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DC‘s latest 2024 release just pulled off the one element of The Dark Knight trilogy that the story seemed to struggle most with, and I certainly wasn’t expecting it over a decade after the series ended. The Dark Knight movie trilogy is deservedly regarded as one of the best film series of all time, and this reputation has naturally placed it on a high pedestal. Unfortunately, with high regard also comes high expectations, and many criticisms of the series reflect the incredibly high standards it set for itself as a result of its quality.
As someone whose experience watching The Dark Knight trilogy helped create a lifelong obsession with superhero movies, it’s hard to say any part of it is bad. However, some parts are stronger than others, and the fact the best moments from The Dark Knight trilogy are so astronomically good means that less strong moments can come off worse than they might elsewhere. That said, I was happy to see one 2024 DC release tackle a story aspect from the series that saw some considerable flack, and dodge some of the issues that seemed to create this initial reception.
The Dark Knight Rises’ Talia Al Ghul Twist Was One Weak Point In A Phenomenal Movie Trilogy
While the idea to use Talia Al Ghul for The Dark Knight Rises makes sense – tying the final installment to Batman Begins, which featured her father as a prominent villain – the character’s twist remains one of the most criticized parts of the highly regarded Dark Knight trilogy. With The Dark Knight Rises needing to adapt the extensive Knightfall story – which would involve showing Christian Bale’s Batman breaking his back, having it restored, and then eventually beating Bane – alongside featuring a considerable number of other characters, there was limited time to give Talia her full dues.
Bane is the main villain of The Dark Knight Rises, becoming intertwined with the Al Ghuls via the reveal that Bane was Talia’s protector as she grew up in The Pit. Though it’s a clever way to connect the two stories, it means that – since Talia Al Ghul’s identity is only revealed towards the very end of the movie – her origin story is essentially taken over by Bane in a way that suggests the character potentially didn’t even need to be in the movie, as Bane could’ve just been a Ra’s Al Ghul loyalist carrying on his legacy.
As such, while it has strong moments like the masked ball scene, Talia’s story arguably becomes the victim of the movie’s entirely understandable decision to focus on setting up Batman’s conflict with Bane, and then the hero’s eventual retirement. This isn’t helped by the fact that the one perhaps biggest scene in her personal arc – that of her death – is regarded as one of the clunkier looking moments in the movie, ostensibly taking what should have been one of the more dramatic parts of the film and undermining it.
Though Marion Cotillard’s performance as both “Miranda Tate” and Talia is still solid, her acting isn’t able to overcome the complications that limit the character. Indeed, even Cotillard herself has expressed some disappointment with Talia Al Ghul’s story in The Dark Knight Rises, with Far Out‘s translation of an interview about her death scene seeing her state: “Sometimes there are failures, and when you see this on screen, you’re thinking: ‘Why? Why did they keep that take?’ … But I thought people overreacted, because it was tough to be identified just with this scene.“
How Batman Unburied: Fallen City Pulls Off The Talia Al Ghul Twist
Batman Unburied: Fallen City brings its own version of the Talia Al Ghul twist to DC, this time by first introducing Harvey Dent’s romantic partner Allie in its first episode. Following Harvey Dent’s supposed death, Allie and Bruce team up to investigate the suspicious circumstances leading to his passing, with Allie’s grief and compassion making her an immediately sympathetic character. That said, it’s teased there’s more to Allie from early on, as she alludes to having a complicated relationship with her father, and beats a hasty retreat after receiving a mysterious phone call from him.
Since Batman Unburied is a mystery series, the reveal at the end of episode 6 that Allie is Talia Al Ghul – and her father thus is Ra’s Al Ghul, the main villain pulling the strings in Batman Unburied: Fallen City – is inherently built to be more satisfying, as it blends with the genre’s intent and angling more. Similarly, Talia gets a little more in terms of a full independent arc here, since she’s somewhat redeemed when she realizes her father doesn’t actually care about what happens to Gotham, killing him and then sacrificing herself to save the city.
Why Batman Unburied: Fallen City’s Talia Al Ghul Twist Feels Better Than The Dark Knight Rises’
Where Miranda is more tangentially involved in events for a good chunk of the movie – with her becoming the CEO of Wayne Enterprise and forming a relationship with Bruce feeling more like justifications for why he decides to reenter the world – Allie is an integral part of Batman Unburied: Fallen City‘s story from its start. The first conversation in the series sees Harvey Dent talking to Bruce about how much he’s in love with her, furthering the Dark Knight’s suspicions about Harvey’s supposed suicide being a set-up created by whoever tried to kill them at the very start of the story.
While Batman is understandably frustrated by Allie’s insistence on tagging along with his investigations into Harvey’s apparent death and who tried to kill him and Bruce prior to it – as this forces him to be Bruce while they investigate together – this also ties her closer into the central events of the narrative in a way that feels justified. It seems entirely natural that Harvey’s partner would want answers to why her world has been turned upside down overnight, and the complications that arise from this add another interesting dimension to the story, as Bruce tries to further balance his two lives.
On a narrative level, Batman Unburied: Fallen City letting Talia Al Ghul have a heroic turn at the end of her story also helps add to it. While Talia is best known as a villain, having her solely appear to carry out the work of her father can be limiting, which likely presented some challenges for The Dark Knight Rises as well. While not every story can have Talia stab Ra’s to help show her characterization as separate to him, it certainly doesn’t hurt things, and helps the twist of her identity feel less like an obligatory villain reveal twist.
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