The Batman’s Penguin spinoff recently roped in Cristin Milioti as part of the cast to play Sofia Falcone. While this Bat-universe is just being fleshed out, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy already did that, placing the Caped Crusader in many harrowing situations that required him to defy death.
Despite the trilogy's relative realism, Batman's survival in some scenes can be attributed only to extreme plot armor, i.e., a plot device in which a character's unlikely survival occurs only because the plot requires it.
When Bruce Was Left In The Prison With A Broken Back
Christian Bale’s version was far from the silliest Batman seen in movies yet, but his survival in The Pit prison was certainly laughable. After all, he somehow ended up in a prison with the kindest souls anyone could find, as Bruce was nursed back to health and motivated by the other inmates.
This all happened after Bane broke Batman’s back all the way back in Gotham, meaning he had to transport the person with the crippled spine across the world and then dump him in a prison. Bruce’s survival was clearly for plot purposes as it set up his hero’s journey to overcome the odds and make a triumphant return. Realistically, he should have perished in a couple of days in The Pit.
When Batman Got Stabbed In The Gut By Talia
The climax of The Dark Knight Rises has Talia betraying Batman by stabbing him in the gut before revealing her identity as Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter. This is a clear stab that Batman reacts accordingly, visibly in pain and doubling back to collapse on the ground.
However, he somehow recovers just as soon as Talia leaves, with the stab wound never addressed again. The way he initially reacted indicated that he’d been injured in a vital body part, only to magically be healed. In truth, the stabbing was a plot device to indicate Talia’s betrayal and Batman’s recovery kicked in when he had to save Gotham.
When Bruce Was Rescued By Alfred In The Manor Fire
Bruce was knocked out when the League of Shadows attacked his manor in Batman Begins, with the protagonist left to die after a massive log fell on him and the place was set on fire. The plot armor came into play when Alfred somehow managed to find Bruce while the manor was still aflame.
Furthermore, the elder Alfred was able to lift the huge log off the unconscious Bruce long enough to stir him and then escort Bruce through the flames to safety. The position Bruce was in should have been an effective death sentence as Ra’s al Ghul intended, but Bruce’s plot armor essentially empowered Alfred with super abilities.
When Bruce Made It Back To Gotham With No Resources
Bruce’s escape from The Pit should have been the least of his worries, seeing as the prison was seemingly in the middle of nowhere. With no resources and no way to get back to Gotham, Bruce should have perished in the harsh environment, as he didn’t have any allies in the vicinity.
This remains among the most confusing aspects in Christopher Nolan movies, with The Dark Knight Rises not even bothering to explain how Bruce got back into Gotham. The reason for Bruce’s survival in traveling thousands of miles without any resources was due to the plot requirement of him returning to Gotham to save the day.
When Bruce Causes His Own Car Crash To Save Coleman Reese
The Joker puts a hit on Coleman Reese when the latter plans on exposing Bruce’s identity as Batman. Reese is targeted by everyone in Gotham because Joker promises to blow up a hospital if he isn’t dead, with one car running straight for the one Reese is in before Bruce intercepts it with his own.
Bruce’s car is hit at full speed, crashing into another vehicle right where Bruce is in the driver’s seat. This should have spelled curtains for the protagonist since he didn’t have any protection, but the next scene showed him out of the car with no injuries. Since the point of his actions was for Reese to change his mind, the movie gave the protagonist the plot armor invulnerability.
When Batman Caught Lau Without Major Retaliation
The Dark Knight is generally credited as a sequel that’s better than the original movie due to its grounded approach to the superhero genre. But the scene where Batman apprehends Lau in Hong Kong was heavily reliant on the protagonist using his plot armor to survive.
Batman’s act of claiming Lau from his office can be believed, but the idea that the government wouldn’t shoot down the unidentified aircraft that Batman attaches himself to isn’t believable. The protagonist should have met his doom by the aircraft being identified and disposed of for posing a threat, yet this point was never addressed and Lau was smuggled back to America.
When Batman Fell Several Stories Without Any Injury
At one point in The Dark Knight, The Joker tosses Rachel out of a window, with Batman leaping after her for the rescue. Batman and Rachel free fall several stories from the skyscraper and the protagonist bears the brunt of the impact by landing straight on a car.
Batman not only has no visible injuries but is fully lucid and has a casual conversation with Rachel. His armor shouldn’t have been durable to withstand such a fall. Furthermore, he’d replaced it with a lighter one earlier in the movie when he complained he didn’t have mobility with such reinforced armor. In this case, Batman was actually protected by plot armor than the physical one he was wearing.
When Batman Fell With Harvey Dent But Survived
The Dark Knight’s final moments see Batman falling from a high point again, this time when he tackles Harvey to protect Jim Gordon’s son. Batman is unable to pull himself up due to his heavy suit and hurtles all the way down to land next to the deceased Harvey.
The hero is still able to get back up, have a conversation with Gordon, and then escape with the Batpod. Such a fall should have spelled doom for Batman, especially when the only thing that had cushioned him was a beam in midair that broke when he fell on it.
When Batman Was Poisoned By Scarecrow And Set On Fire
This would have been overkill had it been against any other character other than Batman. In Batman Begins, Scarecrow poisons the protagonist with the fear toxin before proceeding to douse him with gasoline and setting him alight. Batman jumps out the window and hurtles several stories to the ground.
Batman should have passed away from anything from intoxication, burning, and being crushed by the pavement but survives all of them. The plot armor enables him to understand Scarecrow’s fear toxin and reinforce his suit to avoid this from happening again.
When Batman Escaped A Neutron Explosion In The Middle Of The Sea
Christian Bale sealed his status as among the best actors to portray Batman long before The Dark Knight Rises’ climax, where Batman uses the Batplane to detonate the neutron bomb in the sea. The ending reveals that Bruce survived, which shouldn’t have been possible given the situation viewers saw him in.
Batman had clearly not ejected by the time the Batplane had already left the city and was well into the sea. Even if the Batplane was on autopilot by this point, there was no way for Batman to swim back or escape the neutron bomb’s explosion. It was only plot armor that allowed him to survive.