PART TWO: DARKNESS SPREADS
CAPTION: 22 YEARS AGO
EXT. INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, NIGHT - Wide shot of the industrial building where Batman and Joker were killed in the explosion, the rubble is still smoldering. There is nothing left and no sign of life.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I got a call from Barbara shortly after the explosion.
INT. BAT CAVE, NIGHT – Barbara is calling Gordon on her phone.
BARBARA:
Dad, something has happened to Batman.
EXT. INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, NIGHT - A younger-looking Gordon and his partner, DETECTIVE HARVEY BULLOCK, get out of their car. Harvey is a heavy-set man, who doesn't look after himself. He is in a suit and trench coat the same as Gordons but brown, stained and disheveled. He has scruffy brown hair coming out from underneath his hat. They are both shocked at what they are looking at.
GORDON (NARRATES):
My partner Harvey and I were the first to arrive on scene.
Gordon and Bullock walk through the burning debris, between mounds of black ash that are still smoking.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Luckily the building Joker chose was old, mostly wood and metal. It burnt to rubble, making it easier to locate the bodies.
Gordon and Bullock stand on top of a small hill of wreckage, below them is a bed of dead bodies. Most of them lay around the outskirts of circle shape they were in when it exploded, with two charred bodies in the center.
GORDON (NARRATES):
There they were, exactly as Barbara described. I still remember that smell. It was awful.
Gordon steps into the circle of dead men.
GORDON (NARRATES):
It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. All those bodies burnt to a crisp.
Gordon stands over the corpses of Batman and Joker. They appear to be facing one another.
GORDON (NARRATES):
It was almost poetic, two men facing off in a game of death.
Gordon stands, tranced by what he is seeing. His partner yells out from behind.
HARVEY BULLOCK:
What a mess! Should we call it in?
Close up of Batman's body, burnt badly and still smoking. He still looks noble even in death.
Close up of Gordon's face, looking down at his one true ally. He isn't crying. He's emotionless.
Zoom out. Harvey is unmoved by the whole scene. He pulls a cigarette packet from his jacket pocket.
HARVEY BULLOCK:
Gordon? What d'ya want to do? Want me to make the call?
Gordon snaps out of his trance and turns to Bullock.
GORDON:
No wait, not yet.
Close up of Gordon's face. Knowing what the right decision is, he looks down at Batman's body with a respectful smile.
GORDON:
We need to hide the body.
Harvey, now with a cigarette in his mouth, is stunned and confused scratching his hair from underneath his hat.
HARVEY BULLOCK:
What? Why?
Gordon turns back to face his partner.
GORDON:
Batman lived and died for this city. We need to uphold his legacy. Help me carry him.
Gordon and Harvey carry Batman's body away from the scene. They leave Joker as he lay, seemingly still smiling.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Batman never got the funeral he deserved. I robbed him of that.
They put the body in the back seat of their car and cover him with a blanket.
GORDON (NARRATES):
But I couldn't let him die in vain.
INT. GORDON'S CAR, NIGHT: Harvey is in the front passenger seat, turned slightly to look at the body lying on in the back.
GORDON (NARRATES):
It took all my effort to convince Harvey not to remove the mask.
EXT. DOWNTOWN, BACK ALLEY, NIGHT - Two cars, one is Gordon's, parked side by side in a dark alley.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I called Barbara and she took Batman's body home to be buried.
Gordon and Barbara hug. She looks to be crying into his shoulder.
GORDON (NARRATES):
She was sad but knew just as I did, what had to be done.
EXT. INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, SUNRISE - Wide shot, the same burned down building as we saw earlier with less smoke. The sun is coming up. There are now a dozen cop cars scattered around the bomb site.
GORDON (NARRATES):
By the time we arrived back at the scene, the place was swarming. The explosion must have been heard from miles away.
Gordon and Harvey get out of their car, police and paramedics are running around frantically.
GORDON (NARRATES):
No one could believe what had happened.
Gordon looks over the car at Harvey, who is looking back at him. It is a mutual agreement they will never speak of what just happened.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Neither could we.
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, DAY - A fat newspaper vendor is holding up the daily Gotham Gazette, it reads "MASS MOB MURDER, BATMAN SUSPECT". The story is credited to Vicky Vale.
