Batman Begins Script

  
                  
Rachel, let me see.

 
                   
- Can I see?
- Finders keepers. And I found it.

 
                   
In my garden.

 
                   
Finders keepers.

 
                   
Bruce?

 
                   
[WOOD SNAPPING]

 
                   
[THUD]

 
                   
Bruce?

 
                   
Mom! Mr. Alfred!

  
                   
[WHIMPERS]

  
                   
[SCREAMING]

  
                   
[MEN SCREAMING IN DISTANCE]

  
                   
Did you have dream?

  
                   
Nightmare.

  
                   
Worse than this place?

  
                   
[MAN SPEAKING FOREIGN
LANGUAGE OVER P.A.]

  
                   
MAN [WHISPERS]:
They are going to fight you.

  
                   
- Again?
- Until they kill you.

  
                   
Can they kill me before breakfast?

  
                   
You are in hell, little man.

  
                   
And I am the devil.

  
                   
You're not the devil.

  
                   
You're practice.

  
                   
[GRUNTING]

  
                   
[GUNSHOTS]

  
                   
GUARD:
Solitary.

  
                   
- Why?
- For protection.

  
                   
- I don't need protection.
- Protection for them.

  
                   
[MEN GROANING]

  
                   
Get in.

  
                   
DUCARD: Are you so
desperate to fight criminals...

  
                   
...that you lock yourself in
to take them on one at a time?

  
                   
Actually, there were seven of them.

  
                   
I counted six, Mr. Wayne.

  
                   
How do you know my name?

  
                   
The world is too small for someone
like Bruce Wayne to disappear...

  
                   
...no matter how deep
he chooses to sink.

  
                   
Who are you?

  
                   
My name is merely Ducard,
but I speak for Ra's al Ghul...

  
                   
...a man greatly feared
by the criminal underworld.

  
                   
A man who can offer you a path.

  
                   
What makes you think I need a path?

  
                   
Someone like you
is only here by choice.

  
                   
You have been exploring
the criminal fraternity...

  
                   
...but whatever
your original intentions...

  
                   
...you have become truly lost.

  
                   
And what path can Ra's al Ghul offer?

  
                   
The path of a man
who shares his hatred of evil...

  
                   
...and wishes to serve true justice.

  
                   
The path of the League of Shadows.

  
                   
[CHUCKLES]

  
                   
- You're vigilantes.
- No, no, no.

  
                   
A vigilante is just a man lost in
the scramble for his own gratification.

  
                   
He can be destroyed or locked up.

  
                   
But if you make yourself more
than just a man...

  
                   
...if you devote yourself to an ideal...

  
                   
...and if they can't stop you...

  
                   
...then you become
something else entirely.

  
                   
Which is?

  
                   
Legend, Mr. Wayne.

  
                   
Tomorrow, you will be released.

  
                   
If you are bored of brawling with thieves
and want to achieve something...

  
                   
...there is a rare blue flower
that grows on the eastern slopes.

  
                   
Pick one of these flowers.

  
                   
If you can carry it
to the top of the mountain...

  
                   
...you may find what you were
looking for in the first place.

  
                   
And what was I looking for?

  
                   
Only you can know that.

  
                   
[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

  
                   
You turn back. You go back.

  
                   
BRUCE:
Ra's al Ghul?

  
                   
DUCARD:
Wait.

  
                   
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  
                   
[TRANSLATING]
What are you seeking?

  
                   
I seek...

  
                   
...the means to fight injustice.

  
                   
To turn fear...

  
                   
...against those
who prey on the fearful.

  
                   
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  
                   
DUCARD [TRANSLATING]:
To manipulate the fears in others...

  
                   
...you must first master your own.

  
                   
Are you ready to begin?

  
                   
I can... I can barely stand.

  
                   
Death does not wait
for you to be ready!

  
                   
Death is not considerate or fair!

  
                   
And make no mistake,
here you face death.

  
                   
Tiger.

  
                   
Jujitsu.

  
                   
Panther.

  
                   
You're skilled. But this is not a dance.

  
                   
And you are afraid.

  
                   
But not of me.

  
                   
Tell us, Mr. Wayne...

  
                   
...what do you fear?

  
                   
[BATS SQUEAKING]

  
                   
Bruce?

  
                   
It's okay. It's okay.

  
                   
You'll be okay.

  
                   
ALFRED: Will we be needing
an ambulance, Master Wayne?

   
                   
THOMAS: No, I'll set the bone
and take him for an x-ray later.

   
                   
ALFRED:
Very good, sir.

   
                   
- I'm very sorry, sir. I've told...
THOMAS: Don't worry. It's fine.

   
                   
ALFRED: Took quite a fall,
didn't we, Master Bruce?

   
                   
THOMAS:
And why do we fall?

