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BATMAN 3
BY: MOHAMUD YUSUF
BATMAN/BRUCE WAYNE...........................MICHAEL KEATON
DR.CHASE MERIDIAN................................RENNO RUSSO
CATWOMEN/SELINA KYLE............................Michelle Pfeiffer
RIDDLER/EDWARD NYGIMA...........................ROBIN WILLAIMS
ROBIN/RICHARD GRAYSON.............................MARLON WAYNES
ALFERD PENNYWORTH.................................MICHEAL GOUGH
MAYOR. JAMES RON.......................................KEVIN SPACEY
KEVIN BANKS..................................................JOHHNY
DEPP
COM.GORDON...............................................PAT HINGLE
VONDELLE...........................................................SALL
Y FIELD
HARVEY DENT...............................................BILLY DEE
WILLAIMS
DIRECTOR:
TIM BURTON.
EXT. MAYOR BUILDING-RAINING NIGHT
ITS A RAINING NIGHT IN GOTHEM AND RAIN
FLOWING DOWN THE WINDOWS.
INT..MAYOR OFFICE-RAINING NIGHT
MAYOR JAMES RON LOOKING OUTSIDE THE WINDOW
HARVEY DENT:
HELL OF NIGHT OF NIGHT HUH! JAMES
(BEAT)
MAYOR JAMES:
HELLS IN THIS CITY
HARVEY GOES OVER TO MAYOR.JAMES AND PUT HIS ON
HIS HEAD
HARVEY DENT:
WHAT THE HELL WRONG WITH YOU YOUR LUCKY THAT THE CITZEN OF GOTHEM
VOTE FOR YOU
THEIR BOTH LAUGH
EXT. GOTHAM CITY SKYLINE - SUNSET - FALL
5
Gothic towers of granite and glass shimmer golden in the
late day sun.
6 MOVE IN towards the city as an executive helicopter
6
CROSSES FRAME. Through the window BRUCE WAYNE, still
handsome but a few lines starting to show, sits watching
a seatback video screen.
7 CONTINUE In over Gotham Harbor towards the skyline as
7
8 CLOSER on a single building, its power generated by a
8
small but mighty dam below. A glowing sign reads Wayne
Enterprises.
HOLD on a single window. MOVE IN
9 INT. BRUCE WAYNE'S OFFICE
9
Elegant. Oak. A wall monitor runs the same newscast.
10 INSERT SCREEN
10
NEWSCASTER (OVER)
last chrismas was the worst winter gothem ever face,
oswald running for mayor
then their was catwoman, launched a
grizzly crime spree and was responsaple for max shreck
death
SHe is extremely dangerous. Repeat....
11 WIDER
11
Bruce Wayne ENTERS, his Armani suit the only thing fresh
about him, followed by a sudden stream of EXECUTIVES,
SECRETARIES, ASSISTANTS and GOTHAM SOCIETY MATRONS.
EXECUTIVE
The solar file tests are back.
BRUCE
Uh... great, could you wait a
second...
ASSISTANT
The Mayor's office called again -
SOCIETY MATRON
Who are you asking to the circus -
SECRETARY
Five minutes to your inspection -
BRUCE
Stop!
Everybody freezes.
BRUCE
Okay, I want you all to just stand
here for fifteen seconds, okay?
Fifteen, everybody got it?
Folks nod.
BRUCE
Good. Nobody move, now.
And with that, Bruce turns and walks out.
BRUCE
(to himself)
I gotta give myself a raise...
12 INT. WAYNE ENTERPRISES - ELECTRONICS DIVISION - TWILIGHT
12
Endless work-spaces stretching into infinity.
Bruce, a Junior Exec ENTOURAGE trailing, tours an
assembly line where robotic arms weld laser tools.
FRED STICKLEY, a fuss-budget plant manager, leads.
STICKLEY
Your weekly inspections are a
departmental highlight.
BRUCE
Really?
(a warm smile)
You all need to get out more.
13 CRANE UP high over the factory floor, across acres of
13
assembly lines and work stations.
ANGLE DOWN on
14 INT. EDWARD NYGMA'S WORK STATION (CONTINUOUS)
14
A clutter of computer parts. Paperwork everywhere.
Rubik's cubes, games, dozens of puzzle books all boasting
the green suited caricature of "The Guesser".
15 MONITOR-CLOSE. A crossword puzzle.
Features reflect over the acrostic. The two images
resolve into one; the face itself is a puzzle.
16 REVERSE ANGLE
16
EDWARD NYGMA, awkward, brilliant and feverishly anxious
stares up at the screen, TALKING to himself.
EDWARD
We'll probably go to the house for
dinner. Yes. Yes. Maybe he'll throw
a little party in my honor.
Suddenly Edward BANGS his head against the desk-top.
Hard. A brief window on the inner Edward, all insecurity
and self loathing.
EDWARD
Idiot! Should have rented a tuxedo.
(suddenly calm)
Relax. I'm sure Wayne manor has
extra. After all, we're almost the
same size.....wait a minute i'm sort of fatter
17 The opposing wall is a shrine to Bruce Wayne: newspaper
17
headlines, a GQ cover, magazine photos.
18 Approaching COMMOTION.
18
EDWARD
Oh my God. It's him.
19 INT. WAYNE ENTERPRISES - BREAK AREA
19
Workers greet the boss. Bruce is friendly, welcoming,
Edward appears on the edge of the group.
Stickley spots Edward. A cloud crosses his face.
STICKLEY
Well, Mr. Wayne, on to R&D?
Stickley rests his hand on Wayne's elbow. Begins to steer
him away. Not in time.
Edward steps forward. A man so uncomfortable, his very
skin seems to be a costume. He marches right up to Wayne,
takes his hand, fawning, the burning eyes of a sycophant.
BRUCE
Mr...?
EDWARD
Bruce Wayne. In the flesh.
BRUCE
(easy going)
Um...I'm pretty sure I'm Bruce
Wayne. And you are?
EDWARD
Nygma. Edward Nygma. You hired me.
Personally. Just like I tell
everyone.
(sotto voce)
Well, we've never actually met, but
your name was on the hire slip.
He still hasn't let go of Bruce's hand.
BRUCE
I'm gonna need that hand back, Ed.
EDWARD
What? Ah yes. Of course. I'm sorry.
It's just that...you're my idol.
(off Stickley)
And some people have been trying to
keep us apart.
BRUCE
Mr. Nygma, you'll forgive me for
being rude. But what exactly is on
your mind?
EDWARD
Precisely. What's on all our minds?
Brainwaves. The future of Wayne
Enterprises is Brainwaves!
It's hard to imagine anyone more awkward. The effect is
painful. Folks stare, mouths wide.
STICKLEY
(sotto voce)
I really do apologize, Mr. Wayne.
His project was terminated this
morning...
EDWARD
(ignoring Stickley)
Let me ask you something, Bruce.
What is man's greatest tool?
A few of the WOMEN SNICKER. For a second, Edward's face
twitches, a crack in the facade.
EDWARD
Man's greatest tool is...The mind.
20 Edward gestures to his cubicle. A rat's nest cluttered
20
with components of his Rube Goldberg-like invention.
21 EDWARD
21
Voila. While holographically
enhancing any TV picture, my
invention connects directly to the
viewer's brain, puts the audience
inside the show. Think of the
entertainment problems we can solve.
STICKLEY
I can think of a couple problems
that need solving right here.
A few more folks CHUCKLE. Edward looks around. Another
ripple of anxiety, another quick recovery.
EDWARD
Why be brutalized by an uncaring
world? My RES Box will give Joe Q
Public a realm where he is king.
(sultry)
Not that someone like you would need
it. Someone so intelligent. Witty.
Charming. But for the lonely, the...
STICKLEY
Paranoid? The psychotic?
EDWARD
(didn't miss it)
...The Box can change their lives.
(looking around)
Our stock coupons will spike.
Edward turns, actually CLAPS Stickley on the back.
EDWARD
Hell. Might even bring old Stickley
here a few extra bucks. Huh, Fred?
STICKLEY
Fred?
Bruce takes off his glasses, rubs his eyes in vague
disbelief, cleans the lenses.
EDWARD
Wayne Enterprises will spearhead an
entertainment revolution.
Edward removes his glasses, cleans them in exactly the
same manner as Bruce.
EDWARD
I just need a bit of additional
funding. For human trials. Let me
show you....
Bruce seems about to speak when suddenly -
22 THE BATSIGNAL
22
beams bright against the night clouds over Gotham City.
23 BRUCE
23
(time to move)
Maybe some other time..
EDWARD
I want you to know, we'll be full
partners in this, Bruce.
(waxing rhapsodic)
What talks we'll have, late into the
night. Now, I'm not used to business
travel, so go easy on me. As for
recognition, I'm sure after a time
I'll get used to it.
(a beat)
Look at us. Two of a kind.
Edward is suddenly aware of dozens of co-workers all
around him, SNICKERING and WHISPERING.
EDWARD
Bruce...?
Bruce's eyes dart again toward the Batsignal.
BRUCE
Call my secretary, she'll set
something up.
(turning)
Factory looks great, folks. Keep up
the good work.
EDWARD
(desperate)
Wait. You can't go.
BRUCE
We'll talk some other -
EDWARD
(sudden rage)
No. Don't leave me! My invention! I
need you!
Edward has grabbed Bruce's arm. The room goes dead quiet.
Bruce's eyes narrow. Then he dislodges gently.
BRUCE
I'm sorry, Edward. Just feels a bit
like mind manipulation. It raises
too many question marks.
Bruce heads off.
STICKLEY
Alright everyone, back to work.
(to Edward)
We'll discuss this later.
Edward stares after Bruce.
EDWARD
You were supposed to understand and level wth me.
HOLD on this tiny man, all alone in the labyrinthine
work-place, eyes darkening now with growing obsession.
EDWARD
I'll make you understand.
24 INT. BRUCE WAYNE's PRIVATE OFFICE
24
Bruce ENTERS.
BRUCE
Lock.
25 THE DOOR - CLOSE. LOCKS. Bruce falls into a leather chair.
25
BRUCE
Capsule.
26 Suddenly the chair seat drops, fast, sliding into a
26
transport capsule.
27 INT. TRANSPORT TUNNEL
27
The capsule shoots through the underground tunnel, lights
WHIPPING past at near super-sonic speed.
28 INT. CAPSULE
28
Speed and time readouts appear on the windscreen beside
the craggy face of ALFRED PENNYWORTH.
BRUCE
Alfred...
29 ALFRED
29
I saw the signal, is. All is ready.
30 INT. BAT CAVE - COSTUME VAULT
30
Alfred watches the capsule arrive.
31 QUICK CUTS of glove, boot, and cape being donned.
31
32 INT. BATCAVE
32
FOLLOW Batman's feet as he steps up to the Batmobile.
ALFRED
I suppose I couldn't convince you to
take along a sandwich.
BATMAN;
( T O ALFERD)
I'M NOT REALLY HUNGURY BUT THANKS FOR TRYING
(to the car)
Go...
The car shoots a whitish-blue light from under it's
33
belly. Hub Caps and detailing glow as The Batmobile zooms
out of the cave.
34 INT. CAVE ACCESS TUBE
34
The car SHOOTS through a series of underground arches.
The car picks up speed, the blue-white fusion drive going
blue, then purple, then red. The single bat wing splits
into two as the car becomes a stealth bullet.
35 EXT. WAYNE ESTATE - NIGHT
35
The dark car WHIPS through a holograph of trees that
masks the entrance to the Batcave, SCREECHING onto...
36 EXT. FOREST ROADS - NIGHT
36
The car speeds towards Gotham.
ANGLE OUTSIDE THE WINDOW ON
37
The Batsignal, cutting the darkness.
PULL BACK TO REVEAL
INT. SELINA'S APARTMENT--LATER THAT NIGHT
Selina enters, hanging up her catwoman suit and calling out.
SELINA
Honey, I'm home.
(then)
Oh, I forgot. I'm not married, damn you bruce.
She wearily laughs at her private joke, then takes in her
'90's quaint, "feminine" apartment -- pink carpet, cute
linoleum, a neon "HELLO THERE!" on the wall --
-- a meticulous doll house, a quilt-in-progress, a pretty
embarrassing assortment of stuffed animals and a Christmas
tree.
Through her open window, a feisty, beautiful CAT slinks in.
SELINA
Miss Kitty ... Back from more
sexual escapades you refuse to
share ... not that I'd ever pry.
Drink your dinner.
She sets out a dish of milk. Miss Kitty comes over, purring.
SELINA
What did you just purr? "How can
anyone be so pathetic?" Yes, to
you I seem pathetic. But I'm a
crimnal girl, gotta pay the price.
Maybe if you were chipping in,
'stead of stepping out ...
She passes childhood PHOTOS of a younger happier Selina on
a trampoline, on a horse, on a mountain face ... then
turns on her answering machine.
As it plays, she opens her Murphy bed, turns down the
covers ...
MOM'S VOICE
(stern)
Selina dear. It's your mother.
Just calling to say hello and to tell you the cops were
seaching for you. their claim you been missing since winter
SELINA
Yeah right, "but" --
MOM'S VOICE
-- "but" I'm disappointed you're not
turning in yourself to the cops. I'm
looking forward to discussing your
problem. To hear just why you
never came home for chrismas-
SELINA
well mom i'm here. Thank you.
She fast forwards to:
BRUCE WAYNE'S VOICE
Selina, I know your still alive
and If you promise me you stay away from catwoman suit?
then i'll leave you alone
plus the cops and fbi were looking for you since winter
event
SELINA
(scoffs)
son of bitch .
As she fast forwards:
SELINA
The party never stops on Selina
Kyle's answering machine ... Guess
I should've not let batman win that last
battle.
Onto the next message:
THUG2
Selina! I around up the guys,
were set at gothem bank ... come on
selina.
Onward. Miss Kitty compassionately snuggles beside her,
as:
SELINA'S OWN VOICE
Hi, Selina, this is yourself
calling. To remind you, honey,
that you got your revenge on max shreck but now its the bat
you want
back to useless life if you fail this
remembered to bring home the Bruce
Wayne meat, because the man is about to met
a bigger meaner catwoman with some goons! hahaha
Selina fires her stun gun at the answering machine, jolt-
ing it off. Again, she slaps her forehead with her hand.
Then goes to her closet, puts her coat back on. As she
exits:
SELINA
The suit! were is the suit.
i can't go out like this where is my suit ... oh there it
is
she find the suit as we cut to:
2 hours later... EXT. PAN-
ASIA TOWN - STREET - NIGHT
43
Sweeping spots. Swat teams. Police wagons.
44 COMMISIONER GORDON, 50s, a man who's seen enough pain
44
for a lifetime, stands in his trademark trenchcoat,
lighting a cigarette.
Beside him stands a beautiful, professionally dressed
young woman. DR. CHASE MERIDIAN.
45 HIGH ABOVE
45
The Batmobile SCREECHES to a stop on a pedestrian bridge.
46 THE BATSIGNAL is suddenly obscured, flows for a moment
46
into the shape of Batman's cape as the Dark Knight leaps
47 down past the spotlight, lands face to face with Chase.
47
CHASE
Hot entrance.
Batman turns, all business as he speaks to Gordon.
BATMAN
Catwomen?
GORDON
Two guards dead. she's holding the
third hostage. Didn't see this one
coming.
CHASE
We should have, though.
The men turn to face her.
CHASE
_Two_ million dollars waiting to be
transferred from the _Second_ Bank of
Gotham on the _22nd_ How could this so called
catwomen?
catwomen resist?
BATMAN
And you are?
GORDON
Batman, I'd like you to meet--
CHASE
(offering her hand)
Chase Meridian
GORDON
I asked Dr. Meridian to come to
Gotham to consult on this case. She
specializes...
BATMAN
...dual personalities. Abnormal
psychology. Washington's poster
child for the criminally insane. I
read your work.
CHASE
I'm flattered. Not every girl makes
a super-hero's night table. You
might have some interesting insights
into catwoman.
BATMAN
Why's that?
CHASE
Let's just say I could write a hell
of a paper on a grown man who
dresses like a flying rodent.
BATMAN
Bats aren't rodents, Dr. Meridian.
CHASE
I didn't know that. See? You _are_
interesting. And call me Chase. By
the way, do you have a first name? Or
do I just call you bats?
GORDON
May I remind you two we have a
psychopathic bitch on the loose
here?
A titanic BOOM rocks the night.
48 SEARCHLIGHTS race up the skeletal skyscraper to REVEAL..
48
A giant CRANE and WRECKING BALL. The wrecking ball
SMASHES again into the bank building.
INT. - SECOND BANK OF GOTHAM. 22ND FLOOR, NIGHT
Thug 1 stares out the window.
THUG 1
The Bat's taking the bait! What now?
53 catwoman picks UP her whip.
53
54 FOLLOWING catwoman AFTER SHE WHIPING ONE OF HER THUGS AFTER HE
DROP THE BAG OF MONEY,
54
slaps it on his wrist. Bad side up.
55 ANGLE ON - CATWOMAN'S FACE.
55
CATWOMAN
At last, The Bat dies!
The chains suddenly yank the safe towards the hole in the
wall. Thug 2 gestures to the Guard on the floor.
THUG 2
What about him?
CATWOMAN
Kill him too.
Thug 2, grinning, draws a GUN from his waistband.
GUARD
Wait! You said you'd let me go!
CATWOMAN
Never heard of a double-cross?
56 A DING from the elevators.
56
The Thugs and catwoman all whirl, machine guns coming up,
open FIRE, armor piercing bullets punching holes in the
metal doors, shredding anyone inside.
THE GUARD lays bound on the floor. Suddenly a clamp-ended
bat-cable drops from above. With a tiny CLICK, the smart-
clamp hooks onto the Guard's wrist bindings.
57 ELEVATORS
57
CATWOMAN AND THUGS empty magazines. Re-load.
CATWOMAN
Come on in, the water's fine.
All stand watching as the now perforated elevator doors
slide, jerking, open to reveal...an empty elevator.
The skylight overhead EXPLODES and, in a rain of glass,
Batman drops to the floor on a Batrope.
