Chapter 72: The Arrival of the Dark Knight

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

However, it seemed that the old man’s hope was dashed.

Because Batman in the movie was too much like an ordinary person.

He was a vigilante that fought criminals, and the criminals in the entire Gotham City all had to hide because of his fierceness.

And yet, threatening those criminals and beating them up with fists couldn’t eradicate crimes in Gotham City at all. Batman’s behavior of fighting violence with violence was also a crime in itself.

So, Batman knew that once the entire Gotham City lost him, the wise criminal organizations would resurface, making the whole of Gotham City fall into the control of these criminals.

Batman didn’t have superpowers. He wasn’t Superman. He could be injured and could feel pain. As he went out to fight crimes every night, there were more wounds and scars on his body.

The old man understood the concerns of Alfred, Batman’s butler, very well.

What the identity of Batman gave his Young Master wasn’t the admiration from people or the honor that superheroes had. Instead, it was endless pain and suffering, and a future of self-destruction.

This was where Batman was different from the other superheroes.

When the other heroes put on their suits, they went on the stage of glory, but Batman was killing himself when he put his suit on. He used his life to save Gotham City and maintain the order!

Batman could indeed save the people in Gotham City, but who was going to save him?

When the old man saw Batman’s exhausted face after he took off the helmet and his butler’s words of concern and worry, his heart ached…

But luckily, this movie gave him the answer…

Harvey Dent, an upright and just prosecutor, a perfect, flawless White Knight. He could establish a better legal system for Gotham City, completely eradicating those criminal forces hiding under the shadow of the law and punishing them with fair means.

He could restrain them without relying on Batman’s violent means.

Batman also treated Harvey Dent, this White Knight, as his savior and liberator, someone who brought hope of order to the entire Gotham City.

Everything Batman did in the movie’s first half was for Harvey Dent to get on the stage successfully. That way, Batman would be able to retire and be free from the pain and suffering his superhero identity brought him…

Then, the Joker appeared.

This villain, without a bottom line or any principle, who did everything just to put Gotham City in chaos, showed up.

He relied on his ingenuity and schemes to send the entire Gotham City in complete chaos.

This made Batman and Harvey Dent, the White Knight, exhausted. Whether emotionally or physically, they felt like they were being burnt at stake.

When the plot of the movie developed to the second half, the Joker was finally arrested by the police!

When the old man thought he could be relieved, the Joker told them about his trump cards. He also captured Harvey Dent and the mutual love of Batman and Harvey Dent, Rachel.

Even when Batman suddenly appeared in the shadows in the interrogation room, what he got was only the Joker’s ridicule, no matter how he beat the guy up. The final answer the Joker gave him was the same. Batman could only choose to save one of them…

One was the future of Gotham City. The other was the lover he wanted to spend his whole life with as a normal person.

When seeing Batman facing such a difficult moral dilemma, the old man heard the retching sounds from the Flash again.

This time, the Flash really vomited because of excessive mood swings.

“Honey, you’re in terrible shape right now. We should…”

“Let me… watch. Batman hasn’t given up yet.” The Flash completed his sentence with difficulty.

Batman had indeed not given up. He repressed his surging anger and didn’t kill the Joker.

After knowing the location where the two of them were detained, Batman, for the first time in his life, chose to save his love, Rachel, for his selfishness.

These thrilling scenes made people speechless. Rather, it could be said that people couldn’t be distracted or even speak at all when they watched the movie.

But someone still expressed his doubts. The contractor of another hero from the Supernova League that targeted adults, Nighthaven, asked with a low voice, “Why didn’t Batman just kill the Joker?”

“Because if he kills the Joker, the Joker wins. Batman is the bottom line and the only order Gotham City has. When this bottom line becomes a murderer instead of a hero, Gotham City will be in complete chaos, just like the Joker wishes.” Nighthaven’s deep voice sounded in the ears of his contractor.

“Master, would you… kill him?”

“Me? I would.” Nighthaven said with certainty, “If someone dares to tease me like this and kidnaps the person I love, I’ll kill him without hesitation. That’s why I can’t be Batman.”

When Nighthaven said this, he was already in awe of Batman, this mortal hero, in his mind. He didn’t seem as arrogant as he was when he came to the movie theater.

The Dark Knight had truly changed their perception of superheroes.

“But the Joker is an evil person. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to kill him.” The contractor of Nighthaven was a young man.

“This will be the same as crossing his bottom line. Kid, a person who crosses his own bottom line will forever fall into an abyss.”

What Nighthaven said was soon attested by Harvey Dent.

In the end, Batman was fooled by the Joker. Harvey Dent wanted Batman to save Rachel, and Batman did do so. And yet, the Joker had switched the locations of the two of them.

So, when Batman arrived, whether it was Batman seeing Harvey Dent lying on the ground or Harvey Dent seeing Batman, both of them went into deep despair!

In the end, as Harvey Dent shouted “No!” in despair, he was saved.

However, half of his body had been burnt into a terrifying, distorted look. This also indicated that the White Knight of Gotham City had fallen after being deluded by the Joker.

“…If Mr. Roy, Batman, didn’t remind me back then.”

The Flash looked at Harvey Dent, who had devolved from the White Knight to Two-Face by the Joker and started killing the innocents, on the screen.

