The Batman Ending Explained

The moment a lot of DC fans have been waiting for has finally arrived, as The Batman has made its way into theaters. The new live-action film sets to bring about an unprecedented take on the mythos of DC Comics, one that is currently disconnected from any other canon of established films. As a result, fans couldn’t be entirely sure what to expect going into The Batman, even as the trailers and teasers began to provide an epic glimpse. The film’s events, which clock in at nearly three hours long, culminate in a finale that fans have to see to believe. Major spoilers for The Batman below! Only look if you want to know!

The Batman follows the second year of Bruce Wayne / Batman (Robert Pattinson) fighting crime in Gotham City, only for him to get drawn into a series of events orchestrated by Edward Nashton / The Riddler (Paul Dano). As high-profile figures in Gotham began to be murdered by The Riddler, and Batman attempted and largely failed to prevent their killings from occurring, Bruce began to realize that all of the men were tied to the Gotham Renewal program, a fund set up by Thomas Wayne just prior to his death. The officials had been using the money from the Renewal fund for their own profit, something that Nashton hoped to expose, all while his Riddler persona developed a radicalized group of followers.

Ultimately, Batman became aware of Riddler’s master plan — to blow up the sea wall surrounding Gotham and flood the city, forcing any survivors to gather in the Gotham Square Garden, only for his followers (dressed in their own Riddler garb) to kill them one by one. Batman managed to get to the Garden just as that was happening, and he fought off Riddler’s goons, with the help of Selina Kyle / Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) and Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright). Once the flood breached the Garden and appeared to trap the civilians below, Batman dropped down into the waters and led them to safety, unintentionally establishing himself as a hero for Gotham in the process.

We then began to see the fallout of the flooding — Oz Cobblepot / The Penguin (Colin Farrell) began to make plans to gain more power in the city’s underworld, and Batman helped the injured civilians at the Garden get to safety, all while realizing he needed to be a symbol of hope for the city. We then saw Nashton sitting behind bars in prison, expressing dismay at how his plan went horribly wrong, only for a heavily-scarred man in the cell next to him (played by Barry Keoghan) to try to calm him down, and ominously offer to be Nashton’s friend. The man then laughed — the unmistakable laugh of The Joker.

The film’s final scene showed Batman and Catwoman parting ways, but not before Selina suggested they go on the run together (potentially to Bludhaven). As the pair shared a romantic embrace, Batman got distracted by the Bat-Signal in the sky, leading Selina to remark that he’s already “spoken for.” The pair then got on their motorcycles and off into separate directions.

While this isn’t the very last thing the film presents to viewers, it’s a pretty epic note for the project to go out on. And with multiple HBO Max spinoff series in the works, and a sequel already being discussed, it hopefully won’t be the last time we visit the world of The Batman.

The Batman is now playing in theaters.