58 THE GUARD is apparently attached to the Batrope's other
58
end because, as the Caped Crusader comes down, the Guard
shoots up, hoisted fast to the safe rooftop above.
59 FIRE DOORS
59
BLOW open. Two SWAT teams burst in, armed for bear.
SWAT LEADER
Police! Freeze!
CATWOMAN
Not the guest list we had in mind.
Boys, the party's over.
catwoman drops a SMOKE GRENADE. Then she leaps directly
out the hole in the wall. her Thugs take off after her.
60 EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
60
The Thugs come leaping through the hole, using the now
rising safe as a springboard to close the windy gap, roll
to safety on the construction site next door. They
scatter, begin scaling various beams and girders.
61 INT. BANK
61
Swat Teams race through the smoke in close pursuit, come
up short at the edge of the urban precipice. The safe has
risen too high, now, to serve as a springboard, so the
cops drop, begin FIRING across the gap. Suddenly...
A DARK WING explodes out of the smoke behind them, flying
across the abyss.
62 INT. CONSTRUCTION SIGHT
62
A Thug fires at the figure hurling towards him. Batman
lands on the Thug's chest, smashing him to the floor.
Suddenly, from above, BULLETS CRACK off the girders
beside the Caped Crusader's head.
63 REVERSE ANGLE
63
CATWOMAN glides upward, riding the wrecking ball as it
overtakes the safe, shooting down at Batman.
64 BATMAN starts scaling the scaffolding after catwoman.
64
He's climbing fast but selina has too great a lead.
65 BATMAN - POV. A motorized gantry is carrying one of the
65
Thugs up to the roof.
66 Batman FIRES a Batarang. The bat-shaped clamp bites into
66
the wooden base of the rising gantry.
He toggles the launcher into winch mode, is hoisted fast
towards the rising gantry above.
67 ON THE GANTRY
67
The riding Thug leans down, sees the rising shadow, grabs
the Batrope in both hands and flips over the gantry.
68 ON THE BATROPE
68
The Thug slides fast down to kicking range, draws back
his boot to dispatch Batman.
Batman hits a switch on his launcher, increasing the
winch speed, shooting him higher, faster. He grabs the
Thug's foot in his hand, shoves him up so his head CRACKS
against the bottom of the gantry. Batman swings the
unconscious Thug onto a hanging construction hook,
leaving him dangling in mid-air by his nose ring, hoists
himself up onto...
69 THE GANTRY
69
From the scaffolding above, a Thug drops to one end of
the gantry, nun-chucks spinning madly.
Behind Batman, another Thug drops INTO FRAME, drawing a
machine pistol.
Batman reaches forward, grabs the Thug's spinning nun-
chuck, stunning his face with the wooden sticks. In a
single move, Batman spins and lets the weapon fly into
the pistoled assailant, knocking him flat.
70 BATMAN - POV. catwoman has reached the chopper.
70
71 INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT
71
catwoman climbs into the chopper's cargo bay.
CATWOMAN
(to the pilot)
Let's fly.
72 EXT. GANTRY - NIGHT
72
Batman sees the helicopter start to rise, pulling the
safe overhead along with it.
73 Batman jumps, drops through the abyss between the two
73
buildings, landing on...
74 A HIGH TENSION WIRE - CLOSE. The wire bends like a bow,
74
shooting Batman like an arrow straight into the air.
75 Batman grabs the rising chain, slides down it's links so
75
he is standing atop the safe.
76 He FIRES a Batarang into the bank wall, making an anchor,
76
attaches the Bat-cable to the hitch atop the safe.
77 INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT
77
The chopper is straining against Batman's bank-embedded
tether. catwoman looks down in fury.
CATWOMAN
The man is taking his job
_much too seriously_.
78 EXT. TOP OF SAFE - NIGHT
78
Batman palms a compartment on his utility belt and a
small delivery mechanism SNAPS a tiny acetylene torch
into his gloved hand.
A BLUE FLAME ignites. Batman starts to cut the chains.
79 EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT
79
Batman's torch slices the last link. Batman reaches up
and grabs the winch chain, is jerked suddenly upward with
the now un-tethered chopper as...
80 THE SAFE
80
now freed, swings like a pendulum on it's anchor line,
arcing straight for the hole in the bank wall from which
it was originally drawn.
81 INT. BANK BUILDING
81
The safe comes flying through the hole, sliding across the
floor and SLAMMING back into place before the bewildered
faces of the SWAT team.
82 INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT
82
catwoman stares out the side of the chopper.
CATWOMAN
That was our money.
catwoman grabs the controls from the pilot.
CATWOMAN
He wants to play. Fine, let's play.
83 catwoman pulls back on the throttle, the chopper shooting
83
straight up into the sky like a rocket.
84 EXT. GOTHAM SKY - NIGHT
84
Batman hangs from the chain, trailing the chopper, a wing
of shadowy quicksilver disappearing into the night.
85 EXT. ARKHAM SQUARE - NIGHT - ESTABLISHING
85
Gotham's Times Square. Tall. Narrow. The crawl of bumper-
to-bumper traffic. Glutted with neon signs and giant
animated billboards.
86 The helicopter ROARS into view. BATMAN hangs on for dear
86
life as the city rushes past.
87 A SERIES OF SHOTS as street folks look up in wonder.
87
88 SIGN - CLOSE. For Ginsu Knives. A couple of giant hands
88
make fast work of a steak on a smoking barbecue.
The chopper swings Batman _through_ the ad, falling blades
just missing him, dragging him through the thick smoke.
The chopper swings across the square, heading for...
89 ANOTHER SIGN - CLOSE. This time a tremendous set of
89
clacking teeth turn yellow to white each time the cap
lifts off of a giant tube of toothpaste.
90 The chopper barrels straight for the opening mouth.
90
At the last moment the chopper banks, whipping the
dangling Batman inside the mouth.
91 The mouth closes on the Caped Crusader.
91
92 The chopper pulls away, the chain pulling like floss
92
through the closed teeth.
93 INT. MOUTH
93
Batman, still clutching the chain, is flying towards the
barricade of closed teeth.
94 EXT. ARKHAM SQUARE - MOUTH SIGN
94
Batman SMASHES through the two front teeth.
95 BATMAN - CLOSE. His face suddenly bathed in an ever
95
brightening yellow glow.
96 INT. CHOPPER
96
CATWOMAN'S POV - THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD
Dead ahead, another sign. This one is essentially a giant
neon sun, the Wayne Tech logo burning bright yellows and
reds over the message Solar: The Power of the Future.
97 catwoman GUNS the chopper's engines.
97
PILOT
selina!!!
98 EXT. GOTHAM SKY
98
The chopper BLOWS straight through the nova, neon
EXPLODING like stars in all directions.
99 INT. HELICOPTER
99
As the Pilot, in the b.g. regains control of the chopper,
catwoman walks to the hold, looks down through the hatch at
the dangling chain below. No Batman.
CATWOMAN
Ah, to finally be rid of that pointy
eared, steroid eating, rubber
suited, cross dressing, night rat...
100 THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD
100
a familiar blue cape falls down over the plexi-glass.
PILOT
Uh...boss....
catwoman spins, draws his machine pistol.
PILOT
No!
Too late. CATWOMAN SPRAYS wildly, blowing holes in the
windshield and Pilot as well.
101 EXT. HELICOPTER
101
The cape slips off the windscreen
102 INT. HELICOPTER
102
The chopper dives. CATWOMAN staggers towards the pilot's
chair. He rests free the corpse, regains control.
A FIST SMASHES through the side window into selina's jaw.
BATMAN
SELINA! you need help. Give it up.
103 EXT. HELICOPTER
103
Batman stands on one of the struts, begins trying to
climb into the open side of the speeding bird.
CATWOMAN
Words of wisdom from my ex-boyfriend?
SELINA SLAMS Batman's face with her foot. He goes down.
CATWOMAN
Mano a Mano a Bato.
Batman pulls himself back up. Grabs catwoman's foot. Flips
her to the floor. Drags her half way out of the bird.
BATMAN
Surrender.
CATWOMAN
Ever been to hell, Batman? You'd
feel right at home. You took a season
of my life. So I'm here to pay you
back. There's only one way out of
this mess. One of us dies.
BATMAN
I won't kill you, selina.
Batman gets selina by THE throat.
CATWOMAN
Batman doesn't kill? Bullshit.
(epiphinous)
You're a killer too, like you killed jack niper and
penguin
Somehow selina's words seem to shake Batman a beat. It's
all the distraction selina needs. SHE SMASHES Batman
across the face.
Batman slips, falls out of sight.
104 WINDSHIELD - CLOSE. Lady Gotham is coming up fast.
104
105 EXT. HELICOPTER
105
Batman hangs by one hand from the support strut, the bird
hurling towards the giant statue.
106 INT. HELICOPTER
106
SELINA locks "The Club" onto the controls, fixing the
chopper on it's deadly course.
107 Batman hoists himself into the chopper through the open
107
side in time to see SELINA standing over the cargo hatch.
CATWOMAN
Goodbye old pal.
With that catwoman leaps through the cargo hatch.
108 Batman stares frozen in disbelief as catwoman plummets to
108
the dark water below.
109 Then a sudden flurry of expanding color caught in Lady
109
Gotham's lighthouse beam, and a parachute opens over
catwoman, unfolding into a giant Yin-Yang.
110 BATMAN - POV - The windshield SHATTERS into the statue.
110
111 EXT. HELICOPTER - LADY GOTHAM - NIGHT
111
The helicopter EXPLODES into the left side of Lady
Gotham's face. A tremendous fireball splits the night.
112 EXT. GOTHAM SKY - NIGHT
112
Batman is falling. Still. Eyes closed. Maybe dead.
FLASHES OF
113 (OVER) A SCREAM. Two SHOTS. A pair of roses hit pavement.
113
114 A BOY runs through a storm, a book clutched in his hands.
114
115 A FALL down a narrow stone chute, into a cave.
115
116 A BAT, huge, evil, SCREECHING.
116
CATWOMAN'S WORDS (OVER) - "YOU'RE A KILLER TOO."
117 BATMAN FALLING - CLOSE
117
Batman plummets towards the water. His eyes open.
EXT. GOTHAM HARBOR (CONTINUOUS)
118
Batman SPLASHES into the harbor. Dark. Still.
Then, a familiar cowl breaks the surface, GASPING for
breath. Batman stares up at the sky.
119 PAN UP
119
Lady Gotham's one beautiful face now burns the night.
120 INT. WAYNE ENTERPRISES - NIGHT
120
Dark, save the light from a single cubicle.
121 INT. EDWARD'S WORK STATION - NIGHT
121
Edward sits hunched over his desk, working on his
invention. Sweat beads his brow, lips MUMBLING furiously.
EDWARD
(obsessive repetition)
Too many questions. Too many
questions.
Edward glances up at the picture of Bruce Wayne.
EDWARD
I'll show you it works.
STICKLEY (O.S.)
What the hell is going on here?
Stickley stands before Edward's cubicle. Not happy.
STICKLEY
Your project is terminated. I'm
calling security.
Stickley turns to go. Mistake. Edward CRACKS Stickley on
the head with a coffee pot. Down he goes.
EDWARD
Caffine'll kill you.
122 INT. EDWARD'S CUBICLE - MINUTES LATER
122
Stickley awakens to find himself strapped in a swivel
chair. Edward is placing an elaborate computerized
headband over Stickley's head. (OVER) a small TV hooked
into Edward's contraption runs a fishing show.
EDWARD
This won't hurt a bit.
(musing)
At least I don't think it will.
Edward reaches for a small transceiver fused to the TV.
STICKLEY
Goddamnit, you press that button
and-
123 Too late. A green beam explodes from the TV screen,
123
engulfing Stickley.
124 IN THE BEAM - a small holographic representation of the
124
fisherman reeling in a prize bass.
125 STICKLEY - POV - As far as Fred is concerned he's on the
125
shore, the fisherman's catch flapping in his face.
126 The TV signals begin to waver and tremble.
126
EDWARD
Loosing resolution. More power.
He increases the power toggle. BACKFIRE. A sudden white
light shoots back into the TV and up, surrounding Ed.
STICKLEY - CLOSE. His eyes dull, glaze over.
EDWARD - CLOSE. The effect on him seems to be quite the
opposite. Invigorating, sexual.
THE BEAM-FLARES. A tiny nova. Overload. Both men SCREAM.
All light vanishes.
EDWARD - CLOSE. His face buried in his hands.
Edward peers up from his hands.
Look into his eyes. One thing is sure. Edward Nygma has
gone power mad, totally insane.
EDWARD
(game show host)
Fred Stickley. Come on down. You're
the next contestant on I Want Your
Brain.
(Wayne-like)
Nygma your machine has unexpected
side effects. A feed back loop has
caused your brain to absorb
Stickley's neural energy.
(hyper)
Stickley, I've had a break-
through! And a breakdown? Maybe.
Nevertheless. I'm smarter. Hell, I'm
a genius. More than a genius.
Several geniuses. Genae. Genie.
Ed rises, BABBLES a dazed Fred's lips with his finger.
EDWARD
(short order cook)
Yo. Charlie. Gimmie an order of
brain deep-fry. Extra well done.
Hold the neurons.
(a scientist)
Patient exhibits symptoms of psycho
neural overload. Notation: obviously
higher settings can be dangerous to
the subject.
(pacing)
Riddle me this, Fred. What is
everything to someone and nothing to
everyone else? Your mind of course.
And now mine pumps with the power of
yours.
(urban)
New from Brain-bok. Da pump. Think
faster. Reason higher. Out-cog-nate
every homey on the court of life. Da
pump. Yeah.
(Shakespearian)
Ho! Mark. I sense an odd penchant
for the anagramatic. The acrostic.
The crypto-graphic. What doth this
bode? Answer me Marcutio, you little
runt.
(gourmet)
Fred, I must confess you were a
wonderful appetizer. Simply divine.
But now I yearn for a meal of
substance. The main course. A wide
and varied palette. Ah, to taste the
mind of a hero. A nobleman. A poet.
(Groucho)
A chick in a short skirt wouldn't be
so bad either.
STICKLEY
...Fired...your fired...your fired.
You understand?! Fired!!
EDWARD
I don't think so.
Edward savagely sends Stickley careening across the slick
floor still strapped to the swivel chair.
127 Stickley heads straight for the huge round window.
127
128 Edward seems like he has regrets as he dashes after
128
Stickley. The chair...
129 SMASHES THROUGH THE ROUND WINDOW
129
It teeters on the edge of the building, dam and RUSHING
water below. Stickley is being held on the precipice by
the long wire attached to his headband. It is really only
this that Edward came to save.
130 EDWARD
130
Fred. Babe. _You_ are fired. Or should
I say Terminated!
He yanks the invention from Stickley's head and he
crashes below to certain death. Ed races back to...
131 EDWARD'S CUBICLE
131
EDWARD
Question marks, Mr. Wayne?
He stands staring at the picture of Bruce Wayne.
EDWARD
My work raises too many question
marks?
In a frenzy, Edward begins tearing up the magazines lying
on his desk, ripping out individual words, pasting them
quickly onto a blank piece of paper.
EDWARD
Two years. 3.5762 percent of my
estimated lifespan toiling for your
greater glory and profit.
He SMASHES the framed GQ cover of Bruce on the floor.
EDWARD
Well, let me ask you some questions,
Mr. Smarter Than Thou. Why are you
so debonair? Successful? Richer than
God? Why should you have it all and
not me? Yes, you're right, there are
too many questions, Bruce Wayne.
Edward STOMPS on the picture, pulverizing the glass.
EDWARD
Like why hasn't anybody put you in
your place? And it's time you came
up with some answers. Starting right
now!
A SERIES OF IMAGES-
132 (OVER) A SCREAM. SHOTS. Roses fall to the pavement.
132
133 A YOUNG BOY stands staring into a parlor where two
133
coffins rest. Thomas and Martha Wayne. Dead leaves whip
through the hallway.
134 SMALL HANDS touch a leather bound book. Suddenly the
134
pages are splattered with blood. Wind blows out two
flickering candles.
135 THE BOY runs through a dark, stormy night, the book
135
clutched in his hands. He slips. A sinkhole.
136 A FALL down a narrow chute. The boy lands in a dark cave.
136
137 A GIANT MONARCH BAT, fangs bared, SCREECHES towards us.
137
CATWOMAN'S (V.O.)
You're a killer too.
138 INT. WAYNE MANOR - BRUCE'S BEDROOM - MORNING
138
In his bed, Bruce wakes, trying to blink away the images.
Alfred draws the curtains, welcoming rich autumn sun.
ALFRED
The dreams again, sir?
BRUCE
I think they're getting worse.
ALFRED
It's a wonder you sleep at all.
As Bruce sits up, Alfred notices a fresh set of bruises.
ALFRED
What a marvelous shade of purple.
Bruce shoots him a look.
ALFRED
Really, sir, if you insist on trying
to get yourself killed each night.
Alfred picks up Bruce's carelessly-tossed Batsuit from
the floor. Ripped, dented, punctured.
ALFRED
...Would it be a terrible imposition
to ask you to take better care of
your equipment?
BRUCE
Then you'd have nothing to complain
about.
ALFRED
Hardly a worry, sir.
Alfred brings a robe, holds it out for Bruce.
ALFRED
Commissioner Gordon phoned. There's
been an accident at Wayne
Enterprises.
139 INT. - WAYNE ENTERPRISES - MORNING
139
As the window is replaced in b.g., Edward Nygma stands
SOBBING before the head of personnel. With augmented
brain power apparently comes augmented acting talent.
EDWARD
(inconsolable)
Why? Oh, why? I can't believe it.
Two years. Working in the same
office. Shoulder to shoulder, cheek
to cheek, ---we're talking face, by
the way---and then this.
(handing her a note)
I found this in my cubicle. You'll
find the handwriting matches his
exactly as does sentence structure
and spelling.
(suddenly sobbing again)
I couldn't possibly continue on
here. The memories. I'll just get my
things.
140 ANOTHER ANGLE
140
Edward slips out a side door, quickly avoiding Bruce and
Gordon as they walk towards Bruce's office.