Suddenly, he remembered that he was like Harvey Dent. Under the Joker’s plan, he was devoured by his hatred. If it weren’t for Batman’s guidance, he might have already become a Nightmare Seed now.

“You’re fine now, Honey… Although the ending isn’t so good, I must remind you that it’s time for you to go to attend the joint event. You should leave,” said the old man.

“Leave? But the movie still hasn’t ended,” The Flash said.

“The Joker has already won.”

Nighthaven said this. It meant that the hope of Gotham City, Harvey Dent, had fallen. The future of the entire Gotham City was put on Batman’s shoulders again. His mortal body would be crushed by the pressure sooner or later, finally going towards death.

“Let’s go. We have to go and help that kid, Honey.” Nighthaven urged his contractor.

At the same time, the contractor of Falcon Huntress was also asking her hero to go to attend the joint event quickly.

“Miss, it’s time. You should go to the Flash’s world,” Diana urged her.

“Wait! There seems to be a twist.”

Falcon Huntress was watching very seriously as well. She just felt like the ending of this movie shouldn’t be that dark.

In the last part, with the trolley problem, everyone chose to sacrifice themselves to save the others. It showed the brilliance of humanity, moving Falcon Huntress.

The final fight between Batman and the Joker was also wonderful. Batman didn’t break his principle of not killing anyone in the end. He caught the Joker falling down the building with a grappling rope and hung him up.

When the Joker told Batman about the final trump card of the fallen Harvey Dent, Batman’s expression finally changed.

He rushed to the final ending of the entire movie, the trial of Two-Face… Harvey Dent.

Batman looked at the savior in front of his eyes, whom he had put his hopes in. Seeing him distorted by the Joker to such a degree, he couldn’t use words to express the pain and despair in his heart.

However, he was still Batman. In order to save Gordon’s son, who was kidnapped by Harvey, he jumped off the building with Harvey. Falling down from the building, Harvey also lost his life.

The whole movie came to an end here.

“The Joker won.”

Gordon spoke the minds of all the heroes in the theater. The hope of bringing Gotham City back to the right track and revitalizing the city was wiped out after Harvey’s transformation.

“People will lose hope,” Nighthaven said this at almost the same time as Gordon.

“They won’t.”

However, Batman replied softly, as if he had made up his mind.

“We can’t let the Joker succeed. Gotham City needs a real hero, not me. This city needs Harvey more… Nobody will know what he did. I’ll bear all of Harvey’s crimes.”

You’re the real hero!

Watching till this point, the Flash held his breath. He wanted to cry and shout. Gordon on the screen was also the same, but Batman was whatever Gotham City needed.

Batman was a hero that Gotham City didn’t deserve, but a hero they needed.

In the end, when Batman hopped on his motorcycle and drove towards the light under the chase of police and hounds… he carried all the sins of Gotham City with the body of a mortal.

“Mr. Letan, can I… be a hero like him?” the Flash asked with a tremor in his voice.

“You can, you most certainly can,” replied the old man softly.

The movie ended at this moment, but the heroes from the Supernova Pictures were still absorbed in the plot of The Dark Knight. They couldn’t pull themselves out even after a long time.

They should be leaving for the joint event of The Flash 2 now… However, the credits and magnificent background music suddenly stopped halfway through.

Hm? Was this the legendary post-credits scene? Herring was too focused just then, so she forgot that before she came, the movie ticket indicated that there would be a special Easter egg during this screening.

Then…

A face that made the hearts of all the heroes pound appeared on the screen. It was the Joker!

“The show is over here. I’m not just talking about me, but you as well…”

The Joker’s weird laugh resounded in the ears of the contractor of every superhero.

“There will be an interesting fight very soon, but you… are not suitable for being the troublemaker… If any of you leave here now, you’ll have to pay a small price.”

When the Joker said this, all the heroes were shocked. What price? The answer was obvious… They would lose their closest contractor.

Herring faintly heard some beeping sounds in her ears…

“He’s trying to stop me from going to the Flash’s world?”

“Mr. Letan, why are you here as well? Miss Diana… Does it mean that… Miss Falcon Huntress and the Flash are also in this theater? Then…”

The contractors watching the movie in the theater immediately noticed that people around them were all someone they knew. They were dumbfounded for a while, but they soon gathered around with the heroes to discuss countermeasures.

However, as they talked, it turned into a discussion about who exactly made this movie, The Dark Knight. They even started doing research.

Upon hearing that, Herring was speechless. She could only take out her phone and start watching the live broadcast of the Flash’s joint event.

The live broadcast had already begun. The only person in the entire Supernova League who had arrived in the Flash’s world was Supernova.

He slowly landed from the sky in the dark, as if he was wondering where the other heroes of the Supernova League were.

Supernova Pictures was urging the other heroes to come quickly! However, under the Joker’s threat, they dared not make a bet with their loved ones to attend a joint event.

“Supernova may be the only one who can go to the Flash’s joint event this time. The Joker said something about a battle. Who can Supernova fight with by himself?” Nighthaven’s contractor asked.

Suddenly, the shot changed. A black figure appeared in front of Supernova under cover of the night. It was… Batman.