Trama

When a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, the Batman is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement.

Two years of nights have turned Bruce Wayne into a nocturnal animal. But as he continues to find his way as Gotham's dark knight Bruce is forced into a game of cat and mouse with his biggest threat so far, a manic killer known as "The Riddler" who is filled with rage and determined to expose the corrupt system whilst picking off all of Gotham's key political figures. Working with both established and new allies, Bruce must track down the killer and see him brought to justice, while investigating his father's true legacy and questioning the effect that he has had on Gotham so far as "The Batman."—jc-15610

Two years into the never-ending mission to rid Gotham City of violence and municipal corruption, reclusive billionaire and masked vigilante Bruce Wayne realises that the vast metropolis still oozes with crime. With the mayor killed at the hands of the Riddler, a psychotic terrorist hitting corrupt high-profile targets, Bruce joins forces with Commissioner Gordon to piece clues together and take down the elusive killer obsessed with the Wayne family and Bruce himself. As Gotham's self-appointed dark knight tries to find his feet, a white-knuckle, cat-and-mouse game attracts cryptic allies and dangerous adversaries, and no one is safe from harm. But is The Batman a blessing or a curse? A friend or a foe?—Nick Riganas

The Batman is an urban legend; a folktale; an all-encompassing presence lurking in the shadows scaring criminals. Or so they say. Reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne is in his second year fighting crime as The Batman, also known as Vengeance; and the anarchist known only as The Riddler is starting to make Gotham City unravel, and with it the Wayne Family's legacy. With the city on the brink, Batman must save his family's legacy and solve The Riddler's sadistic games before countless innocent people die.—Johnny-the-Film-Sentinel-2187

Someone is killing off senior political leaders in Gotham: the major, the chief of police, the district attorney. At the scene of each murder is found a note to Batman with a riddle and a clue to what is behind the murders. Batman's investigations lead him to a conspiracy that stretches back to when his father, Thomas Wayne, ran for mayor and, shortly after, was murdered.—grantss

On Halloween, Gotham City mayor Don Mitchell Jr. (Rupert Penry-Jones) is murdered by a masked psychopath calling himself the Edward Nashton / Riddler (Paul Dano) a forensic accountant who is inspired by Batman to become a serial killer who targets elite Gotham citizens and live-streams his crimes. He seeks to "unmask the truth" about Gotham, taunting Batman and law enforcement with riddles. Mitchell was campaigning against upstart Bella Real on rising crime in Gotham, and argued that his drug bust against Crime Lord Salvatore Maroni had dealt a big blow to organized crime and went a long way in cleaning up Gotham city.

Reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) obsessively protects Gotham City as a masked vigilante to cope with his traumatic past. Batman is around 30 years old and is not yet an experienced crime fighter, who has operated for two years as the vigilante Batman. Batman investigates the murder alongside the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD). Lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) is an ally of Batman in the GCPD. He is the only GCPD officer whom Batman trusts. Gordon discovers a message that the Riddler left for Batman. Mitchell's thumb was cut off. The Riddler had left a card and a cipher. Micthell was killed exactly 20 years after Thomas Wayne (Bruce's father) was killed during his own mayoral campaign. Using the cipher Batman figures that the next clue is in the Mayor's car, where they find a thumb drive, with the Mayor's thumb attached to it.

Batman and Gordon discover that the Riddler left a thumb drive in Mitchell's car containing images of Mitchell with a woman, Annika Kosolov (Hana Hrzic), at the Iceberg Lounge, a nightclub operated by the Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot / Penguin (Colin Farrell), mobster Carmine Falcone's (John Turturro) lieutenant. Falcone is a Gotham crime lord. The drive automatically emails the photos to all major news publications in the city.

The following night, the Riddler kills commissioner Pete Savage (Alex Ferns) and leaves another message for Batman. While the Penguin pleads ignorance, Batman notices that Selina Kyle / Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz), Annika's roommate and lover, works at the club as a waitress.

Annika is alive and afraid that Mitchell is dead. Bruce is spying on Selina and discovers her identity as Catwoman. Batman finds Catwoman stealing Annika's passport from Oz's safe. He confronts her and says he wants to help. They both return to Selina's apartment. When Annika disappears, Batman sends Selina back to the Iceberg Lounge for answers and discovers that Savage & Mitchell were on Falcone's payroll, as is district attorney Gil Colson (Peter Sarsgaard). Selina shuts off communication when Batman presses her about her relationship with Falcone.

Colson says that there was an informant who spilled the beans to Savage on the Maroni case and that is how the police finally caught him.

The Riddler abducts Colson, straps a timed collar bomb to his neck, and sends him to interrupt Mitchell's funeral. When Batman arrives, the Riddler calls him via Colson's phone and threatens to detonate the bomb if Colson cannot answer three riddles. Colson refuses to answer the third, the name of the informant who gave the GCPD information that led to a historic drug bust ending mobster Salvatore Maroni's operation, and dies. Colson reckons he is dead either way, but if he reveals the name, his family will also suffer. He tells Batman that the entire system is involved.