   
                   
So we can learn to pick ourselves up.

   
                   
Just a little fall.
It's just a small fracture.

   
                   
THOMAS:
The bats again?

   
                   
You know why they attacked you,
don't you?

   
                   
- They were afraid of you.
- Afraid of me?

   
                   
All creatures feel fear.

   
                   
Even the scary ones?

   
                   
Especially the scary ones.

   
                   
I got something to show you.

   
                   
- You think your mother will like them?
- Yeah.

   
                   
- I think it's time to get up.
- Maybe.

   
                   
THOMAS:
No going back to bed.

   
                   
Did you build this train, Dad?

   
                   
Gotham's been good to our family,
but the city's been suffering.

   
                   
People less fortunate than us
have been enduring very hard times.

   
                   
So we built a new, cheap, public
transportation system to unite the city.

   
                   
And at the center...

   
                   
...Wayne Tower.

   
                   
BRUCE: Is that where you work?
- No, I work at the hospital.

   
                   
I leave the running of our company
to much better men.

   
                   
- Better?
- Well...

   
                   
...more interested men.

   
                   
[PERFORMERS SINGING]

   
                   
[ORCHESTRA PLAYING]

   
                   
[GASPING]

   
                   
Can we go?

   
                   
Please.

   
                   
Okay. Let's go.

   
                   
- What's wrong, Bruce?
- No, no. It was me.

   
                   
I just needed some fresh air.

   
                   
A little bit of opera goes a long way.
Right, Bruce?

   
                   
Come on. Let's go.

   
                   
Wallets, jewelry. Come on, fast.

   
                   
THOMAS: That's fine.
CHILL: Fast.

   
                   
Take it easy.

   
                   
Take it easy.

   
                   
Here you go.

   
                   
It's fine. It's fine.

   
                   
Now just take it and go.

   
                   
- I said, jewelry.
THOMAS: Hey...

   
                   
[GUNSHOT]

   
                   
[MARTHA SCREAMING]

   
                   
MARTHA:
Thomas!

   
                   
[GUNSHOT]

   
                   
THOMAS [WHISPERING]:
Bruce.

   
                   
It's okay.

   
                   
Don't be afraid.

   
                   
[CHATTERING]

   
                   
Is this your father's?

   
                   
It's okay.

   
                   
Come here.

   
                   
There you go.

   
                   
It's okay.

   
                   
It's okay.

   
                   
LOEB:
Gordon.

   
                   
Hey.

   
                   
Good news.

   
                   
We got him, son.

   
                   
You're in excellent hands.

   
                   
We'll be watching the empire.

   
                   
When you grow up,
it'll be waiting for you.

   
                   
I thought I might prepare a little supper.

   
                   
- Very well.
- Alfred?

   
                   
- Yes, Master Bruce?
- It was my fault, Alfred.

   
                   
- I made them leave the theater.
- No.

   
                   
- lf I hadn't gotten scared...
- It was nothing that you did.

   
                   
It was him, and him alone.

   
                   
Do you understand?

   
                   
I miss them, Alfred.
I miss them so much.

   
                   
So do I, Master Bruce.

   
                   
So do I.

   
                   
DUCARD: And do you still feel
responsible for your parents' death?

   
                   
My anger outweighs my guilt.

   
                   
Come.

   
                   
You have learned to bury
your guilt with anger.

   
                   
I will teach you to confront it
and to face the truth.

   
                   
You know how to fight six men.
We can teach you how to engage    .

   
                   
You know how to disappear.

   
                   
We can teach you
to become truly invisible.

   
                   
Invisible?

   
                   
[SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

   
                   
The ninja understands that invisibility
is a matter of patience and agility.

   
                   
[GRUNTING]

   
                   
Always mind your surroundings.

   
                   
Ninjitsu employs explosive powders.

   
                   
- As weapons?
- Or distractions.

   
                   
Theatricality and deception
are powerful agents.

   
                   
You must become more than just a man
in the mind of your opponent.

   
                   
[MAN SPEAKING
FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

   
                   
BRUCE: Who is he?
- He was a farmer.

   
                   
Then he tried to take his neighbor's land
and became a murderer.

   
                   
- Now he is a prisoner.
- What'll happen to him?

   
                   
Justice. Crime cannot be tolerated.

   
                   
Criminals thrive on the indulgence
of society's understanding.

   
                   
Your parents' death was not your fault.

   
                   
It was your father's.

   
                   
Anger does not change the fact
that your father failed to act.

   
                   
- The man had a gun.
- Would that stop you?

   
                   
I've had training.

   
                   
The training is nothing!

   
                   
Will is everything!

   
                   
The will to act.

   
                   
Yield.

   
                   
You haven't beaten me.

   
                   
You have sacrificed sure footing
for a killing stroke.

