i believe that what doesn't kill you.  bozo pulls off his mask. the bank manager gasps. in the reflections of the glass debris behind the bank manager we see glimpses of a scarred mouth and clown makeup. the joker.
simply makes you stranger. the bank manager's eyes go wide. the joker rises, strolls towards the bus, the purple thread attached to the grenade pin unravelling from the purple lining of his jacket as he walks. the joker climbs into the bus, shuts the rear door,
i thought i told bad jokes.
how about a magic trick? the joker slams the pencil into the table, leaving it
i'll make this pencil disappear. gambol nods. his bodyguard moves at the joker- who sidesteps- grips his head- slams it, face down, onto the table.  the bodyguard goes limp and slides off of the table. the pencil is gone. magic. the joker bows. grins at gambol.
and by the way, the suit wasn't cheap. you should know. you bought it. gambol stands, furious. the chechen stops him.
a year ago these cops and lawyers wouldn't dare cross any of you. what happened? did your balls drop off? see, a guy like me-
a guy like me.  i know why you're holding your little group therapy session in broad daylight. i know why you're afraid to go out at night. batman. he's shown gotham your true colors. and dent's just the beginning. and as for his so-called plan- batman has no jurisdiction. he'll find him and make him squeal. i can tell the squealers every time.
it's simple. kill the batman. jeers. laughter.
like my mother used to tell me- if you're good at something, never do it for free.
half. laughter. the joker shrugs. rises.
you don't deal with this now, soon gambol won't even be able to get a nickel for his grandma-
let's not blow this out of all proportion. gambol stares at the joker. hard.
let me know when you change your minds. the joker strolls out. maroni turns to lau.
how about alive? the joker gets a switchblade in gambol's mouth- sharp metal pulling the cheek taut. the bounty hunters subdue the remaining bodyguards.
wanna know how i got these scars? my father was a drinker and a fiend. he'd beat mommy right in front of me. one night he goes off crazier than usual, mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. he doesn't like that. not. one. bit. the joker tugs gambols cheek with the blade.
so, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. turns to me and says 'why so serious?' comes at me with the knife- 'why so serious?' sticks the blade in my mouth- 'let's put a smile on that face' and.  the joker looks up at the ashen faces of the remaining body guards. smiles.
why so serious? the joker flicks his wrist- the body guards flinch as gambol goes down. the joker turns to them.
now, our organization is small, but we've got a lot of potential for aggressive expansion.  so which of you fine gentlemen would like to join our team? the three bodyguards all nod. the joker snaps a pool cue.
only one slot open right now- so we're going to have try-outs. the joker drops the broken cue in the middle of the men.
make it fast. the men stare at each other. then at the jagged pool cue.
this is how crazy batman's made gotham. you want order in gotham? batman has to go. so.  batman must take off his mask, and turn himself in.
good evening. we're the entertainment.
i only have one question: where is harvey dent? i'll settle for his loved ones.  a distinguished gentleman steps into the joker's path.
you know, you remind me of my father. i hated my father. the joker has his blade in the gentleman's mouth.
hello, beautiful. you must be harvey's squeeze. and you are beautiful. you look nervous- it's the scars isn't it? wanna know how i got them? i had a wife, beautiful like you. who tells me i worry too much. who says i need to smile more. who gambles. and gets in deep with the sharks. one day they carve her face, and we've got no money for surgeries. she can't take it. i just want to see her smile again. i just want her to know i don't care about the scars. so i put a razor in my mouth and do this to myself.  and you know what? she can't stand the sight of me.  she leaves! see, now i see the funny side. now i'm always smiling.
a little fight in you. i like that.
sure. just take off your mask and show us all who you are.  rachel shakes her head at batman. the joker raises his shotgun to the side and blows out the pane of glass next to him. the joker dangles rachel out the window.
very poor choice of words.  he lets her drop- rachel falls onto a sloping glass roof- sliding towards the edge batman dives after her-
i'm a man of my word.
anyone could be driving that thing- stay on dent. the joker lines up his rpg and prepares to fire-
do me up- turns back- levels his rpg out the window. aims.