GORDON (NARRATES):
The next day, the papers declared Batman as the killer.
People on the street gather around the stand with their newspapers held closely to their faces. They are all reading the same story intently. One of the readers has the inside of their newspaper facing us, inside there is a sub-story with the heading "CORONER UNABLE TO IDENTIFY JOKER'S BODY".
GORDON (NARRATES):
Vicky Vale took the angle that he finally snapped, killing Joker and the others in a bid to rid the city of criminal activity.
INT. GCPD MAIN HALL, day: Gordon is sitting at his desk reading the same newspaper story, as are all the cops in the building.
GORDON (NARRATES):
The media had a field day with the news. It had all the remaining criminals in Gotham running scared.
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, NIGHT – It's raining in an empty street, there is not a person in sight.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Overnight, crime in Gotham came to a complete stop.
Switch to a shot of the police holding cell in the GCPD. It's empty.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Batman's final gift to the city he loved.
EXT. THE BATCAVE, NIGHT – The Batcave appears to be completely empty. Abandoned.
GORDON (NARRATES):
But his death also caused a lot of problems.
Zoom in closer; we can make out a figure in a dark corner of the room. It is Barbara Gordon, huddled up on the ground, wrapped in a blanket.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Especially for Barbara. She did not cope well with the loss.
Zoom in even closer. Barbara is sitting against the wall with her arms crossed over her knees and her head buried in her arms. She is crying. Alone.
GORDON (NARRATES):
She became depressed. She would hardly talk to me.
EXT. JIM GORDON'S HOME, DAY - Barbara is there, she looks tired and frail, her and her father seem to be having an argument.
GORDON (NARRATES):
At least not without screaming. She blamed me. She needed to blame someone, and Joker was dead.
Close up of Barbara, she is yelling and pointing at Gordon.
GORDON (NARRATES):
She couldn't live with the fact we covered up Batman's death.
Barbara goes from angry to sad, covering her face with her hand. She is crying.
GORDON (NARRATES):
She wanted him to have a heroes' burial. The one he deserved.
Barbara leaves; Gordon watches her walk away from the front window.
GORDON (NARRATES):
But deep down she understood why it had to be done.
INT: GORDON'S HOME, MORNING - No one in the house, just a note on the kitchen table.
GORDON (NARRATES):
We had a big argument about it, and then a few days later she was gone.
Gordon is sitting on his living room couch, reading the note. He is sad.
GORDON (NARRATES):
She left a note. She didn't mention where she was going or when she'd be back. Just that she had to get away.
With the note in his hand, Gordon drops his arms to the sides of the couch. He sits, staring blankly. Numb.
GORDON (NARRATES):
From then, everything got even worse.
Switch to Gordon's television. A newsreader sits at his desk. The story headline reads "CRIME AT ALL-TIME HIGH SINCE JOKER'S DEATH".
NEWSREADER:
Now everyone is wondering, where exactly is Batman?
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, DAY - A teenage hoodlum steels an old lady's handbag.
GORDON (NARRATES):
No one had seen Batman since the incident with Joker.
INT. LIQUOR STORE, NIGHT - A different masked criminal robs a liquor store at gun point.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Gotham's criminals slowly stopped being afraid.
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, DAY - A gang of heavily armed criminals run from a bank, holding bags of money. They are wearing pig masks.
GORDON (NARRATES):
The gangs soon realized no one was around to stop them.
Close up of another Gotham Gazette from the same newspaper stand, it reads "BATMAN STILL MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD".
GORDON (NARRATES):
Eventually rumors started that Batman probably died in the explosion with Joker.
INT. GCPD MAIN HALL, DAY - Gordon is sitting at his desk, looking at his partner Harvey with suspicion. Harvey has suspicious bruises and cuts on his face, he looks at Gordon sheepishly.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I had my suspicions of who let the information slip.
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, NIGHT - Harvey is walking alone by himself down a dark alley. He is huddled up to avoid the cold winds that are blowing his jacket. His shadow projects down the street ahead of him.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Harvey Bullock was a good cop.
INT. OLD BAR, NIGHT - Harvey sits alone at the bar, drinking whisky and smoking a cigarette.
