Batman
(1989)
by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren.
Based on the Character created by Bob Kane.
Fifth draft, October 6, 1988.
FADE IN:
EXT. CITYSCAPE - NIGHT
Gotham City. The City of Tomorrow: stark angles,
creeping shadows, dense, crowded, as if hell had erupted
through the sidewalks. A dangling fat moon shines
overhead.
EXT. GOTHAM SQUARE - NIGHT
PUSHERS wave to HOOKERS. STREET HUSTLERS slap high-fives
with three-card monte dealers. They all seem to know
each other... with one conspicuous exception:
A TOURIST FAMILY, MOM, DAD, AND LITTLE JIMMY, march
warily down the main drag. Just out of a show. But the
respectable theatre crowd has thinned out, and now --
Playbills in hand -- they're on Gotham's meanest street.
MOM
For God's sake, Harold, can we
please just get a taxi??
DAD
I'm trying to get a --
(shouting)
TAXI!!
Three cabs streak pass and disappear. Jimmy reads map.
JIMMY
We're going the wrong way.
Nearby, STREET TYPES are beginning to snicker.
DAD
Put that AWAY. We'll look like
tourists.
TWO COPS lean on their patrol car outside an all-night
souvlaki stand, sipping coffee and chatting with a
HOOKER.
The HOOKER smiles at Jimmy. Jimmy smiles back. Mom
yanks him off down the street and glowers at Dad.
DAD
We'll never get a cab. Let's cut
over to Seventh.
JIMMY
Seventh is that way.
DAD
I know where we are!
EXT. SIDE STREET - NIGHT (THAT MOMENT)
Deserted street lined with stripped-down cars. Family
marches into the darkness.
VOICE
Hey, mister. Gimme a dollar?
A DERELICT -- nineteen or twenty, acne-scarred -- his
ratty T-shirt -- "I LOVE GOTHAM CITY" -- family moves on,
pretending not to hear.
DERELICT
Mister. How about it. One dollar?
(standing up)
Are you deaf? -- Do you speak
English??
TOURISTS cross street. DERELICT doesn't follow.
Their pace quickens. A SHADOWY FIGURE in the alleyway.
A GLOVED HAND slams a GUN across Dad's neck.
He crumples. Mom grabs Jimmy and backs up against a
brick wall, too terrified to scream. The DERELICT races
across the street to join his confederate, the STREET
PUNK, who's already searching for Dad's wallet.
Mom's ready to snap -- STREET PUNK trains his gun on
Jimmy.
STREET PUNK
Do the kid a favor, lady. Don't
scream.
TEARS stream down her face. She stifles a scream and
clutches Jimmy. He's paralyzed with fear.
The two PUNKS CHUCKLE and race away.
Mom's self-control disintegrates -- she begins to SCREAM
before moving to unconscious Dad. SCREAM ECHOES.
EXT. CATHEDRAL - NIGHT
A darkly ornate Gothic anomaly: old City Cathedral, once
grand, long since boarded up.
STONE GARGOYLES gaze down from their shadowy rooftops.
Mom's SCREAM (uninterrupted from the previous scene)
ECHOES up. And one of the GARGOYLES MOVES.
EXT. ROOFTOP - NIGHT
Six stories up.
The PUNKS -- NICK and EDDIE -- hunker down on the tar-
and-gravel roof, sizing up their take.
NICK
All RIGHT. American Express.
(tossing the credit
card at Eddie)
Don't leave home without it.
A chill wind BLOWS as Nick counts cash. There's a
distant, metallic CLANG; EDDIE hears it and tenses up.
EDDIE
Let's beat it, man. I don't like
it up here.
NICK
What are ya, scared of heights?
EDDIE
I dunno. After what happened to
Johnny Gobs --
NICK
Look, Johnny Gobs got ripped and
walked off a roof, all right? No
big loss.
EDDIE
No, man. That ain't what I heard
at all.
(beat)
I heard the BAT got him.
NICK
The BAT?! Gimme a break, will
you, Eddie?
EDDIE
Five stories, straight down.
There was no blood in the body.
NICK
No shit. It was all over the
pavement.
ANOTHER SOUND. Now even Nick can't ignore the slight
tingle at the base of his spine...
NICK
Shut up.
(conclusively)
There ain't no bat.
At the opposite corner of the roof, some fifteen yards
away... at the end of a line, a STRANGE BLACK SILHOUETTE
is dropping slowly, implacably, into frame...
EDDIE
You shouldn'ta turned the gun on
that kid, man. You shouldn'ta --
NICK
You want your cut of this money or
don't you? Now shut up! Shut
up --
BOTH PUNKS FREEZE at the sudden, inexplicable sound of
BOOTS CRUNCHING ON GRAVEL. They turn slowly. Their
JAWS DROP.