GORDON
We've questioned everyone who worked
on the floor. Computer records show
no one going in or out after
Stickley.
BRUCE
Computer records can be forged.
I'll have my people pull up --
A cop hands Gordon the forged note.
GORDON
Suicide. With all due respect, leave
the police work to us. We'll be in
touch.
As the Commissioner exits, Bruce heads into his office,
followed by his secretary, MARGARET.
141 INT. BRUCE'S OFFICE (CONTINUOUS)
141
MARGARET
The society matrons of Gotham have
called a record thirty-two times.
Not to mention the press. I think
that if they don't know soon who you
plan to take to the charity circus,
the world will most surely come to
an end.
Bruce notices an envelope on his desk.
BRUCE
What's this?
MARGARET
I don't know. I didn't see anyone...
BRUCE
No postmark. No stamp.
Bruce opens the envelope.
142 LETTER - CLOSE. A photo of Bruce. Below: letters cut from
142
newspapers and magazines read:
(RIDDLE#1) (to be written)
signed -The Riddler
143 Bruce raises an eyebrow.
143
BRUCE
The Riddler? Why can't anyone in
this town have a normal name?
Phone RINGS. Bruce hits a switch and a desk video-phone
lights into life. Alfred.
ALFRED
Channel 12, sir.
Bruce presses a button and Alfred's image shrinks to a
small box in the corner, superimposed atop a TV picture.
144 ON SCREEN -
144
A talk show in progress. A radiant black host: VONDELLE
MILLIONS talks to a panel of experts.
VONDELLE
--joined us, we're talking about the
mutilation of Lady Gotham, caused
late last night by Batman-
145 BRUCE
145
_Excuse_ me?!
VONDELLE
-- will take up to nine months to
repair. Today's topic: Batman-crime-
fighter or criminal?
BATMAN
How 'bout CATWOMAN? Anyone here
heard of HER?
The shot WIDENS to reveal the panel.
146 ON SCREEN - Our first expert: DR. JANISLAUS ROYCE.
146
ROYCE
Batman is a major cause of crime in
Gotham. So-called super-villains
seek him out hoping to prove
themselves in violent conflict.
Batman does not deter crime, he
invites it.
VONDELLE
I'm sure our audience objects to
your gender bias. Batperson.
The second expert PIPES in, DR. DAVID AIMS.
AIMS
What is the Dark Knight's credo?
Batman does not kill? What of those
slain during his fight with Jack
Napier aka Joker? Or in his
Christmas conflict with the orphan
Cobblepot? Batman belongs behind
bars, not his morally disadvantaged
victims.
CHASE (O.S.)
Bull shit!
147 WIDER
147
Chase sits at the end of the panel.
VONDELLE
What did you say?
CHASE
Which part of the word didn't you
understand?
148 Watching, Bruce sits a little straighter, more hopeful.
148
BRUCE
I could like this woman.
149 CHASE
149
Batman is a _reaction_ to the crime in
this city, not a creator of it!
Without him many more would be dead.
Batman is a true hero...
VONDELLE
Hey, Doc, got the hots for Batman?
HOOTS and HOLLERS from the audience.
CHASE - CLOSE. Busted.
150 On screen, a graphic: BATMAN: CRIMEFIGHTER OR CRIMINAL?
150
VONDELLE
What do you think? Call us at...
A HAND reaches up and SNAPS off the TV. The screen goes
black to reveal a reflection in the glass: catwoman.
PULL BACK TO REVEAL
INT. SELINA'S APARTMENT - DAY
SELINA turns away, disgusted.
SELINA
Batman, Batman, Batman. God, we want
that man's blood on our hands.
151 WIDER
151
THUG1
Oh you are most obscene, my
frightful grotesque.
Another set of arms entwine CATWOMAN.
THUG2
Don't listen to HIM. You're in every
MAN's dream.
THUG1
Waste Dorothy and Toto here, you and
me can get down to business.
SELINA SLAPS THUG1, hard.
THUG1
OUCH! WHAT WAS THAT FOR
SELINA
FOR BEING STUPID.
THUG2
(shankin his head)
Sad.
SHe turns now to thug2, caresses HIS face gently.
152 EXT. WAYNE MANOR - NIGHT
152
Edward peddles a bicycle down a service road towards
Wayne Manor, an envelope jutting from his shirt pocket
153 INT. BATCAVE - NIGHT
153
Alfred stands over a cage of bats. A hand-held scanner
producing distance readings.
Bruce sits before his Master Console.
BRUCE
How's the sonar coming, Alfred?
ALFRED
A few hitches sir, but I'm confident
we'll have a prototype in no time.
BRUCE
It'll never work.
ALFRED
I believe you said the same thing
about the Batmobile.
(OVER) a doorbell RINGS. Alfred disappears upstairs.
154 BRUCE - OVER THE SHOULDER
154
Bruce works a keyboard, manipulating the images on
various screens.
155 SCREEN ONE - Replays the CNN story on catwoman
155
156 SCREEN TWO - Replays the Vondelle Williams show.
156
157 SCREEN THREE - Runs news footage of Chase.
157
158 As Alfred returns, Bruce splits the Chase screen, a list
158
of psychiatric texts scrolling beside her portrait.
ALFRED
Scholarly research?
BRUCE
She has an excellent mind.
ALFRED
If I misinterpreted your interest in
the lady, I humbly apologize--
BRUCE
I wonder if she'd go out with me.
ALFRED
Apology hastily retracted.
Bruce freezes the image of Vondelle Williams over the
familiar graphic: Batman: Crimefighter or Criminal?
BRUCE
They don't understand. They think I
became Batman to fight crime.
Bruce leans back, closes his eyes, his past never far.
BRUCE
Do you remember the night I fell
into that cave and the bat chased
me?
ALFRED
Your parents' wake. Rain fell like
tears.
BRUCE
...The night Batman was born.
(a beat)
What was I doing in the fields that
night, Alfred? What sent me running
out into that storm? I keep dreaming
about it but I just can't remember.
ALFRED
I don't know, sir. Your dear
parents. Suddenly gone. So much
loss...
BRUCE
I remember the bat, though. His
scream. Those eyes. i was sure the
fear would kill me.
(a beat)
In time I came to believe that if I
became a monster, that if I was
feared, I wouldn't be scared
anymore. I was wrong.
(off the screen)
They think I became Batman to fight
crime. I became Batman to fight the
fear. And instead I became the fear.
Alfred hands him an envelope.
ALFRED
Perhaps it's time you paid a bit
more attention to Bruce Wayne. There
was no one at the door, just this.
Within, (RIDDLE #2). His expression darkens.
159 EXT. UGLY TENEMENT - BAD NEIGHBORHOOD - NIGHT
159
(OVER) SOUNDS OF POUNDING
160 INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE EDWARD'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
160
The source of the POUNDING -- MRS. LUCERTOLA, Ed's
middle-aged, no-bullshit landlady.
MRS. LUCERTOLA
Ya wanna cough up your rent, or do I
post an eviction notice?
Locks TURN. The door opens a crack. Edward peeks out.
EDWARD
Mrs. Lucertola. What a surprise.
Come in. I was just sitting down to
write the check.
161 INT. EDWARD'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
161
Mrs. Lucertola barges inside -- then stops, aghast.
HER POV-
Five people might live here. Sports magazines. Stock
market tickers. Half completed paintings and sculptures.
Blueprints. In the corner an old circus booth containing
a manikin of the green-clad, can wielding Guesser.
MRS. LUCERTOLA
What is it exactly that you do, Mr.
Nygma?
EDWARD
My dear Ms. Lucertola. Italian,
isn't it? For lizard. How fitting. I
think the question better asked:
what is it that I don't do?
Ed guides Mrs. Lucertola to a sofa before the TV.
EDWARD
Most recently I have devised a way
to change the destiny of mankind and
the world as we know it, all in my
favor of course.
MRS. LUCERTOLA
The rent Nygma!!!
EDWARD
Might I persuade you to take a seat
on this couch? To indulge me in a
little experiment?
He shoves her down.
MRS. LUCERTOLA
Hey, I got no time for-
Edward clamps a new, streamlined headband on her head.
EDWARD
Showtime.
He clicks on the TV. An evening soap.
MRS. LUCERTOLA
My favorite story.
Atop the TV rests a small box. The next generation of his
Remote Encephalographic Stimulator.
EDWARD
Yes. TV. Balm to the minds of the
masses. The great deadener. If only
it were more lively. But wait. I can
help.
He hits a switch on the Box and the familiar beam engulfs
his landlady, the holographic image of the screen's
kissing couple now hovering in mid-air before her.
MRS. LUCERTOLA
Oh my lord.
EDWARD
Not quite. But I'm getting there.
162 MRS. LUCERTOLA - POV - She might as well be sitting on the
162
foot of the bed as the two lovers' embrace heats up.
Edward waves his hand in front of her eyes. Nothing. The
same dazed expression that Stickley wore.
EDWARD
Now this is much better. No pain.
Just a little holographic TV to keep
your mind off the fact...
Edward PLANTS an ELECTRODE on his forehead.
EDWARD
...That I'm taking your mind.
(professional)
Not your thoughts, mind you. Just
your neural energy, simply sucking
some IQ points as it were.
A GREEN-BLUE aura forms around Edward's head.
EDWARD
(announcer)
His intelligence jumps. Ms. Lizard
don't know it. The crowd goes wild.
(CEO)
Boys, I want one of these babies in
every home.
(Clinton)
It's the new information super
highway and, pay attention now kids.
I'm the on ramp.
(ad-man)
From their brains to the TV to my
brain, with no commercial
interruptions!
(announcer)
There are seven million brains in
the Naked City...
(menacing)
...and they're all mine!
163 EXT. MUNICIPAL POLICE COMPLEX - DAY
163
Gothic. Active. Bruce enters the complex.
164 INT. POLICE COMPLEX - CHASE'S OFFICE
164
Comfortable. Well appointed. Degrees on the walls.
Chase opens her door to Bruce Wayne.
CHASE
Mr. Wayne. Chase Meridian.
The sparks he felt from her as Batman don't fly.
CHASE
How can I help you, Mr. Wayne?
BRUCE
Somebody's been sending me love
letters. Commissioner Gordon thought
you might give me your expert
opinion.
Chase spread the `Riddler' letters before her. Bruce
TAPS his fingers absentmindedly as he watches her read.
CHASE
Psychiatrists make you nervous?
BRUCE
Just ones this beautiful.
CHASE
The infamous Wayne charm. Does it
ever shut off?
BRUCE
On occasion. Usually at night.
Bruce stops tapping, examines books on aberrant behavior.
The Dark Side. Turns a tiny wicker doll over in his hand.
BRUCE
Still play with dolls, Doctor?
CHASE
She's a Malaysian dream warden. She
stands sentry while you sleep and
calms your dreams.
(off Bruce's expressions)
Need one?
BRUCE
Me? No. Only things that need
calming in my dreams are the
Rockettes.
Chase holds his eyes a beat. Not buying. But she lets it
go, looks back over the letters.
CHASE
My opinion. This letter writer is a
total wacko.
BRUCE
Wacko? That a technical term?
CHASE
Patient apparently suffers from
acute obsessional syndrome with
potential homicidal styles. Work
better for you?
BRUCE
So what you're saying, this guy's a
total wacko, right?
CHASE
(a slight smile)
Exactly.
He notices batman research on her desk. Spots a framed
print hanging on the wall. A bat.
BRUCE
You have a thing for bats?
Chase follows his gaze.
CHASE
That's a rorschach, Mr. Wayne.
People see what they want to.
Bruce looks back up. In fact, just an ink blot. Only he
saw a bat within it's bleeding lines.
CHASE
I think the question would be, do
you have a thing for bats?
BRUCE
So, this Riddler, he's dangerous?
CHASE
What do you know about obsession?
BRUCE
Not much.
CHASE
Obsession is born of fear. Recall a
moment of great terror in your life.
Say you associate that moment
with...
(random)
...a bat. The bat's image becomes a
cancer of the mind, grows more real
than your daily life. Can you
imagine something like that?
BRUCE
It's a stretch but I'll manage.
CHASE
The letter writer is obsessed with
you. His only escape may be...
BRUCE
To kill me.
CHASE
You understand obsession better than
you let on.
BRUCE
No insights here, doc. Just trying
to get comfortable on your couch.
(checking his watch)
Oops. Times up.
CHASE
That's usually my line.
BRUCE
Look, I'd love to keep chatting-
CHASE
Would you? I'm not so sure.
BRUCE
But I'm going to have to get you out
of those clothes.
CHASE
Excuse me.
BRUCE
And into a black dress.
Bruce throws her startled expression his best smile.
BRUCE
Tell me, Doctor, do you like the
circus?
Despite herself, Chase smiles back.
165 A SIGN - CLOSE - Gotham Hospital Charity Circus.
WIDER
166 EXT. HIPPODROME - NIGHT
166
Immense. On the lapping edge of Gotham Harbor.
Searchlights sweep the sky. FLAGS flutter on the
Hippodrome's oval roof, Limos spill Gotham's finest. The
night of the season.
INT. CENTER RING
167
THE FLYING AFRICAN GRAYSONS -- Mother, Father, and two sons all
wearing colorful red and green outfits with yellow cape-
-- race out to greet the crowd. They discard their capes,
cartwheel to four guywires.
RINGMASTER
Ladies and gentlemen. Seventy feet
above the ground, performing feats
of aerial skill without a net all the way from africa,
the
Flying Graysons!
The lights dim. Spots follow each Grayson as hoist cables
whisk them up to the trapezes and high wire.
168 ON THE TRAPEZE
168
Dad and Chris Grayson hang by their knees, upside down on
opposite trapezes.
169 Mom jumps to Chris' hands, hangs in mid-air. Chris swings
169
back and forth, building momentum, then sends her to Dad
in a poetic double somersault.
170 BELOW
170
The Hippodrome is packed solid.
171 VIP SECTION
171
Bruce and Chase in evening finery take their seats amidst
a barrage of flashing photographers. The Gotham Society
matrons crowd for a photo op.
CHASE
(off the flashes)
I'm surprised you aren't blind by
now.
BRUCE
(as if he were)
I'm sorry. Who are you?
Chase smiles. The Press and Matrons disappear.
BRUCE
Now we can just sit back and watch
the show like normal folks.
RINGMASTER (OVER)
Tonight's benefit has raised
$375,000 for Gotham Children's
Hospital. Let's thank our largest
single donor: Bruce Wayne.
SPOTLIGHT finds Bruce and Chase. WILD APPLAUSE.
CHASE
(through her smile)
Like normal folks.
BRUCE
(deadpan)
What? This isn't normal?
172 RINGMASTER
172
And now Richard, the youngest Flying
Grayson, will perform The _Quadruple_
Flying Somersault!
173 DICK GRAYSON, handsome african, only happy when he is in
flight,
173
jumps to his father's hands, hangs in air.
174 DICK'S POV - The world flips, dizzying, four times.
174
175 Chris catches Dick's hands. Shaky. One hand slips free.
175
The Crowd GASPS. Dick dangles for an instant.
176 Chris hoists Dick to safety. An uproarious OVATION!
176
177 CHASE watches Bruce. He's riveted, eyes like a child's.
177
BRUCE
That kid is amazing.
CHASE
I don't get you Bruce Wayne.
BRUCE
Me? I'm easy. Especially after a
couple of martinis.
CHASE
The glib, cavalier routine, it
really is an act, isn't it?
BRUCE
Don't believe it. I'm just skin
deep.
But he holds her eyes and in the smile that passes
between them, sweet electricity. Maybe something more.
178 THE RINGMASTER stands watching the Graysons feats of
178
aerial wonder. Something catches his eye.
179 A GLOVED HAND extends through the curtain leading
179
backstage, beckons him with a single finger.
180 THE RINGMASTER - CLOSE. Puzzled. Steps out of the ring.
180
181 BACK TO BRUCE AND CHASE
181
BRUCE
Look, I'm rock climbing Sunday. How
about coming along?
CHASE
Bruce, much to my surprise, you seem
like a really great guy...
BRUCE
But...
CHASE
Well, I met someone...
BRUCE
Fast work. You just moved here.
CHASE
You could say he kind of dropped out
of the sky and bang-. I think he
felt it too.
BRUCE
He sure did.
CHASE
What?
BRUCE
(awkward)
I said I'm sure he did.
Bruce looks towards...
182 CENTER RING
182
A TINY CAR, horn HONKING away, ROARS into the middle ring
and begins dislodging clowns, all tumbling out of the
cars and over each other.
183 A new Ringmaster steps into the arena. selina, she does not
have her suit.
183
SELINA
Ladies and gentlemen, and I do use
the term loosely, your attentions
please. Tonight, a new act for your
amusement. We call it Massacre Under
the Big Top.
184 her thugs slip out of their clown costumes and seal every
184
exit.
185 They pull machine guns and start SHOOTING over the
185
audience's heads. PANIC. SCREAMS.
186
186
SELINA
People, people. Show some grace
under pressure. A little decorum,
please.
(into his mike)
_SHUT UP_!!!
187 More machine gun BURSTS as Thugs move into sentry
187
positions at each section of bleachers. Folks quiet.
188 SELINA
188
If we may direct your attention...
189/90 A Thug trains a spot on a crate hung in the
rafters.
189/90
191 SELINA
191
Inside that wooden box: two hundred
sticks of TNT.
(showing a box)
In our hand: a radio detonator.
selina presses a button.
192 DETONATOR - CLOSE. A digital countdown. 3:00. 2:59. 2:58...
192
193 SELINA
193
You have three minutes.
194 HARVEY DENT
194
What the hell do you want?
195 SELINA
195
Want, Mr. dent? Just one little
thing. Batman. Bruised. Broken.
Bleeding. In a word: dead.
SELINA LOOKS UP AT GRAYSNS THEN TO THE CROWRD
SELINA
Who do we have assembled before us?
Gotham's finest. Rich, Influential.
Smart. One of you must know who
Batman is. Hell, i know who batman is.
selina spins,then sees bruce with chase.
SELINA
I know who is batman and he is this building
and my freind
(shoots a look at bruce) if you dont stand up and confence
then this
building will go boom tonight and You have
three ---well just under three---
minutes.
