It’s time to put a smile on that face with our breakdown of the 100 best easter eggs in Batman Begins.
- Our journey begins with the Batman logo appearing on screen after being formed by a cauldron of Bats…yes that’s the name used to describe a group of them. Anyway why this is important is because the logo kickstarts every single movie in the trilogy and with it comes to a lot of symbolism and double meaning.
- Batman begins is created by bats as these become integral to the entry. The theme of the film is fear and overcoming it and Bruce at one point throws himself into the midst of them when exploring the cave in order to overcome his fear and thus become the hero that the city needs.
- The Dark Knight starts off with the symbol flying through a blue fire and to me, this represents how the Joker is someone that wants to watch the world burn but that Batman will always be there to stop him.
- The Dark Knight Rises has the symbol created through ice cracking and a large part of the film takes part in the winter and involves Bane breaking batman.
- We watch as young bruce takes an arrowhead and then falls down a well. This shot would later be echoed in the dark knight rises when Bruce is climbing out of the pit and symbolically this moment kick starts a motif that would come full circle in that film.
- Here Bruce has to be helped out of it by his father but by the third film he can do it himself showing that he has been able to rise…pun intended.
- This well is the entrance to the cave and as we see it’s swarming with bats which create nightmares for Bruce and tie back to his fear.
- The character even wakes up in a prison, haunted by these nightmares and we discover that his fear of bats in some way led to his parent’s death.
- Thus him confronting bats is also confronting the trauma that has driven him and it’s a nice way of layering everything into one cohesive narrative.
- When Bruce is listening to his father’s heartbeat at one point we can also see little Bat symbols on his sweater that would appear as the signal in the dark knight rises, lacing the movie with an even deeper subtext.
- Not too long after Bruce meets Ducard and then is released from Prison. Ducard is actually a character in the comics that trained Bruce to be a detective and at the time it was a big twist to learn that he’d actually been Ra’s Al Ghul the whole time.
- I know it’s typically pronounced Ra’s but as they call him Ra’s to keep consistent I’m just gonna call him that here.
- He makes a journey across the rocky cavernous icelands and this location was also echoed in the first Justice League trailer so we may see something similar in the Snyder Cut when it releases next year.
- Bruce ends up getting trained by the League of Shadows which in the comics is called The League Of Assassins.
- Batman of course has a no-killing rule so this was likely changed because the character would shack up with a bunch of murderous ninjas.
- Now Bruce is told that “theatricality and deception are powerful agents to the League of Shadows”. This foreshadows their plan as they of course want to drug the city into hallucinating their deepest fears so that they tear themselves apart. The things that they see will not be there in real life and therefore it will be a deception that prays upon the theatrics that their mind can create to take them down.
- A line that’s a play on this of course returns in The Dark Knight Rises when Bane says “theatricality and deception powerful agents to the uninitiated.” This confirms that he was amongst their ranks and likely trained by Ra’s himself.
- Ra’s also says he wants to restore balance to the world which Talia also says at the party In The Dark Knight Rises
- Bruce slips into a nightmare once more in which we learn about what drives him. Bruce visits the opera with his parents and in many ways the performers that he sees inspire his costume. There is a character wearing bat ears that can be seen and the main costumes that scare Bruce involve performers in all black dangling from ropes.
- Batman of course uses ropes to get around the city and black cloth to glide.
- Now the opera itself is called Mefistofele which I’ve definitely pronounced wrong because I sit around watching batman movies all day instead of going to the opera. This story actually has several tiebacks to the film itself and the plot can be seen echoing Bruce’s journey.
- This piece is about the devil trying to corrupt the character Faust into helping him to complete his goal.
- Now if we take this and apply it to the characters, The Devil represents Ra’s Al Ghul and Bruce could be seen as a stand-in for Faust.
- The goal is to destroy Gotham but much like the story, things don’t go the Devil’s way.
- Ultimately Faust turns to God and takes a different path much like how Bruce turns to Batman…or rather creates him and it’s nice that the symbolism is laced highly in the opera.
