Batman is responsible for some of the saddest scenes in DC movie history, with his lengthy catalog of films promising plenty of drama and heartache. Compared to other DC characters, or even other superheroes in general, Batman is often taken more seriously by both audiences and critics alike. While Batman’s movies can be campy and silly, like 1966’s Batman or Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin, more often than not they contain at least one tear-jerker scene.
It’s easy to see why Batman in particular is so popular, with so much ripe genre to mine from his tragic backstory. Bruce Wayne’s inherent tragedy as both an orphan and a lonely steward of justice is a fertile bed for tragic scenery to grow, devastating even viewers who are totally unfamiliar with the comics. From poignant goodbyes to brutal superhero movie deaths, Batman’s films have a knack for emotionally crushing their viewers.
10
Bruce Cries Over His Parents’ Grave
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
It’s important to note that Batman’s animated history is arguably even more prestigious than his live-action track record, often being just as poignant if not more so. Obviously, the crux of many emotional moments throughout Batman’s cinematic history revolves around the death of his parents, a traumatic event which ignited within him a burning desire for justice. Interestingly, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm examines what it might look like if that flame actually went out.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm introduces one of Bruce Wayne’s best movie love interests, Andrea Beaumont, who turns out to be the тιтular Phantasm. Finding himself happy with Andrea for a time, Bruce Wayne has a haunting solitary over his parent’s graves, actually apologizing for not feeling so guilty over their deaths any longer. It’s absolutely crushing to see Bruce so vulnerable, pleading with his deceased parents that “It just doesn’t hurt so bad any more.”
9
Alfred Mourns Bruce & His Parents
The Dark Knight Rises
Despite being widely known as the weakest film in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises is surprisingly stacked with emotionally affecting moments. Bruce Wayne isn’t the only one shown to have some kind of lasting guilt centered on his parents, as Alfred’s promise to keep watch over Bruce after their deaths is complicated by Batman. This guilt comes bubbling to the surface when Bruce fakes his own death towards the end of the film, as Alfred attends his funeral.
It’s revealed that Bruce Wayne is given a headstone right next to his mom and dad’s graves, despite his body never being recovered. Breaking down in tears at the sight of the Waynes all next to each other in memoriam, Alfred bawls to the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne, apologizing profusely. Even if it’s more or less the same beat from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Michael Caine’s performance makes it hard to get through the scene with a dry eye.
8
Thomas And Martha Wayne Are Killed
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
As many times as their graves have been cried over, the famous night in which Thomas and Martha Wayne are murdered has been depicted in movies infinitely more times. While most Batman adaptations have a stellar interpretation of this critical formation of Batman’s psyche, the best version is, surprisingly, in a movie from the DC Extended Universe. During the opening credits of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a wordless version of this scene is depicted, with no context necessary for such a well-known event.
Zack Snyder is at his best reveling in slow motion and artistic lighting, and this haunting death scene has both in spades. It’s terrifying to see Joe Chill’s pistol break the pearl necklace of Martha Wayne, and Jeffery Dean Morgan’s sudden appearance as Thomas is a welcome surprise. For the sheer visual spectacle this brief moment is able to make out of such a tragedy, it deserves kudos, regardless of whatever other flaws Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice may have.
7
Bruce Wayne Tries To Kill Joe Chill
Batman Begins
Batman is famous for his fervent stance against ever taking a life, refusing to cause the same harm that was done to his parents against even the most deserving criminals. However, what’s interesting is how Batman Begins explores that Bruce Wayne didn’t always hold this philosophy. Before he becomes Batman, a young man version of Bruce sneaks a revolver into a courtroom, hoping to kill Joe Chill after his latest hearing.
What’s so devastating about this scene is the fact that it seems like Bruce really was ready to do it, with the fact that the mob got to Chill first being the only thing preventing him from landing the killing blow. This admission to Rachel later is an alarming low point in Bruce Wayne’s conscience, but his character arc is stronger for it. It’s more realistic to see Batman struggle with his morality before ultimately deciding that killing is unacceptable in any form.
6
Rachel Is Killed By The Joker
The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy wasn’t afraid to introduce new concepts with no precedence in the DC source material when it suited the visionary director, and Rachel is one of the more successful additions. Introduced as Bruce Wayne’s childhood best friend and old romantic flame, Rachel Dawes is a brilliant young District Attorney who viewers grew to love in Batman Begins. That only makes it all the more devastating when her life is taken in The Dark Knight.
It’s bad enough that the Joker tries to make Batman choose between saving Rachel or Harvey Dent, two of the most important people in the world to him. But he truly gets the last laugh when he gives them the correct locations, only switched, with Harvey Dent barely able to survive the traumatic ordeal. What makes this scene so particularly painful is the fact that Rachel doesn’t even get to finish her last words before being blown to smithereens, yet another cruel joke by the Clown Prince of Crime.
