5 Things That Still Don’t Make Sense About The Batman

The Dark Knight has had his fair share of big-screen movies, but few have hit the nail on the head as well as 2022’s The Batman. Director Matt Reeves, best known for his work on the recent Planet of the Apes films, embraced the dark and gritty side of the character, placing the campier ’90s movies further in the rearview. Robert Pattinson gives a masterful performance as a tortured Bruce Wayne, and he’s joined by some Hollywood heavyweights, including Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, and Andy Serkis. However, even with everything The Batman has going for it, there are some plot holes that never got filled in.

These mysteries don’t necessarily take away from the quality of the film, but they’re still present enough to make one stop and think about what’s really going on. In the world of comic book movies, after all, it’s hard to cook up a script that’s ironclad.

Why Does Alfred Open the Package?

As Batman begins to peel back the layers of Riddler’s plan, it becomes obvious that the villain has a grudge against Gotham’s wealthy and elite. The Caped Crusader doesn’t realize that his own family is mixed up in the whole thing until later on, but he should still have his head on a swivel. That’s why it’s strange that Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s butler and confidant, just opens mail willy-nilly.

Alfred gets badly hurt after opening a package addressed to Bruce with an explosive device inside. However, given Alfred’s past, it’s hard to believe he doesn’t take more precautions at a time when Gotham is living in fear because of a serial killer.

Why Doesn’t Gotham City Shut Down?

The Riddler takes out the mayor of Gotham City at the beginning of The Batman, paving the way for his challenger, Bella Reál, to take his place. Reál spends most of the movie talking about the change she’s going to bring to Gotham, which puts her on Riddler’s radar. The villain puts a plan in motion that ensures that, even after he gets taken into custody, his followers will continue his mission and attempt to assassinate Reál.

It’s a clever move by a clever bad guy, but it relies on the authorities thinking their job is done. Riddler gets tossed into Arkham and only wants to speak to Batman. The information the villain offers up makes the hero realize there’s more to come, but the damage may not have been so severe if the city had shut down until they were certain Riddler was no longer a threat.

Why Did Falcone Have Martha and Thomas Wayne Killed?

Thanks to Riddler, Bruce learns that his father, Thomas Wayne, made a deal with Carmine Falcone to silence a reporter who was writing a story about his wife’s history of mental health issues during his mayoral campaign. Falcone goes too far, though, and kills the journalist, forcing Thomas to consider going to the police. To ensure he doesn’t go down, Alfred has the Waynes killed. However, it seems like keeping them alive would’ve been more beneficial.

While Thomas may have been prepared to fall on his sword, all it would’ve taken was threatening his son or wife for Falcone to have the wealthiest man in Gotham fully in his pocket. Sure, getting him off the board was simpler, but Falcone really should’ve thought his plan through.

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How Does Riddler Not Realize That Bruce Wayne Is Batman?

There’s always some suspension of disbelief when it comes to heroes keeping their secret identities intact. After all, all it takes is Superman putting on a pair of glasses for him to blend in. However, Riddler spends years gathering information about the Waynes, yet somehow never puts two and two together.

At the start of The Batman, Bruce has a year plus of crime-fighting under his belt, and since Riddler is pretty quick to involve the hero in his plans, he’s clearly been keeping up with him. The movie even teases at one point that Riddler knows everything, but it ends up being a fake-out, proving that the criminal mastermind isn’t as smart as he lets on.

Why Doesn’t Batman Take Down Penguin?

Batman and Jim Gordon believe Penguin is the informant they’re looking for early in the movie. The Dark Knight even goes as far as to chase the gangster down with the Batmobile and cause quite the pile-up. Of course, it turns out that Falcone is the rat, and Batman lets Penguin off the hook. The only problem with that is that Penguin is still a very bad guy.

There are bigger fish to fry in The Batman, with Riddler wanting to bring Gotham to its knees and Falcone killing anyone who gets in his way. However, Penguin is not a saint by any stretch of the imagination, and Batman should’ve found the time to toss him in a cell before he turned his attention elsewhere.

The Batman is streaming on Max.

Do you think these parts of The Batman add up? What other parts of the movie made you scratch your head? Let us know in the comments below!