- There is a similar idea of a mortal turning to god at the end of the movie when Ra’s invades Bruce’s home. Bruce says “there are good people here” when pleading with Ra’s not to destroy Gotham and in the Bible Abraham used the same argument when pleading with God not to destroy Sodom and Gamora.
- Sodom And Gamora was rotten to the core and much like Ra’s, God wanted to destroy the city because it was too far gone.
- Bruce’s parents are killed in front of him by Joe Chill who carried this out in the comics.
- There is also the tearing of the pearls which are infamous and Bruce drops to his knees which echoes a panel from Batman Year One.
- His father tells him not to be afraid and we can also hear a single choir boy singing a single note very hauntingly. This single voice of a young boy crying out of course represents Bruce who is now completely alone in the world…well he has you, Alfred, I suppose.
- We meet Jim Gordon for the first time and he puts his coat around Bruce which is brought up again at the end of The Dark Knight Rises so that Batman can reveal his true identity to the character.
- We also meet Commissioner Loeb who actually seems like a nice guy unlike his comic book counterpart in Batman Year One, who’s pretty much helping to cause corruption in the city.
- Cut back to Bruce sparring with Ra’s on an iced-over lake and though B boy seems to win, Ra’s takes him out by cracking the ice which makes him fall through it. This is echoed in The Dark Knight Rises when prisoners are forced to wander out onto the ice and fall through it which eventually leads to their death.
- Ra’s says “you never learned to mind your surroundings” which pops up again later in the movie with Bruce using his environment to beat Ra’s similar to what the villain does here.
- Ra’s helps Bruce to warm up and tells him of his family and how they were taken from him. This of course returns in Dark Knight Rises when we see the back story of Talia and how she and her mother were taken from him.
- Now we later see another subtle detail that links the two and this comes during the scene in which the fake Ra’s al Ghul picks up a branding iron. At the end of it, we can see a shark tooth-like mark and in The Dark Knight Rises Bruce notices a scar on Talia’s back after the two get it on that looks quite similar.
- Jump to Joe Chill getting murdered by one of Falcone’s henchmen and we see as he’s shot in the courtroom with guards around him. This is actually referencing the infamous image in which Lee Harvey Oswald was assassinated by Jack Ruby.
- I think that Thomas Wayne might have actually been made to look slightly like JFK in order to bring up the similarities with Chill killing a high-ranking member of society before being murdered himself.
- Rachel takes Bruce downtown and says “things are worse than ever” which is a line that reappears in The Dark Knight are the press conference when Harvey claims to be the Batman.
- Bruce ends up leaving and he throws the gun away that he was going to use on Chill showing that he wouldn’t be part of this cycle of violence and eye an eye mentality.
- He swaps coats with a homeless man and ey…that is a nice coat. This character appears later in the movie when he just so happens to be standing in pretty much the same place that he has for all these years.
- No, but why this is important is because metaphorically bruce getting rid of this coat is also symbolic of him getting rid of his Bruce Wayne identity so that he can go off and carve out a new one.
- Bruce actually keeps this coat for a while and we can see it being worn with the sleeves torn off when he steals in order to feed himself.
- Bruce ends up destroying the league of shadow base and because Ra’s is unconscious during this he doesn’t know what happened so believes that Bruce left him for dead even though that guy promised he told him he’d saved his life.
- I dunno if I’m reading into that but Ra’s does later say he left him for dead so I’m sorry guy.
- Bruce comes back to Gotham and we also meet Johnathan Crane who we discover is the Scarecrow. Similar to Bruce he uses a mask to drive fear into people but unlike Bruce, he does it for personal gain rather than for others.
- We stop by Victor Zsasz court hearing and you may know this character as an infamous serial killer in the Batman universe. Zsasz also appeared in Bird Of Prey but both these versions are sort of a far cry from how he is in the comics.
- Every time Zsasz kills someone he cuts his skin to leave a scar and we can actually see them along his neck just above his shirt.
- Joker too used scars as a symbol of trauma in the Dark Knight so it may even be possible that Zsasz inspired the interpretation that Nolan took towards the Clown.