196 BRUCE, his eyes riveted on the bomb. No secret is worth
196
innocent lives. He stands.
Chase, misunderstanding, tries to pull Bruce back down.
WIDER
Suddenly everyone jumps up, SHOUT and SCREAM, point
towards the rafters.
197 REVERSE ANGLE
197
The Graysons scale the scaffolding, heading for the bomb.
SELINA
Boys! Move, move, move!
(a beat)
Cannot get good help these days.
198 Any Thugs not standing sentry fan out, speed up guywires.
198
199 CHRIS
199
(to Dick)
Go! We'll hold them off a'ight man!
Mom, Dad and Chris swing from trapeze to guywire to
platform, trying to delay the Thugs who are actually
well-trained gymnasts.
200 Dick launches himself from trapeze to trapeze, bounces
200
off the high wire, grabs a catwalk and hoists himself up.
201 Bruce uses the distraction to hop the rail, race through
201
the SCREAMING CROWD.
202 THE TIME - CLOSE. 1:03. 1:02. 1:01.
202
203 ON THE TRAPEZE
203
204 A Thug grabs Dad Grayson by the leg. Dad manages a jump
204
to another trapeze.
205 Mom's not so lucky. A Thug punches her off the uppermost
205
platform. She falls in mid-air.
206 FOLKS in the audience SCREAM.
206
207 BRUCE moves fast towards one of the sentry Thugs.
207
208 MOM snags a wildly swinging trapeze with one leg, wraps
208
her ankle around a rope, hanging over the floor.
209 A THUG points to the Time Clock 0:45. 0:44. 0:43.
209
210 THE THUGS quit the fight, slide down ropes and guywires.
210
211 DAD AND CHRIS form a human chain to reach Mom. Dad
211
anchors Chris who swings out towards Mom. Mom swings her
trapeze to gather momentum.
212 IN THE RAFTERS
212
Dick has reached the Bomb. Begins un-lashing the crate.
213 ON THE CIRCUS FLOOR
213
The Thugs begin to pour through the trap door. A few
thrill-seekers fire their MACHINE GUNS over the crowd.
214 THE TIMER - CLOSE. 0:15. 0:14. 0:13.
214
215 DICK scales a service ladder, vies with a roof hatch.
215
216 TRAPEZE - CLOSE
216
Dan and Chris make their final swing. Mom lets go and
sails gloriously towards Chris. Below them, no net.
217 BRUCE taps the watching Thug on the shoulder. He spins.
217
BRUCE
Show's over.
A punch and the guy is out. Bruce starts for Selina.
Another Thug springs up before him, blocking his way.
218 SELINA stares up at the dangling Graysons. SHe reaches
218
into her pocket. and reches out a tear gas grenade
SELINA
Day in, day out, it always comes
down to the same old question.
Life...
(throws the grenade)
Or death.
it hits the audience seats and smoke takes everybody .
SELINA
my kinda day.
219 BRUCE fells the other Thug. Starts to sprint across the
219
ring towards selina.
220 AT THE ROOF
220
Dick shoves the hatch open, climbs out.
221 TIMER - CLOSE. 0:10. 0:09. 0:08.
221
222 MOM spots the pointing gun far below. She SCREAMS.
222
223 BRUCE races for the aiming Selina. Almost there.
223
Another Thug hits him broadside, knocking him flat.
224 SELINA FIRES. Twice, the first bullet cutting, the
224
225 second severing the rope that holds the Graysons.
225
SELINA
Never did like the circus. Too many
freaks.
226/27 selna disappears down the tunnel. Bruce struggles
226/27
to his feet. A CHARGE blows inside the escape hatch,
filling the access-way with fire. No way out.
228 CLOCK - CLOSE. 0:07. 0:06.
228
229 EXT. HIPPODROME ROOF - CONTINUOUS - NIGHT
229
Dick scrambles onto the roof, begins whipping the bomb
rope like a sling.
230 INT. HIPPODROME - CONTINUOUS - NIGHT
230
CLOCK - CLOSE. 0:05. 0:04. 0:03.
231 EXT. HIPPODROME ROOF - CONTINUOUS - NIGHT
231
Dick let's fly, the bomb soaring out towards the harbor.
232 THE BOMB hits the water. Sinks. A beat. The night is
232
split by a funneling EXPLOSION.
233 INT. HIPPODROME - NIGHT
233
Dick swings excitedly down onto the catwalk. He freezes
at the rail.
DICK
No!!!!
DICK - CLOSE. On his face, his life's end.
234 DICK'S POV -- STRAIGHT DOWN
234
The dead bodies of his mother, father and brother. Bruce
Wayne stands over them, looking up at the boy.
235 BRUCE - CLOSE. His face a tragic echo of Dick's pain.
235
236 EXT. - WAYNE MANOR - NEXT AFTERNOON
236
A police car heads towards the manor. Dick Grayson, pack
on his back, winds his motorcycle behind the cruiser.
Bruce comes out to greet Gordon. Dick, slightly
awestruck, dismounts, wanders into the house.
GORDON
It's good of you to take him in.
He's been filling out forms all day.
He hasn't even eaten.
Bruce nods, watches Gordon drive off. Heads into...
237 INT. WAYNE MANOR FOYER - LATE DAY
237
As Bruce ENTERS through the open door, Alfred arrives
from the other direction.
ALFRED
Welcome, Master Grayson. I'm Alfred.
DICK
man this dope!Al?
ALFRED
(mouthing)
dope?
DICK
(to Bruce)
dope means cool, tight you know what i'm saying G?
BRUCE
no! i don't know what your saying.
(across the foyer)
Alfred! show richard his room.
ALFRED
yes! master bruce.
BRUCE
Take any any thing from the kitchen you like.
But Dick isn't listening, stares instead over
Bruce's shoulder as Gordon's cruiser disappears out of
sight.
DICK
man. I'm outta here.
BRUCE
Excuse me.
DICK
yo man! I figure telling the cops I'd stay
for a bit and go move to the hood with
my cousins and thanks for meeting you guys
peace out, See ya.
Dick heads toward the door. Alfred slips away.
BRUCE
Where will you go? The hood is
halfway to gothem by now.
DICK
I going to the hood, you got that partner
then I'm going to get a fix on bitch catwoman
Then I'm going to kill her.
BRUCE
Listen, Dick. Killing catwoman won't
take the pain away. It'll make it
worse.
DICK
Look, i don't need your bull shit,okay.
You're just some rich guy who is
trying to do a good deed. You don't
even know me fool.
Bruce stares beyond Dick, into his own past.
BRUCE
It's not just the sadness. Is it?
The shame is worse. Feeling like
somehow you should have saved them.
Dick is looking at Bruce now.
BRUCE
You're right. I don't know you. But
I'm like you.
Just then Alfred returns with a tray. Rare London broil.
Baby potatoes. Fresh greens. An aromatic feast.
ALFRED
Oh, is the young master leaving?
Pity. I'll just toss this away then.
Perhaps the dogs are hungry -
Alfred turns, heads up the stairs.
ALFRED
I'll set this up in the guest suite.
Just in case.
Dick follows, led by his nose.
Bruce smiles, nods slowly
INT. THE MAYOR OFFICE--NIGHT
harvey spins to the Mayor. A Digital wall clock pings to
7:55.
HARVEY DENT
man! this was not right what happen at the circus
embarrassment I'd like to call it
we need to get a better swat team and replace gordon.
The Mayor coughs into a response that must have sounded
better during its bathroom mirror practice. harvey
confidently rises.
MAYOR
harvey, my friend, you're the
pillar of this community. Pillar.
replace gordon is something i'll never do
and i know your a little shock
what happen at the circus but we need
think of.....
HARVEY DENT
Your point?
MAYOR
I've got to refuse permission on
replacing gordon and all that is bull shit.
Those environmentalists have
really been on my back. I just...
I'm so sorry, I'll make it up to
you, I'll...
harvey leaves the office and then he slams the door.
INT. - WAYNE LIBRARY
240
Bruce touches a vase of fresh roses. Stares at framed
photos of Thomas, Martha, of himself, younger. Happy.
With no knowledge of the future.
241 He turns. Suddenly their coffins are in the middle of the
241
room again, the still corpses white in death. He's a
boy.
There on the desk. A leather bound book. (OVER) THUNDER
CRACKS.
242 THE FRONT DOOR flies open. An evil wind whips the house.
242
243 THE BOOK is splattered with blood.
243
244 THE WINDOW explodes, shattering glass, and out of the
244
darkness flies a huge, evil bat.
ALFRED (OVER)
Master Bruce?
245 Bruce is sitting in a chair, holding a rose, head down,
245
the images only flashes of memory. Night has fallen. He
looks up, eyes. red.
BRUCE
It's happening again. Just like my
parents. A monster comes out of the
night. A scream. Two gunshots. I
killed them.
ALFRED
What did you say?
BRUCE
He killed them. Two-Face. He
slaughtered that boy's parents.
ALFRED
No. You said I. I killed them.
BRUCE
Don't be ridiculous.
Suddenly a pale light through the window illuminates the
room, bathes their faces.
246 THE BATSIGNAL beams in the sky.
246
247 INT. GUEST (DICK'S) BEDROOM
247
Dick Grayson finishes eating. He moves into the
248 HALLWAY
248
the house seems empty.
DICK
yo?.. Hello?... Anybody home?
He's puzzled.
249 EXT. GOTHAM CITY STREET - NIGHT
249
Batman speeds along in the Batmobile. He hits top speed
as the car's fusion drive glows red.
250 A giant projector, beaming the Batsignal on the fast
night clouds. Batman leaps from a neighboring roof to
find no one. Just the huge light and the city wind.
BATMAN
Commissioner...?
A shadow appears from behind the searchlight. Chase.
CHASE
He's home. I sent the signal.
BATMAN
What's wrong?
CHASE
Last night at the circus. I noticed
something about SELINA. her she knows you. SHe's
obsessed with batman. It's her
Achilles' heel. It can be exploited.
He steps close to her. Intimidating.
BATMAN
You called me here for this? The
Batsignal is not a beeper.
Instead of backing off, Chase moves towards him.
CHASE
I wish I could say my interest in
you was purely professional...
BATMAN
Are you trying to get under my cape,
Doctor?
CHASE
A girl cannot live by psychoses
alone.
BATMAN
It's the car, right? Chicks love the
car.
CHASE
What is it about the wrong kind of
man? In grade school it was guys
with earrings. College, motorcycles
and leather jackets.
Chase is right up against him. She runs her fingers along
the outline of Batman's mask.
CHASE
Now black rubber.
BATMAN
Try a fireman. Less to take off.
CHASE
I don't mind the work. Pity I can't
see behind the mask.
Batman stills her hand.
BATMAN
We all wear masks.
CHASE
My life's an open book. You read?
BATMAN
I'm not the kind of guy who blends
in at a family picnic.
CHASE
We could give it a try. I'll bring
the wine, you bring the scarred
psyche.
BATMAN
You are direct, aren't you?
CHASE
You like strong women. I've done my
homework. Or do I need skin-tight
vinyl and a whip?
Their bodies are close.
BATMAN
I haven't had much luck with
women...
CHASE
Maybe you just haven't met the right
woman...
Their mouths are close. Suddenly Commissioner Gordon,
trench-coat over pajamas, rushes onto the roof.
GORDON
I saw the beacon. What's going on?
BATMAN
Nothing... False alarm.
251 Batman shoots a Batarang into the night and dives from
251
the building.
CHASE
Are you sure?
252 EXT. SEEDY PART OF TOWN - DAY
252
SIRENS WHINE as two cruisers fly down a pot-holed street.
253 ANGLE ON - A bridge structure.
253
254 INT. SELINA'S APARTMENT - DAY
254
The room is dark. POLICE SIRENS FADE as a trap door opens
in the floor. selina emerges.
CATWOMAN
Ever have one of those days where
you just want to kill somedody?
VOICE IN THE DARK
Riddle me this. (Riddle #3)
REVERSE ANGLE
A mysterious silhouette stands in the dark CLOSET.
catwoman draws her whip.
VOICE IN THE DARK
The answer is, your enemy.
CATWOMAN
Who are you?
VOICE IN THE DARK
You can just call me... The Riddler.
The figure steps out of closet. A new costume, lime
green, covered with question marks, an emerald eye mask,
derby and cane. An exact replica of the Guesser's outfit.
CATWOMAN
How'd you find my apartment?
RIDDLER
You _are_ catwoman, you would need to
face both rivers, both uptown and
downtown simultaneously. Only one
spot in Gotham serves these bi-
zonal, bi-coastal needs...
CATWOMAN
Congratulations. You get to die on
the dean's list and I will stangle you.
catwoman picks her whip,
RIDDLER
Has anyone ever told you have a
serious impulse control problem?
(looking around)
You know, I simply love what you've
done with this place. pinkish 80s syle
He goes over to the couch and lays down
RIDDLER
It's so dark and Gothic and
disgustingly decadent...
He gets up and starts walking over to catwoman.
RIDDLER
Yet so bright and chipper and
conservative!
( he goes close to her ears)
It's so you.
And yet so _you_!
(touching her suit)
Very few people are both a summer
_and_ a winter. But you pull it off
nicely.
CATWOMAN
A man with a death wish.
RIDDLER
selina. You need me. Since you've
survie that deadly explosion in penguin lair, you've
managed, what? To bungle stealing a
safe? Wreck a statue? And, correct
me if I'm wrong here, but weren't
you outsmarted by an acned acrobat
at the circus?
CATWOMAN
Let's see if you bleed green.
selina COCKS back the hammer.
RIDDLER
Alright, selina. Go ahead. Fire
away. But before you do, let me ask
you one question. Is it really me
you want to kill?
The Riddler knits his thumbs together, waves his hands
over one of the exposed light bulbs that illuminate the
room, making a shadow on the wall. The shadow of a bat.
RIDDLER
Do you know about hate, my dual
visaged friend? Slow, burning hate
that keeps you sleepless until late
in the night, that wakes you before
dawn. Do you know that kind of hate?
I do.
(circling selina)
Kill him? Seems like a good enough
idea. But have you thought it
through? A few bullets, a quick
spray of blood, a fast, thrilling
rush, and then what? Wet hands and
post-coital depression. Is it really
enough?
(up close)
Why not ruin him first? Expose his
frailty. And then, when he is at his
weakest, crush him in your hand.
255 Riddler gestures to the front of the room, where thug1
255
and thug2, sitting on the floor up playing video game, are fixed to
their
TV's via the green beam of the box.
He tosses a receiver electrode to Two-Face.
RIDDLER
...Take a hit.
selina looks at the electrode curiously.
RIDDLER
(taps his forehead)
Up, up, up.
A beat. Then, gun still trained on the Riddler, Two-Face
holds the receiver to his skull. He's blasted with a dose
of Leather and Lace's neural energy.
CATWOMAN
Holy shit.
RIDDLER
So not everyone can be a poet.
Still, I respect the sentiment.
Riddler waves his hand in front of the thug's eyes. No
response. Definitely zoned.
RIDDLER
(to the thugs)
This is your brain on the box.
(off selina)
This is your brain on their brain.
He plants an electrode on her own forehead.
RIDDLER
This is my brain on your brain on
their brain. Does anybody else feel
like a fried egg?
The Riddler grabs catwoman's receiver.
CATWOMAN
No. Wait...
RIDDLER
Addictive isn't it? Just Say No.
Until I say yes. A little fringe
benefit of working with me. Now
here's the concept, counselor.
Crime. My I.Q., your AK-47. You help
me gather production capital so I
can produce enough of these
(pulling a Box from his vest)
to create an empire that will
eclipse Bruce Wayne's forever. And,
in return I will help you solve the
greatest riddle of all. Who is
Batman?
catwoman eyes The Riddler, interest dawning in his eyes.
CATWOMAN
You are a very strange person. You
speak as if we are old friends,
which we are not. BUT I already know
who
batman is come closely and i'll tell you
(she goes to his ears and first she
licks his ear)
BRUCE WAYNE.
The Riddler is in shoke he barley moves.
CATWOMAN
are you okay it did shoke me at first but I got use to
it.
hi let go and steal some
stuff.
256
257 INT. JEWELRY EXCHANGE
257
Thugs grab handfuls of gems as a Guard presses the ALARM
BUTTON. LOONY TOONS and MERRIE MELODIES THEMES play as
Riddler's animated face fills the surveillance screens.
WIDER
The Riddler and catwoman stand over a palette of black
jeweler's felt. Littered with bright, sparkling diamonds.
The Riddler slips on a monocle, lifts a stone.
catwoman grabs the entire palette, pours the diamonds
into a loot bag, heads towards another counter.
258 INT. BATMOBILE - MOVING
258
WINDSCREEN - CLOSE. A flashing message: Crime In Progress.
259 An ever changing tactical map shows Batman's narrowing
259
proximity to the crime site.
260 EXT. STREET
260
The Batmobile rushes to a halt. Batman leaps out, SMASHES
through a door into...
261 INT. BEAUTY SALON
261
...Girls LAUGH and flirt. Even behind his mask, Batman
fumes. Obviously misled.
262 INT. WAYNE MANOR - BRUCE'S BEDROOM - DAY
262
Bruce sits watching the news.
ANCHOR
...working with selina kyle aka catwoman, Gotham's
new criminal mastermind is calling
himself The Riddler. Twenty million
in diamonds were stolen yesterday
with no sign of Batman.
263 SCREEN - CLOSE. Changes. Edward stands on the Claw Island.
263
A small abandoned island in Gotham Harbor.
ANCHOR
In other news, entrepreneur Edward
Nygma has signed a lease for Claw
Island. Nygma says he plans to break
ground on an electronics plant....
265 INT. WAYNE MANOR - HALLWAY
265
266 NEWSPAPER - CLOSE. RIDDLER & CATWOMAN TERRORIZE GOTHAM.
266
PULL BACK TO REVEAL
Alfred, newspaper in hand, finds Dick trying to open the
door which leads to the Bat Cave.
ALFRED
May I help you, Master Grayson?
