My philosophy with regards to the next Batman movie is that if the third is the last one, it should relate to one of my favorite movies, Batman Begins. I thought Bane of the Demon, Legacy, and Knightfall were great stories and should be used as inspiration for the next movie. Now the story posted here is only if the next Batman movie is going to be the last Batman movie by Chris Nolan although this plot works best as a follow up to Dark Knight. Since the chances of Nolan seeing this story idea is as likely as me winning a foot race, we can wait and see how close my story is compared with the upcoming movie (July 2012, supposedly).
The Caped Crusader
A prison escape occurs at Arkham Asylum. Many of Batman's rogues makes appearances. Gordon and his police force arrive and try to contain the situation. Batman watches the situation from afar and notices a grocery store nearby getting robbed. It turns out to be none other than the Scarecrow who is making a hallucinogen with some chemicals that he has been collecting. Batman quickly subdues him, but the Scarecrow sprays his chemical concoction onto Batman. Batman knocks Scarecrow out, but the fumes from the chemicals make Batman hallucinate making him see Rachel crying out for help. Batman is able to snap out of it and retreats. He recoups and heads to the asylum. He avoids the police and investigates the hole in the wall. He notices no blast marks and suspects that some kind of machine had to be behind the break out. A policeman notices Batman and a group of cops go after him, but Batman escapes using his grappling gun.
Bruce Wayne watches television at Wayne Manor and we see his television screen depicting a new politician declaring Batman a cop killer and a crazy vigilante. Alfred enters and asks what's wrong. Bruce tells him that he still can't stop blaming himself for Rachel's death. Alfred tries to cheer him up by saying, "Maybe I'm starting to agree with that politician calling you crazy." After some other exchanges, Bruce enters the Batcave. Alfred asks what he is working on. Bruce informs him that he must track down all of the escaped patients from Arkham before they can cause Gotham any more harm. Alfred informs him that first he must meet Wayne Enterprises' newest client.
At the police station the new politician talks with Gordon on starting a crusade to bring in the Batman. Gordon says that we should focus on the Arkham escapees. The politician counters by saying that Batman is responsible for most of these psychos. There's some more exchanges, but then Gordon decides to focus on the psychos and the politician goes after the Batman.
At Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne meets Talia Head at a meeting. After the meeting, Talia goes out with Bruce for lunch. Here we learn about what happened in Batman Begins and the Dark Knight. Talia expresses her admiration for Batman, but she reveals that she is also engaged with a man named Antonio Diego who happens to also be the president of her company. Despite that, Talia notices that Bruce is sad, so she reaches over to hold Bruce's hand. Bruce notices a bruise on Talia's arm and suspects that Antonio is abusive.
As Batman he investigates the company. As he is looking for the security system, he finds a weapons lab. There he finds caches of illegal weapons, but there is one weapon in particular that catches his eye. He uses some kind of scanner, but it can't recognize it. Batman notices a label covered in dust that reads, "Venom, Santa Prisca". Then Batman gets attacked by some security guards. He handles himself until a big guy wearing a mask enters. The masked man proves to be too strong, so Batman grabs the venom and retreats.
For three months, Batman studies the venom. He fights Arkham escapees while evading the police. He also begins going on business meetings with Talia that start turning into dates.
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Actually you know what? Just read Knightfall and Legacy. They are GREAT Batman comics and do a great job of exploring Batman and maintaining the realism that Nolan has done his best to establish. I keep changing my mind on the story and probably need a team of writers or a lot of free time to sort all of the cool ideas of mine. You have my initial set-up, so go from there. The title 'Caped Crusader' refers to Batman's crusade to lock up the Arkham escapees. the twist will be that this was all a masterstroke by my second favorite Batman villain, Bane (Ra's Al Ghul will always be my favorite). And even greater twist is revealed that Bane is Ra's new heir. Talia Al Ghul will be another twist, but she does serve as Batman's legitimate love interest. Those are the only plot points that don't change, and I think it would make a really good movie.
Batman is my third favorite superhero (Superman and Green Lantern), but Knightfall and Legacy are just great stories which I feel are some of the greatest stories from DC. Whatever the next Batman movie is going to be, I am sure that it'll be great, and I'll be there opening night.
Comment on how you would make the next Batman movie.
