The Batman Ending Explained (In Detail)

Warning: SPOILERS for The BatmanThe Batman ending wraps up the first story in Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson's new Batman universe, but the Dark Knight's journey is far from over. The long-awaited DC movie introduces a new Bruce Wayne/Batman onto the big screen after originally being set as a spinoff of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League for Ben Affleck. Things changed in 2017, and The Batman became the origin of a new, separate universe, that expanded in 2024 with The Penguin.

Set in the present day, The Batman follows Bruce Wayne in his second year of crime-fighting as Gotham City's Caped Crusader. With Alfred Pennyworth as his confidant and ally, Batman attempts to solve the mystery behind The Riddler's murders as well as figuring out how it all connects to his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Of course, being relatively new at the job and not having gone up against formidable DC villains like Riddler, Penguin, and Falcone before, Batman is caught out of his depth. He's still learning, and the overall experience changes him forever.

Much of The Batman's ending is dedicated to laying the foundation for the hero's future, as well as the future of Gotham's police and criminal underworld. It's all rather straightforward, with little being left unresolved on a macro level. However, there are several smaller stories unfolding in The Batman's ending that could complicate Bruce Wayne's next adventure in The Batman: Part II.

The Riddler's Real Plan In The Batman & Connection To Thomas Wayne

What Edward Nashton Was Actually Trying To Achieve For Gotham

One of the biggest twists in The Batman is the reason behind The Riddler's murders. He was seemingly going after corrupt politicians and policemen, but the reasoning for them being corrupt wasn't revealed until later on. The Batman pushes the narrative that Riddler is just like the Dark Knight, but instead of both of them being vigilantes seeking to do good, they represent two sides of a coin — orphans seeking vengeance against Gotham, with each one executing their own form of justice.

Matt Reeves revealed to the NY Times that he built their dynamic as a love story, in The Riddler's warped perception. He doesn't just aspire to be Batman, there's an element of obsession there:

"In that scene [where Batman interrogates the Riddler], that’s what we talked about. I said, this is a breakup. You go there expecting love. He inspired you, and then when that turns out not to be the case, you’re devastated. And then when you realize he’s not as smart as you thought, then you finally have power again."

The explanation for The Riddler's plan is fundamentally tied to Thomas Wayne and his goal to rebuild Gotham. As a kid, Edward Nashton was orphaned and grew up poor, ultimately becoming an accountant when he became an adult. It was because of his job that he discovered what happened with Renewal, the city's infrastructure rebuilding plan that was put into place by the Wayne family.

After Thomas' death, the plan fell by the wayside, but rather than being dissolved completely, the money ended up being snatched up by Carmine Falcone. The crime lord took advantage of the opportunity; he used his knowledge of his rival's drug business to have Sal Maroni arrested, and then used the money to install a puppet regime in Gotham City, propping up everyone who became famous for Gotham's biggest drug bust.

Why The Riddler Targeted Bruce Wayne

Since Renewal was meant to benefit Edward, he took revenge against the people who wronged him indirectly, becoming The Riddler to combat injustice. His final victim would've been Bruce Wayne, another orphan whom he thought received undeserved attention following Thomas and Martha's deaths. People quickly forgot about the Renewal plan and focused entirely on Bruce Wayne, a boy who tragically lost his parents; meanwhile, all the other orphans in the city continued to suffer.

In Riddler's eyes, Bruce was the catalyst for Renewal's downfall, while Falcone and everyone else represented the domino effect. The final piece in Riddler's retribution was destroying Gotham's walls and flooding the city, thereby forcing "real change" — washing away the corruption and beginning anew; a true renewal.

The Riddler Goon's Connection To Batman

The Harsh Reality Of Batman's Chosen Name

The point of Batman having an effect on Gotham — whether good or bad — comes to fruition in the film's denouement, particularly after Jim Gordon restrains him from killing one of The Riddler's goons on top of the jumbotron. When the goon is unmasked, he looks at Batman and says, "I'm vengeance." His face may not seem too familiar, but he's the same guy Bruce Wayne encounters at the funeral earlier in the film, the one expressing discontent with Gotham's officials.

