History Quotes / BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns

->'''Bruce Wayne:''' I've got the home stretch all to myself when the readings stop making sense. I switch to manual - but the computer crosses its own circuits and refuses to let go. I coax it. It shoves hot needles in my face and tries to make me blind. I'm in charge now and I like it. Then the front end lurches all wrong. I know what's coming. I've got just under two seconds to shut this mess down and forfeit the race. The engine, angry, argues the point with me. The finish line is '''close''' it roars. Too close. The left front tire decides to turn all on its own. I laugh at it and jerk the steering wheel to the right. The nose digs up a chunk of macadam. I look up at it - then straight into the eyes of the sun. This would be a '''good''' death... but not good '''enough'''.

->'''Bruce Wayne:''' "As we part, Jim squeezes my shoulder and grins. "You just need a woman," he says... In my gut the creature '''writhes''' and '''snarls''' and tells me what I need. I leave my car in the lot. I can't stand to be inside '''anything''' right now. I walk the streets of this city I'm learning to '''hate''', the city that's given up, like the whole world seems to have. I'm a '''zombie'''. A Flying Dutchman. A dead man, '''ten''' years dead... I'll feel better in the morning. At least, I'll feel it '''less'''... It's the '''night''' - when the city's smells call out to him, though I lie asleep in silk sheets in a million-dollar mansion miles away... when a police siren wakes me and, for a moment, I forget that it's all over... But '''Batman''' was a young man. If it was '''revenge''' he was after, he's '''taken''' it. It's been forty years since he was born... born '''here.''' Once again he's brought me '''back''', to show how '''little''' it's changed. It's older, dirtier, but... it could have happened yesterday. It could be happening right now. They could be lying at your feet, twitching, bleeding... and the man who stole all '''sense''' from your life... he could be standing '''right over there.''' It is him, it is. And we know so many ways to hurt him... so many lovely ways to punish him... No, it's '''not''' him. Not him. He '''flinched''' when he pulled the trigger. He was '''sick''' and '''guilty''' over what he did. All he wanted was '''money'''. I was naïve enough to think him the '''lowest''' sort of man. These - these are his '''children'''. A '''purer''' breed... and the world is '''theirs.'''"






->'''Bruce Wayne:''' "Something '''shuffles.''' Out of sight... something '''sucks''' the stale air... and '''hisses'''. Gliding with '''ancient''' grace, unwilling to '''retreat''' as his brothers did... eyes '''gleaming''', untouched by love or joy or sorrow... breath '''hot''' with the taste of fallen foes... the stench of '''dead''' things, '''damned''' things... surely the '''fiercest''' survivor - the '''purest''' warrior... glaring, '''hating''' claiming me as his '''own.''' Dreaming... I was only six years old when that happened. When I first saw the '''cave.''' Huge, empty, silent as a '''church''', '''waiting''', as the bat was waiting. And now the '''cobwebs''' grow and the dust '''thickens''' in here as it does in '''me''' - and he '''laughs''' at me, '''curses''' me. Calls me a '''fool.''' He fills my '''sleep''', he '''tricks''' me. Brings me here when the night is '''long''' and my will is '''weak.''' He '''struggles''' relentlessly, hatefully, to be '''free''' - I will not '''let''' him. I gave my '''word'''. For '''Jason.''' '''Never.''' '''Never''' again."





->'''Batman (to Bruce):''' The time has '''come'''. You know it in your '''soul'''. For '''I''' am your soul. You cannot '''escape''' me... You are '''puny''', you are '''small''' - you are '''nothing''' - a hollow '''shell''', a rusty '''trap''' that '''cannot''' hold me - you cannot '''stop''' me - not with wine or vows or with the weight of age - you cannot stop me but still you '''try''' - still you '''run''' - you try to drown me out... but your voice is '''weak'''."





->'''Batman:''' "This should be '''agony'''. I should be a '''mass''' of aching muscle -- broken, spent, unable to '''move'''. And were I an '''older''' man, I surely '''would'''... But I'm a '''man''' of '''thirty''' -- of '''twenty''' again. The rain on my chest is a '''baptism'''-- I'm '''born''' again... I smell their '''fear''' -- and it is '''sweet'''."''

->'''Batman:''' "There are seven working defenses from this position. Three of them disarm with minimal contact. Three of them kill. The other--'' (Batman drives the heel of his boot into his attacker's ribcage) ''--'''hurts'''.''"