   
                   
DUCARD:
Rub your chest.

   
                   
Your arms will take care of themselves.

   
                   
You are stronger than your father.

   
                   
You didn't know my father.

   
                   
But I know the rage that drives you.

   
                   
That impossible anger
strangling the grief...

   
                   
...until the memory
of your loved one is just...

   
                   
...poison in your veins.

   
                   
And one day, you catch yourself wishing
the person you loved had never existed...

   
                   
...so you'd be spared your pain.

   
                   
I wasn't always here in the mountains.

   
                   
Once, I had a wife.

   
                   
My great love.

   
                   
She was taken from me.

   
                   
Like you, I was forced to learn
there are those without decency...

   
                   
...who must be fought
without hesitation, without pity.

   
                   
Your anger gives you great power.

   
                   
But if you let it, it will destroy you...

   
                   
...as it almost did me.

   
                   
- What stopped it?
- Vengeance.

   
                   
That's no help to me.

   
                   
Why, Bruce?

   
                   
Why could you not
avenge your parents?

   
                   
Will you be heading back to Princeton
after the hearing, sir...

   
                   
...or can I persuade you to stay on
for a day or two?

   
                   
BRUCE:
I'm not heading back at all.

   
                   
ALFRED: You don't like it there?
- I like it fine.

   
                   
They just don't feel the same way.

   
                   
- I've prepared the master bedroom.
- No.

   
                   
My room will be fine.

   
                   
ALFRED: With all due respect, sir,
Wayne Manor is your house.

   
                   
BRUCE:
No, Alfred, it's my father's house.

   
                   
- Your father is dead.
- This place is a mausoleum.

   
                   
If I have my way, I'll pull
the **mn thing down brick by brick.

   
                   
This house, Master Wayne, has sheltered
six generations of your family.

   
                   
Why do you give a **mn, Alfred?
It's not your family.

   
                   
I give a damn because a good man
once made me responsible...

   
                   
...for what was most precious to him...

   
                   
...in the whole world.

   
                   
Miss Dawes has offered
to drive you to the hearing.

   
                   
She probably hopes
to talk you out of going.

   
                   
BRUCE: Should I just bury the past
out there with my parents, Alfred?

   
                   
I wouldn't presume to tell you
what to do with your past, sir.

   
                   
Just know that there are those of us who
care about what you do with your future.

   
                   
Haven't given up on me yet?

   
                   
Never.

   
                   
Alfred still keeps the condensed milk
on the top shelf.

   
                   
Hasn't he noticed
you're tall enough to reach now?

   
                   
Old habits die hard, I guess.

   
                   
- Never used to stop us anyway.
- No, it didn't.

   
                   
How's your mom?

   
                   
She misses this place.

   
                   
So do I.

   
                   
Yeah.

   
                   
But it's nothing without the people
who made it what it was.

   
                   
- Now there's only Alfred.
- And you.

   
                   
- I'm not staying, Rachel.
- You're just back for the hearing.

   
                   
Bruce, I don't suppose there's any way
to convince you not to come.

   
                   
Someone at this proceeding...

   
                   
...should stand for my parents.

   
                   
We all loved your parents, Bruce.

   
                   
- What Chill did is unforgivable.
- Then why is your boss letting him go?

   
                   
In prison, he shared a cell
with Carmine Falcone.

   
                   
He learned things, and he will testify
in exchange for early parole.

   
                   
Rachel, this man killed my parents.

   
                   
I cannot let that pass.

   
                   
And I need you
to understand that, please.

   
                   
Okay.

   
                   
FINCH: The depression hit working
people, like Mr. Chill, hardest of all.

   
                   
His crime was appalling, yes,
but it was motivated not by greed...

   
                   
...but by desperation.

   
                   
Given the    years served, as well as
his extraordinary level of cooperation...

   
                   
...with one of this office's
most important investigations...

   
                   
...we strongly endorse his petition
for early release.

   
                   
FADEN:
Mr. Chill?

   
                   
CHILL:
Your Honor...

   
                   
...not a day goes by that I don't wish
I could take back what I did.

   
                   
Sure, I was desperate,
like a lot of people back then...

   
                   
...but that don't change what I did.

   
                   
FADEN: I gather there is a member
of the Wayne family here today.

   
                   
Has he got anything to say?

   
                   
WOMAN  : He's coming out the side!
MAN  : He's coming out the side, guys!

   
                   
[CLAMORING]

   
                   
MAN  :
Bruce Wayne!

   
                   
WOMAN  :
Joe! Hey, Joe!

   
                   
Falcone says hi.

   
                   
[GUNSHOT]

   
                   
[PEOPLE SHOUTING]

   
                   
RACHEL:
Come on, Bruce.

   
                   
We don't need to see this.

   
                   
I do.

