Follow TV Tropes

Following

Quotes / The Dark Knight

Go To

"Why so serious?"
The Joker, just before he kills Gambol

"You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
Harvey Dent

"You know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying. If tomorrow I told the press that, like, a gang-banger would get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics. Because it's all part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!"
The Joker

James Gordon: Why is he running, Dad?
Commissioner Gordon: Because we have to chase him.
James Gordon: He didn't do anything wrong.
Commissioner Gordon: Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So, we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero: He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector... a Dark Knight.

"This town deserves a better class of criminal, and I'm gonna give it to em'."
The Joker

"You see madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!"
The Joker

"It's not about money... It's about sending a message. Everything burns."
The Joker

Bruce: I knew the mob wouldn't go down without a fight. But this is different, they crossed the line.
Alfred: You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them; you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation, they turned to a man they didn’t fully understand.
Bruce: Criminals aren't complicated, Alfred. We just need to figure out what he's after.
Alfred: With respect, Master Wayne, perhaps this is a man you don't fully understand either. A long time ago, I was in Burma, and my friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones. But their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So we went looking for the stones. But in six months, we never found anyone who traded with him. One day I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The bandit had been throwing them away.
Bruce: Then why steal them?
Alfred: Because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

Bruce: That bandit, in the forest in Burma; did you catch him?
Alfred: Yes.
Bruce: How?
Alfred: We burned the forest down.

"Buyer beware. I told you my compound would take you places. I never said they'd be places you wanted to go."
Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow

"Batman has no jurisdiction."
The Joker

Alfred: Know your limits, Master Wayne.
Bruce: Batman has no limits.

"Don't talk like you’re one of them! You're not - even if you'd like to be. To them, you're just a freak, like me. They need you right now, but when they don't, they'll cast you out - like a leper. See, their "morals", their "code"... it's a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these, ah, "civilized people"? They'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve."
The Joker

"Do you know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the little... emotions. Ya see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are... so in a way, I knew your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?"
The Joker

"That's not him."
(Tumbler bursts through the wall)
"That's more like it."
Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow (after he's attacked by a group of Bat impostors)

This is what happens when an unstoppable force...meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? Huh? You won't kill me... out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you... because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.
The Joker

Batman: You don't want to hurt the boy, Harvey.
Two-Face: It's not about what I want, it's about what's FAIR! You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time. But you were wrong. The world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased, unprejudiced, fair. His son has the same chance she had. Fifty-fifty.
Batman: What happened to Rachel wasn't chance. We decided to act. We three.
Two-Face: Then why was it me who was the only one who lost everything?
Batman: It wasn't.
Two-Face: The Joker chose me!
Gordon: The Joker won. All of Harvey's prosecutions, everything he fought for: undone. Whatever chance you gave us of fixing our city dies with Harvey's reputation. We bet it all on him. The Joker took the best of us and tore him down. People will lose hope.
Gordon: Five dead, two of them cops—you can't sweep that up.
Batman: But the Joker cannot win. Gotham needs its true hero.
Gordon: [understanding immediately] No!
Batman: "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." I can do those things, because I'm not a hero, not like Dent. I killed those people, that's what I can be.
Gordon: No, you can't! You're not!
Batman: I'm whatever Gotham needs me to be. Call it in.
Gordon: [voiceover, speaking at Dent's funeral] ...A hero. Not the hero we deserved, but the hero we needed. Nothing less than a knight. Shining... [to Batman] They'll hunt you.
Batman: You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me, set the dogs on me. Because that's what needs to happen. Because sometimes…the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.

Top