The goon saying he's "vengeance" is a condemnation of Batman's crusade in Gotham, along with a testament to the city's villains. At the start of the movie, Batman fought a clown gang, presumably one inspired by Joker, and now another thug has latched onto Riddler, the city's latest supervillain. Matt Reeves broke down the scene of Batman hearing his own catchphrase reflected back to him:

"When I was looking at the comics and “Batman: The Animated Series,” Kevin Conroy’s speech about “I am vengeance. I am the night,” something about that really connected to me. He’s doing this to get back at what happened to him, so he’s striking out. That is a form of vengeance, but that vengeance is not enough. He has to become more, and that’s the message of the whole movie. I want him to go from somebody who is projecting vengeance to somebody who’s letting people know that somewhere in all of this darkness, there’s hope. That was his arc."

The thing is, as it becomes clear throughout the rest of the film, Batman hasn't stopped people from becoming criminals, because he hadn't accomplished anything that would combat the reason they turned to crime in the first place. And in an act of terror against the people of Gotham, the goon fought for his own vengeance, hence him appropriating Batman's words.

Barry Keoghan's New Joker Explained

The Most Scarred Joker In The History Of DC's Live-Action?

A new Batman universe means a new Joker — it's inevitable. Thankfully, The Batman introduces Joker but also holds back just enough to keep viewers' interests piqued until a sequel arrives. In this version, Joker is in Arkham and he already has a clown gang, which means he's had his first reign of terror off-screen.

In the comics (as well as other mediums), Joker is often imprisoned in Arkham following his bouts with Batman, which might be the case in The Batman movie, though it's unclear if Joker and Batman have fought in this universe. Regardless, The Batman promises more of Joker going forward, potentially in league with The Riddler as well. When the two of them meet, Joker offers his new, fellow inmate a riddle, "The less of them you have, the more one is worth." The answer being a friend, thus hinting at their future together as part of Batman's rogues gallery.

The Batman's Joker is played by Barry Keoghan, an actor who many viewers will recognize from his recent stint as Druig in Marvel's Eternals. He's also appeared in The Green Knight, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and Dunkirk, among other films and shows. While his face is predominantly concealed in the scene, viewers see bits of Joker's scars, which offer a glimpse at the Joker look The Batman's universe is going for.

Furthermore, Joker's laugh is less of a bray or cackle and doesn't have a crescendo to it; rather, it's a hyena-like laugh that remains consistent. Combining these various pieces of information, audiences can deduce what Joker will be like when he appears in full, perhaps in The Batman 2.

The Penguin's Gotham Dream Sets Up His Own Spin-Off

Oz Cobb Is On A Mission To Take Gotham's Criminal Power For Himself

Although his past with Carmine Falcone and Sal Maroni isn't detailed in the film, it's not necessary to the plot or to this burgeoning Gotham universe. The Penguin, released on HBO in 2024, focuses on Oz's relationship with Gotham's most powerful criminals, and his own aspirations for power. The Batman's ending set that story up, as Penguin's actions as well as the mayor's voiceover heavily hinted that the villain will become a new crime lord and fill the power vacuum left by Falcone. Crime must exist in Gotham for there to be a Batman, after all.

The Penguin shares something with DC Comics story Batman: No Man's Land, in which Gotham suffers from a cataclysmic earthquake that leaves the city in shambles. As in that comic, Penguin's spinoff depicts what becomes of Gotham's criminal underworld in the aftermath of disaster. There will be the same shift in power, and the same opportunistic criminals vying to take advantage.

Catwoman Leaves For Bludhaven (Nightwing's City)

Could We See Batman's Most Famous Sidekick?

Similar to The Dark Knight Rises in which Catwoman asks Batman to come away with her and he refuses (though eventually retiring with her), Catwoman heads off in her own direction in The Batman ending after asking Batman to leave Gotham behind. Her leaving isn't the most intriguing part of the scene, because she can always come back in The Batman 2 should the story require her. Rather, it's the fact that she namedrops Bludhaven as the city she's going to. In the comics, Bludhaven is where Dick Grayson goes when he strikes out on his own and becomes Nightwing, leaving his identity as Robin and Batman's sidekick behind.