   
                   
RACHEL: The DA couldn't understand
why Judge Faden insisted...

   
                   
...on making the hearing public.

   
                   
Falcone paid him off
to get Chill out in the open.

   
                   
Maybe I should thank them.

   
                   
- You don't mean that.
- What if I do, Rachel?

   
                   
My parents deserved justice.

   
                   
You're not talking about justice.
You're talking about revenge.

   
                   
- Sometimes, they're the same.
- No, they're never the same.

   
                   
Justice is about harmony. Revenge is
about you making yourself feel better.

   
                   
- It's why we have an impartial system.
- Your system is broken.

   
                   
[TIRES SCREECHING
AND HORNS HONKING]

   
                   
You care about justice?
Look beyond your own pain, Bruce.

   
                   
This city is rotting.

   
                   
They talk about the depression
as if it's history. It's not.

   
                   
Things are worse than ever here.

   
                   
Falcone floods our streets
with crime and drugs...

   
                   
...preying on the desperate,
creating new Joe Chills every day.

   
                   
Falcone may not have killed
your parents, Bruce...

   
                   
...but he's destroying everything
that they stood for.

   
                   
You wanna thank him for that?
Here you go.

   
                   
We all know where to find him.
As long as he keeps the bad people rich...

   
                   
...and the good people scared,
no one'll touch him.

   
                   
Good people like your parents, who'll
stand against injustice, they're gone.

   
                   
What chance does Gotham have
when the good people do nothing?

   
                   
- I'm not one of your good people, Rachel.
- What do you mean?

   
                   
All these years, I wanted to kill him.

   
                   
Now I can't.

   
                   
Your father would be ashamed of you.

   
                   
You're taller than you look
in the tabloids, Mr. Wayne.

   
                   
No gun? I'm insulted.

   
                   
- You could've just sent a thank-you note.
- I didn't come here to thank you.

   
                   
I came to show you that
not everyone in Gotham's afraid of you.

   
                   
Only those who know me, kid.

   
                   
Look around you.
You'll see two councilmen...

   
                   
...a union official,
couple off-duty cops...

   
                   
...and a judge.

   
                   
I wouldn't have a second's hesitation of
blowing your head off in front of them.

   
                   
Now, that's power you can't buy.

   
                   
That's the power of fear.

   
                   
I'm not afraid of you.

   
                   
Because you think you got
nothing to lose.

   
                   
But you haven't thought it through.

   
                   
You haven't thought about
your lady friend in the DA's office.

   
                   
You haven't thought about
your old butler. Bang!

   
                   
People from your world...

   
                   
...have so much to lose.

   
                   
Now, you think because your mommy
and your daddy got shot...

   
                   
...you know about the ugly side of life,
but you don't.

   
                   
You've never tasted desperate.

   
                   
You're... You're Bruce Wayne,
the prince of Gotham.

   
                   
You'd have to go      miles to meet
someone who didn't know your name.

   
                   
So don't come here with your anger,
trying to prove something to yourself.

   
                   
This is a world you'll never understand.

   
                   
And you always fear...

   
                   
...what you don't understand.

   
                   
All right.

   
                   
Yeah, you got spirit, kid.
I'll give you that.

   
                   
More than your old man anyway.

   
                   
In the joint, Chill told me about
the night he killed your parents.

   
                   
He said your father begged for mercy.

   
                   
Begged.

   
                   
Like a dog.

   
                   
Should've tipped better.

   
                   
- For what?
- Your jacket.

   
                   
Okay.

   
                   
Hey, hey, hey. Let me have it.
It's a nice coat.

   
                   
Be careful who sees you with that.

   
                   
- They're gonna come looking for me.
- Who?

   
                   
BRUCE:
Everyone.

   
                   
It's...

   
                   
It's a nice coat.

   
                   
DUCARD: When you lived among
the criminals, did you start to pity them?

   
                   
BRUCE: The first time I stole
so that I wouldn 't starve, yes.

   
                   
I lost many assumptions about
the simple nature of right and wrong.

   
                   
And when I traveled...

   
                   
...I learned the fear before a crime...

   
                   
...and the thrill of success.

   
                   
[MAN SHOUTING IN MANDARIN]

   
                   
BRUCE:
But I never became one of them.

   
                   
[OFFICER   SPEAKING MANDARIN]

   
                   
OFFICER  : Fool. What do I care
what your name is? You're a criminal.

   
                   
[SPEAKING MANDARIN]
I'm not a criminal

   
                   
OFFICER  :
Tell that to the guy who owned these.

   
                   
DUCARD: You've traveled the world
to understand the criminal mind...

   
                   
...and conquer your fears.

   
                   
But a criminal is not complicated.

   
                   
And what you really fear
is inside yourself.

   
                   
You fear your own power.