whoever he was.  he ain't now. the joker yanks his dead driver out of the cab, jumps over him to take the wheel and pull back onto the roadway.
tee 'em up. the thug grabs his radio.
guess it was him.
hit me. come on. hit me. batman watches as the joker holds out his arms. waiting for impact. there is no room to go around him. batman locks up the brakes. the joker watches as batman dumps the bike, rather than smashing into him. batman slams into the wall. the joker's thug reach batman first. he is unconscious. the first thug pulls at the mask. an electric shock from the bat- suit throws him back. the joker laughs. flicks his switchblade. crouches-
just give me a second. the gun is cocked. the joker drops the knife. sits. looks back. behind them is the armored car. the man standing over him is the driver. he pulls off his helmet. it's jim gordon. back from the dead.
evening, commissioner.
of course not.
me? i was right here. who did you leave him with? your people? assuming, of course, that they are your people not maroni's.  does it depress you, lieutenant, to know how alone you are? gordon can't help glancing at the mounted camera.
does it make you feel responsible for harvey dent's current predicament?
what time is it?
depending on the time, he might be in one spot. or several. gordon stands. moves to the joker. undoes his handcuffs.
the good cop, bad cop routine? gordon pauses, hand on the doorknob.
never start with the head.  victim gets fuzzy. can't feel the next- crack! batman's fist smacks down on the joker's fingers.
see?
i wanted to see what you'd do. and you didn't disappoint.  you let five people die.
those mob fools want you gone so they can get back to the way things were. but i know the truth- there's no going back. you've changed things. forever.
kill you? i don't want to kill you. what would i do without you? go back to ripping off mob dealers? no you.  you. complete. me.
don't talk like one of them- you're not, even if you'd like to be. to them you're a freak like me.  they just need you right now. he regards batman with something approaching pity.
but as soon as they don't, they'll cast you out like a leper. the joker looks into batman's eyes. searching.
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. you'll see- i'll show you.  when the chips are down, these civilized people.  they'll eat each other. see, i'm not a monster.  i'm just ahead of the curve. batman grabs the joker and pulls him upright.
you have these rules. and you think they'll save you.
then that's the one you'll have to break. to know the truth.
the only sensible way to live in this world is without rules. tonight you're going to break your one rule.  batman leans in to the joker.
there are just minutes left- so, you'll have to play my little game if you want to save.  . one of them.
for a while i thought you really were dent, the way you threw yourself after her- batman drops the joker- rips up a bolted-down chair-
look at you go.  does harvey know about you and his-? the joker smashes into the wall- slides to the floor. batman stands over him, a man possessed-
killing is making a choice.  batman punches the joker across the face. hard.
you choose one life over the other. your friend, the district attorney. or his blushing bride-to- be. batman punches the joker again. the joker laughs.
you have nothing. nothing to threaten me with. nothing to do with all your strength.  but don't worry, i'm going to tell you where they are. both of them, and that's the point- you'll have to choose. the batman stares at the joker.
he's at 250 52nd boulevard. and she's on avenue x at cicero.
i want my phone call.
how many of your friends have i killed?
you know why i use a knife, detective? guns are too quick. you don't get to savor all the little emotions. see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are.  stephens tries hard to ignore him. it isn't working.
so, in a way, i knew your friends better than you ever did. would you like to know which of them were really cowards?
i want my phone call.
hello there. in his cell. terrified. lau.
i told you- i'm a man of my word. where's the italian? the chechen shrugs. pulls out a cigar. lights it.
i'm a man of simple tastes. i like gunpowder. dynamite.  he is splashing gasoline onto the money.
gasoline.  the chechen, furious, steps forwards. the joker turns. jabs his gun in the chechen's face. the chechen's bodyguards react. the joker's men draw on them.
and you know what they have in common? they're cheap.
i am. the joker tosses the cigar at the pile.
i'm only burning my half.
all you care about is money. this city deserves a better class of criminal, and i'm going to give it to them. this is my town now. tell your men they work for me. the joker crouches down to the chechen's dogs. they growl.
cut him up and offer him to his little princes. let's show him just how loyal a hungry dog is. the joker's men grab the chechen.
it's not about money. it's about sending a message.  the joker watches the towering flames. lau screams.
