The Batman (2022) ends with Gotham City underwater, the Riddler behind bars, and Bruce Wayne realising that vengeance alone cannot save his city. After a night of flooding and a foiled mass shooting at Gotham Square Garden, Batman stops being a figure of fear in the shadows and becomes a symbol of hope in daylight — while a laughing stranger in the next Arkham cell hints that a new threat is already waiting.
The Story So Far: Spoiler Recap
Matt Reeves’ The Batman follows a younger, angrier Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) in only his second year as Gotham’s vigilante. A serial killer calling himself the Riddler (Paul Dano) murders the city’s elite — Mayor Don Mitchell Jr., Commissioner Pete Savage, and District Attorney Gil Colson — leaving riddles for Batman at each crime scene.
As Batman and Lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) follow the clues, a conspiracy unravels. A charity initiative called the Renewal Fund, meant to rebuild Gotham, has been looted for years by corrupt officials. The “rat” the Riddler has been hunting turns out to be crime boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) himself, the informant at the centre of the network.
The conspiracy reaches Bruce’s own family. His father Thomas once asked Falcone to silence a journalist digging into his wife Martha’s troubled family history; Falcone had the journalist killed instead. Alfred (Andy Serkis) insists Thomas never wanted murder and was planning to go to the police when he and Martha died — and suspects, without proof, that Falcone had a hand in their deaths. Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), meanwhile, discovers Falcone is her estranged father — and behind her friend Annika’s death.
The Ending, Scene by Scene
Falcone is exposed — and murdered. Batman stops Selina from killing Falcone herself and hands him to the police. But as Falcone is led out into the street, a sniper’s bullet kills him. The shooter is the Riddler, soon arrested at a nearby diner and sent to Arkham State Hospital.
The Riddler’s real plan is revealed. In Arkham, the Riddler greets Batman like a partner, convinced Batman inspired his crusade. Batman rejects him, and the Riddler’s delight curdles into fury. Then Batman spots the clue he missed: the seawall. The arrest was part of the plan.
Gotham floods. Bombs along the seawall detonate and floodwater pours into the city. Survivors shelter at Gotham Square Garden, where mayor-elect Bella Reál is holding her victory rally. Waiting in the rafters are the Riddler’s online followers, armed with rifles and ready to gun down the city’s new leadership.
Batman fights in the flood. Batman battles the gunmen as water rises around the arena floor, saves Bella Reál from being shot, and cuts a live electrical cable himself to stop the crowd being electrocuted — nearly dying before Selina pulls him to safety.
A new kind of Batman. In the aftermath, with Gotham still half-submerged, Batman works in daylight for the first time — guiding survivors and leading people out of the dark. He reflects that he must become more than vengeance: the city needs hope, not just fear.
Bruce and Selina part ways. Selina says Gotham is beyond saving and leaves for a new start elsewhere, inviting Bruce along. He refuses — Gotham still needs him — and the two split at a fork in the road.
The Arkham laugh. Back in Arkham, the Riddler is inconsolable — until the prisoner in the next cell suggests the two of them could become friends, and dissolves into a chilling laugh. The prisoner is never named on screen, though he is widely understood to be the Joker.
What the Ending Really Means: Competing Interpretations
Vengeance is not enough. The most widely accepted reading is that the film is an origin story for Batman’s mission, not just for Batman. Early on, criminals whisper that “vengeance has come.” By the end, Bruce understands that fear alone only breeds more fear — the Riddler himself was inspired by his example.
The Riddler as Batman’s dark mirror. Another reading treats the Riddler as what Bruce could have become: an orphan radicalised by Gotham’s corruption, convinced violence is justice. He really was fighting the same corrupt system — the difference is method, not target.
Is Gotham saved, or just surviving? A bleaker reading notes Batman never prevents the flood: the bombs go off, the city drowns, and the gunmen are stopped only after the damage is done. The ending is a reprieve, not a victory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Riddler die at the end of The Batman?
No. He is arrested and imprisoned in Arkham State Hospital, last seen talking with the prisoner in the neighbouring cell.
Why does the Riddler flood Gotham?
It is the final stage of his plan: with the seawalls destroyed, survivors gather at Gotham Square Garden, where his followers can murder the city’s newly elected leaders in one attack.
Who is the “rat” in The Batman?
Carmine Falcone — he secretly fed information to the police while running Gotham’s criminal underworld, and sat at the centre of the corrupt network the Riddler targeted.
Does Selina Kyle leave Gotham?
Yes. She decides Gotham cannot be saved and rides off to start over elsewhere. She invites Bruce to join her, but he stays, and the two part ways on the road.
Is the Arkham prisoner really the Joker?
The film never names him, but the character — played by Barry Keoghan — is widely understood to be the Joker.