GORDON (NARRATES):
But as a man, he had flaws.
INT. CLUB BASEMENT, NIGHT - Harvey sits at a poker table, surrounded by suspicious-looking characters.
GORDON (NARRATES):
If he wasn't drinking, he was gambling. Usually it was both.
Harvey, having just lost a big hand of poker, sits with his face in his hands.
GORDON (NARRATES):
He got himself into a lot of trouble.
Harvey is held against a wall by someone, his face is bloody and bruised.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I assume he tried to use the information about Batman's death to save his own skin.
INT: GCPD MAIN HALL, DAY - Harvey sits at his desk opposite Gordon, he is battered and bruised.
GORDON (NARRATES):
It may have even saved him once or twice, but Harvey never knew when to quit.
INT. HARVEY BULLOCK'S HOME, BATHROOM: The house is small and an absolute mess. Half-eaten takeaway boxes and beer bottles are scattered around. We can see Harvey Bullock's body hanging by his neck from the shower rail, his feet dragging at the bottom of the bathtub.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Months later we found him dead. Hanging by his neck in the shower.
Gordon looks over at a folded note, sitting on the bathroom bench. It reads "I'M SORRY".
GORDON (NARRATES):
It was filed as suicide, but I suspected murder. Neither would have surprised me.
Gordon watches as his partner is taken out in a body bag by the paramedics. His hands are in his pockets and his head is down; sad and disappointed.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Things got even worse.
INT. GCPD CELL ROOM, NIGHT – Gordon leads a random criminal into a cell. The holding cells now appear to be overcrowded with criminals.
GORDON (NARRATES):
The tides had completely turned.
INT. GCPD MAIN HALL, DAY – Gordon is reading another newspaper, we can see the front page from in front of him, it reads "GANG WARS ESCALATE".
GORDON (NARRATES):
With Batman gone and Joker out of the picture, the streets were up for the taking. No one was safe.
We switch to a view from behind Gordon and see the story he is reading inside. The headline reads, "BRUCE WAYNE LEADS 10-YEAR EXPEDITION IN ANTARCTICA"
GORDON (NARRATES):
Even Gotham's elite were fleeing the city.
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, DAY – A gang of masked criminals shoot into the distance with machine guns.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Within three years the streets became ruled by two new gangs.
INT. SHIPPING YARD OFFICE, NIGHT – A yellow rubber duck sits on a table, among items like guns, bullets, money and a knife.
GORDON (NARRATES):
A lowly mobster by the name of Penguin ran his operations from the docks. He was primarily involved with robbery and the arms trade.
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, DAY – A large green question mark is spray-painted on a brick wall.
GORDON (NARRATES):
The other was a mastermind by the name of Riddler, who was more of an anarchist than a criminal. He specialized in computer hacking and security infiltration.
EXT. SHIPPING YARD, NIGHT – Zoomed out, bird's eye shot. There is a stand-off between police and Penguin's gang.
GORDON (NARRATES):
They were two very different kinds of criminal. Both extremely dangerous.
Closer look, we see the gang of heavily armed criminals, all dressed in purple, wearing bulletproof vests and firing machine guns.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Penguin's men were always heavily armed.
Switch to the police squad being shot at. A younger looking Gordon is there with them, taking cover against the rapid fire.
GORDON (NARRATES):
They hit with force and weren't afraid to fight back.
EXT. GOTHAM CITY BANK, DAY – A group of police stand inside a large bank safe; the shelves are completely empty and the deposit box doors on the wall are all unhinged and empty as well.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Riddler's men were a different kettle of fish entirely.
Gordon is standing inside the bank with the other officers, scratching his head, staring at the bare room. There is a small green question mark spray-painted to the wall.
GORDON (NARRATES):
We didn't see them coming and they rarely left a trace.
INT. GCPD BUILDING MAIN HALL, DAY – Gordon and his men are standing around a map of Gotham City; it is covered with different purple and green pins, marking the locations of various crimes.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Between the two of them, we had our work cut out for us.
EXT. SHIPPING YARD, NIGHT – Gordon and his men have overpowered some of Penguin's crew and are arresting them.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Sure, we won a few battles.