- Cut to Wayne Tower and we get to meet several of the board members who actually return throughout the trilogy.
- We also meet Lucius Fox and are introduced to the armoury that Bane would later rob in Rises.
- The camouflaged Tumbler is also shown here which later appears in that film and due to the colours used on it, it was likely part of the Iraq war. We discover that Batman’s body armour was deemed too expensive for soldiers and thus there is very much this idea of it all being linked to that real-world conflict.
- The Taliban were also trained by the CIA in the 80s and they later took this knowledge and used it against the west much like how Bane took the weapons that Batman used to protect the city and turned them against it.
- The League of Shadows are of course situated in the east and whilst this may be a reach there are many callbacks.
- Now why this is interesting is because there exists a theory that the Joker was actually an Iraq War vet who suffered from PTSD and using his military training he decided to destabilise Gotham.
- The Dark Knight is often seen as a metaphor for the time period due to the surveillance protocols that Batman carries out to spy on the Gotham citizens. Bush and the CIA were accused of doing this as well so potentially we have all three films tying back to the war in some interesting way.
- Not long after we’re taken to the Batcave and see Bruce putting the foundations in. This would of course become advanced in the third film of the trilogy but there are some notable aspects of dialogue here.
- Alfred says that the caverns were used by his ancestors to help slaves move as part of the underground railroad and this very much echoes how Bruce’s father tried to build an actual railroad to unite the city.
- Bruce also spraypaints the suit with black latex paint and this is capable of hiding the heat signature from things so it would keep him invisible to infrared.
- Shortly after we meet back up with Gordon who we see has been partnered up with Detective Flass. In the book Year One, this was also the case and similar to what we see here the character was crooked and corrupt.
- Bruce goes to Gordon and holds a stapler to his head to make him think he has a gun. He ends up having to dive off the rooftop of the GCPD which goes badly and then he has to don a cave.
- I always thought this costume was similar to what he has in the animated movie Mask Of The Phantasm when going out on his first night.
- The mask he wears also appears in The Dark Knight Rises when Bruce visits the character in hospital.
- Bruce confronts Falcone down in the dock area again but this time he is completely transformed. I love how his last criminal interaction in the city is also his first back and this scene is amazing.
- Nolan shoots it from the perspective of the criminals and we really see that Batman becomes a monster in the minds of his enemies. (play im batman clip)
- Now I’m Batman has been said by so many people across so many things that it’s almost a running gag at this point and it’s something that Matt Reeves actually played within the trailer for the upcoming movie in which he had the character say that he was vengeance instead of what we all expected.
- Batman puts Falcone in the spotlight and this creates the Batsymbol for the first time but it also has another meaning.
- Falcone is publicly crucified for all in the city to see whilst we get the idea that Batman will be watching over them.
- The night goes well but Alfred doesn’t seem too impressed and he tells him that has to play up being a playboy in order to avoid suspicion.
- His list of things to do include Driving sports cars…something that we see him doing that night.
- Dating movie stars…which he also does later that night though I don’t know who she is…
- And lastly buying things that aren’t for sale which the character does when purchasing the hotel so that his chums can play in the fountain.
- The sports car Bruce drives is the Lamborghini Murciélago which is Spanish for Bat.
- Batman goes to Flass first and pulls him up using his grappling gun so that the character is face to face with him.
- This shot would later be echoed at the end of the dark knight with the Joker and it shows that Flass and Batman have opposing ideologies.
- Bats are also infamous for hanging upside down so I like how Bruce has used this to strike fear into his enemies.
- Batman also comes across Joffrey and I don’t care about this no-killing rule, just get him whilst you still can.
- There’s also this idea of the drugs being moved in Rabbits and Bears. Rabbits are actually important as they’re symbolic of Alice In Wonderland which involves hallucinations and weird things being seen. Though the Mad Hatter isn’t in this trilogy, similar to Scarecrow he uses techniques to make people see things that aren’t there and thus I think that the inclusion of the rabbits and the similarities to the character is done on purpose as a little nod to him.