Batman and Gordon deduce that the informant may be the Penguin (since Batman saw a narcotics cop in the Iceberg lounge with Penguin) and track him to a drug deal. They discover that Maroni's operation transferred to Falcone, with many corrupt GCPD officers involved & that the biggest drug operation in GCPD history was a fraud. Selina inadvertently exposes them when she arrives to steal money and discovers Annika's corpse in a car trunk. After a car chase, Batman captures the Penguin but learns he is not the informant. Penguin also tells Batman and Gordon that Riddler's clue "El Rata Erada" doesn't mean a Rat with wings, but a Bat with wings. The clue points to Batman.

Batman and Gordon follow the Riddler's trail to the ruins of an orphanage funded by Bruce's murdered parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, where they learn that the Riddler holds a grudge against the Wayne family for failing the orphanage and that his next victim is Bruce Wayne. Bruce's butler and caretaker, Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis) (Batman's butler and mentor, though they have a strained relationship and rarely speak), is hospitalized after opening a letter bomb addressed to Bruce.

The Riddler leaks evidence that Thomas, who was running for mayor before he was murdered, hired Falcone to kill a journalist for threatening to reveal details about Martha and her family's history of mental illness. Bruce meets Falcone, who says that he took care of the reporter for Thomas. Alfred believes that Falcone had Thomas and Martha killed to silence them.

Bruce, who grew up believing his father was morally upstanding, confronts Alfred, who maintains that Thomas only asked Falcone to threaten the journalist into silence. Thomas planned to turn himself and Falcone over to the police once he found out Falcone murdered the journalist instead. Alfred believes that Falcone had Thomas (Luke Roberts) and Martha (Stella Stocker) killed to prevent this.

Selina reveals to Batman that Falcone is her neglectful father, which is how she knew about the money in the car. Falcone had sex with Selina's mother, who used to work at the Iceberg lounge. She decides to kill him after learning that he strangled Annika because Mitchell told her that Falcone was the informant as he had the most to gain as the entire Marconi business came to him.

Batman and Gordon arrive in time to stop her explaining that she shouldn't allow Falcone to destroy her future through murdering him and facing prison. Batman escorts Falcone to the police, while Falcone tells Batman that he knows of all Gotham's hidden secrets and underworld dealings and that everything he knows dies with him. No sooner does Batman bring Falcone outside to the patrol waiting than Riddler snipes Falcone from his apartment window.

The Riddler is unmasked as forensic accountant Edward Nashton and is incarcerated in Arkham State Hospital, where he tells Batman he took inspiration from him when targeting the corrupt. Nashton says that, as a neglected orphan, he was envious of the sympathy Bruce received after his parents' murder. He idolizes Batman-who inspired him to target the corrupt-and proposes a partnership, but Batman angrily rejects him.

Batman realizes that Nashton has more up his sleeve. Batman cuts open the rug of the apartment and discovers via a map drawn on the floor underneath that Nashton has stationed car bombs around Gotham. No sooner has he done this than an online video of Nashton's final transmission before his capture and incarceration plays, explaining gleefully that he had cultivated an online following that plans to assassinate mayor-elect Bella Real.

The bombs destroy the seawall around Gotham and flood the city. This forces everyone to higher ground at Gotham city square, where Bella is giving her victory speech. An online video posted by Nashton asked his followers to storm the city square and kill Bella. Nashton's followers attempt to kill Reál. Batman defeats them but is almost killed by a last member who is about to execute Batman.

Selina arrives and rescues Batman before kissing him, thanking him for preventing her from murdering Falcone. However, the member comes to and almost kills Selina with a knife. Batman injects himself with adrenaline, gets up, and tackles the member to the ground.

Batman sees a power line swinging just past the crowds in the flooded water below, throwing sparks everywhere as it flails wildly. Batman uses his grappling hook to swing toward the cord and grab onto it. Once he is hanging onto the cord, he uses his detachable bat emblem to sever it, causing him to be shocked by the electricity and fall down into the water. Batman rises from the water, lights a flare, and leads the survivors to safety.

Meanwhile in Arkham, Nashton is upset that his plan failed and wailing in his cell. A neighboring cell mate, who is largely obscured behind the steel door of his cell, proposes Nashton a riddle, asking, "Riddle me this. The less you have of me, the more I am worth." Nashton answers, "A friend." They laugh together.

Selina deems Gotham to be beyond saving and tries to convince Batman to leave with her, but he declines. They set out to the streets on their motorcycles. When they get to a fork in the road, Selina goes right and Batman goes left. He looks back in his mirror as she disappears into the horizon.