INT. GCPD BUILDING MAIN HALL, DAY – Gordon and his men are again standing around the same map of the city, this time there are even more pins scattered around the map.
GORDON (NARRATES):
But without Batman, we were losing the war.
CAPTION: PRESENT DAY
EXT. GCPD BUILDING, ROOF, SUNSET – DORA SMITHY, a young woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes opens the door to the roof and pokes her head out.
DORA:
I thought I'd find you here Commissioner.
Gordon does not even turn to face the woman.
GORDON:
Dora, I'm not the Commissioner anymore. I told you this, I'm just an advisor. What is it?
Dora opens the door wider. She is wearing professional-looking business attire, white blouse and tight blue skirt, the kind you associate with a secretary.
DORA:
Sorry... Jim. They're setting up in the briefing room. They said they're ready for you.
Gordon throws his cigar on the ground and crushes it with his heel. He keeps looking straight ahead over the city, not turning back to address her.
GORDON:
OK, I'll be down in a minute. Thank you.
Gordon keeps looking out into the distance, almost smiling as he thinks; Dora goes back inside and closes the door.
GORDON (THOUGHT):
Batman was certainly dead, but the legend lived on.
CAPTION: 18 YEARS AGO
EXT. DARK ALLEY IN GOTHAM, NIGHT - Two masked criminals are running down a dark alley.
Close up of the criminals squatting next to one another behind a parked car at the end of the alley, they are looking through their bags of loot.
CRIMINAL #1:
How'd you do?
CRIMINAL #2:
Cleared two cases.
The two criminals fist bump one another. They are happy and relieved.
CRIMINAL #1:
I told you it would be a walk in the park.
CRIMINAL #2:
No tail. Looks like we made a clean escape.
The criminals look up, shocked that someone is watching them from the rooftop.
UNKNOWN FIGURE (VOICE):
I wouldn't be so sure.
Switch to the top of the building. A dark figure is perched on the ledge above them. It looks like it could be Batman.
Close up of one of the criminals. He is shocked and scared.
CRIMINAL #1:
Holy s%$t! It's the Bat! I thought he was dead.
The second criminal is not scared, instead he pulls his gun.
CRIMINAL #2:
Batman IS dead. This is just another one of them second-rate copycats.
The two criminals begin to shoot at the mysterious figure.
What still appears to be Batman, leaps gracefully from the ledge and swings from the fire escape on the side of the building, dodging all bullets that fly past.
The mysterious figure lands in front of the men, squatting in Batman's signature pose.
We switch back to the two criminals, both of their guns click repeatedly, they are out of ammo and now looking scared.
SFX:
Click, Click, Click
We switch back to the mysterious figure, who is now standing upright. This is our first glimpse of Batman in a new costume. The costume appears much more futuristic with touches of red amongst the black; sleeker and with more mechanical parts.
Most notably, no cape.
One of the criminals is scared stiff at what he is seeing. The other criminal reaches for something in his vest.
CRIMINAL #1:
It's really is him! The son of a bitch is alive!
The second criminal pulls a second smaller pistol and points it at Batman.
CRIMINAL #2:
Not for long!
Batman pulls a Batarang from his utility belt and flicks it at the gun.
The Batarang knocks the gun out of the criminal's hand. They are both shocked at how quickly it all happened.
With no other weapons available, the two criminals lunge at Batman to try and overpower him.
Batman ducks and weaves, before knocking them both down.
Batman stands above the two bodies, readjusting his glove, they are both unconscious on the ground.
EXT: DARK ALLEY IN GOTHAM, NEXT DAY - Commissioner Gordon is standing next to his men; they are all looking up at something. Gordon is scratching his head, bemused at what he is looking at.
GORDON (NARRATES):
That morning, I couldn't believe my eyes.
Switch to the two criminals we saw the night before, now conscious but confused about where they are. They are tied together, dangling upside down from the fire escape at the end of the alley.
CRIMINAL #1:
Urgh. What happened?
CRIMINAL #2:
Get us down from here!
The criminals are now down on the ground and one of them is being walked away in handcuffs.
CRIMINAL #2:
It was Batman I tell ya! He's back from the dead!