At the edge of the roof, bathed in moonlight, is a BLACK
APPARITION.
Eddie freezes, a choked GURGLE in his throat. The BLACK
FIGURE advances and spreads its arms, slowly, majes-
tically. GREAT SHADOWY WINGS flap in the wind.
On its chest is THE EMBLEM OF A BAT, in an oval yellow
field, glowing like a target in the darkness..
Nick drops to the gravel, grabs the GUN, and FIRES TWICE.
TWO CLEAN HITS. The strange black figure is knocked
bodily to the roof.
NICK
-- I'm gettin' outta here.
He bends to retrieve his loot. Eddie lets out AN ODD,
PRE-VERBAL SQUEAL...
... and NICK sees THE HUMAN BAT, BACK ON ITS FEET, NIGHT-
MARISH, UNDEAD, MOVING SLOWLY AND INEVITABLY CLOSER.
Panic. Stolen money flutters out of Nick's hands. He
SCUTTLES FRANTICALLY across the roof. The BLACK SPECTRE
is blocking his path to the fire escape. Trapped like a
rat, Nick FIRES WILDLY.
Eddie's face is pale. The BAT treads calmly past. A LEG
snakes out. A BLACK BOOT catches Eddie high on the chest
-- LIFTS HIM CLEANLY OFF HIS FEET -- AND SENDS HIM FLYING
THROUGH THE AIR. Eddie slams into a brick chimney and
slumps unconscious.
THE BAT DOESN'T EVEN BREAK HIS STRIDE. Nick CHARGES past
the black wraith, toward the fire escape...
A GLOVED HAND slices through the air, and Nick pitches
forward, his legs ensnared in a tangle of WIRES. SCREAM-
ING, he drags himself across the gravel roof, the BAT at
his heels... 'til there's no place left to go. Nick
cowers on the edge.
Nick keeps SHOOTING. Eyes closed. Hammer falls on an
empty chamber, but Nick still pulls the trigger. He
MOANS.
BAT grabs Nick by the shirt, HOISTS HIM into the air.
NICK
Don't kill me... don't kill me...
Nick opens his eyes... the BAT is standing on the ledge
of the roof -- HOLDING HIM OUT, at arm's length, over six
stories of nothingness. A rasping VOICE.
BATMAN
You're trespassing, Ratbreath.
Nick looks down. Far, far below, CARS wink silently past.
He looks up. And sees, in the mirrored lenses where
Batman's eyes should be, the twin reflections of his own
stricken face.
NICK
Trespassing? You don't own the
night.
BATMAN
Tell your friends. Tell all your
friends. I AM the night.
Nick HOWLS. Batman heaves him roughly back onto the tar-
and-gravel surface of the roof. And then -- casually,
without a moment's hesitation -- steps off the ledge,
into midair.
Trembling, Nick crawls to the ledge and looks over...
finding ABSOLUTELY NO TRACE of the Batman.
Nick is still SCREAMING as we PAN UP TO Gotham's moon.
MAIN CREDITS ROLL:
BATMAN
CUT TO:
INT. GOTHAM CITY DEMOCRATS' CLUB - NIGHT
A VICTORY POSTER fills one wall: "CONGRATULATIONS! A
NEW GOTHAM CITY! HARVEY DENT - DISTRICT ATTORNEY."
MAYOR BORG, hysterical and self-certain introduces the
new District Attorney, HARVEY DENT -- a young, determined
lawyer.
MAYOR BORG
Across this nation, the words
'Gotham City' are synonymous with
crime. Our streets are overrun,
and our police officials have been
helpless. As Mayor I promised you
that I would root out the source
of corruption at the root! Boss
Carl Grissom! Our new District
Attorney Harvey Dent will carry
out that promise. I promise.
APPLAUSE. DENT stands to speak. We SEE a SINGLE EMPTY
PLACE SETTING at the end of the table -- and an engraved
placecard which bears the name "BRUCE WAYNE."
DENT
I'm a man of few words. But those
words will count. And so will our
actions. I have talked today to
Police Commissioner Gordon.
ANGLE ON JAMES W. GORDON
Gotham's police commissioner, a distinguished gent in
his late fifties.
DENT
He is targeting businesses
suspected of fronting for the
syndicate in this city. Within
one week we'll knock down their
doors and shed the light of the
law on that nest of vipers.
INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
A woman's apartment, sparsely furnished but tasteless.
Modern chairs and coffee table in front of a TV set.