It's unlikely Nightwing exists yet because he would need to be Robin first, and Bruce Wayne has only been Batman for two years. Considering the film ends on a hopeful note, with Batman opening himself up to the people of Gotham and stepping into the light, not to mention Bruce Wayne coming to terms with Alfred Pennyworth and his family, it's possible The Batman 2 could introduce a young Dick Grayson. The seeds have been planted for the story to happen. Catwoman mentioning Bludhaven was merely an easy way to get that storyline at the front of fans' minds, because it's not like Bludhaven can't exist without Nightwing.

Of course, the question is, what if, in this Batman universe, Nightwing already exists separately from Batman? The Batman included several bits of information that changed the Batman mythos (Catwoman being Falcone' daughter, for one), so it wouldn't be far-fetched for Nightwing to have a new origin as well. After all, if the Court of Owls story does happen in The Batman 2, Nightwing should be a part of it, given his ties to that group in the comics.

What The Batman's Final Shot Means

Why Batman Stays In Gotham

What stops Batman from leaving with Catwoman is him seeing the Batsignal up in the sky. It may not have been the ultimate deciding factor, but it represented an acknowledgment of his crusade, which Catwoman fully understood. It's why they part ways once they leave the cemetery, and Batman looks back at her through his bike's side mirror. She helped changed him without knowing it. She was partly responsible for opening him up and helping him see the error of his ways.

At this point in the story, he's no longer "vengeance"; he's something more, something better, and she was one of the many people who nudged him in that direction. But in the very next moment — in the final shot of The Batman - he fully dedicates himself to being a new Batman to Gotham City. Rather than looking at Riddler's actions as a fundamental failure on his part, he sees it merely as a consequence that needs to be rectified.

The final scene in which he sees Catwoman disappear into the mist and then looks forward is reminiscent of The Dark Knight's ending, in which Batman disappears into the night on a bike. However, instead of disappearing for several years as Christian Bale's Batman did, Robert Pattinson's Batman prepares himself to continue his journey. The scene is a promise of more to come, akin to Batman Begins' ending when Batman flies off the GCPD roof.

How The Batman Sets Up A Sequel & What Matt Reeves Has Said

What's Next For Robert Pattinson's Bat?

The most interesting prospect for The Batman: Part II is the idea of Gotham falling apart, before its inevitable rebuilding. As well as the devastation of the flood, the criminal underworld has been destabilized, The Penguin will seemingly rise, and the doors are open to a new breed of masked supervillains. The Riddler established the power of symbolism, just as Batman has, and without the order of organized crime, figures like The Joker become more likely.

Matt Reeves talked to the NYT about how the ending leaves Gotham, and what might come next:

"We have left the world in a very particular place at the end of the story. Corruption has had such a stranglehold in Gotham for so long. The events of the film would create the first glimmer of hope that the city has had in 20 years at least, but also smash the power vacuum apart. It would mean it’s also one of the scariest moments that the city has experienced in over 20 years. Where the story goes, I’ve had a lot of thoughts about that."

Intriguingly, Reeves later spoke about the sequel potentially digging more into Gotham's dark heart of corruption. Could that set up the arrival of The Court Of Owls?

"It’s another mystery [in The Batman: Part II] that’s going to dig into the epic story about deeper corruption and it goes into places that he couldn’t even anticipate in the first one. The seeds of where this goes are all in the first movie, and it expands in a way that will show you aspects of the character you never got to see."

Who Killed Batman's Parents?

