#The Batman Ending Explained: Can Gotham Be Saved?

As his mission to stamp out crime in Gotham continues, Batman has only a few allies. He has his trusty butler Alfred (Andy Serkis), although he keeps him at arm’s length because, having lost his parents as a child, he’s wary of ever getting close to anyone. Then there’s Jim Gordon (Jefferey Wright), one of the few honest cops in Gotham, and seemingly the only cop who supports Batman. There’s also Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), a thief and small-time drug dealer who works at the Iceberg Lounge, a criminal hot-spot owned by the Penguin (Colin Farrell). 

Meanwhile, the puzzle-obsessed Riddler has begun bumping off people of power, including Gotham’s mayor and police commissioner. The murders are grisly, but the killer also leaks info to the press that his victims were wildly corrupt. This opens Batman’s eyes a bit as he begins to realize the real criminal element in Gotham isn’t the two-bit crook robbing a liquor store. It’s men of power who use that power to line their pockets while keeping the rest of Gotham destitute. 

And Batman, aka rich kid Bruce Wayne, is more connected to all of this than he thought. The Riddler reveals that Bruce’s father, Thomas Wayne, a mayoral candidate before his murder, wasn’t the squeaky clean figure Bruce thought he was. In an attempt to shield his wife, Martha, from scandal, Thomas turned to Gotham crime figure Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) to help intimidate a Gotham reporter writing a story about Martha’s stay in a mental institution. We eventually learn, via Alfred, that Thomas just wanted to scare the reporter, but that really makes Thomas sound like the most naive man who ever lived. Because sure enough, Falcone went ahead and murdered the reporter in order to gain leverage over Thomas. When Thomas threatened to expose Falcone, he and Martha ended up murdered. Does that mean Falcone had the Waynes killed? Maybe, maybe not. Alfred has no proof of this, but it sure seems that way. 

As for Falcone, he pretty much runs the city. Everyone is in debt to him, and he’s survived for so long by ratting out his enemies while he maintains power. The cops, the elected officials, pretty much anyone with any power in Gotham, does what Falcone tells them. And no amount of Bat-punches seems able to change that. Batman needs to do more than just chase down thieves and gang members. He needs to go after the rich and powerful. 

While the focus is on Batman, Selina is connected to all of this, too. She’s Falcone’s daughter, and she’s trying to find her missing friend, a woman who had an affair with the mayor. Selina soon finds out that her friend is dead — murdered by Falcone, who tries to then murder Selina, his own daughter. Falcone is apprehended by Batman, but never makes it to prison. Instead, he’s gunned down by the Riddler, who really has good timing for these sorts of things.