High-fashion magazine picture blow-ups all modeled by
the same girl on walls.
In the foreground: a MAN'S HAND, long, elegant, and
manicured, manipulates a DECK OF CARDS, doing a one-
handed shuffle with extraordinary finesse.
The TV news has highlights of HARVEY DENT's victory
speech.
DENT (V.O.)
(on the TV screen)
Together we can make this city
safe for decent people --
THE HAND sets the deck on a table, turns up FOUR JACKS
off the top. This most unusual deck sports a .22 calibre
BULLET HOLE straight through the middle.
JACK NAPIER
Decent people shouldn't live here.
They'd be happier someplace else.
JACK NAPIER is right-hand man and chief enforcer to
BOSS CARL GRISSOM.
He is tough, vain, takes great pride in his appearance,
and is not reconciled to no longer being twenty one.
Velvet Death. ALICIA HUNT -- CARL GRISSOM's woman --
glides over in her negligee. Jack has his feet on the
table, resting on a copy of Vogue on the cover of which
is a picture of Alicia. She lifts his feet and rescues
the magazine. She is young, very beautiful, and as
narcissistic as Jack. She's the model pictured on the
walls.
ALICIA
Pretty tough talk about Carl.
JACK
Don't worry about it. It this
clown could tough Grissom... I'd
have killed him by now.
Alicia knots Jack's loose tie playfully about his neck.
ALICIA
If Grissom knew about us... he
might kill you.
Jack's eye darts back and forth between the TV and his
own reflection in a nearby vanity. Not interested in
her.
JACK
Don't flatter yourself, angel.
He's a tired old man. He can't
run this city without me.
(pause)
And besides, he doesn't know.
Jack remotes OFF the TV.
ALICIA
You don't worry about anything,
do you, Jack?
Jack gives Alicia a disdainful look, consults his watch,
reaches for his topcoat, and stands in front of the
vanity. He runs a hand through sculpted hair, checks his
fine threads.
ALICIA
You look fine.
He smiles at himself before turning to the door.
JACK
... I didn't ask.
CUT TO:
EXT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT
The scene of the earlier mugging is now ABUZZ with police
cars, an ambulance, a forensics van.
Eddie goes past on a stretcher, catatonic. Watching him
are a POLICE MEDIC and a porcine cop, LT. ECKHARDT, who
jots on a notepad.
ECKHARDT
No, let me guess. A gigantic,
menacing, supernatural form... in
the shape of a bat.
MEDIC
That's it... What are they SEEING
up there?
ECKHARDT
They're all drinkin' Drano.
MEDIC
It's still weird, Lieutenant.
ECKHARDT
(under his breath)
Oh Christ, Knox!
At the mouth of the alley is ALEXANDER KNOX, 30, a crime
reporter for the Gotham Globe.
KNOX
Hiya, gents. I hear we got
another bat attack.
That's eight 'sightings' now in
just under a month. I hear the
Commissioner's opened a file.
ECKHARDT
Sorry, Knox. These two slipped
on a banana peel.
Two uniformed PATROLMEN drag a brain-fried Nick past.
NICK
A bat, I tell you, a GIANT bat!
He wanted me to do him a favor...!
Knox smirks. Eckhardt and the Medic trade disgusted
looks.
ECKHARDT
(irritated)
Don't be writing this crap in the
newspaper, Knox, it'll ruin your
already useless reputation.
KNOX
Lieutenant. Lotsa punks in town're
scared stiff! They say he drinks
blood. They say he can't be killed.
ECKHARDT
I say you're full of shit, Knox.
Eckhardt turns away in annoyance.
ECKHARDT
And you can quote me on that!
KNOX
Lieutenant. Is there a six-foot
bat in Gotham City?
(shouting)
If so, is he on the police payroll?
If so, what's he pulling down
after taxes?
EXT. STREET - NIGHT (THAT MOMENT)
Eckhardt emerges onto the side street -- and spies a
STRETCH LIMO IDLING nearby. Leaning on the hood, waving
hi, is the dandyish Jack NAPIER. Jack's odd driver BOB
HAWKINS polishes the door handle.
Jack swaggers up and tosses Eckhardt a sandwich bag.
JACK
I brought you a little snack,
Eckhardt.
Eckhardt looks at the sandwich inside. It's full of 100
DOLLAR BILLS. The cop throws a nervous glance back in
KNOX's direction and stuffs it quickly in his coat.
ECKHARDT
Why don't you broadcast it, Napier?
JACK
Shut up and listen -- Harvey Dent
is sniffing around one of our
companies.
Eckhardt bristles.