5
Bruce Tells Alfred That His Parents’ Death Was His Fault
Batman Begins
Batman Begins truly takes its name to heart by serving as a comprehensive Batman origin story. Not only is the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents shown in grisly detail, but the fallout of this event on Bruce as a young child is given more room to breathe. One of the hardest to get through scenes featuring the child version of Bruce is the instance in which he tells Alfred that he holds himself at fault for getting his parents killed.
It’s hard to watch the lad tearfully admit his own perception of guilt to Alfred, saying he was the one that made them leave the theater early because he got scared. What’s somehow even more devastating is Alfred’s immediate response, ᴀssuring the young Bruce that it was Joe Chill alone who had the burden of his parents’ murder to bear. Sadly, it doesn’t seem as though Bruce takes his kind words to heart, unfairly blaming himself for the murder.
4
Batman Reveals His Secret Idenтιтy To Gordon
The Dark Knight Rises
Of all the times Batman reveals his secret idenтιтy in a movie, his admission of it to Commissioner Gordon in The Dark Knight Rises is easily one of the most heartbreaking. As Batman climbs into the flying Bat, ready to haul Bane’s bomb away and die in the process, Gordon begs him to tell him who he really was, so that people might know of his heroism posthumously. Batman simply growls that anyone can be a hero, even someone doing something as simple as putting a coat over a young boy’s shoulders to let him know the world hadn’t ended.
Gordon’s eyes widen as this reference calls back to a scene in Batman Begins, where a young Gordon does just that in an effort to comfort Bruce after witnessing his parents’ murder. It’s so painful to know that the two men’s bond was only realized after one has to fake his own death. Even if Bruce doesn’t truly die, Gordon’s awe-inspired look after finally learning the truth is a bittersweet beat.
3
Bruce Learns About His Own Family’s Past
The Batman
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In most versions of the Batman mythos, Thomas and Martha Wayne are usually depicted as literal saints, loving parents and perfect wealthy socialites who did their best to give back to society. This makes their deaths feel all the more tragic, giving Bruce an ultimate ideal to pursue even long into his adulthood. However, Matt Reeves’ The Batman supposes that Thomas and Martha Wayne maybe weren’t so perfect after all.
In a shocking twist, The Riddler reveals that in this world, Thomas Wayne used his wealth to cover up the scandalous mental state of Martha, even going as far as to hire Carmine Falcone to kill a reporter on the precipice of breaking the story. It’s simply Earth-shattering to watch Bruce Wayne’s wide-eyed reaction to this information, totally destroying his preconceived notions of his parents that the character has been held to in every other version of Batman’s story. It also bears mentioning that the idenтιтy of the Waynes’ murderer is still unknown in The Batman‘s universe.
2
Bruce Discovers Rachel’s Letter
The Dark Knight Rises
Alfred always tries to act in the best interests of Bruce in most Batman stories, but occasionally, he oversteps his boundaries. Such is the case in The Dark Knight Rises, which features one of Alfred and Bruce’s many arguments over whether he should hang up the cape permanently. To try to convince Bruce, Alfred reveals that he had intercepted a letter to him from Rachel telling him that she had chosen Harvey Dent over him romantically.
It’s so hard to watch Bruce and Alfred be at each other’s throats like this, and this ultimate betrayal of trust from the British butler is simply a twist of the knife. As always, Michael Caine proves himself as the best live-action Alfred Pennyworth with his shaky voice and subtle tears, enduring as the emotional anchor of The Dark Knight trilogy. No live-action Batman scene is quite as emotionally destructive as this one.
1
Jason Todd Asks Why Batman Won’t Kill The Joker
Batman: Under the Red Hood
Speaking of fatherly betrayals, Jason Todd’s speech in Batman: Under the Red Hood reverses the roles on Batman, giving him the guilt to shoulder for an ideological difference. The animated film chronicles the return of Jason Todd, Batman’s second Robin, after he is supposedly captured and beaten to death by The Joker, coming back to life as the vigilante Red Hood. Notably, Red Hood is willing to take lives when he views it as necessary, particularly in regard to The Joker.
Holding his adoptive father at gunpoint, Jason Todd explains with a voice dripping with rage, anger, and regret how he forgives Batman for failing to save him, but admonishes him for keeping The Joker alive. Jensen Ackles is phenomenal as Jason Todd, bringing his vitriol to life as he forces Batman to choose between killing him and his arch nemesis. With such an emotionally brutal scene, it’s a wonder that Batman: Under the Red Hood isn’t a more celebrated Batman film.
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