DICK
yo How come this is the only locked
door around this crib? What's homeboy bruce hiding
there?
ALFRED
Master Wayne's dead wives.
Dick grins. Alfred watches him go, a wry smile on his
face. The coast now clear, he disappears into the secret
doorway.
267 WIDER
267
Dick stands hidden in an alcove, watching.
268 EXT. CLAW ISLAND - DAY
268
Tremendous construction in progress.
269 INT. CLAW ISLAND
269
Silhouettes of robot arms manufacture the Box.
Edward watches on, giving selina a quick hit from a
glowing electrode, then snatches back the receiver.
selina eyes the electrode with an addict's hungry eyes.
270 EXT. GOTHAM LOADING DOCK
270
selina and Thugs steal priceless paintings while the
Guards sit bound and gagged in their booth.
Riddler stares up at a freshly spray-painted (RIDDLE #4)
on the boat's hull.
271 INT. WAYNE MANOR - LAUNDRY ROOM
271
Dick stands watching TV while he washes and dries his
clothes using martial arts techniques.
272 VONDELLE (ON SCREEN)
272
Has Batman lost his touch? We've
become a city of sissies crying
Batman, Batman, Batman at the first
sign of trouble.
273 INT. GOTHAM OPERA - NIGHT
273
The Barber of Seville is in full swing. As the bejewelled
audience watches, the translation is being spelled out
for them on a large electronic screen over the stage.
274 BACKSTAGE
274
Green gloved hands attach a Box to the translator.
275 AUDIENCE
275
The familiar green beam of The Box transfixes the
audience and the performers. selina and her Thugs take
the balcony in protective green sunglasses, strip folks
of their cash and jewels.
276 The Riddler stands on stage.
276
RIDDLER
I just love a captive audience.
He picks up the ARIA A-CAPELLA, races through the stunned
orchestra, collecting valuables.
As he goes, he moves the mouths of his victims, turning
the robbery into an opera of his own.
RIDDLER
(singing)
Oh, but all I want is to take all
your jewels oh oh.
(moving a woman's mouth)
No, oh you villain don't take my
jewels, oh no.
(singing back)
I will.
(a man's mouth)
No you won't.
(singing)
I will.
(another man)
No you won't.
277 Still SINGING, he leaps back onto the stage where selina
277
and her Thugs arrive, bags full of loot. Riddler plays
tiny hidden buttons in his cane, directing Batman.
CATWOMAN
Where are you sending Batboy this time?
RIDDLER
Here. Get a good seat.
278 OUT THE WINDOW
278
The Batmobile makes a quick stop before the opera house.
279 Riddler, catwoman and Thugs disappear just as...
BATMAN
drops to the Stage from the ceiling. He looks around at
the stunned audience.
He spots a small box with a question mark on it sitting
center stage. Lifts the top. Within, a pair of plastic
hands applaud him.
280 THE TRANSLATOR - CLOSE. Vaporizes, the beam snapping off.
280
281 THE AUDIENCE
281
startled by Batman's sudden appearance on stage, starts
LAUGHING. Until someone notices her tiara is missing. A
SCREAM. The first of many.
282 EXT. GOTHAM TIMES BUILDING - NIGHT
282
Electronic headlines circles- BAT FLOPS AT OPERA. RIDDLER
AND CATWOMAN STEAL MILLIONS.
283 EXT. NYGMATECH HEADQUARTERS - CLAW ISLAND - DAY
283
Finally complete. In the b.g. a giant corporate sign
reading NYGMATECH is raised by cranes.
Edward Nygma, dressed like Bruce Wayne to the smallest
detail, stands on a podium, giving a press conference.
Scores of APPLAUDING Employees and Media watch on. The
Gotham Society Matrons COO.
EDWARD (OVER)
Why sit back when you can be part of
the show?
284 QUICK CUTS OF NEWSPAPERS
284
EDWARD (OVER)
...Nygmatech brings the joy 3-D
entertainment into your own home.
285 CUTS OF MAGAZINES all proclaiming Edward as the new King
285
of Electronics in Gotham City.
EDWARD
Ladies and gentlemen. Let me tell
you my vision for the future. "The
Box" in every home in America. And
one day, the world.
EXT. GOTHAM CITY - MONTAGE
286
A tenement, where a poor family scrapes together their
savings on a newspaper ad for "The Box"....
287 An electronics store, where Alfred, at the head of a long
287
line, hands over a check to receive "The Box"...
288 A resplendent household where husband, wife, and kids
288
each watch individual TV's connected to their own Boxes.
289 INT. NYGMATECH - RIDDLER'S CONTROL ROOM
289
Riddler sits atop a tremendous electronic throne, facing
a wall bank of TV monitors all running newsreel footage
of folks using "The Box". From overhead, a giant diode
delivers massive pulses of glowing neural energy.
290 RIDDLER'S HEAD - CLOSE. His brain is growing.
290
291 EXT. ELECTRONIC STORES
291
Crowds of people line up. Some stores say "SOLD OUT"
others "YES, WE HAVE `THE BOX'."
292 INT. BATCAVE
292
Bruce stands over the Batcomputer.
BRUCE
Riddler and SELINA are tweaking
the data before the computer pulls
it off the emergency bands.
Alfred stands in his lab area, trying to disassemble "The
Box". He gets the lid off.
293 BOX - CLOSE. The circuitry inside automatically vaporizes.
293
294 INT. NYGMATECH - EDWARD'S CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT
294
thug1 and thug2 sit with the Riddler and catwoman as the
two villains pass an electrode between them.
CATWOMAN
Sure, E = MC squared. Until you
factor in more than three
dimensions. Then... Damn. Hit us
again.
RIDDLER
Haven't you had enough? Don't Think
And Drive.
Harvey waves his revolver in Riddler's face.
RIDDLER
Be my guest.
selina and thug1 and thug2 take another hit of the
glowing neural energy. Smiles.
CATWOMAN
Our Paleolithic yearnings are best
expressed in a pre-linguistic-
(off the befuddled girls)
Sorry. Just thinking out loud.
selina leans back, buzzed, the electrode slipping from
his hand.thug1 grabs for it. Not fast enough. Riddler
snatches it away.
RIDDLER
(to thug1)
Not until you do that thing I like.
(taking a hit)
On se tue pour des mesnonges. J'ai
gache ma vie...
(off the electrode)
Woah. Harsh toke.
SELINA
Don't bogart that 'trode.
He tosses selina the electrode over thug2's ill-timed grab.
selina takes a hit.
CATWOMAN
(epiphanous)
Oh my God. Jim Morrison was right.
RIDDLER
About what?
CATWOMAN
Everything.
RIDDLER & CATWOMAN
(simultaneous)
...Yeah.
295 INT. WAYNE MANOR - DAY
295
TV - CLOSE.
Vondelle stands before the familiar panel of experts.
AIMS
This Box is nothing more than an
electronic narcotic.
ROYCE
Thousands more Gothamites each day
are tuning out by tuning in to its
holographic fantasies.
AIMS
It's turning citizens into
zombies...
VONDELLE
Gripe, gripe, gripe. Isn't this what
they said about TV? I think "The
Box" is the future. What's your opinion?
INT-WAYNE MINOR-DAY
FAVOR Alfred as he shuts off the set, moves into the
296
297 hallway and the locked door to the Batcave.
297
ALFRED
(calling out)
Master Dick?
High above, Dick appears on the third floor landing.
DICK
Up here, DAWG.
ALFRED
Just checking, young sir.
DICK
(to himself)
Four seconds from...
Below, Alfred opens the door.
DICK
Now!
Alfred disappears inside and the door begins to close.
Dick leaps the bannister, grabs the chandelier, swings to
a large tapestry, slides down and into the passageway as
the door SLAMS shut.
298 INT. SECRET HALL
298
Unable to stop, Dick barrels through a dark doorway,
tumbles down the long stairway onto
299 THE BATCAVE FLOOR
299
Alfred stands in his lab area. The two stare at each
other in utter disbelief.
300 INT. CHASE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
300
Big. Open. A life still in boxes. The door opens,
producing Bruce and Chase.
BRUCE
The style of the letters I'm getting
matches those found at the crime
sites. Why would The Riddler be
sending me riddles?
(looking around)
Who's your decorator? U-Haul?
CHASE
Sorry. I haven't even had time to
unpack. Instant coffee okay?
Chase disappears into the kitchen as Bruce takes off his
coat. She reappears with a small box. Hands it to Bruce.
BRUCE
What's this?
Bruce opens the box. Within, a dream doll.
CHASE
Call it clinical intuition. I
thought your dreams might need
changing.
Bruce looks at Chase. He stares out the window a beat,
deciding. As he speaks now his words are halting, self
disclosure difficult for him.
BRUCE
My parents were murdered. In front
of me. I was just a kid.
Chase nods. She knows.
BRUCE
A lot of what happened is jagged.
Pieces missing. I can't really
remember. I just get flashes.
Usually in my dreams. I'd kind of
gotten used to them. At least
accepted them....
CHASE
And now....
BRUCE
They've changed. The dreams, I mean.
There's a new element I don't
understand. A book. Black. Covered
in leather....
(OVER) The kettle begins to WHISTLE.
CHASE
Damn. I'll be right back.
Bruce is agitated, starts to looking around. At her desk
he finds a virtual shrine to Batman. Pictures.
Newsphotos. Articles.
CHASE (OVER)
Find anything interesting?
BRUCE
Why do I feel like the other man,
here?
CHASE
Come on, Bruce. This is what I do
for a living.
BRUCE
I'd say this goes a little beyond
taking your work home.
CHASE
What do you want me to say? That I'm
not attracted to him?
301 She hits a button and on screen newsfootage rolls of
301
Batman fighting Catwoman.
302 CHASE
302
(mesmerized)
Look at the abuse he's taking. He's
not just fighting criminals. He's
punishing himself.
Chase hits a button, freezing on Batman's face.
CHASE
It's as if he's paying some great
penance. What crime could he have
committed to deserve a life sentence
of such agony?
Bruce hits a key, blanking the screen.
BRUCE
Maybe he just had a lousy childhood,
is that it Doc?
Chase grabs his hand as it comes away from the keyboard.
CHASE
Why do you do that?
BRUCE
What?
CHASE
Throw up that ridiculous superficial
mask. If you're jealous...
BRUCE
I'm not-
CHASE
You want me close but you won't let
me near. What's the terrible, dark
secret you're protecting everyone
from?
In the mirror they are half in shadow, half in light.
CHASE
In a sense we are all two people.
The side we show in daylight. And
that side we keep in shadow.
BRUCE
Rage. Anger. Passion. Pain.
He pulls her to him. Their faces are close. A breath
apart. Suddenly his watch begins to BEEP.
303/04 Bruce turns over his wrist. Depresses a stud on
303/04
his watch. The face turns into a screen.
ALFRED
Sorry to bother you, sir. I have
some rather distressing news about
Master Dick.
BRUCE
Is he all right?
ALFRED
I'm afraid Master Dick has... gone
traveling.
BRUCE
He ran away?
ALFRED
Actually, he took the car.
BRUCE
He boosted the Jag?
(relieved)
Is that all?
ALFRED
Not the Jaguar. The _other_ car.
BRUCE
The _Rolls_?
ALFRED
_No_, sir. _The_ _other_ _car_!
A beat. Then Bruce closes his eyes.
305 EXT. ARKHAM SQUARE - NIGHT
204
Gotham night life. Neon, traffic, sleaze.
The Batmobile cruises into the center of the strip.
A group of flashy low riders pull in front of the
Batmobile. They hydraulic up and down competitively.
The Batmobile wipers sweep the windshield. The bat-foil
opens and closes. Finally the car hydraulics higher and
faster, but a bit wildly, the driver barely in control.
306 The low riders, put to shame, PEEL OUT. (OVER) A SCREAM
306
cuts the night. A GIRL runs for her life, chased by SIX
GANG MEMBERS into a dark alley.
The Batmobile TEARS after her.
307 EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT
The Thugs have the Girl surrounded, push her back and
forth between them like a rag doll.
The Batmobile SCREECHES into the alley. The door slides
open. From the smoking hatchway emerges...Dick.
Needless to say, this get the Thugs' attention. They let
go of the girl.
THUG
Who the hell are you?
DICK
(low, ominous)
I'm Batman what never seen a black batman before.
(looking down)
Damn, did I forget to dress up again?
The Thugs close. One rushes Dick while another swings a
chain at his head. Mistake.
DICK
Chains. fool! You don't seem like the
type and i'm show you how batman does it.
Dick's hand shoots out fast, grabbing the chain. He open
palms the Thug in the chin, whips the chain into the gut
of the other villain.
DICK
The Caped Crusader strikes again.
thats right, i keep savin the ladies
and earning
me some pussy later.
Two more rush him.
DICK
Another victory for the Dark Knight and i'm whop all
y'all ass.
Dick goes up with a flying front kick, knocking one down,
fells another on the return with a spinning back fist.
DICK
(off the unconscious goons)
ya'll trying to mess with batman.
Dick stares at the remaining thug. Smiles.
DICK
this is batman job kicking ya'll bitches ass?
The last Thug takes a look at Dick, turns and races away.
DICK
thats right G you better run
if you come back i"LL fuck you up.
Dick nods to the awestruck Girl.
DICK
what up honey.
He starts towards the car.
GIRL
Wait.
She moves close.
GIRL
You forgot the part where you kiss
the girl.
DICK
(grinning)
damn Right.
He leans in, happy to oblige when suddenly...
(OVER) SCREAMS AND SHOUTS as the Thug who got away comes
racing back into the alley, followed by maybe thirty new
gang members, all wielding bats and chains.
DICK
oh hell no.
He pulls the girl behind him, readies for war.
308 A DARK FIGURE
308
flies out of the night.
Batman, on a wire, swings into the group, sending them
scattering in all directions. The bad guys race off.
309 THE BATMOBILE
309
REVS UP, races to Batman.
310 Batman lifts Dick by his collar, drops him into the
310
passenger seat. Hops into the other side.
GIRL
(shouting)
Don't you want my number?
She watches as the Batmobile speeds away into the night.
311 INT. BATCAVE - NIGHT - LATER
311
Bruce and Dick argue.
DICK
man!cuz i need to be a part of crime frighting shit.
BRUCE
Absolutely not.
DICK
Me and my bro Chris were putting
money aside so our folks could
retire. Dad's knee was going bad. Chris
was engaged, you know that cuz? catwoman
took...everything. Now I can pay that bitch back
BRUCE
What I do isn't about revenge.
Dick glances at a framed headline. The Wayne murders.
DICK
Right, slick. Whatever you say your parents was killed
by a crazy motherfucker.
Bruce grabs him. Hard.
BRUCE
This isn't a game.
Dick pushes him off. Harder.
DICK
Back off, man don't be grabing on me like that fool
you get shot
holdin a
blackman like that.
BRUCE
You don't understand. It's an
addiction. You fight night after
night, trying to fill the emptiness.
But the pain's back in the morning.
And somewhere along the way it stops
being a choice.
(a beat)
I want better for you.
DICK
Save the shit about how great you
want my life to be, a'ight, Bruce? yo If
it weren't for Batman my parents
wouldn't be dead. You don't get it,
do you? This is all your damn fault.
Dick storms out. Bruce stares after him with tired eyes.
312 EXT. RITZ GOTHAM HOTEL - NIGHT
312
At the marble entrance, the red carpet is rolled out for
a pull-out-the-stops party. Over the door, a banner
proclaims "Nygmatech -- Imagine the Future."
At the curb folks dressed in over-the-top runway
fashions, pour from luxury cars, hand off keys to a
battalion of scurrying valets.
Next car up -- Bruce Wayne's Rolls, driven by Alfred. A
valet helps Chase out. She looks stunning.
Bruce leans over Alfred before stepping out of the car.
BRUCE
Too much wealth. Too fast. Half of
Gotham zombied-out. A technology
that self destructs. He's protecting
more than industrial secrets,
Alfred.
ALFRED
I shall be near at hand. Should you
need me. And sir, I know it's
difficult but try and have a good
time.
313 INT. RITZ GOTHAM ROOF - NIGHT
313
Over the top golden glitz. A kind of Versailles meets
punk meets couture. And in the middle, Edward, dressed as
Louis XIV.
The room is packed with people sipping exotic cocktails,
munching hors d'oeuvres. Conversation BUZZ is high.
Into this zoo walk Bruce and Chase.
As brightly-lighted stations throughout the room, showy
displays announce "THE NEW BOX". Pretty, barely-clad
showgirls invite partygoers step into various green
columns of light.
314 Bruce scans the room as he and Chase pause by the first
314
display, where a Socialite steps into a column of energy.
She GASPS with delight as she finds herself suddenly
dazzling in diamonds from head to toe.
315 They pass the next column where a CHUBBY PROFESSOR, sword
315
in hand, fights off a knight on horseback.
316 They pass the next display where a BALD GUY steps into a
316
beam. Suddenly, he is in a classic stoner's pad circa
1967. And, best of all, he has long flowing hair.
Chase looks amused, Bruce suspicious.
CHASE
If I didn't know better, I'd say you
were sulking.
BRUCE
Keep me off the couch, Doc. Your
fees are a little rich for me.
CHASE
Touchy, touchy.
BRUCE
(not biting)
So how goes your `scholarly' pursuit
of Batman?
CHASE
Oh God, Bruce. You're still jealous.
BRUCE
(flaring)
Spare me the diagnosis, okay? You're
being ridiculous. I can't be jealous
of Batman.
(to himself)
Can I?
317 ACROSS THE ROOM
317
Edward stands flanked by Gotham's Society Matrons as
PRESS, including Vondelle Millions, SNAP photos and hurl
questions.
NEWSCASTER
You're outselling Wayne Enterprises.
Any comments?
EDWARD
Actually, I'm outselling Wayne Tech
two to one...
JOURNALIST
The Times has named you Gotham's
bachelor of the year. What do you
have to say about that?
EDWARD
You might want to ask Bruce Wayne.
(calling)
Bruce, old man!
318 Edward crosses the room to greet Chase and Bruce. All
318
stand now, surrounded by press and partygoers.
EDWARD
So glad you could come.
