# Just saw new batman, does William Fichtner's character die? Or wounded? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2008, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-new-batman-does-william-fichtners-character-die-or-wounded/478956 "2008-12-28T13:52:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-new-batman-does-william-fichtners-character-die-or-wounded/478956/21 "2008-12-29T14:21:05Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > So since I dont know anything about the Batman history, who could he possibly be? Only Batvillain that really fits a ‘banker’ motif would be the Penny Plunderer. I don’t expect Nolan to go that route. Could also be Riddler as suggested upthread - accounting could be treated as just another kind of puzzle in his monomania - but that’s a bit of a stretch. And Nolan’s said he wants to avoid the villains that have gotten a lot of screen time before now - so he’s presumably off the table, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-new-batman-does-william-fichtners-character-die-or-wounded/478956/22 "2008-12-29T14:27:28Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > I concur, primarily because he later makes a point of saying he’s not in it for the money, and proving it by burning the money the syndicate are paying him to take out the Bat. He also burned the money because there was a guy tied to a chair on top of it. It’s a bit difficult to see, especially since your whole attention is focused on the Joker, but he’s undeniably there. (This is the kind of attention to detail that makes both good movies and annoying nerds. ;)) > [@Alessan](#): > > I’m curious, though - was Fichtner’s character a mob soldier who was put in charge of a bank, or was he a bank manager who could handle a shotgun? Either way, there’s got to be some interesting backstory there. He’s just another made man who doesn’t know the mob is being replaced by costumed freaks. One of the themes of both movies is that ‘normal’ crime and corruption is being replaced with the kind of stuff only Batman can fight: That accelerating decay is one reason the League of Shadows wanted to destroy Gotham first in _Begins_ and it’s hastened by Joker successfully killing and ripping off the various mob families in _Dark Knight_. Think of it as evolution in action. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-new-batman-does-william-fichtners-character-die-or-wounded/478956/23 "2008-12-29T14:51:41Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > What if Fichtners character was there just to set up a plotline in a future film? You know the kind; > “Hey, thats the bank manager from the the dark knight, wow, he’s actually …, who knew?” It appeared that he was badly injured and probably paralyzed.. Looks like he still could move his arms some, though. Sounds like a perfect setup for an angry, resentful, vengeful, villain for a future film. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-new-batman-does-william-fichtners-character-die-or-wounded/478956/24 "2008-12-29T17:18:26Z")
The future-Riddler (if that was him) could have been a security consultant. Granted it didn’t stop the Joker, but still. And he talked like a mob veteran. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-new-batman-does-william-fichtners-character-die-or-wounded/478956/25 "2008-12-30T15:53:07Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > I noticed that Maggie Gylenhaowdoyaspellit’s character didn’t die on camera, so I wonder the same thing about her. I recently re-watched _The Dark Knight_ and can tell you that she definitely does die on screen. She’s trying to reassure Dent that someone is coming to save her, saying “It’s going to be alright, it’s going to be alright.” Then, BOOM! Fire engulfs her body as the camera quickly cuts to the outside of the building where Gordon and his men are knocked back by the blast. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-saw-new-batman-does-william-fichtners-character-die-or-wounded/478956.md?page=1)