Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy remains a very influential addition to the world of superhero movies. These days, it is rare for one director to helm an entire superhero trilogy themselves, but Nolan succeeded in telling a grand and complex story across these three films.
Nolan also took the comic book characters and recreated them in his own grounded and unique vision. These characters grew and changed in some fascinating ways throughout the saga. From the heroes and allies to the villains, it is exciting to track the journeys of these characters based on their first and last lines of dialogue.
Ra's Al Ghul
"Are you so desperate to fight criminals that you lock yourself in to take them on one at a time?" - "Gotham is beyond saving and must be allowed to die."
While disguised as Ducard, Ra's Al Ghul visits Bruce Wayne in prison and recognizes his drive to take on criminals. Following his death at the end of Batman Begins, Bruce has a vision of Ra's returning in The Dark Knight Rises as he promises to fulfill his plan to destroy Gotham.
Ra's' first line reveals that Bruce has seeming sunk so low but is really just seeking out ways to fight criminals. His final line speaks to Bruce being haunted by not being able to save Gotham and how he might have led to its downfall.
Joker
"No, no, no, I kill the bus driver." - "All it takes is a little push."
The thrilling opening heist scene of The Dark Knight concludes with the masked Joker revealing to be the orchestrator behind it all as he turns on his criminal associates. After getting captured by Batman, he reveals that his real plan was to corrupt Harvey Dent and insists sanity can be undone with a little push.
The first line is a great reveal which also shows how twisted yet clever Joker is as an agent of chaos. This can also be seen in his final line as he had a grander and darker plan all along that he ultimately achieved.
Bane
"Or perhaps he's wondering why someone would shoot a man before throwing him out of a plane." - "You'll just have to imagine the fire."
The opening scene of The Dark Knight Rises finds a CIA agent interrogating hooded goons in a plane about Bane only for Bane to reveal himself as one of them. After he is ordered to keep Batman alive to witness the end of Gotham, Bane decides to kill him early and tells him he'll have to imagine the explosion before Bane himself is killed by Catwoman.
His first line makes for a memorable introduction as he sees right through the mock execution by the CIA. His final line is a nice subversion of the trope of villains keeping the hero alive too long.
Harvey Dent
"Sorry I'm late, folks." - "Lie like I lied."
Harvey Dent is first seen in The Dark Knight as he shows up in court ready and willing to take on the mob. After losing Rachel and becoming Two-Face, Dent threatens to kill Gordon's son and tells Gordon to promise his son it will be okay before Batman pushes him to his death.
The two lines show Dent's fall from grace. He started as a hero who gave Gotham hope and ended up as a madman willing to kill an innocent child.
Selina Kyle
"I'm so terribly sorry, Mr. Wayne." - "I guess we're both suckers."
In The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne finds Selina Kyle pretending to be a maid while attempting to steal from his vault. As Batman prepares to fly the bomb out of Gotham, he reminds Selina that she chose to come back and save Gotham just like he did.
Both lines show Selina as the antihero. She is a thief who is able to put on a good act but she also cannot hide that she is noble deep down even if she doesn't want to admit it.
Lucius Fox
"Environmental procedures, defense projects, consumer products." - "Check the ID on the patch."
When Bruce returns to Wayne Industries, he is introduced to Lucius Fox, who explains what his Research and Development department does. Following Batman's apparent death, he finds that the experimental flying craft had its autopilot repaired by Bruce Wayne months earlier.
The first line just sets up the means by which Bruce will get all of his state-of-the-art gadgets and equipment. His final line first hints that Batman might have survived at the end after all.
Rachel Dawes
"Hasn't he noticed you're tall enough to reach now?" - "It's all right. Listen. Some —"
When Bruce returns to his parents' home, he finds his childhood friend Rachel in the kitchen and reminds her that Alfred keeps the sugar on the top self. In The Dark Knight, after hearing Harvey being saved, she tries to give him some reassuring worlds only to be blown up by Joker's bomb.
The first line helps to establish Rachel as one of Bruce's oldest friends whom he has shared so much with. Her final line shows her facing her death with bravery and only caring for Harvey while also adding the brutal shock that she is killed mid-sentence.
Jim Gordon
"Is this your father's?" - "It was the Batman."
Following the death of Bruce's parents, the young Officer Jim Gordon comforts the boy and places his father's coat on him. After Batman seemingly sacrifices himself, John Blake laments that no one will know the man who saved the city, but Gordon assures him they will remember the Batman.
In his first appearance, Gordon is immediately established as a caring and good man in a city where that is rare. His final line is a confirmation that Batman has become the symbol to Gotham that Bruce always hoped it would be.
Alfred
"Will we be needing an ambulance, Master Wayne?" - "You trusted me and I failed you."
The Waynes' trusty butler Alfred is first seen in a flashback as he helps tend to young Bruce after falling into the Batcave. Following Batman's apparent death, Alfred tearfully speaks to Bruce's grave and laments that he was unable to save him.
The first appearance merely establishes Alfred as that presence in Bruce's life who was always looking out for him. While his final line is a sad feeling of failure on his part, he is given the peace he sought after seeing Bruce alive and well in a café in Florence.
Bruce Wayne / Batman
"Nightmare." - "Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hadn't ended."
Bruce is first seen waking up in prison from a nightmare of his first encounter with bats. His final line is spoken to Gordon as he prepares to fly the bomb out of the city and reminds Gordon of the first act of kindness he showed to Bruce as a child.
The first line speaks to the theme of Batman Begins being fear and Bruce's need to confront his fear. His final line is not only a way of telling Gordon who he was, but also showing that he was not the only hero in Gotham.