->'''Batman:''' "You don't get it, son. This isn't a mud hole…it's an ''operating table.'' And ''I'm'' the '''surgeon.'''"
--> -''One of the most definitive HesBack lines in history.''

->'''Batman:''' "I'll count the dead, one by one. I'll add them to the list, Joker. The list of all the people I've '''murdered''' - by letting you live."

->'''Batman:''' (while breaking a shotgun he just seized from the leader of the S.O.B.s): "This loud, clumsy '''stupid''' thing.'''This''' is the weapon of the '''enemy'''. We do not '''need''' it. We will not '''use''' it. Our weapons are '''quiet -- precise'''. In time, I will teach them to you. Tonight, you will rely on your '''fists''' -- and your '''brains'''. Tonight, '''we''' are the law. Tonight, '''I''' am the Law. Let's ride."
-->-- Batman revealing himself to the [=SoBs=]. The panel in which the first three sentences appears was in common circulation after the Aurora shootings.








->'''Batman:''' "Keep talking, Clark... you've always known just what to say. "'''Yes'''." You always say yes to anyone with a '''badge'''- or a '''flag'''... it's way past time you learned what it means to be a '''man.'''








->'''Batman:''' "You sold us out, Clark. You gave them the '''power''' that should've been '''ours'''. Just like your parents taught you to. My parents taught me a '''different''' lesson - lying on this '''street''' - '''shaking''' in deep '''shock''' - dying for no reason at '''all''' - they showed me the world only makes '''sense''' when you '''force''' it to."







->'''Batman:''' ...I want you...to '''remember''', Clark... in all the years to come... in your most '''private''' moments... I want you to '''remember'''...my '''hand'''...at your '''throat'''... I want you to '''remember'''... the one man who '''beat''' you...






->'''Batman:''' My timing wasn't quite '''precise''' enough. Clark '''heard.''' That was the first thing Robin told me when she dug me up. Not that it '''mattered'''. He'd have guessed sooner or later. He knows how good I am with '''chemicals'''. I was counting on what Oliver said, and with a '''wink''', Clark proved Oliver '''right'''. He'll leave me alone now. In return, I'll stay '''quiet'''. So will Robin and the rest... we have as many years as we need... '''years''' - to '''study''', to '''train''', to '''plan'''... here, in the endless cave, far past the burnt remains of a crimefighter whose time has long passed - it begins '''here''', an '''army''' - to bring sense to a world plagued by worse than thieves and murderers... this will be a '''good''' life. Good '''enough.'''

->'''Batman:''" My timing wasn't quite '''precise''' enough. Clark '''heard.''' That was the first thing Robin told me when she dug me up. Not that it '''mattered'''. He'd have guessed sooner or later. He knows how good I am with '''chemicals'''. I was counting on what Oliver said, and with a '''wink''', Clark proved Oliver '''right'''. He'll leave me alone now. In return, I'll stay '''quiet'''. So will Robin and the rest... we have as many years as we need... '''years''' - to '''study''', to '''train''', to '''plan'''... here, in the endless cave, far past the burnt remains of a crimefighter whose time has long passed - it begins '''here''', an '''army''' - to bring sense to a world plagued by worse than thieves and murderers... this will be a '''good''' life. Good '''enough.'''

->'''Batman:''" My timing wasn't quite '''precise''' enough. Clark ''heard.'' That was the first thing Robin told me when she dug me up. Not that it '''mattered'''. He'd have guessed sooner or later. He knows how good I am with '''chemicals'''. I was counting on what Oliver said, and with a '''wink''', Clark proved Oliver '''right'''. He'll leave me alone now. In return, I'll stay '''quiet'''. So will Robin and the rest... we have as many years as we need... '''years''' - to '''study''', to '''train''', to '''plan'''... here, in the endless cave, far past the burnt remains of a crimefighter whose time has long passed - it begins '''here''', an '''army''' - to bring sense to a world plagued by worse than thieves and murderers... this will be a '''good''' life. Good '''enough.'''