   
                   
You fear your anger...

   
                   
...the drive to do great
or terrible things.

   
                   
Now you must journey inwards.

   
                   
You are ready.

   
                   
Breathe.

   
                   
Breathe.

   
                   
Breathe in your fears.

   
                   
Face them.

   
                   
To conquer fear,
you must become fear.

   
                   
You must bask in the fear
of other men.

   
                   
And men fear most
what they cannot see.

   
                   
You have to become a terrible thought.

   
                   
A wraith.

   
                   
You have to become an idea!

   
                   
Feel terror cloud your senses.

   
                   
Feel its power to distort.

   
                   
To control.

   
                   
And know that this power
can be yours.

   
                   
Embrace your worst fear.

   
                   
Become one with the darkness.

   
                   
[BATS SQUEAKING]

   
                   
Focus.

   
                   
Concentrate.

   
                   
Master your senses.

   
                   
You cannot leave any sign.

   
                   
BRUCE:
I haven't.

   
                   
Impressive.

   
                   
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

   
                   
DUCARD [TRANSLATING]:
We have purged your fear.

   
                   
You are ready to lead these men.

   
                   
You are ready to become a member
of the League of Shadows.

   
                   
But first, you must demonstrate
your commitment to justice.

   
                   
[SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

   
                   
No.

   
                   
I'm no executioner.

   
                   
DUCARD: Your compassion is
a weakness your enemies will not share.

   
                   
That's why it's so important.

   
                   
It separates us from them.

   
                   
You want to fight criminals.
This man is a murderer.

   
                   
- This man should be tried.
DUCARD: By whom?

   
                   
Corrupt bureaucrats?

   
                   
Criminals mock society's laws.

   
                   
You know this better than most.

   
                   
RA'S A GHUL:
You cannot lead these men...

   
                   
...unless you are prepared to do
what is necessary to defeat evil.

   
                   
And where would I be leading
these men?

   
                   
Gotham.

   
                   
As Gotham's favored son...

   
                   
...you will be ideally placed
to strike at the heart of criminality.

   
                   
- How?
- Gotham's time has come.

   
                   
Like Constantinople or Rome before it...

   
                   
...the city has become a breeding ground
for suffering and injustice.

   
                   
It is beyond saving
and must be allowed to die.

   
                   
This is the most important function
of the League of Shadows.

   
                   
It is one we've performed for centuries.

   
                   
Gotham...

   
                   
...must be destroyed.

   
                   
You can't believe in this.

   
                   
Ra's al Ghul rescued us from
the darkest corners of our own hearts.

   
                   
What he asks in return is the courage
to do what is necessary.

   
                   
I will go back to Gotham
and I will fight men like this...

   
                   
...but I will not become an executioner.

   
                   
Bruce, please.

   
                   
For your own sake,
there is no turning back.

   
                   
- What are you doing?
- What's necessary, my friend.

   
                   
[EXPLOSIONS]

   
                   
[BRUCE SCREAMING]

   
                   
I will tell him you saved his life.

   
                   
Master Wayne,
you've been gone a long time.

   
                   
- Yes, I have.
- You look very fashionable.

   
                   
Apart from the mud.

   
                   
Are you coming back to Gotham
for long, sir?

   
                   
As long as it takes.

   
                   
I want to show the people...

   
                   
...their city doesn't belong
to the criminals and the corrupt.

   
                   
In the depression, your father nearly
bankrupted Wayne Enterprises...

   
                   
...combating poverty.

   
                   
He believed his example could inspire
the wealthy of Gotham to save their city.

   
                   
Did it?

   
                   
In a way.

   
                   
Their murder shocked the wealthy
and the powerful into action.

   
                   
People need dramatic examples
to shake them out of apathy.

   
                   
I can't do that as Bruce Wayne.

   
                   
As a man...

   
                   
...I'm flesh and blood,
I can be ignored, destroyed.

   
                   
But as a symbol...

   
                   
As a symbol, I can be incorruptible.

   
                   
- I can be everlasting.
- What symbol?

   
                   
Something elemental...

   
                   
...something terrifying.

   
                   
I assume that as you take on
the underworld...

   
                   
...this symbol is a persona to protect
those you care about from reprisals?

   
                   
You're thinking about Rachel?

   
                   
Actually, sir, I was thinking of myself.

   
                   
Have you told anyone I'm coming back?

   
                   
I couldn't figure the legal ramifications
of bringing you back from the dead.

   
                   
- Dead?
- You've been gone seven years.

   
                   
You had me declared dead?

   
                   
Actually, it was Mr. Earle.
He's taking the company public.

   
                   
He wanted to liquidate
your majority shareholding.

   
                   
Those shares are worth
quite a bit of money.

   
                   
Well, it's a good thing
I left everything to you, then.