All Signs Point To One Of The Batman's Villains

Thomas and Martha Wayne's murders have always been a focal point of Batman's origin story, but The Batman takes a different approach. The film doesn't dwell on the fact that their deaths inspired him to become a vigilante, nor does it show their deaths outright. Instead, the mystery behind who killed them (and who ordered their murders) becomes a subplot as The Riddler's puzzle unfolds. Typically, Joe Chill is the person who kills Bruce Wayne's parents in the comics and most stories, like in Batman Begins. But in The Batman, the Wayne murders can be attributed to two people: Carmine Falcone and Salvatore Maroni.

Both men were Gotham's biggest crime bosses, but Falcone had a closer relationship with Thomas Wayne. So when Thomas came to Falcone and asked him to take care of a reporter, Falcone had the reporter murdered and presumably would have used that information to blackmail Thomas. Depending on the perspective, it's possible Maroni had Thomas Wayne (and Martha) killed in order to prevent Falcone from controlling the Waynes; however, because Thomas threatened to go to the police, it's also possible that Falcone had Bruce's parents murdered so that he could avoid potential jail time.

Ultimately, the mystery goes unresolved in the film, but it stands to reason that Falcone had the Waynes killed; the fact that he schemed to control Gotham's elites after taking Maroni out of the equation shows that he's someone with the power and know-how to make it work — and he's not afraid to get his own hands dirty from time to time.

The Riddler's Post-Credits Message Explained

What Happens When You Follow The Link?

The Batman eschews a traditional post-credits scene in favor of a final message from The Riddler. At the very end of The Batman credits, a message appears on-screen telling audiences "Goodbye," but before the screen goes black, an image flashes for a brief moment. It may be tough to catch what the message says, but it's Riddler's website from earlier in the film: Rata Alada. It's a fun tie-in website that allows viewers to try their hands at three riddles, with a reward being given if all the riddles are answered correctly.

The riddles and rewards have changed a few times already, so it's possible they could change again. Interestingly, this isn't the first time that a Batman project has done something like this. Back in 1966, a Los Angeles radio station worked with 20th Century Fox to run a promotion that rewarded someone with lunch on the studio's lot with Batman and Robin themselves if the person correctly guessed the Batphone's number.

The Batman's Real Meaning Explained

Vengeance Is More Than A Cool Superhero Name

Throughout The Batman, Bruce Wayne seeks revenge for his parents' murders as well as for the general corruption of Gotham City, but the story flips it on him. Batman has rules — he doesn't use guns and he doesn't kill — but overall, that's all that really separates him from The Riddler, who also fancies himself a vigilante seeking retribution.

Like Bruce, Edward Nashton was an orphan, but whereas he was forced to live in an underfunded orphanage in which babies died every winter, Bruce Wayne grew up rich in Wayne Tower. And to top it off, Bruce did nothing to help the city, which Gotham's new mayor accuses him of quite directly. For most of the film, the underlying theme is vengeance, because both Batman and Riddler pursue revenge against the city that wronged them — but they were wronged in different ways.

For Bruce, Gotham and its corrupt politicians, cops, and criminals needed to pay for his parents' murders — and whether it was his true intention or not, Bruce sought to fulfill his father's legacy because Thomas couldn't — while Riddler wanted the same people to pay for failing him, personally, after he was made an orphan — not before, as was the case for Bruce.

That grim sense of futility that both of them felt as orphans drove them to become who they are in The Batman. But because of Riddler's actions and accusations against Bruce Wayne as a person, Batman turns from vengeance to hope. It's why he physically and metaphorically reaches out to Gotham's mayor inside the arena — not only to save and protect her, but also to be a guiding light to the people of Gotham, a true beacon of hope.

At the start of the movie, the Batsignal instilled fear in criminals, and while that's still the case by the end, it's now also had an impact on everyone else. Batman truly did have an effect on the city, one that his parents could be proud of. And by the time the credits roll, there's a profound acceptance of renewal.

Bruce Wayne is transformed from a recluse hiding behind a mask — his true face — to someone who can become a man his father wanted him to be (and someone who would no longer avoid the people closest to him); and Batman is transformed from a symbol of fear and vengeance to a symbol of faith and hope. Ultimately, it all boils down to renewal, for Gotham, Bruce Wayne, and Batman.