Gordon looks down at the ground in the alley, studying something.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I knew it was impossible. I saw Batman's body after all.
On the ground lays a Batarang. It is glimmering in the sun, and sharp as a tack.
Gordon picks up the Batarang from the ground and studies it closely.
GORDON (NARRATES):
But everything about it seemed so genuine.
INT. GORDON'S HOME, DAY – Gordon is sitting at his dining table, reading a newspaper. The headline reads, "MULTIPLE BATMAN SIGHTINGS".
GORDON:
Whoever this copycat is, they've done their homework.
Gordon puts his newspaper down and takes a sip of his coffee. Behind him the doorbell rings. He looks out the corner of his eye with surprise.
SFX:
DING DONG
Gordon opens the door and standing there is his daughter Barbara. She looks a little older now. Her hair is cut very short, almost shaved.
Gordon's face lights up, like he is about to cry with happiness.
GORDON:
Barbara! I've been so worried!
Gordon embraces her like he does not want to let go.
While hugging, we see a close up of Gordon's face, he looks deeply concerned.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I knew immediately the timing of her return wasn't a coincidence.
We see that Barbara also has a look of concern on her face.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I knew why she was back and what she was here to do.
EXT. BUILDING TOP, RAINING, NIGHT – The new-look Batman is huddled on the roof of a building. A full moon glows in the background.
GORDON (NARRATES):
The city needed a hero to believe in again.
Barbara pulls the Batman mask off her face. We can clearly see her in the suit now.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Through Barbara, Batman's legacy lived on.
With the mask back on, Batman launches from a rooftop. The Bat Signal shines in the distance.
GORDON (NARRATES):
She never ran away. She went somewhere to train. Preparing for what was coming.
We see a montage of Batman fighting bad guys, ducking and weaving punches and bullets.
GORDON (NARRATES):
She became the Batman we needed.
INT. GORDON'S HOME KITCHEN, DAY – Gordon sits on one side of a round dining table. It is not a big table, just large enough for two. Barbara is sitting at the other side, eating the breakfast he has made for her.
GORDON (NARRATES):
During the early stages, I didn't know what to say to her.
Gordon reaches out and touches her hand. He wants to reassure her that he knows. He looks concerned behind a tight-lipped smile.
GORDON (NARRATES):
As her father, I desperately wanted her to stop. I wanted to keep her safe.
Barbara smiles. She knows what he wants to say.
GORDON (NARRATES):
But as a cop I knew what she was doing was necessary.
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, NIGHT - Gordon and his men arrive at a crime scene, only to find a group of criminals bound together.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Besides, she was good at it.
INT. GCPD MAIN HALL: We see Gordon standing in front of his map; there is a fraction of the purple and green pins as before – signifying a decline in criminal activity.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Within a year of being back, crime was at its lowest point since the original Batman was around.
EXT. UNDERGROUND SEWERS, NIGHT – We get a view from a grimy sewer tunnel, which leads into a central room. There are lights shining from the room entrance.
GORDON (NARRATES):
But in order to become our hero, Barbara also made some powerful enemies.
INT. SEWER HEADQUARTERS, NIGHT – The headquarters is made on a raised platform within the sewer chamber. Sewer tunnels spread off in every direction. PENGUIN standing at the end of a table, he is addressing a room of thugs.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Penguin's operations suffered most from Batman's return.
Close up of Penguin speaking. His face is quite scary; horribly yellow and sharpish teeth, and his nose forms the sharp look of a beak. His skin is pale white and his eyes are black.
PENGUIN:
I gavered you all 'ere today because we 'ave a very big problem.
He points his cane to the roof, showing off the sewer chamber.
PENGUIN:
It's the same reason we're hiding down 'ere in the sewers instead of out there.
Penguin slams his fist against the table, barking like a rabid animal.
PENGUIN:
This new Batman needs to go!
Penguin stares down the other end of the table, as though he is looking directly at the reader.
PENGUIN:
Surely with your brains an' my brawn, we can come up with a plan. Any ideas?
We switch views to see the other end of the table, there is a television screen. It is broadcasting RIDDLER from another location. Wearing his signature green 3-piece suit, a bowler hat, gloves and round wire-frame glasses. He is sitting with his legs crossed and arms folded, smiling to himself.