   
                   
Quite so, sir.

   
                   
And you can borrow the Rolls, if you like.
Just bring it back with a full tank.

   
                   
In my opinion, Mr. Zsaz is as much
a danger to himself as to others...

   
                   
...and prison is probably not the best
environment for his rehabilitation.

   
                   
- Dr. Crane.
- Miss Dawes.

   
                   
You think a man who butchers people
for the mob doesn't belong in jail?

   
                   
I would hardly have testified to that
otherwise, would I?

   
                   
This is the third of Falcone's thugs
you've had declared insane...

   
                   
...and moved into your asylum.

   
                   
The work offered by organized crime
must have an attraction to the insane.

   
                   
Or the corrupt.

   
                   
Mr. Finch.

   
                   
You should check
with Miss Dawes here...

   
                   
...just what implications your office
has authorized her to make. If any.

   
                   
- What are you doing?
- What are you doing, Carl?

   
                   
FINCH:
Looking out for you.

   
                   
Falcone has half the city
bought and paid for.

   
                   
- Drop it.
- How can you say that?

   
                   
Because as much as I care about
getting Falcone, I care more about you.

   
                   
That's sweet.

   
                   
[SIRENS WAILING]

   
                   
We've been through all that.

   
                   
[BAT SQUEAKING]

   
                   
ALFRED:
Blessed bat again, sir.

   
                   
They nest somewhere in the grounds.

   
                   
[BATS SQUEAKING]

   
                   
No more favors.
Someone is sniffing around.

   
                   
Hey, I scratch your back,
you scratch mine, doc.

   
                   
I'm bringing in the shipments.

   
                   
We are paying you for that.

   
                   
Maybe money isn't as interesting
to me as favors.

   
                   
I am more than aware that you are
not intimidated by me, Mr. Falcone.

   
                   
But you know who I'm working for,
and when he gets here...

   
                   
He... He's coming to Gotham?

   
                   
Yes, he is.

   
                   
And when he gets here,
he's not going to wanna hear...

   
                   
...that you've endangered our operation
just to get your thugs out of jail time.

   
                   
- Who's bothering you?
- There's a girl at the DA's office.

   
                   
- We'll buy her off.
- Not this one.

   
                   
Idealist, huh?

   
                   
Well, there's an answer to that too.

   
                   
- I don't want to know.
- Yes, you do.

   
                   
MAN: No, we are showing
very healthy growth in these sectors.

   
                   
I don't think Thomas Wayne would have
viewed heavy-arms manufacture...

   
                   
...as a suitable cornerstone
for our business.

   
                   
Well, that's    years ago, Fredericks.

   
                   
I think after    years
we can allow ourselves...

   
                   
...to stop thinking about what
Thomas Wayne would have done.

   
                   
JESSICA:
Good morning, Mr. Earle's office.

   
                   
Yes, he's confirmed for
the dinner tomorrow evening.

   
                   
BRUCE: Good morning.
I'm here to see Mr. Earle.

   
                   
Name?

   
                   
Bruce Wayne.

   
                   
Thomas would probably not
have taken the company public.

   
                   
But that is what we,
as responsible managers, are going to do.

   
                   
Jessica?

   
                   
Jessica? Where are you?

   
                   
BRUCE: Eye on the ball, and...
- Why is no one answering the phone?

   
                   
It's Wayne Enterprises, Mr. Earle.
I'm sure they'll call back.

   
                   
Bruce? You're supposed to be dead.

   
                   
I'm sorry to disappoint.

   
                   
- I need you to take a look at this.
- Have you seen him yet?

   
                   
- Who?
- Wayne.

   
                   
It's been all over the news.
He's back.

   
                   
EARLE: I'm sure you realize
I can't stop the big machine.

   
                   
Too many wheels turning.

   
                   
- We're going public.
- I understand.

   
                   
And I'll be handsomely rewarded
for my shares.

   
                   
I'm not looking to interfere.

   
                   
- I am looking for a job.
- Oh?

   
                   
I just want to get to know the company
that my family built.

   
                   
Any ideas where you would start?

   
                   
Applied Sciences caught my eye.

   
                   
Fox's department.

   
                   
I'll let him know you're coming.

   
                   
You look like him. Your dad.

   
                   
You're the only one left
of the Wayne family.

   
                   
This is where you belong.
Welcome home.

   
                   
Environmental procedures,
defense projects, consumer products.

   
                   
All prototypes. None in production.

   
                   
- On any level whatsoever.
- None?

   
                   
What did they tell you this place was?

   
                   
BRUCE:
They didn't tell me anything.

   
                   
Earle told me exactly what it was
when he sent me down here.

   
                   
Dead end.

   
                   
Place to keep me from causing
the board any more trouble.

   
                   
Come on.