->'''Batman:'' My timing wasn't quite '''precise''' enough. Clark ''heard.'' That was the first thing Robin told me when she dug me up. Not that it '''mattered'''. He'd have guessed sooner or later. He knows how good I am with '''chemicals'''. I was counting on what Oliver said, and with a '''wink''', Clark proved Oliver '''right'''. He'll leave me alone now. In return, I'll stay '''quiet'''. So will Robin and the rest... we have as many years as we need... '''years''' - to '''study''', to '''train''', to '''plan'''... here, in the endless cave, far past the burnt remains of a crimefighter whose time has long passed - it begins '''here''', an '''army''' - to bring sense to a world plagued by worse than thieves and murderers... this will be a '''good''' life. Good '''enough.'''

->'''Jim Gordon:''' "Still, huh? I'm damn sorry about that. Especially with [[DeadSidekick what happened to Jason...]"

->'''Bruce Wayne:''' "As we part, Jim squeezes my shoulder and grins. "You just need a woman," he says... In my gut the creature '''writhes''' and '''snarls''' and tells me what I need. I leave my car in the lot. I can't stand to be inside '''anything''' right now. I walk the streets of this city I'm learning to '''hate''', the city that's given up, like the whole world seems to have. I'm a '''zombie'''. A Flying Dutchman. A dead man, '''ten''' years dead... I'll feel better in the morning. At least, I'll feel it '''less'''... It's the '''night''' - when the city's smells call out to him, though I lie asleep in silk sheets in a million-dollar mansion miles away... when a police siren wakes me and, for a moment, I forget that it's all over... But '''Batman''' was a young man. If it was '''revenge''' he was after, he's '''taken''' it. It's been forty years since he was born... born ''here.'' Once again he's brought me '''back''', to show how '''little''' it's changed. It's older, dirtier, but... it could have happened yesterday. It could be happening right now. They could be lying at your feet, twitching, bleeding... and the man who stole all '''sense''' from your life... he could be standing '''right over there.''' It is him, it is. And we know so many ways to hurt him... so many lovely ways to punish him... No, it's '''not''' him. Not him. He '''flinched''' when he pulled the trigger. He was '''sick''' and '''guilty''' over what he did. All he wanted was '''money'''. I was naïve enough to think him the '''lowest''' sort of man. These - these are his '''children'''. A '''purer''' breed... and the world is '''theirs.'''"





->'''Bruce Wayne:''' "Something '''shuffles.''' Out of sight... something '''sucks''' the stale air... and '''hisses'''. Gliding with '''ancient''' grace, unwilling to '''retreat''' as his brothers did... eyes '''gleaming''', untouched by love or joy or sorrow... breath '''hot''' with the taste of fallen foes... the stench of '''dead''' things, '''damned''' things... surely the '''fiercest''' survivor - the '''purest''' warrior... glaring, '''hating''' claiming me as his '''own.''' Dreaming... I was only six years old when that happened. When I first saw the '''cave.''' Huge, empty, silent as a '''church''', '''waiting''', as the bat was waiting. And now the '''cobwebs''' grow and the dust '''thickens''' in here as it does in '''me''' - and he '''laughs''' at me, '''curses''' me. Calls me a '''fool.''' He fills my '''sleep''', he '''tricks''' me. Brings me here when the night is '''long''' and my will is '''weak.''' He '''struggles''' relentlessly, hatefully, to be '''free''' - I will not '''let''' him. I gave my '''word'''. For '''Jason.''' '''Never.''' '''Never''' again.





->'''Batman (to Bruce):''' The time has '''come'''. You know it in your '''soul'''. For '''I''' am your soul. You cannot '''escape''' me... You are '''puny''', you are '''small''' - you are '''nothing''' - a hollow '''shell''', a rusty '''trap''' that '''cannot''' hold me - you cannot '''stop''' me - not with wine or vows or with the weight of age - you cannot stop me but still you '''try''' - still you '''run''' - you try to drown me out... but your voice is '''weak'''.

->'''GCPD Officer''': (After Batman paralyzes one of Two-Face's {{Mooks}}) You just crippled that man!
->'''Batman''': He's young. He'll probably walk again. But you'll stay ''scared'' - won't you, punk?





->'''Batman:''' "There are seven working defenses from this position. Three of them disarm with minimal contact. Three of them kill. The other--'' (Batman drives the heel of his boot into his attacker's ribcage) ''--'''hurts'''."''





->'''Alfred (to Batman about recruiting Carrie):''' Have you forgotten what happened to [[DeadSidekick Jason]]?
->'''Batman:''' I will never forget Jason. He was a good soldier. He honored me. But the war goes on.

->'''Batman:''' I'll count the dead, one by one. I'll add them to the list, Joker. The list of all the people I've '''murdered''' - by letting you live.