ECKHARDT
(testy)
That's my territory, Jack. If
there's a problem --
Suddenly, Jack grabs Eckhardt by the lapels of his
topcoat.
JACK
Eckhardt... your problems are our
problems.
ECKHARDT
(knocking his hands
away)
I answer to Grissom, not to
Psychos.
JACK
Why, Eckhardt. You should be
thinking about the future.
ECKHARDT
(sneers)
You mean... when you run the show?
You got no future, Jack. You're
an A-1 nut boy and Grissom knows
it.
Jack claps a hand on Eckhardt's face and shoves him full-
force into a wall. Stunned, Eckhardt turns bright red
and grabs Jack by the coat collar and whips out his gun.
Jack calmly takes his hand from Eckhardt's face as the
latter brings the gun up.
JACK
(relaxed)
Watch the suit.
Breathing heavily, Eckhardt lets go of Jack's coat and
lowers the gun.
JACK
(smiles)
See. You can make a good decision
when you try.
Jack LAUGHS insanely in Eckhardt's ashen face, EXITS.
When Jack is out of earshot, Eckhardt MUTTERS
menacingly:
ECKHARDT
And where you been spending your
nights, handsome...?
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. GOTHAM CITY SQUARE - DAY
Hard-hatted Dent and Gordon follow Mayor across the
construction-filled square. Preparations are being made
for a gigantic public event. Banner goes up saying
"200TH ANNIVERSARY OF GOTHAM CITY FESTIVAL."
MAYOR
I don't care how much in debt this
festival is. I want a parade, hot
dogs, balloons, the whole schmeer.
We're gonna celebrate this 200th
anniversary proudly. And PUBLICLY.
DENT
We may be celebrating it in
bankruptcy court. The tax base
is crumbling, and if this festival
crashes you can kiss our bond
rating goodbye. The Festival is
$350,000 in the red and we haven't
seen one balloon.
MAYOR
I'll take care of the festival
budget. I've got a party of rich
old ladies who'll pay $1000 to see
the inside of Wayne Manor. You
fill this square with people, kids,
dogs, families, and the businesses
will come back here.
GORDON
I think a lot of people might stay
away, Mayor. They're scared.
MAYOR
They won't be scared when you've
got Grissom in that courthouse. I
promised that, right?
Gordon nods as Mayor marches across the square.
INT. GOTHAM GLOBE - CITY ROOM - DAY
Gotham's leading tabloid daily. KNOX RUSHES IN, spots
BOB THE CARTOONIST at his drafting table, with several
amused REPORTERS looking on.
REPORTER
Well, well. Count Dracula! You
seen Bigfoot lately?
ANOTHER REPORTER
They BURIED your story on the
Batman.
REPORTER
They bury garbage.
KNOX
This is the Pulitzer prize zone,
boys! You wait!
BOB
Oh, Knox -- I got something for
you.
BOB holds up a drawing of a HUMAN BAT, with an awful,
fanged rodent's face, wearing a business suit. The cap-
tion reads: "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?"
The REPORTERS CRACK up. Knox, who's used to the ribbing,
mumbles.
KNOX
Very nice, boys. A little more
gore on the fangs.
(under his breath)
What a dick...
He moves on
INT. KNOX'S OFFICE - DAY
Knox approaches but stops in his tracks.
Propped up on the desk are a PAIR OF EXCEPTIONAL LEGS.
Knox stares. He takes her in -- the most beautiful woman
he's ever seen is attached to the legs. Leaning back in
Knox's swivel chair, reading the Globe. Her face
obscured by a big outrageous HAT. He ENTERS.
KNOX
Hel-lo, legs.
The hat tips back. VICKI VALE, her face framed by a
shock of bright red hair, flashes a dazzling smile.
VICKI
I'm reading your stuff.
KNOX
And I'm reading yours.
He looks at the oversized CAMERA BAG with decals all over
it. Monogrammed "V.V." She stands, shakes hands.
VICKI
Hi, I'm Vicki Vale.
Her attitude is strong, hip, professional.
KNOX
Vicki Vale... Vicki Vale... Let's
see... Vogue, Cosmo... I've seen
your stuff. Listen, you didn't
come here to ask me to pose nude,
because you're going to need a
long lens.
VICKI
Actually I've been in Corto
Maltese.
She pulls out a sheet of COMBAT PHOTOS -- exploding Jeeps,
burning huts, bodies in piles. A bloody revolution.
KNOX
Hey , a girl could get hurt doing
this.
Knox is impressed but he's also smitten:
KNOX
(amazed)
What are you doing here?
VICKI
I'm here to see some of the
wildlife in Gotham City.
KNOX
Wildlife... like what?
