big twist of his survival – has long been joked about as paralleling an infamous scene from the 1966 Batman movie. In Batman: The Movie, the Caped Crusader struggles to figure out where to get rid of a bomb about to explode, comically finding himself in a series of crowded areas full of people who seem less than concerned about the deadly device in the Dark Knight’s hands, who iconically exclaims “sometimes you just can’t get rid of a bomb!” before it denotes seemingly in his hands.
Though it seems for a moment this may have finished off Adam West’s Batman, it’s quickly revealed that he’s entirely fine, and the explosion and spray of water was actually him throwing the device into a clear spot of Gotham’s harbor before taking cover. While it’s unlikely Christian Bale’s Batman was concerned with avoiding accidentally exploding ducks as West’s Dark Knight was, the similarities of these two scenarios are striking, and all the more poignant because of just how different the two series are – making the 1966 Batman movie cooler for its parallel to the Nolan Dark Knight series close to 50 years later.
Why The Dark Knight Rises’ Link To The 1966 Batman Movie Is Good
Though The Dark Knight Rises ending is generally compared to the 1966 Batman: The Movie to joke about the latter movie, the two movies having similarities highlights a strength of the Batman franchise as a whole. While The Dark Knight Rises is a gritty, realistic look into Batman – and Batman: The Movie is a fun romp that doesn’t take itself seriously whatsoever – both are able to make the same plot point work to good effect. Comedy and drama Batman series coexist to this day with the likes of The Batman and the Harley Quinn show, highlighting how diverse in tone the hero’s overall franchise can successfully be.