->'''GCPD Officer''': (After Batman paralyzes one of Two-Face's {{Mooks}}) You just crippled that man!
->'''Batman''': He's young. He'll probably walk again. But you'll stay ''scared'' - won't you, punk?

->'''Batman:''' "Keep talking, Clark... you've always known just what to say. "''Yes''." You always say yes to anyone with a ''badge''- or a ''flag''... it's way past time you learned what it means to be a ''man.''

->'''Batman:''' "You sold us out, Clark. You gave them the '''power''' that should've been '''ours'''. Just like your parents taught you to. My parents taught me a '''different''' lesson - lying on this ''street'' - '''shaking''' in deep '''shock''' - dying for no reason at '''all''' - they showed me the world only makes '''sense''' when you '''force''' it to."

->'''Joker:''': (Has just gotten three batarangs to his body and [[EyeScream eye]]) "[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND]]??"
->'''Batman:''': "[[NotAGame I'm through playing]] Joker!"
->'''Joker:''': (Smiles) "Be still my heart."

->''"This should be '''agony'''. I should be a '''mass''' of aching muscle -- broken, spent, unable to '''move'''. And were I an '''older''' man, I surely '''would'''... But I'm a '''man''' of '''thirty''' -- of '''twenty''' again. The rain on my chest is a '''baptism'''-- I'm '''born''' again... I smell their '''fear''' -- and it is '''sweet'''.''

->"There are seven working defenses from this position. Three of them disarm with minimal contact. Three of them kill. The other--'' (Batman drives the heel of his boot into his attacker's ribcage) ''--'''hurts'''."''

->''"This should be '''agony'''. I should be a '''mass''' of aching muscle -- broken, spent, unable to '''move'''. And were I an '''older''' man, I surely '''would'''... But I'm a '''man''' of '''thirty''' -- of '''twenty''' again. The rain on my chest is a '''baptism'''-- I'm '''born''' again... I smell their '''fear''' -- and it is '''sweet'''.



->"There are seven working defenses from this position. Three of them disarm with minimal contact. Three of them kill. The other--'' (Batman drives the heel of his boot into his attacker's ribcage) ''--'''hurts'''."

->'''Batman:''' (while breaking a shotgun he just seized from the leader of the S.O.B.s): This loud, clumsy '''stupid''' thing.'''This''' is the weapon of the '''enemy'''. We do not '''need''' it. We will not '''use''' it. Our weapons are '''quiet -- precise'''. In time, I will teach them to you. Tonight, you will rely on your '''fists''' -- and your '''brains'''. Tonight, '''we''' are the law. Tonight, '''I''' am the Law. Let's ride.

->'''Batman:''' (while breaking a shotgun he just seized from the leader of the S.O.B.s): '''This''' is the weapon of the '''enemy'''. We do not '''need''' it. We will not '''use''' it. Our weapons are '''quiet -- precise'''. In time, I will teach them to you. Tonight, you will rely on your '''fists''' -- and your '''brains'''. Tonight, '''we''' are the law. Tonight, '''I''' am the Law. Let's ride.

--> -''One of the definitive HesBack lines in history.''

--> ''One of the definitive HesBack lines in history.''

-> "You don't get it, son. This isn't a mud hole…it's an ''operating table.'' And I'm the '''surgeon.'''"

-> ''"All of our best and oldest legends recognize that time passes and that people grow old and die. The legend of Robin Hood would not be complete without the final blind arrow shot to determine the site of his grave. The Norse Legends would lose much of their power were it not for the knowledge of an eventual Ragnarek, as would the story of Davy Crockett without the existence of an Alamo. In comic books, however, given the commercial fact that a given character will still have to sell to a given audience in ten years' time, these elements are missing. The characters remain in the perpetual limbo of their mid-to-late twenties, and the presence of death in their world is at best a temporary and reversible phenomenon. With Dark Knight, time has come to the Batman and the capstone that makes legends what they are has finally been fitted. In his engrossing story of a great man's final and greatest battle, Miller has managed to create something radiant which should hopefully illuminate things for the rest of the comic book field, casting a new light upon the problems which face all of us working within the industry and perhaps even guiding us towards some fresh solutions."''

--> Batman revealing himself to the [=SoBs=]. The panel in which the first three sentences appears was in common circulation after the Aurora shootings.