Warning: SPOILERS for The Batman ahead.

The latest outing for The Batman introduces a selection of dangerous villains to Gotham, and might be priming one of them to become the reason Pattinson's Batman eventually kills. Bruce Wayne is notorious for his one rule, which stipulates that the hero cannot kill, no matter how far he might find himself pushed. However, the film potentially sets up the circumstance which sees the hero pushed too far, to the extreme that he snaps and breaks his core rule as Gotham's vigilante.

The Batman takes its audience into Bruce Wayne's second year as the Dark Knight, where Pattinson's iteration of the character encounters a myriad of deadly foes, from the Riddler to notorious crime lord, Carmine Falcone. Furthermore, the film introduces an important character to the hero's future narrative at the very end of the movie: The Joker, in the cell next to Riddler in Arkham Asylum. The Batman also brings fellow vigilante and love interest Selina Kyle into the fold, and sparks a relationship between the two characters that has the potential to endure into upcoming sequels.

Related: Why The Riddler Doesn't Say "Riddle Me This" (But Joker Does)

While Batman does not kill a single person in the course of the film, he comes remarkably close to murder, after one of the Riddler's operatives attempts to kill Catwoman in front of him. It sets up the potential for him to finally cross the line in one of The Batman's sequels. Batman is a character driven by vengeance, fueled by a consuming rage to unleash his trauma on the underworld of Gotham City. Currently, Joker is a minor figure in The Batman, to say the least. However, his appearance lays the groundwork for what the character's fans know will reveal itself to be a truly harrowing dynamic for Pattinson's Batman in upcoming sequels. Bruce Wayne does eventually start to heal his wounded spirit at the end of The Batman, however, the Joker might potentially be primed to rip his heart to shreds, and drive the hero to a darker place than he's ever gone before. It's even possible he'll kill.

The cinematic landscape has seen sequels tend to evolve into a darker narrative than their predecessor. The Dark Knight essentially set the standard for The Batman to explore a darker, more nuanced version of the superhero. Films like The Empire Strikes Back or The Godfather: Part Two, whose Michael Corleone inspired Pattinson’s Batman, use their follow-up outings to take the characters down a path of reflection, loss, and pain. The Batman provides audiences with a slight taste of what could take the hero down a dark path. When Selina Kyle finds herself in danger, Batman flings himself at her attacker and almost beats him to death. In fact, he might have done so had he not been stopped.

The loss of a loved one is a well-explored theme in Batman's history, from Robin in the comic book "A Death In The Family" to Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight. The Joker is, infamously, the villain responsible for both these deaths. Given the fact that Pattinson's Batman is obviously driven in part by the serious nature of his unhealed trauma, the loss of someone else Bruce Wayne loves could potentially see him thrown off the edge of his moral compass. The Batman came close with the Riddler goon he almost killed. The character's desire for growth slowly begins to blossom at the end of the film, but it might be setting him up for a tragic downfall once the Joker is let loose on Gotham.

The Batman already explores how far Bruce Wayne will go to follow a path of vengeance, alongside how violent he could become if someone he loves is in danger. It is possible that the Joker's plans for Selina Kyle could see the superhero lose control. It could potentially see Bruce Wayne head down a significantly darker path than he is on at the end of his first cinematic outing–even kill.

Next: The Batman Uses Alfred Better Than Every Other Dark Knight Movie

Key Release Dates