BRUCE
What? Oh, Edward. Hi.
Congratulations. Great party-
EDWARD
The press were just wondering what
it feels like to be outsold,
outclassed, and generally outdone in
every way...
(noticing Chase)
And what light through yonder window
breaks? `Tis the east. And you
are...
CHASE
(charmed)
Chase?
EDWARD
Of course you are. And what a grand
pursuit you must be.
(to Bruce)
What do you think of my new
invention?
BRUCE
What? Oh, it's very impressive.
EDWARD
Gracious even in defeat. How rude
disappointing. When all this could
have been ours together.
Edward stills a passing waiter and his tray of champagne.
Crystal flutes for all. He toasts Chase.
EDWARD
No grape could be more intoxicating
than you, my dear. But we make due.
To your charms.
(clinking hers)
Skol.
BRUCE
(raising his)
Nostrovia.
EDWARD
(pausing)
La'chiem.
BRUCE
(casual)
Slanta.
EDWARD
Rinka.
BRUCE
Banzai.
CHASE
I'm drinking.
And she does.
EDWARD
I notice you've sub-divided your B
coupons. Feeling a little light on
principle?
BRUCE
Actually, I like to divest just
before a major re-capitalization.
EDWARD
I wouldn't race to the bank. Old
regimes crumble every day. Life is
a cycle. Remember Yeats; turn, turn
the widening gyre. The Falconer
cannot hear the Falcon...
BRUCE
(finishing the poem)
And the beast slouches towards
Bethelem.
CHASE
Excuse me, boys. I'd hate to stop
this testosterone flood on my
account-
EDWARD
Quite right. Shall we dance?
And with that, Edward draws Chase onto to dance floor.
319 As Chase and Edward dance in the b.g. Bruce walks over to
319
one of the displays. Examines a control station for the
green beam. Tries to pry open a circuit panel.
SHOWGIRL (OVER)
Naughty, naughty.
She slaps his hand playfully. Bruce smiles an apology.
Looks around. No other choice. He steps into a beam.
320 EDWARD twirls Chase, watches Bruce enter the beam. He
320
smiles.
321 BRUCE - POV. Colorful planets soar all around him. Suddenly
321
the beam flashes. There, racing towards him, a giant Bat.
322 BACK TO SCENE
322
All beams wink out as GUN FIRE bursts across the room.
CATWOMAN and her Thugs stand at every entrance.
BRUCE backs away, slips towards a service door.
CATWOMAN
Alright, folks, this is an old-
fashioned, low-tech stick-up. We're
interested in the basics: jewelry,
cash, watches, high-end cellular
phones. Hand 'em over nice and easy
and no one gets hurt.
catwoman's Thugs charge the room. The crowd SCREAMS.
323 EXT. RITZ GOTHAM ALLEY - NIGHT
323
Bruce hand-slides down fire-escapes, hits the alley
running.
324 EXT. ALLEY
324
Bruce ducks into the Rolls.
BRUCE
Emergency, Alfred.
325 INT. ROLLS
325
A secret panel in the back opens. A Batsuit.
326 INT. PARTY
326
The Thugs circulate quickly, yanking jewels from ears and
necks, grabbing wallets and purses, filling sacks.
Ed pushes his way against the crowd, through catwoman's
ring of personal guards and right up to catwoman's face.
EDWARD
You're ruining my big party. Are you
insane? Actually, considering your
dual persona, let's just forget the
question.
CATWOMAN
We're sick of waiting for you to
deliver The Bat, Riddle boy. You
promised us bruce wayne.
EDWARD
Patience, oh bifurcated one.
CATWOMAN
Screw patience. We want him dead.
(looking around)
An nothing brings out The Bat like
a little mayhem and murder.
EDWARD
Oh well, in that case. As long as
you were going to rob me, you could
have at least let me in on the
caper. We could have _organized_ this,
_planned it_, pre-sold the movie
rights.
(OVER) the CRASH of breaking glass.
327 BATMAN
327
flies in through a window, kicking a row of Thugs down
before he lets go his rope and lands on the floor.
EDWARD
selina, babe, I gotta be honest. Your
entrance was good. His was better.
What's the difference? Showmanship.
selina shoves Edward away, looking for a clean shot. sHe
FIRES a couple of times, but only destroys an ice
sculpture and some liquor bottles. More SCREAMS.
328 One huge Thug charges Batman. Batman heaves him overhead,
328
throws him, CRASHING, into a display of stacked Boxes.
VONDELLE (OVER)
Batman, Batman, Batman help!
A Thug has a gun to her throat. Batman kicks the weapon
out of his hand.
VONDELLE
Batman. You're my _God_!!!
329 Another Thug has Chase to a wall, hand around her pearls.
329
BATMAN (OVER)
Excuse me.
He head-butts the Thug. The guy goes down.
Chase leans up and kisses him, hard and hot on the mouth.
The chemistry here is undeniable.
CHASE
Call me.
Batman spins, goes for another group of Thugs.
(OVER) POLICE SIRENS.
CATWOMAN
Okay boys. Phase two.
And with that, she and her Thugs race for the elevator.
The doors close.
330 (OVER) CHEERS erupt for Batman as he races onto the
330
balcony -- and jumps!
331 BATMAN'S - POV - AERIAL
331
selina and Thugs disappear past Under Construction signs,
down the stairs of an as yet completed subway station.
332 EXT. RITZ GOTHAM - NIGHT
332
PARTY GUESTS - POV. Gripping the edges of his cape, Batman
glides 60 floors down the skyscraper towards the street.
333 Batman plummets into the construction sight.
333
334 INT. DESERTED SUBWAY STATION - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
334
Gothic. Deserted. Under construction. Batman hits the
platform.
BATMAN - POV. Shadows race down the dark tunnel ahead.
He pursues.
335 TUNNEL
335
selina and Thugs, racing away.
THUG
Bat's right behind us.
CATWOMAN
Excellent.
336 INT. ABANDONED STATION - VENTILATION SHAFT
336
A wide spiral staircase of scaffolding hugs the walls of
a tremendous ventilation shaft.
The Thugs race down the steps, knocking out bits of
scaffolding as they go, sending entire chunks of already
traversed staircase plummeting past them.
PAN UP
Batman arrives on a wide platform of scaffolding at the
top of the staircase. His cape whips up around him as if
from some low infernal wind.
337 BATMAN - POV. Down the fragmenting staircase, at the bottom
337
of the shaft, a tremendous fan spins, chewing chunks of
falling scaffolding and plaster, spitting plumes of dust.
338 CATWOMAN
338
stands at the bottom of the well. He grabs a rack of
scaffolding and wrenches the old aluminum supports away.
339 THE PLATFORM
339
where Batman is standing gives way, planks falling,
sending Batman tumbling towards the deadly blades below.
340 BATMAN - POV. The giant whirling blades, coming up fast.
340
341 BATMAN falls, stairways and laughing Thugs whipping past.
341
His hand shoots out and grabs
A THUG
by the jacket, wrenching the fabric over the goon's head,
jerking him hard into the railing like a human anchor.
Batman climbs the struggling Thug like a ladder, leaps
onto the staircase, CRACKS the Thug's head on the rail,
then races down the stairs.
342 BOTTOM OF THE SHAFT
342
The remaining Thugs disappear through a dark doorway.
Batman runs past the BEATING fan blades into...
343 INT. ABANDONED TUNNEL
343
Dark. Steep and sloping. The Thugs are running dead
ahead. Without stopping they begin grabbing pieces of
debris, flip them under their feet, begin riding down the
descending tunnel like snow-boarders.
Batman races after them.
344 THE SNOWBOARDERS
344
really are good. They ride the rails. The low gas pipes.
Even bank the curving sides of the tunnel.
345 A THUG - CLOSE. Looks back to see Batman closing. Mistake.
345
WHIP PAN
as he is clotheslined by a low hanging danger sign. He
flies off the snowboard backwards. Out cold.
Batman races past him.
346 The end of the tunnel slopes so drastically the dark maw
346
at the end seems more a pit than a door.
347 The boarders circle and one by one, drop through like
347
bits of filth down a drain.
348 Batman drops into the darkness landing on a small ledge.
348
Beyond a precipitous drop he turns to face...
349 INT. ABANDONED SUBWAY STATION
349
Years ago this cavernous space glistened with immense
Gothic statuary, elaborate tile mosaics, tremendous
decorative arches and spectacular cathedral ceilings.
No more.
Now the giant space, from floor to ceiling is a frozen
maelstrom of twisting cast iron trusses, broken steam
pipes, fragmented scaffolding and hanging cables.
350 Down these man-made slopes and obstacles ride the
350
snowboarding Thugs. Cruising pipes. Jumping curved faces
of statues. Jacking from scaffold to truss.
351 Batman whips a pair of nun-chucks from his belt over a
351
hanging metal rail, using the chain as a pulley, shoots
down a curving rail into the mad dance of twisting steel.
352 A THUG
352
FIRES at him from his whizzing board as it careens along
an adjacent piece of scaffolding.
353 BATMAN angles towards him, picking up speed.
353
354 THE THUG banks off some statuary. Takes a few more SHOTS.
354
355 BATMAN shoots around the curve, jumps from one rail to
355
the next, catches the villain in the face with his boot,
and sends him flying.
356 ANOTHER THUG shoots past over head.
356
357 BATMAN flips onto another pipe, is closing fast, chasing
357
the Thug towards a loop that banks towards the blackness
of an abandoned tunnel.
He is closing on the Thug. Closer. Closer.
358 Suddenly the Thug, hops to a truss, the rail Batman is on
358
whipping him around a curve that banks into the mouth of
the tunnel. (OVER) GUNSHOTS.
359 CATWOMAN
359
stands in the shadows, FIRING his machine pistol, blowing
a hole in the curving rail directly in front of Batman.
360 The RAIL breaks.
360
Batman flies off directly into the dark tunnel.
361 BATMAN - POV. A rushing darkness. He SMASHES into a wall.
361
362 INT. MOUTH OF TUNNEL
362
catwoman stands staring into the dark with his Thugs. He
grabs an aging valve wheel set into the crumbling wall.
CATWOMAN
Nothing worse than a bad case of
gas.
sHe begins to turn the CREAKING wheel.
363 INT. INNER TUNNEL
363
A long forgotten pipe by Batman begins to HISS a thick
purple gas.
364 INT. MOUTH OF TUNNEL
364
catwoman swings a grenade launcher before him. Takes a
step back. Aims into the tunnel.
CATWOMAN
Lights. Camera. Action.
As his Thugs scramble for cover, catwoman FIRES. The
grenade flies into the tunnel, SLAMMING into the gas
main. AN EXPLOSION.
Suddenly a tremendous secondary EXPLOSION. Debris falls
everywhere as the gas ignites, the mouth of the tunnel
suddenly brightening into a flaming white fireball.
365 INT. TUNNEL
365
The huge fireball rushes towards Batman. Batman wraps
himself in his cape.
366 HAND - CLOSE. As he reaches to his utility belt. Presses a
366
stud there.
367 His cape begins to run and flow like water morphing into
367
a protective sphere just as...
368 A tremendous fireball ROARS races down the tunnel
368
engulfing Batman in a world of flame.
369 INT. MOUTH OF TUNNEL
369
catwoman stands staring into the inferno.
Billowing smoke, residual flame and falling debris
everywhere. No Batman. A moment of dead quiet.
CATWOMAN
Finally.
Then catwoman's smirk vanishes.
THUG
It can't be.
370 REVERSE ANGLE
370
A shape rises, phoenix-like, out of the flames. The
figure moves forward.
371 BATMAN - CLOSE. As his cape parts over his face.
371
WIDER
He lifts his arms, the cape splitting down the center,
reverting to it's original form, arms going wide to
familiar wings.
The Bat heads towards catwoman and his men.
372 CATWOMAN - CLOSE. Consumed with rage.
372
He grabs a section of the wall's support scaffolding
and begins to wrench it free with crazed fury.
CATWOMAN
Why won't you just die?!
In a final rage of maniacal fury, selina wrenches the
scaffolding free. It's ancient supports gone...
373 THE CEILING
373
begins to crack and fall, debris pouring in at an ever
more furious pace.
BATMAN is suddenly doused in a rain of rock and sand.
374 THE TUNNEL
374
between selina and Batman is obstructed by tons of
falling metal and plaster and sand. selina stands as
the ceiling falls all around him.
375 BATMAN is driven down by a storm of wreckage.
375
376 BATMAN can barely contain his joy. Plaster and rubble
376
fall ever more furiously.
377 BATMAN stumbles as the ground beneath him suddenly gives,
377
sucking him into a quickly filling pit of sand and tile.
He reaches for his utility belt but its too late.
378 BATMAN is nearly buried, sand coming up over his mouth,
378
his eyes, until finally he is gone.
379 CATWOMAN stands watching, eyes full of childish delight.
379
The floor in front of him begins to give way, running
with deep cracks.
CATWOMAN
Boys, let's go have us a party.
(turning)
Anybody else feel like donuts?
selina and her men head away, up out of the tunnels.
380 THE SAND PIT - CLOSE. Still. No motion.
380
A gloved hand breaks the surface, clutching a Batarang. A
weak flip of the wrist.
The Batarang hist the sand.
The hand goes limp. A beat. Another. Suddenly...
A GREEN GLOVED HAND - CLOSE. Grabs Batman's hand.
WIDER
Dick hangs on a wire above Batman in an aerialist's
maneuver. He secures his grip and pulls.
DICK - CLOSE. Straining.
Suddenly, Batman's face breaks the sand.
Dick uses the leverage of his body on the rope to pull
harder. Batman begins to rise. Free.
The two face each other. Hands still clasped.
381 INT. BATCAVE - LATER
381
Bruce sits in his robe being bandaged by Alfred. Dick is
pacing.
BRUCE
What the hell did you think you were
doing?
DICK
Yo you have a real attudide problem.
You know that, Bruce? I need a name.
Batboy? The blackman? What's a good
side kick name?
BRUCE
How about Richard Grayson, college
student?
DICK
...I missed catwoman by a heartbeat.
When we catch that bitch, you gotta let me
kill her!
BRUCE
We don't kill. Killing is what damns
you. It-. What am I talking about?
This conversation is over. You're
going away to school.
DICK
I saved your damn life. You owe me. So you let me be
your homie parner or I'm going after selina on my
own.
And with that Dick turns and storms out of the Batcave.
BRUCE
It's starting all over again,
Alfred. Another boy lost to rage.
And it's my fault. If selina hadn't
come gunning for me at the
circus...His family...
Bruce glances at Gotham Times, of Headline- "Bat More
Harm Than Good?"
BRUCE
Maybe they're right.
ALFRED
Which `they' might that be, sir?
BRUCE
Jack Napier's dead. My parents are
avenged. The Wayne Foundation
contributes a small fortune to
police and crime prevention
programs.
Bruce touches a cowl resting on the control panel.
BRUCE
Why do I keep doing this?
ALFRED
Why, indeed?
BRUCE
Could I let Batman go? For Dick. For
me. Could I leave the shadows? Have
a life. Friends. Family...
ALFRED
Dr. Meridian...
Bruce touches his lips, the spot Chase kissed Batman.
BRUCE
(pained)
She's the first woman in a long time
that's... No. She's the first woman
ever. And she loves Batman. Not
Bruce Wayne. If I let go of Batman
I'll lose her.
ALFRED
Perhaps. Perhaps not. Why not ask
the lady?
BRUCE
How? As Batman, knowing she wants
me? Or as Bruce Wayne and hope...?
Bruce reaches to the phone. Hits an autodial key.
(OVER) TONES as the phone begins to dial.
PHONE (CHASE)
Hello?..Hello?..Who is this?
He disconnects the phone.
BRUCE
Who am I Alfred? I don't think I
know anymore.
382 INT. CHASE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
382
Dark. Moonlight through curtains. Night SOUNDS.
Chase lays asleep in bed. A shadow crosses her face. She
stirs.
REVERSE ANGLE
At the french doors to her bedroom stands a familiar
silhouette. Batman.
Chase rises, moves across the room, the pale light
catching her white nightgown. She pulls the doors wide.
Chase faces him, bodies close. She reaches up, touches
his mask. Kisses him. His cape WHIPS around her.
THE KISS - CLOSE. Passionate. Sustained. Chase pulls away.
CHASE
I'm sorry.
(sorry)
I can't believe it. I've imagined
this moment since I first saw you.
(touching his glove)
Your hands.
(touching his mask)
Your face.
(touching his chest)
Your body.
She turns, walks across the room.
CHASE
And now I have you and....
(shaking her head)
Guess a girl has to grow up
sometime.
She comes back to him, touches his cheek.
CHASE
I've met someone. He's not...you.
But... I hope you can understand.
He sees now that over her desk, her Batman's memorabilia
has been replaced by photos and files on Bruce Wayne.
BATMAN - CLOSE. Smiles.
Then he's over the balcony and gone, a shadow on the wing
in the dead of night.
383 INT. CLAW ISLAND CONTROL CENTER - DAY
383
On his throne, in his sphere, electronically getting more
brilliant every second, Edward fills all his screens with
Chase's image from the party.
HIS BRAIN - CLOSE. Rivulets of neural energy ripple and
dance as his brain grows under his magenta hair.
Suddenly catwoman gets him by the throat.
CATWOMAN
You know, Ed, you sleep with me and we woke up this
morning, we just knew we were gonna
kill something. The Bat got away.
Looks like it's gonna be you.
catwoman draws his gun with his free hand. Trains it on
Riddler's head. By the look in his eyes, he's serious.
CATWOMAN
Why do we need you? You only come
between us. We can be the smartest
person in Gotham City. We want the
empire for ourselves. Time's up,
laughing boy.
RIDDLER
Kill me? Well, alright. Go ahead.
Take the empire. All yours.
(grabbing his own head)
Hell, selina, old pals. I'll kill me
for you.
Riddler grabs his hair, starts SLAMMING his own head into
the desk-top.
RIDDLER
Too...bad...about...Batman.
selina grabs his head. Stops him.
CATWOMAN
What about Batman?
Riddler smooths his hair.
RIDDLER
What if you could know a man's mind?
Would you not then own that man?