- Anyway, Batman is sprayed with Cranes fear toxin and he begins to imagine Bats crawling out of the character’s mouth showing that Bruce is still subconsciously scared of them.
- Batman gets set on fire and has to be rescued by Alfred which mirrors how the mansion is set on fire and he’s saved by the Butler.
- Now Rachel meets with Crane and he discusses how scarecrows are pillars of fear. This is true and though not typically used to scare away bats, in general Scarecrows are used to drive fear into birds so that they don’t land in fields…I felt so stupid typing that out.
- Crane drugs Rachel and actually gets a taste of his own medicine when Batman turns the toxin on him.
- We see how Batman is viewed in the eyes of his enemies and it’s one of my favourite scenes in the entire movie. Batman has come full circle and now represents the fear-inducing monster that he believed the bats to be.
- The GCPD swarm the building back Batman calls in back-up, namely Bats which the character also did to escape the police in the graphic novel Year One.
- Batman races through the streets and rooftops on the tumbler and I had this scene ruined for me so I’m gonna do the same for you. One of the cops in the carpark who tells bruce to stop actually reappears as the policeman questioning what the vehicle looks like which yeah…he shouldn’t have been so that spoiled everything.
- Bruce returns to his birthday party and we see as Ra’s uses another stand-in to trick Bruce. This character wears a green coat which is similar to what the real one does in the comics.
- Ras hints at Ra’s Al Ghul being immortal and though in the film this is merely theatricality and deception, in the comics it goes far beyond that.
- The source material has Ra’s using Lazarus Pits which are basically the fountain of youth to keep him young so it’s nice that they grounded it here with the idea that he only is immortal due to his tricks.
- Bruce actually ruins his reputation to save the people at the party and he ends up taking the blame to cover up the truth of what’s happening.
- The character would do something similar at the end of The Dark knight to stop the truth about Harvey Dent from destroying the city with the reveal of his two-faced persona.
- He also says that it’s not a joke and calls them two facedtwo-faced friends. Both the Joker and Two-Face appear as villains in The Dark Knight so this is a good bit of foreshadowing.
- What’s interesting is that Ra’s in some ways caused the Waynes to be killed but the movie doesn’t force it down our throats and the connection is there only if you want it to be.
- Ra’s spreads fear throughout the city and I think that everyone’s lucky no one turned on a kettle for months as had they done it they would’ve breathed in the gas which…yeah this is a plot hole.
- The Narrows are completely bombarded and Scarecrow arrives on a horse. This is actually a callback to when the character did something similar in the Long Halloween.
- He utters the line there’s nothing to fear but fear itself which is a callback to when FDR said it in 1933.
- Batman fights Ra’s on the train which is heading towards the water main. This battle is symbolic as he’s facing off against his somewhat surrogate father on the thing his real father built.
- Ra’s also says “don’t be afraid bruce” which is a the last thing that Thomas actually said to the character before passing away.
- Bruce destroys carriages on the train in a weird fashion but this is actually done on purpose so that his cape can catch the wind and allow him to glide out of there.
- Now in crashing the train, Bruce destroys his surrogate dad along with his real dad’s legacy all in one fell swoop. He has finally become his own man without the need for their guidance and he triumphantly flies over the city, in front of the Wayne Tower showing how both Wayne and Batman are one and the same.
- Bruce forcing an Al Ghul in a vehicle to go tumbling over the edge of something before they die is also the same thing that happens to Talia in The Dark Knight Rises and even the music is the same for both of their deaths as they go over the edge.
- The movie has a touching scene between Rachel and Bruce in which she says that the mask he wears is now his true face and this is actually something that a lot of people have tackled over the years. I’ve always viewed Bruce as the mask and she promises to love him again when he finally comes back which is something that The Dark Knight tackles.
- Cut to the Batsymbol being made and Bruce meets Gordon on the roof which is where we get a tease of The Joker.
- The calling card is actually written up by Officer J. Kerr which is of course an alias of the character.
- Gordon goes to thank Batman but the Dark Knight says he’ll never have to but I tell you who does need a thank you…me.