   
                   
- You were on the board?
- When your father ran things.

   
                   
- You knew my father?
- Oh, yeah.

   
                   
Helped him build his train.

   
                   
Here we are.

   
                   
Kevlar utility harness.

   
                   
Gas-powered, magnetic grapple gun.

   
                   
The    -pound test monofilament.

   
                   
Wonderful project, your dad's train.

   
                   
Routed it right into Wayne Tower,
along with the water and power utilities.

   
                   
Kind of made Wayne Tower
the unofficial center of Gotham City.

   
                   
Of course, Earle let it go to rot.
Here we are.

   
                   
Nomex survival suit
for advanced infantry.

   
                   
Kevlar biweave, reinforced joints.

   
                   
- Tear-resistant?
- This sucker will stop a knife.

   
                   
- Bulletproof?
- Anything but a straight shot.

   
                   
- Why didn't they put it into production?
- Bean counters didn't think...

   
                   
...a soldier's life was worth     grand.

   
                   
So, what's your interest in it,
Mr. Wayne?

   
                   
I want to borrow it.

   
                   
For spelunking.

   
                   
Spelunking?

   
                   
Yeah, you know, cave diving?

   
                   
You expecting to run into
much gunfire in these caves?

   
                   
Look, I'd rather Mr. Earle
didn't know about me borrowing...

   
                   
Mr. Wayne...

   
                   
...the way I see it...

   
                   
...all this stuff is yours anyway.

   
                   
Okay. Give it a try.

   
                   
Charming.

   
                   
At least you'll have company.

   
                   
This must be the lowest foundation
of the southeast wing.

   
                   
Your great-great-grandfather was
involved in the Underground Railroad...

   
                   
...secretly transporting freed slaves
to the North...

   
                   
...and I suspect these caverns
came in handy.

   
                   
Alfred! Come up here!

   
                   
I can see everything all right
from down here, sir, thank you.

   
                   
ALFRED: We order the main part
of this cowl from Singapore.

   
                   
BRUCE:
Via a dummy corporation.

   
                   
Indeed. And then, quite separately...

   
                   
...we place an order
to a Chinese company for these.

   
                   
- Put it together ourselves.
- Precisely.

   
                   
They'll have to be large orders,
to avoid suspicion.

   
                   
- How large?
- Say      .

   
                   
- Well, at least we'll have spares.
- Yes.

   
                   
[SIRENS WAILING]

   
                   
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

   
                   
[WOMAN CHATTERING
OVER POLICE RADIO]

   
                   
Don't suppose you want a taste.

   
                   
I just keep offering,
thinking maybe someday you'll get wise.

   
                   
There's nothing wise
in what you do, Flass.

   
                   
Well, Jimbo, you don't take the taste,
makes us guys nervous.

   
                   
I'm no rat.

   
                   
In a town this bent,
who's there to rat to anyway?

   
                   
[LAUGHS]

   
                   
BATMAN:
Don't turn around.

   
                   
You're a good cop.
One of the few.

   
                   
GORDON:
What do you want?

   
                   
BATMAN: Carmine Falcone brings
in shipments of drugs every week.

   
                   
Nobody takes him down. Why?

   
                   
He's paid up with the right people.

   
                   
What will it take to bring him down?

   
                   
Leverage on Judge Faden...

   
                   
...and a DA brave enough
to prosecute.

   
                   
Rachel Dawes.

   
                   
Who are you?

   
                   
BATMAN:
Watch for my sign.

   
                   
You're just one man?

   
                   
BATMAN:
Now we're two.

   
                   
We?

   
                   
Freeze!

   
                   
OFFICER:
What the hell was that?

   
                   
Just some nut.

   
                   
Well, what is it today?
More spelunking?

   
                   
No. Today it's BASE-jumping.

   
                   
BASE-jumping.

   
                   
- That like parachuting?
- Kind of.

   
                   
Do you have any lightweight fabrics?

   
                   
You know, I think I have just the thing.

   
                   
It's called memory cloth.
Notice anything?

   
                   
Regularly flexible...

   
                   
...but put a current through it...

   
                   
...molecules realign, it becomes rigid.
- What kind of shapes can you make?

   
                   
Can be tailored to fit any structure
based on a rigid skeleton.

   
                   
Too expensive for the Army?

   
                   
I don't think they tried to market it
to the billionaire, BASE-jumping crowd.

   
                   
- Look, Mr. Fox.
- Yes, sir?

   
                   
If you're uncomfortable...

   
                   
Mr. Wayne, if you don't want to tell me
exactly what you're doing...

   
                   
...when I'm asked, I don't have to lie.

   
                   
But don't think of me as an idiot.

   
                   
Fair enough.

   
                   
What's that?

   
                   
The Tumbler?

   
                   
Oh, you wouldn't be interested in that.