RIDDLER:
Oswald, I can assure you this Batman won't be a problem for much longer. Even the world's greatest detective is no match for me.
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, NIGHT - Batman is perched at the top of a building, looking down at a truck parked next to a sewer
entrance. Penguin's men are unloading cargo from the truck and taking it down the sewer manhole.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Barbara was usually very careful. But even she couldn't predict that Penguin and Riddler would team up to take her down.
Batman glides off the top of the building.
GORDON (NARRATES):
For her it seemed like business as usual.
Batman swiftly dives through the manhole.
GORDON (NARRATES):
She wasn't expecting what was to come. None of us were.
INT. SEWER TUNNEL, NIGHT - Batman stands in an empty sewer. There is no sign of Penguin or his men.
A speaker in the roof of the sewer starts to make noise.
RIDDLER (VOICEOVER):
Do you like puzzles Batman?
Batman is taken by surprise and looks up towards the speaker.
BATMAN:
Riddler.
INT. UNKNOWN LOCATION, NIGHT – Riddler is cooped up in a small office space with computer monitors all around him. They show different camera footage from within the sewer system, and on one of them we can see Batman listening. Riddler has his back to us and is speaking into an old-school microphone transmitter.
RIDDLER:
I'm quite fond of mazes myself. They're like visual riddles.
INT. SEWER TUNNEL, NIGHT - Batman realizes it's a trap, and pulls the grapple gun from her belt. She shoots it at the manhole opening, trying to escape.
The grappling hook hits the manhole cover and bounces off, it is clearly sealed shut. On the manhole cover we can now see the numbers "266767483" painted in green. Beneath that is the actual manhole reference number "GC45".
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, NIGHT – One of Penguin's men is above the manhole that Batman just went down and is welding it shut, he has a welding mask over his face. Down the street we can see other men doing the same thing to all other manhole covers.
RIDDLER (VOICEOVER):
Right now, that manhole is being welded shut...
INT. SEWER TUNNEL, NIGHT - Batman looks down the sewer tunnel, loud clunking noises are heard all the way down.
SFX:
Clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk…
RIDDLER (VOICEOVER):
As are all the exit points around Gotham, all bar one.
Batman starts running down the sewer tunnel.
RIDDLER (VOICE OVER):
The challenge is to use the clues to find your way out alive.
Batman clings to a wall; around the corner we see some of Penguin's men. They are carrying bats and searching for her.
HENCHMAN #1:
Come out to play Bats!
RIDDLER (VOICEOVER):
As you can see, there are some other rats involved in this race.
Batman attacks the henchmen.
Batman takes all three of them out easily, standing above them.
RIDDLER (VOICE OVER):
Good job, but unfortunately every time you take out our men, more will be sent in their place.
Batman keeps running down the tunnels.
RIDDLER (VOICE OVER):
More will enter every hour as well, each with a new and more deadly range of weapons.
Batman is running towards us and a gunshot ricochets the wall next to her. In the distance we see several men holding big guns. Batman is starting to panic.
RIDDLER (VOICE OVER):
The longer you're in there, the harder it will be to survive.
Batman continues running through the sewers, her eyes darting in all directions. She has clearly been in there a long time, very dirty and tired.
GORDON (NARRATES):
God knows how long Barbara was down there, running for her life.
Batman falls back against a wall; around the corner we can see more henchmen running towards her; this time with large machine guns. Her head is looking down, as though she is about to give up.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Eventually she couldn't go any longer. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
Close up of the henchmen, running towards her. They are vicious-looking and almost excited by the chase.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Those animals hunted her down and killed her.
INT. SEWERS, DAY – A younger Gordon and his men are standing in the same sewer tunnel. They are staring at something; all in shock.
GORDON (NARRATES):
It wasn't until weeks later her body was discovered. They took the suit with them, probably as a souvenir.
We switch to see Barbara hanging by her neck from a chain. She is stripped to her black sports underwear. There is no sign of the Batman suit. The body is battered and bloody. Her arms are also strung out, held by chains, spread like bat wings.
Close up of Gordon's face, he is distraught, glass eyed and yelling.