everything. burns. the joker pulls out a phone.
i had a vision. of a world without batman. the mob ground out a little profit and the police tried to shut them down, one block at a time.  and it was so.  boring. i've had a change of heart. i don't want mr.reese spoiling everything, but why should i have all the fun? let's give someone else a chance.  reese looks around, twitching. sweating.
if coleman reese isn't dead in sixty minutes, then i blow up a hospital. of course, you could always kill yourself, mr.reese. but that would be the noble thing to do. and you're a lawyer. the line rings off. engel is speechless. gordon turns to the uniform cops.
i don't want there to be any hard feelings between us, harvey. the joker loosens dent's restraints.
when you and rachel were being abducted i was sitting in gordon's cage. i didn't rig those charges-
do i really look like a guy with a plan, harvey? i don't have a plan. the mob has plans, the cops have plans. you know what i am, harvey?
i'm a dog chasing cars.  i wouldn't know what to do with one if i caught it. i just do things. i'm just the wrench in the gears. i hate plans. yours, theirs, everyone's. maroni has plans. gordon has plans. schemers trying to control their worlds. i'm not a schemer, i show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. so when i say that you and your girlfriend was nothing personal, you know i'm telling the truth.  hands him the pistol. dent holds it to the joker's head.
it's the schemers who put you where you are. you were a schemer. you had plans. look where it got you. i just did what i do best- i took your plan, and i turned it on itself. look what i've done to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. nobody panics when the expected people get killed. nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plan is horrifying. if i tell the press that tomorrow a gangbanger will 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, everybody loses their minds! introduce a little anarchy, you upset the established order and everything becomes chaos. i'm an agent of chaos. and you know the thing about chaos, harvey? dent looks into the joker's eyes. finding meaning.
it's fair. dent looks down at the coin in his hands. turns it over, feels it's comforting weight. shows the joker the good side.
now you're talking. dent flicks the coin into the air. catches it. looks.
what does it take to make you people want to join in?
you failed to kill the lawyer.  i've got to get you off the bench and into the game. so, here it is.
come nightfall, this city is mine, and anyone left here plays by my rules. if you don't want to be in the game, get out now. bar patrons start moving.  the joker reaches for the camera-
but the bridge-and-tunnel crowd are in for a surprise. cut to static. the bar patrons look around, confused.
tonight, you're all going to be part of a social experiment.
through the magic of diesel fuel and ammonium nitrate, i'm ready right now to blow you all sky high. anyone attempts to get off their boat, you all die.
but we're going to make things a little more interesting than that. tonight, we're going to learn a little bit about ourselves.
there's no need for all of you to die. that would be a waste. so i've left you both a little present.
each of you has a remote to blow up the other boat.
at midnight, i blow you all up. if, however, one of you presses the button, i'll let that boat live. you choose. so who's it going to be- harvey dent's most wanted scumbag collection.  or the sweet innocent civilians? oh, and you might want to decide quickly, because the people on the other boat may not be quite so noble. the joker hangs up. the pilot looks down at the remote in his hands. prisoners begin yelling and pushing. the warden takes the remote from the pilot- cocks his shotgun. his men level their weapons at the crowd.
you came. i'm touched.
all the old familiar places. batman recoils in pain. the joker butts him- knees him- energy explodes from his lean frame- he kicks the injured batman back towards the glass.
if we don't stop fighting, we're going to miss the fireworks.
can't rely on anyone these days. the joker arms the remote.
have to do everything yourself. i always have- and it's not always easy.
just couldn't let me go, could you? i guess this is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. you truly are incorruptible, aren't you? batman secures the joker upside down. the joker is laughing.
you won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self- righteousness.  and i won't kill you because you're too much fun. we're going to do this forever.
maybe we can share it. they'll need to double up, the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds.
till their spirit breaks completely. until they find out what i did with the best of them. until they get a good look at the real harvey dent, and all the heroic things he's done. then those criminals will be straight back onto the streets and gotham will understand the true nature of heroism.
i took gotham's white knight. and i brought him down to my level. it wasn't hard- madness is like gravity. all it takes is a little push. joker laughs. batman leaves him to the swats.