Riddler hits a switch. Suddenly his screens fill with the
image of Bruce stepping into the simulation at the party.
RIDDLER
A few dozen extra IQ points and my
little invention learned a new
trick. It does more than drain your
brain. It makes a map of your mind.
The screens change, now showing a turning schematic of a
brain, alive with neural lightning.
RIDDLER
Would you like to see what my old
friend Bruce has in his head.
384 Riddler hits a switch. Another image pulls free from the
384
schematic brain. A trapped bat. Fierce. Monstrous. The
very picture of imagined evil, made live. Bruce's
nightmare.
RIDDLER
Riddle me this, what kind of man has
bats on the brain?
catwoman stares at him.
RIDDLER
Go ahead. You can say it.
CATWOMAN
I always knew bruce wayne was batman.
The tow begin to LAUGH.
385 CLOSE ON BAT
385
It's a fake one on top of a pole.
386 CAMERA PULLS BACK TO REVEAL
roup of YOUNG KIDS in Halloween costumes running
through
GOTHAM CEMETERY - DUSK
Two gravestones alone on a hill under a tree.
The kids pass Bruce who is visiting his family's graves.
KIDS
Happy Halloween.
BRUCE
Happy Halloween.
Bruce lays two roses on Thomas and Martha Wayne's graves.
BATMAN
...Tonight it ends.
387 DICK (OVER)
387
What the hell do you mean, it ends?
WIDER
INT. BATCAVE
Bruce and Dick are in mid-conversation.
BRUCE
From this day on, Batman is no more.
Bruce hits a switch. The machines in the cave go dark.
DICK
You can't-.
BRUCE
Dick, let go. Revenge will eat you
alive. Trust me. I know.
DICK
But what about all the people man we can
help all the people who are in troble? There are
monsters out there and gangs and drugdealers.
Gotham and the projects needs us.
BRUCE
And when you finally get selina?
Dick looks away.
BRUCE
Exactly. And once you'd killed her
you'd be lost. Like me.
(off the cave)
All this has to be a choice.
Otherwise...it's a curse.
DICK
Bruce, you can't dawg.
BRUCE
Chase is coming for dinner. Why
don't you join us.
And with that, Bruce turns, heads up into the house. Dick
stands all alone in the still, dark cave.
(OVER) A doorbell RINGS.
388 EXT. WAYNE MANOR
388
Alfred opens the doors to the Trick or Treaters we saw
earlier. Hands out bags of candy.
389 EXT. WAYNE MANOR - ACCESS ROAD
389
A mysterious van sits parked on the gravel byway.
390 INT. VAN
390
Two-Face, Riddler, and men sit watching the manor.
391 RIDDLER - POV. A taxi pulls up. Chase emerges as the Trick
391
or Treaters leave.
392 RIDDLER
392
And today not even my birthday.
catwoman couldn't care less about Chase. SHe tosses his
393 coin. HOLD ON the spinning faces as (OVER) we hear...
393
CATWOMAN
Bruce, Batman. Bruce, Batman.
394 INT. COSTUME VAULT, BATCAVE - NIGHT
394
Opens with a HISS. Dick passes the Batman costumes until
he comes to a standing figure different from the rest.
His Robin costume. He packs to leave forever.
395 EXT. WAYNE ESTATE
395
Dick rides his motorcycle through the protective hologram
of the trees, heading away into the dark night.
396 INT. WAYNE MANOR - DINING ALCOVE - NIGHT
396
Intensely romantic. Filled with live roses, Alfred leaves
having served an intimate candlelight dinner to Bruce and
Chase.
BRUCE
There's something I want to talk
with you about. It's...Well, we..
I...
CHASE
Okay, tiger, take it slow. You going
to give me your pin or something?
Bruce LAUGHS. He's obviously having trouble.
CHASE
Let me go first, okay? I think I've
found something. About your dreams.
I pulled the files on your parents'
murders and jack Napier . There was a missing diary,
Bruce. Alfred told the police your
father always kept it on his desk.
But the day after the murders, it
was gone. Maybe that's the book
you're-
But Bruce isn't listening. He's pressing his eyes. Hard.
397 BRUCE - POV. A series of images. The coffins. The book. The
397
run through the stormy night. The fall. The bat.
398 CHASE
398
What is it? What's wrong?
BRUCE
Flashes. Images. Of that night.
CHASE
Your memories are repressed. They're
trying to break through. Relax. Try
to remember-.
BRUCE
I don't want to remember!
CHASE
Stop fighting.
A long beat. Then Bruce Wayne surrenders, leans back.
Closes his eyes. Remembers.
BRUCE
My parents are laid out in the
library. Their skin smells like
talcum powder. I'm so small. My
father's diary is on his desk like
always. I'm opening the book.
Reading. I'm running out into the
storm. The book is in my hands. I
can't hear my screams over the rain.
I'm falling...
CHASE
What does it say? What hurts so
much, Bruce? What does the book say?
BRUCE
I don't-.
CHASE
You do know. Try.
Bruce opens his eyes. Clear. He remembers.
BRUCE
The last entry read, Bruce insists
on seeing a movie tonight.
(a beat)
Bruce insists. I made them go out. I
made them take me to the movie. To
that theater...
(finally)
It was my fault. I killed them.
CHASE
Oh God, Bruce, you were a child. You
weren't responsible.
BRUCE
(to himself)
...Not the bat?
CHASE
What?
BRUCE
I always thought it was the bat that
scared me that night that changed
my life. But it wasn't. The real
fear was hiding underneath: what I
read in the journal, that my parents'
deaths were my fault. That's what I
couldn't remember. That's the crime
I've been paying for all these
years.
CHASE
What are you talking about?
BRUCE
Chase. There's something I need to
tell you--
(OVER) The doorbell RINGS.
399 FRONT DOOR
399
Alfred peers out to a sea of Halloween Masks.
LITTLE VOICE
Trick or Treat?
Alfred grabs his candy bags as he opens the door to...
400 The Riddler, catwoman and the Thugs.
400
RIDDLER
Trick.
He CRACKS Alfred on the head with his cane. Down he goes.
CATWOMAN
(to his thugs)
Get the girl.
401 INT. DINING ALCOVE
401
(OVER) A COMMOTION.
BRUCE
What the hell?
Thugs appear at both doorways.
Bruce moves fast as he grabs a silver serving tray, flips
it into one of the screaming Thugs' faces, swings the
platter into the other's head. Two down.
Bruce grabs Chase's hand and they're out the door, racing
fast, several more henchmen in close pursuit.
402 MEANWHILE
402
The Riddler uses the scanner in the head of his cane to
locate and open the secret door to the Batcave.
403 INT. HALLWAY
403
Bruce and Chase race towards the stairway. Bruce pulls
standing display suits of armor to the floor as he goes,
blocking the Thugs' way.
404 INT. BAT CAVE
404
Riddler has found heaven. From his pouch he produces tiny
green bombs shaped like bats. He winds one up, its head
SCREECHING with each twist of the neck, lets it fly.
RIDDLER
What's that I hear?
405 Like a tiny bat, the first bomb flies into the video
405
wall. A tremendous EXPLOSION.
406 RIDDLER
406
Why it must be the fat lady getting
ready to sing.
407 The next bat-bomb flaps into the costume vault. BLOWS
407
408 it completely. The crime lab EXPLODES next.
408
409 The Riddler winds a bunch of bat-bombs now, lets them
409
fly. The tiny green bats sail high forming a giant
question mark in mid-air before plummeting suddenly in
formation down into the cockpit of the Batmobile.
410 RIDDLER
410
(joker's favorite line)
Gonna have a hot time in the old
town tonight.
(a beat)
Who used to say that? Somebody
always used to say that.
411 The car EXPLODES.
411
412 INT. WAYNE MANOR - GRAND STAIRCASE
412
Bruce and Chase flee up the giant staircase, the Thugs a
step behind. One two-toned bad-guy leaps forward, gets a
fistful of Chase's dress. She goes down. Looks like she's
done for. At the last moment, Chase gives a mighty kick
and the Thug topples backwards, down the stairs.
Bruce is holding off a couple more, closing near the top
step. He spins, a powerful roundhouse clocking one in the
head, sending him backwards down the stairs.
BRUCE
Go!
Chase moves behind him, up to the landing, turns to see
Bruce fell another with a spinning back kick, a third
with a flying back-fist.
Bruce and Chase race to the top of the stairs.
413 catwoman stands on the floor below. Just the moment he's
been waiting for.
CATWOMAN
See ya.
SHe SHOOTS. The bullet grazes Bruce's head. He falls down
the grand staircase.
CHASE SCREAMS as Thugs grab her.
BRUCE hits the floor. Hard. No movement. None at all.
CATWOMAN
Bruce, you sure know how to throw a
party.
catwoman stands over the prostrate form. Draws her gun. SLAMS
in a new clip of ammo.
RIDDLER (OVER)
Sheath your weapon my impetuous
cohort.
414 Riddler has appeared from the Batcave.
414
CATWOMAN
We want to dust him. We truly want
to dust him bad.
RIDDLER
Oh yes, and certainly _WE_ will!
Riddler walks over to the unconscious Wayne. Kneels.
Looks at him, tender, like a lover. Caresses his face.
RIDDLER
My poor sweet hero.
He stands, kicks him hard in the rib cage. Bones CRACK.
RIDDLER
We'll kill him alright. But first...
(calling)
Boys.
With that, the Thugs drag out a freshly bound Chase.
CHASE
Bruce!
Riddler drops an envelope (RIDDLE #4) on Bruce.
RIDDLER
...We're going to make him suffer.
415 INT. BATCAVE
415
Sputtering. Burning.
416 THE COSTUME VAULT
416
BATSUIT - CLOSE. Surrounded by licking flames, the Bat
emblem begins to melt.
DISSOLVE TO
417 BRUCE'S EYE - CLOSE
417
418 ZOOM IN
418
as we fall again into a dark hole, the Monarch Bat flying
straight at the CAMERA, his red eye filling the SCREEN.
DISSOLVE TO
419 BRUCE'S EYE - CLOSE
419
WIDER
420 INT. BRUCE'S BEDROOM - MORNING
420
Bruce is in bed, head bandaged. Alfred is walking a
doctor to the door.
DOCTOR
The injuries are relatively minor.
The shot did cause a concussion.
Watch for headaches. Memory lapses.
Odd behavior. I'll check back in a
few days.
Alfred ushers him out, returns to Bruce's bedside.
ALFRED
How are you feeling, young man?
BRUCE
Not that young. It's been a long
time since you've called me that.
ALFRED
Old habits die hard. Are you
alright?
BRUCE
As well as can be expected, I guess.
Give me the bad news.
ALFRED
Dick has run away. They have taken
Dr. Meridian. And I'm afraid they
found the cave, sir. It's been
destroyed.
Bruce looks up at Alfred, eyes narrow, puzzled.
BRUCE
The case? What cave?
421 EXT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS ROOFTOP
421
The Batsignal lights the sky. Gordon paces.
GORDON
Where is he?
A concerned DEPUTY emerges onto the roof.
DEPUTY
The Mayor's called again.
(off the signal)
He's not going to show. Maybe he's
hurt sir. Maybe he's--.
GORDON
No!
(not so sure)
...No.
422 INT. BATCAVE
422
Or what's left of it. Melted ruin and rubble. Bruce
stands with a worried Alfred, surveying the landscape.
BRUCE
(disbelieving)
I'm Batman? I remember my life as
Bruce Wayne.
(looking around)
But all this. It's like the life of
a stranger.
ALFRED
Perhaps the fall...
BRUCE
There's one other thing. I feel..
ALFRED
What?
BRUCE
...Afraid.
ALFRED
Bruce. Son. Listen to me. You are a
kind man. A strong man. But in truth
you are not the most sane man.
BRUCE
...A bat.
ALFRED
What?
BRUCE
I remember a bat. A monster. A
demon. Chasing me.
(child's terror)
Oh my God, Alfred.
ALFRED
No demons, son.
(touching his head)
Your monsters are here. Until you
fact that, I fear you will spend
your life fleeing them.
423 INT. RIDDLER'S CONTROL ROOM
Riddler sits on his throne, absorbing pulses of neural
energy, his head growing.
RIDDLER
It's happy time Gotham. Have you
hugged your little boxes today?
(singing)
I'm in heaven. I'm in heaven with a
girl like you.
424 WIDER
424
Chase has been chained to the floor of his throne.
CHASE
Batman will come for me and he will kick your ass.
RIDDLER
(singing)
Someday my bat will come. Some day
my bat will come.
(suddenly lethal)
I'm counting on it.
He puts his face close to Chase's.
CHASE
You're frying your brain.
RIDDLER
Nap time gorgeous.
The Riddler draws a hypo filled with green liquid. He
plunges it into her neck as she passes out.
425 INT. BATCAVE
425
Bruce stands before a dark, rocky mouth. Through this
passage, the cave as it once was, sweating granite, a
shifting world of shadow.
Bruce steps inside.
426 INT. INNER BATCAVE
426
FAVOR BRUCE as he walks deeper into the darkness. The
walls around him undulate, as if covered in water.
427 WALLS - CLOSER. The movement isn't water at all. It's the
427
restless shrugging of bats. Thousands of bats.
428 Bruce presses on. Sweat beads on his face.
428
Ahead, a diffusion of moonlight illuminates a curving
rock chamber, bats here too bringing the walls to life.
Bruce moves into the moonlight. Looks up.
429 BRUCE - POV. A narrow chute. The fall he took as a child.
429
He kneels, there on the floor, worn by years of weather,
a single book. A diary.
Bruce kneels, touches the leather cover, fingers
lingering for a moment on his father's embossment, before
he turns yellowed pages to the last entry. Painfully, by
moonlight, he reads.
BRUCE (OVER)
(dreaded confirmation)
Bruce insists on seeing a movie
tonight...
He pauses, gathers himself. He continues.
BRUCE (OVER)
But Martha and I have our hearts set
on Zorro, so Bruce's cartoon will
have to wait until next week.
Bruce stares at the book in disbelief. Then he looks up
at the moonlight, tears streaming down his face.
BRUCE
...Not my fault. It wasn't my fault.
430 Suddenly, in the darkness ahead, a dark shape moves, head
430
rising, slits opening to reveal two blood red eyes.
The giant monarch bat spreads its wings, huge, as it
rises, suddenly airborne, rushing toward him.
431 BRUCE - CLOSE. And terrified. He turns to run. The bat's
431
flapping wings BEAT like drums, closing fast.
Bruce holds his ground. Resolved. He turns and faces the
monster, SCREECHING towards him, glistening fangs barely
inches from his face.
Something remarkable happens. The bat holds its
position, stares into Bruce's eyes, wings spreading wide.
A beat. Then Bruce raises his arms, a living mirror. The
two stand facing each other, man and bat. In the moon-
light on the wall, their shadows begin to blend, to
merge, becoming one _SHIMMERING WHITE LIGHT!_
432 INT. BATCAVE
432
The mouth of the inner cave. A sudden SCREAMING DIN as a
storm of bats explode into the cave, a shooting column of
life and there, from within, steps a man.
433 REVERSE ANGLE
433
ALFRED stands at the entrance.
ALFRED
Master, Bruce?
BRUCE
...Batman, Alfred. I'm Batman.
434 EXT. NIGHT SKY
434
The Batsignal shines. Suddenly the air above the familiar
circle begins to shimmer and glow, becoming...
A giant green question mark. The Batsignal itself is now
just the small period at the symbol's bottom.
435 INT. BATCAVE - NIGHT
435
Bruce stands at the ruined control platform. Riddles are
spread before him. Including the most recent.
BRUCE
All the answers are numbers.
ALFRED
But 1, 3, 1, 8, & 5. What do they mean?
BRUCE
What do maniacs always want?
ALFRED
Recognition, of course.
BRUCE
Precisely. So this number is
probably some kind of calling card.
Bruce stares at the numbers. Adds them: 18. Squares them:
1916425. No luck. Starts again, separating them: 13/18/5.
BRUCE
Letters in the alphabet.
ALFRED
Of course. 13 is M....MRE.
BRUCE
How about, MR. E.
ALFRED
Mystery.
BRUCE
And another name for Mystery?
ALFRED
Enigma.
BRUCE
Exactly. Mr. E. Mister Edward Nygma.
436 INT. STONE STAIRCASE
436
Bruce leads Alfred through a secret stairway.
BRUCE
Good thing Mr. E. didn't know about
the cave under the cave.
437 INT. SUBTERRANEAN CAVE
437
Dark, jagged, surrounded by water. Here, the Batwing and
Batboat are stored.
ALFRED
What now sir?
BRUCE
Claw Island. Nygma's headquarters.
I'm sure that's where they're
keeping Chase.
(realizing)
Are all the Batsuits destroyed?
ALFRED
All except the prototype with the
sonar modifications you so
disapprove of. But it hasn't yet
been tested.
BRUCE
Tonight's a good night.
438 CLOSE ON - Batman's fist being shoved into a new gauntlet.
438
439 CLOSE ON - Batman's new boot snapping shut.
439
440 CLOSE ON - the improved Utility Belt buckling on firmly.
440
441 CLOSE ON - the new cowl sliding down over Batman's head.
441
442 PULL BACK TO REVEAL
442
The Batman - a darker enemy to fear.
BATMAN
What do you suggest, Alfred. By see or by air?
DICK (OVER)
Why not a nigger wit you cuz?
A figure steps out of the shadows. Dick.
The cape is now black, yellow on the inside only. A red
armored vest compliments green tights with knee armor, a
utility belt and flexible black boots.
BATMAN
Dick... Where did you get that suit?
ALFRED
I...um..the libery sir and dick and i designed
DICK
I thought you could use a homie and you in some deep
shit.
Bruce stares at him a beat.
BATMAN
Not a homie.
He extends his hand.
BATMAN
A partner.
The Dynamic Duo clasp hands.
443 EXT. WAYNE MANOR - TENNIS COURT - NIGHT
443
Fast clouds. Bowing trees.
Suddenly, the entire tennis court slides away.
The Batwing rises into the night sky.
444 EXT. STORM DRAIN
444
The Batboat hits the water.