Gordon is holding Barbara's body in his arms; he is crying.
GORDON (NARRATES):
Everyone thought it was just another homicide case, but I knew what it was really about.
EXT. GOTHAM CEMETERY, DAY – The sky is grey, and everything is bleak. We see a bird's eye view of the cemetery, there is a group of people huddled around a coffin.
Close up of Gordon, sitting in the front row.
GORDON (THOUGHT):
We held a burial about a week later, once forensics had taken what they could for evidence.
Zoom out to see Gordon sitting in front of a small group; we can see a large photo of Barbara next to the minister.
GORDON (THOUGHT):
My worst fears came true. No father should have to bury his children.
Switch to the other side of the grave, we see random people in the group.
GORDON (THOUGHT):
There were not many at the funeral. Barbara lived a very private life, especially throughout the years she worked with Batman.
Gordon looks to his left.
GORDON (THOUGHT):
It was close family and some friends I remembered from her high school.
Gordon looks to his right, a little confused.
GORDON (THOUGHT):
Even a few I had never met before.
Switch to the man, in his mid-thirties, standing in a black suit and tie, with black glasses hiding his face.
GORDON (THOUGHT):
I assumed he must have been an ex-boyfriend. I never did like her taste in men.
Later, the coffin has been buried, and Gordon stands alone. It starts to rain.
GORDON (THOUGHT):
I didn't even host a wake. I didn't feel like talking.
It's almost nighttime; Gordon is still standing alone in the rain, he hasn't moved.
GORDON (THOUGHT):
I just wanted to be alone with my baby girl.
CAPTION: PRESENT DAY
EXT. GCPD ROOF TOP, SUNSET – A single tear streams down Gordon's face as he remembers the incident.
GORDON (NARRATES):
That was the worst time of my life.
Gordon's sadness soon turns to anger. He drops his hands to his side in a clenched fist.
GORDON (NARRATES):
From that day, I swore not to rest until I'd found those responsible.
Gordon walks towards the door, from the roof into the GCPD building.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I wanted them to pay.
INT. GCPD CORRIDORS, DAY – Gordon is walking towards us, down the corridor of the GCPD. As he walks, we see images of him remembering the events that led him here, displayed in different panels surrounding him…
EXT. UNKNOWN LOCATION, NIGHT – Gordon is seen punching one of Penguin's men in the face, Gordon is filled with anger that we haven't seen before.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I soon found out everything I needed to know, one way or another.
EXT. UNKNOWN LOCATION, NIGHT – Gordon is holding up one of Riddler's goons, represented by a green Mohawk, holding him hard against a wall by the scruff of his neck.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I knew Penguin and Riddler worked together to bring her down; then it was just a matter of tracking them down.
EXT. GOTHAM STREETS, NIGHT – Gordon is arresting Penguin, holding him down forcefully against the hood of a police car. Penguin is howling violently.
GORDON (NARRATES):
It took us six years but we finally located and captured Penguin. He is ruthless, but extremely greedy. We just had to wait for him to bite off more than he could chew.
INT. GOTHAM CITY PRISON, NIGHT – Penguin is standing behind bars. He looks angry. His face is a little bruised and battered, most likely at the hands of Gordon.
GORDON (NARRATES):
I thought about killing him, but that was too easy. I wanted him to suffer. Thankfully the judge dealt maximum penalty, jail for life.
INT: GCPD BRIEFING ROOM, SUNSET – Gordon opens a door, which says "BRIEFING ROOM".
GORDON (NARRATES):
I was forced to retire five years ago, but I've still been working the case; still searching for Riddler.
Gordon makes his way up the small stairs beside the stage.
GORDON (NARRATES):
The GCPD knew how much it meant to me and kept me on as a consultant.
We see Gordon from behind as he takes stage to address a room full of police officers.
GORDON (NARRATES):
It's been fifteen long years since they killed Barbara, and tonight it looks like we'll finally get the other man responsible.
The view switches to the front of Gordon. He has both hands firmly on the podium and looks directly at the officers.
Behind him is a big projector image, it's a mug shot of Edward Nigma, a.k.a The Riddler.
GORDON:
Men, you all know why we're here…