   
                   
She was built as a bridging vehicle.

   
                   
During combat, two of these
would jump over a river, towing cables.

   
                   
Over here on the throttle,
flip that open and throttle up.

   
                   
This will boost you into a rampless jump...
Not now!

   
                   
Not... Not now, sir.

   
                   
COMPUTER:
Afterburner disengaged.

   
                   
We never could get
the damn bridge to work...

   
                   
...but this baby works just fine.

   
                   
So, what do you think?

   
                   
Does it come in black?

   
                   
I need you at the docks Thursday.

   
                   
- Problems?
- I don't want any trouble...

   
                   
...with the last shipment.
- Sure.

   
                   
Word on the street is you got a beef
with somebody in the DA's office.

   
                   
- Is that right?
- And that there's a fat prize...

   
                   
...waiting for anybody willing
to do anything about it.

   
                   
So, what's your point, Mr. Flass?

   
                   
Have you seen the girl?

   
                   
FLASS [ON RADIO]:
It's a cute little assistant D A.

   
                   
Don 't you think that's a little too much
heat to bring down, maybe?

   
                   
- Even for this town.
- Never underestimate Gotham City.

   
                   
People get mugged coming home
from work every day of the week.

   
                   
Sometimes...
Sometimes things just go bad.

   
                   
It's a problem with the graphite, sir.

   
                   
The next      
will be up to specifications.

   
                   
- At least they gave us a discount.
- Quite.

   
                   
In the meantime, sir, may I suggest
you try to avoid landing on your head?

   
                   
Why bats, Master Wayne?

   
                   
Bats frighten me.

   
                   
It's time my enemies shared my dread.

   
                   
FLASS:
What is this?

   
                   
Continue.

   
                   
Looks fine out there.

   
                   
The bears go straight to the dealers.

   
                   
Yeah, and the rabbits go
to the man in the Narrows.

   
                   
- What's the difference?
- Ignorance is bliss, my friend.

   
                   
Don't burden yourself
with the secrets of scary people.

   
                   
[STEISS SCREAMS]

   
                   
Hey. Steiss.

   
                   
Steiss?

   
                   
MAN:
What?

   
                   
What the...?

   
                   
[SCREAMING IN DISTANCE]

   
                   
[GUNSHOTS]

   
                   
I better check it.

   
                   
[PANTING]

   
                   
There's a problem out here.
You better bail.

   
                   
[THUD]

   
                   
Where are you?!

   
                   
Here.

   
                   
[SCREAMS]

   
                   
[GRUNTING]

   
                   
Take a ride. Oh, **it.

   
                   
What the hell are you?

   
                   
[GLASS SHATTERS]

   
                   
I'm Batman.

   
                   
Nice coat.

   
                   
Thanks.

   
                   
Hold it.

   
                   
That's right, you better run.

   
                   
[SCREAMS]

   
                   
[ELECTRICITY CRACKLING]

   
                   
Falcone sent them to kill you.

   
                   
- Why?
- You rattled his cage.

   
                   
- What's this?
- Leverage.

   
                   
- For what?
- To get things moving.

   
                   
Who are you?

   
                   
Someone like you.

   
                   
Someone who'll rattle the cages.

   
                   
Ma'am? Everything okay?

   
                   
OFFICER: Falcone's men?
- Does it matter?

   
                   
We'll never tie him to it anyway.

   
                   
I wouldn't be too sure of that.

   
                   
What the hell is that?

   
                   
Cut him down.

   
                   
LOEB:
Unacceptable.

   
                   
Now, I don't care if it's rival gangs,
Guardian Angels...

   
                   
...or the goddamn Salvation Army...

   
                   
...get them off the street
and off the front page.

   
                   
They say it was just one guy.
Or a creature.

   
                   
It was some asshole in a costume.

   
                   
- Yeah?
- This guy did deliver us...

   
                   
...one of the city's biggest crime lords.

   
                   
No one takes the law
into their own hands in my city.

   
                   
Understand?

   
                   
RACHEL: No way to bury it now.
FINCH: There's still Judge Faden.

   
                   
- I've got Faden covered.
- What about this bat they babble about?

   
                   
Even if these guys will swear
to being thrashed by a giant bat...

   
                   
...we've got Falcone at the scene.

   
                   
Drugs, prints, cargo manifests.
This bat character gave us everything.

   
                   
Okay. Let's do it.

   
                   
- Bats are nocturnal.
ALFRED: Bats may be.

   
                   
But even for billionaire playboys,
 :   is pushing it.

   
                   
The price for leading a double life,
I fear.

   
                   
Your theatrics made an impression.

   
                   
BRUCE:
Theatricality and deception...

   
                   
...are powerful weapons, Alfred.
This is a good start.

   
                   
If those are to be the first
o