445 EXT. ROOFTOP OF POLICE HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT
445
Commissioner Gordon and his deputy, standing vigil under
the false moon of the Batsignal.
GORDON
(finally)
He's not coming. Shut it down.
The Deputy reaches for the power switch. Suddenly, a ROAR
cuts the night.
446 ANGLE UP TO
446
The Batsignal. The ROAR grows louder. Light and shadow
dance, for a second it seems the Batsignal itself is
flying toward us. Suddenly --
The Batwing bursts _through_ the signal.
447 The dark plane BUZZES Police Headquarters, dipping a wing
447
to Gordon.
448 A triumphant Gordon waves Batman onward.
448
449 INT. COCKPIT
449
Working the controls, Batman is back.
450 EXT. GOTHAM HARBOR - NIGHT
450
Still, night waters.
Suddenly, the Batboat, running silent and dark, cuts
across the harbor.
451 Dick is at the helm, wearing night-vision goggles.
451
452 DICK'S POV -- INFRA-RED. Claw Island looms ahead.
452
453 SEARCHLIGHTS
453
atop the island headquarters pop on, one by one, flooding
the water with light.
454 INT. RIDDLER'S CONTROL CENTER - NIGHT
454
The Riddler and catwoman stand clutching controls on
opposite sides of a holographically generated game of
Battleship.
Each is firing tiny blips at the small dot crossing the
floating screen.
RIDDLER
A-14.
CATWOMAN
Miss.
455 EXT. GOTHAM HARBOR - NIGHT
455
A mortar EXPLODES aft of the Batboat, shooting a WATER
SPOUT high in the sky.
456 INT. RIDDLER'S CONTROL CENTER - NIGHT
456
CATWOMAN
B-12.
RIDDLER
A miss. And my favorite vitamin, I
might add.
457 EXT. GOTHAM HARBOR
457
Another EXPLOSION to stern.
Dick is thrown as a third shell hits the Batboat. The
craft EXPLODES.
458 INT. NYGMATECH - RECREATION ROOM
458
CATWOMAN
A hit.
RIDDLER
You sunk my battleship.
459 EXT. GOTHAM HARBOR - NIGHT
459
Dick slips a re-breather into his mouth. Dives
underwater, starts to swim towards Claw Island.
460 UNDERWATER
460
A SPEAR shoots past leaving a trail of bubbles. Another.
461 A HIDDEN BUNKER
461
issues a stream of armed frogmen.
462 EXT. GOTHAM HARBOR - NIGHT
462
The BATWING soars over the water.
463 INT. BATWING COCKPIT
463
INFRA-RED SCREEN - CLOSE
A Dick blip, besieged underwater by frogmen blips.
464 EXT. CLAW ISLAND - NIGHT
464
A laser shoots from the top of the stronghold, neatly
465 severing one of the Batwing's wings.
465
466 EXT. BATWING - GOTHAM HARBOR - NIGHT
466
The Batwing dives straight into the river.
467 INT. COCKPIT
467
BATMAN - POV - THROUGH THE WINDSCREEN. The water comes up
fast, a rushing EXPLOSION.
468 EXT. GOTHAM HARBOR - UNDERWATER
468
Dark panels shift, sealing wheel hubs, growing sleek fins
as the Batwing morphs now into the Batsub.
469 UNDERWATER
469
Two frogmen hold Dick by arms and legs as several more
swim towards him with exposed knives.
470 THE BATSUB
470
BLASTS over an underwater reef.
471 A TORPEDO TUBE - CLOSE. FIRES a dark rocket towards the
471
frogmen at blinding speed.
472 A FROGMAN - CLOSE. Spins.
472
473 FROGMAN'S POV - THROUGH MASK. The torpedo racing towards
473
him unfurls to reveal...Batman.
474 BATMAN'S FIST smashes the glass of the Frogman's mask.
474
475 THE THUG rises in a mass of bubbles.
475
476 DICK uses the distraction and kicks free. Batman and Dick
476
take on the frogmen, hand to hand.
477 EXT. CLAW ISLAND SHORE - NIGHT
477
Batman and Dick break the surface. Dick discards his re-
breather. Climbs onto the shore.
DICK
YO-YO dawg we back up the joint metal, Batman.
BATMAN
What?
Dick takes a few steps forward, kneels.
DICK
(off the rusted floor)
The ground. It's metal and its full
of holes. You know. dawg.
BATMAN
This place was a refueling station
for subs during the war...
Just as Batman starts to climb out of the water (OVER) a
horrendous CRUNCHING as Dick begins to rise.
478 WIDER
478
The island surface is actually the top of a tremendous
metal sphere balanced atop an enormous cylindrical oil
tank, rising, now, fast out of the water.
BATMAN
Dick.
479 Batman throws a Batarang but it glances off the side of
479
the sphere.
480 WIDER
480
Batman stands staring up at Dick, who stands alone atop
the metal sphere now near five stories high.
No way up. Batman spots a rusting access panel in the
giant support cylinder. He RIPS it off and climbs inside.
481 EXT. DOME
481
Dick stands looking down at the ocean.
CATWOMAN (OVER)
The Bat or the Bird. We couldn't
decide who got to kill who.
(a beat)
Or is it whom?
Dick spins. catwoman has emerged from a hatch atop the
dome. He stands smiling at Dick, a knife in his hands.
CATWOMAN
We flipped for it. We got you.
CATWOMAN'S leap is savage, catching Dick by the throat.
482 WIDER
482
The two slide down the sloping edge of the dome, their
descent stopped by a narrow, rusting metal lip.
catwoman SMASHES Dick's head into the side of the dome.
Once. Twice. Three times.
CATWOMAN
What's wrong, circus-boy? No mommy
and daddy to save you?
catwoman raises his blade over the dazed Dick. Brings it
down fast.
Dick rolls clear, the blade wedging into the rusted metal
surface. All the time Dick needs. He back-flips erect,
kicks catwoman hard in the head.
DICK
For my mama.
A flying front kick to the chin.
DICK
For my dad.
A spinning back kick knocking him to his knees.
DICK
For Chris.
Dick hauls off and smashes him in the face.
DICK
For me.
The punch sends catwoman rolling down the side of the
dome, fingers raking sloping steel, finding no purchase.
483 At the last second, catwoman grabs a small metal dimple
483
on the belly of the dome's curve, hanging on for dear
life, feet kicking wildly over the abyss.
CATWOMAN
how could you i'm a woman......
torn from the lady's eyes. Justice
will be served.
The rusting metal bulge starts to tear and break.
CATWOMAN
You're a man after my own heart,
son.
The metal breaks free.
CATWOMAN
(grinning)
See you in hell.
catwoman's hands tear through the rust. He falls.
484 DICK'S HAND grabs him.
WIDER
Dick hoists him to safety.
DICK
No. I'd rather see your convinceted ass in jail
sucker.
CATWOMAN
The Bat's taught you well. Noble.
catwoman spins, a gun suddenly in his hand, pressing now
into the flesh between Dick's eyes.
CATWOMAN
A mistake. But definitely noble.
catwoman COCKS the trigger.
485 INT. CYLINDER
485
Immense. Empty. Just the CRASHING surf and rocks below.
Batman looks up. The ceiling is...
486 A GIANT STEEL GRATE flush with the sides of the cylinder.
486
Batman loads a Batarang into his launcher. FIRES.
487 THE BATARANG flies high, secures purchase on the grate.
487
488 BATMAN attaches the cable to the winch on his belt.
488
Begins rising fast.
489 THE GRATE BOLTS
489
EXPLODE, causing the giant grate to fall towards Batman.
490 BATMAN twirls on the rope so he is rising upside down,
490
his feet racing towards the plummeting grate. He hits a
switch on his utility belt-
491 THRUSTERS
491
on his new Batsuit ROCKET him feet first towards the
descending grate.
492 IMPACT! The grate flips like a pie pan. Batman lets go of
492
the wire, cutting his thrusters and tumbling in mid-air
so his hands now extend before him. He grabs one of the
steel girders in the darkness overhead.
493 Batman hangs, watching the now dislodged grate fall to
493
the watery depth below. A beat. He hoists himself onto a
steel platform to face...
INT. RIDDLER'S CONTROL ROOM
494
The Riddler sits across the room in his throne, a huge
antenna shooting up into the night sky behind him through
a round hole in the dome. A large ring of Green Neon
encircles him, feeding him more and more brain power.
RIDDLER
Welcome to my parlor said the
Riddler to the Bat. How's tricks?
BATMAN
No more tricks, Edward. Release
Chase and Dick. This is between you
and me.
catwoman steps from behind The Riddler.
CATWOMAN
And me and i told that whore about our reletionship.
BATMAN
(off the antenna)
...Of course. The Box does more
than enhance neural energy. You've
been sucking Gotham's brainwaves.
RIDDLER
And now it's new. Improved. Better
than ever.
495 SCREENS - CLOSE - Endless schematics of flickering brains.
495
496 BATMAN
496
...The jolt I felt in the beam at
your party.
(getting it)
You've devised a way to map the
human brain. To read men's minds.
RIDDLER
Oh, Bruce, you are clever. How
fitting that numbers lead you to me.
For numbers will crown me king. My
Box will sit on countless TV's
around the globe, mapping brains,
giving me credit card numbers. Bank
codes. Safe combinations. Numbers of
infidelities. Of crimes. Of lies
told. No secret is safe from my
watchful electronic eye. I will
rule the planet. For if knowledge is
power then tremble world, Edward
Nygma has become a God.
(to selina)
Was that over the top? I can never
tell...
(to Batman)
By the way, B-man, I got _your_
number.
497 SCREENS - CLOSE form a towering picture of Batman.
497
498 OTHER SCREENS - CLOSE form a towering picture of Bruce.
498
499 The images collide, forming a half Bruce, half Batman.
499
RIDDLER
I've seen your mind. Yours is the
greatest Riddle of all. Can Bruce
Wayne and Batman ever truly coexist?
Stop me if I'm wrong here.
Batman remains stoic, but The Riddler is right on.
RIDDLER
So let's help you decide, once and
for all, who you really are. Behind
Curtain #1...
A curtain rises: Chase in a cylinder, bound unconscious.
RIDDLER
The captivating Dr. Chase Meridian.
Love of Bruce Wayne's life. Behind
curtain #2...
Another curtain reveals: Dick in similar peril.
RIDDLER
Batman's one and only partner.
(a beat)
Below, my personal favorite...
500 TRAP DOORS
500
beneath Chase and Dick open wide. ANGLE DOWN to the
jagged rocks and crashing surf below.
RIDDLER
A watery grave!
501 A BUTTON - CLOSE. Shaped like a glowing green skull.
501
502 RIDDLER
502
A simple touch and five seconds
later these two day players are so
much gull feed on the rocks below.
Not enough time to save them both.
So who will it be? Bruce's love?
Batman's partner? You decide. Is
this fun or what?
BATMAN
Edward, you've become a monster.
RIDDLER
You flatter me. No monster. Just The
Riddler, and here's yours. What is
without taste or sound, all around,
but can't be found? On your mark,
get set...
The Riddler reaches for the button. Batman steps forward.
503 ANGLE from the water below.
503
The floor between where Batman stands and the Riddler's
throne platform is translucent. A hologram masking a
tremendous gap. Batman is about to step into an abyss.
504 Batman stops short. Looks up at Riddler.
504
BATMAN
Death.
(louder)
Death. Without taste, sound and all
around us.
(getting it)
Because there is no way for me to
save them or myself. This is one
giant death trap.
RIDDLER
Excellent. See. Who says a guy in a
rubber suit can't be smart? Well,
it's been grand. Sorry you all have
to die now.
Riddler touches the skull button. (OVER) A SCREECH.
Batman looks up.
505 HIGH ABOVE the Riddler's antenna a giant monarch bat
505
glides across the night.
506 THE BAT - CLOSE.
506
507 BATMAN - CLOSE. No fear. A moment of communion.
507
BATMAN
Wait. I have a riddle for you.
RIDDLER
For _me_? Really? Tell me.
BATMAN
I see without seeing. To me,
darkness is as clear as daylight.
What am I?
RIDDLER
Oh please. You're blind as a bat.
BATMAN
Exactly!
Batman SLAMS his Utility Belt, releasing a high energy
Batarang which he hurls at the Riddler's huge antenna.
508 THE BATARANG
508
SMASHES into the Riddler's antenna. A tremendous
EXPLOSION of sparks as the transceiver short circuits.
RIDDLER
No!
The room goes pitch black.
509 RIDDLER'S FINGER - CLOSE. Hits the skull button.
509
510 DICK AND CHASE
510
drop, plummet through space.
511 BATMAN - CLOSE. Two metal lids SHUT over Batman's eyes.
511
512 BATMAN'S POV - INSIDE THE MASK
512
Small sonar screens on the back of Batman's eyepieces
reveal the phantom floor and the wild criss-cross of
interconnected steel beams and the crashing ocean below.
513 BATMAN
513
throws another Batarang, which lassos a beam overhead,
swings forward, grabbing a falling Chase as he passes,
depositing her on a steel platform.
514 BATMAN - POV (SONAR SCREENS). Dick drops to certain death.
514
515 BATMAN
515
dives towards the sea below as he whips another Batarang
516 around a passing girder. He catches Dick just above the
516
rocks precisely as the Batrope pulls taught, using the
bat-winch to shoot them back up to the platform.
517 BATMAN - POV (SONAR SCREENS)
517
As he rests Dick on the platform beside Chase. Suddenly
his world flares a blinding white.
518 CATWOMAN
518
stands on the platform before him, a halogen light
strapped around his head, blinding Batman's sensors.
catwoman brandishes his gun.
CATWOMAN
All those heroics for nothing. No
more riddles, no more curtains one
and two. Just plain old curtains.
SHe COCKS the trigger.
BATMAN
Haven't you forgotten something,
selina? You were always the sweet little cat
what happen you've gone mad killing a young boys
parents....
selina looks at batman then she looks at chase and you can see the
rage in her eyes.
CATWOMAN
i thought you always loved me bruce.
SHe takes out A famous whip and flips it. Batman starts
to reach for his Utility Belt, to out-smart selina. But
dick comes out of nowhere and kicks her and she falls out of the cliff
BUT SHE STILL HANGS ON THE
CATWOMAN
No!
519 As catwoman reaches out to keep her ass up, She loses her GRIP
519
and falls to the rocks and angry sea below.
BATMAN
Help Chase. I'll be back.
CHASE
(groggy)
Did selina call him Bruce?
DICK
yo-yo he did'nt say that girlfriend you know what i'm
saying G.
520 Batman starts scaling girders, pulls himself back into...
520
521 INT. RIDDLER'S CONTROL ROOM
521
The lights are still down but the antenna's functioning
again, the Riddler in his throne, absorbing pulses of
neural energy. Too much. his entire head seems to
distort, fluctuating in size and wavering.
RIDDLER
Why can't I kill you? Now there's a
riddle?
(more juice)
Not smart enough. Find a way.
(more juice)
Too many questions.
(more juice)
Why you and not me?
(more juice)
Why me?
(more juice)
Why??!!
Batman SLAMS the power switch, the throne going dark.
EDWARD - CLOSE. Knees drawn to his chest. Pathetic.
WHIMPERING. Mad.
Batman looks down, his eyes sad, compassionate.
BATMAN
Poor, Edward. I had to save them
both. You see, I am Bruce Wayne and
Batman. Not because I have to be.
Now because I choose to be.
Batman reaches out to Edward. Ed jerks in fear, looks up.
522 EDWARD'S POV - Coming towards him, not Batman, but a
522
hideous demonic giant bat.
523 EDWARD - CLOSE. SCREAMS
523
524 EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
524
Another stormy night.
525 INT. MAXIMUM SECURITY WING
525
harvey dent walks the corridor with Chase.
HARVEY DENT
Edward Nygma has been screaming for
hours that he knows the true
identity of Batman AND he never got any.
They reach Edward's cell.
526 THEIR POV -- INT. PADDED CELL
526
Lit only by the moon. Chase speaks through the small
barred set into the heavy door.
CHASE
Edward...
EDWARD
Who is it?
CHASE
It's Dr. Meridian. Chase. Do you
remember me?
EDWARD (O.S.)
How could I forget?
CHASE
mr. dent tells me you know who
Batman is.
EDWARD (O.S.)
(giggle, giggle)
Yesssssss. I know!
Chase and Burton look at each other, on edge.
CHASE
Who is The Batman, Edward?
EDWARD (O.S.)
Can't tell if you don't say please.
CHASE
You're right, Edward. I didn't mean
to be impolite. Please.
No response. Just GIGGLES.
CHASE
Edward, please. Who is Batman?
A beat. Suddenly a huge silhouette of a bat appears on
the padded wall. Into it leaps Edward, the sleeves of his
straightjacket madly flapping like the wings of a bat.
EDWARD
I AM BATMAAAAAAANN!!!
527 EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
527
Chase comes down the front steps to find Alfred waiting
with the Rolls, holding the rear door open.
CHASE
Alfred?
ALFRED
Mr. Wayne sent me to pick you up.
528 INT. ROLLS - MOVING
528
Alfred drives out the front gates of Arkham Asylum.
CHASE
Where's Bruce?
ALFRED
He asked me to convey his deepest
apologies, Dr. Meridian. But he
wanted me to give you this.
Alfred hands her a small wicker figure. The dream doll.
ALFRED
He said to thank you. And to tell
you he no longer needs it.
She notices the Batsignal in the night sky.
CHASE
Does it ever end Alfred?
ALFRED
No, Miss. Not in this lifetime.
Chase looks out the car window. In the distance, the
shape of the bat shimmers against the clouds.
EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM - NIGHT
Another stormy night.
529 ZOOM INTO
529
The Batsignal, filling the screen.
PAN DOWN
530 EXT. TOP OF SKYSCRAPER - NIGHT
530
Batman stands on the edge of the gargoyled building, a
lone silhouette keeping vigil over the city.
Then another figure steps up into frame, taking his place
behind Batman. Their capes billow in the city wind.
Now there are two guardians of the night: Batman and
Robin. Beware!
FINAL FADE TO BLACK.
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