VICKI
Like -- bats.
She indicates his desk which is littered with doodles of
bats.
KNOX
(disbelieving)
Who sent you?
VICKI
No one. I read your piece.
There's something about this
that's very interesting to me.
KNOX
What's your angle?
VICKI
A picture of a guy in a bat suit
catching criminals?
(her hand sweeping
a headline)
BATMAN SWEEPS CRIME FROM GOTHAM.
My pictures. Your words. This
is Pulitzer prize material.
KNOX
(exhilarated)
You're a visionary. Problem is,
you're the only one who believes
me. I need something tangible.
Gordon's got a file on this but I
can't get him on the phone.
A sly look crosses Vicki's face.
VICKI
He'll be at Bruce Wayne's benefit,
won't he?
KNOX
I don't seem to be on the guest
list.
Sulking, he doesn't notice Vicki reaching into her camera
bag. He doesn't see the small white INVITATION until she
DANGLES IT right in front of his nose.
KNOX
Miss Vale... Got a date?
She flutters her great big eyelashes and shakes her head
no.
VICKI
Will you help me?
KNOX
Yes. Will you marry me?
VICKI
Perhaps. Do you snore?
She LAUGHS. He offers her his arm.
KNOX
I'll learn.
CUT TO:
INT. PENTHOUSE - NIGHT
A HUGE PLATE GLASS WINDOW on the best view in Gotham.
CARL GRISSOM, criminal kingpin, is 50, utterly without
charm.
His LIEUTENANTS -- bloodless white-collar types as well
as a few outright GOONS -- are sprawled nearby in easy
chairs. Grissom waves a copy of the Globe -- with HARVEY
DENT staring out from page one.
GRISSOM
Say this son of a bitch makes a
connection with us and Axis
Chemicals, what kind of damage are
we looking at?
ACCOUNTANT
If he ties us in with Axis Chemical,
we're dead and buried.
(clearing his throat)
We should move immediately.
Jack slouches in an easy chair doing his one-handed
shuffle.
JACK
Let's just break-in, trash the
office, make off with the books...
and call it 'industrial espionage.'
GRISSOM
Smart thinking, Jack.
That's the way to go. In fact --
I'd like you to handle this
operation personally.
Jack's hand FREEZES over his lucky deck. Nervously, he
turns a card off the top. It's not a jack; it's a Joker
-- a Joker with a neat, round, .22 calibre HOLE through
its face.
At this exact moment, METAL DOORS slide back -- and
ALICIA HUNT steps out of GRISSOM's private elevator with
an armful of SHOPPING BAGS.
GRISSOM
Hello, sweetheart. I wonder if
you'd mind waiting in the other
room.
Alicia's gaze meets Jack's nervously as she vanishes
through a side door. The eye contact is not lost on
Grissom.
GRISSOM
Thank you, gentlemen. That's all
for now.
Grissom's CRONIES FILE OUT. Jack, troubled, lingers
behind. He looks miserable and obviously doesn't want
to go.
JACK
Carl, can't we send somebody else?
The fumes in that place...
GRISSOM
Jack, it's an important job -- I
need someone I can trust. You're
my number one guy.
(beat)
Now don't forget your lucky deck.
Jack, resigned, pockets the deck and leaves.
GRISSOM
(wolfish grin)
My friend, your luck is just
about to change.
Alicia APPEARS in the doorway, modeling her new
purchases.
GRISSOM
(smiling into phone)
Get me Lieutenant Eckhardt.
CUT TO:
EXT. WAYNE MANOR - ESTABLISHING - NIGHT
A vast, rambling mansion on sixty wooded acres a half-
hour's drive from Gotham. Out front, a team of
red-jacketed VALETS are parking expensive cars.
INT. BALLROOM - NIGHT
The ballroom is outfitted with roulette wheels for a
CASINO NIGHT. Gotham's POWER ELITE eagerly throw cash
into Mayor's festival kitty. Small banner "SAVE THE
FESTIVAL!"
ANOTHER ANGLE - HANDSOME YOUNG BRUCE WAYNE
enters from the kitchen. He's a rich, smart guy with a
thousand things on his mind. But when you think he's not
paying attention -- you're dead wrong. He doesn't miss
a thing.
A WAITER hands him something to sign. He signs and the
waiter EXITS. Left with the pen, he isn't sure what to
do with it. He looks around and finally decides to put
it in a flowerpot. Just then ALFRED THE BUTLER, 60s
mannered but with sense of humor, APPEARS and takes it
from him. Alfred smiles as Bruce continues through the
foyer past --
In his cheap suit, stands Knox -- staring inquisitively
up at the ceiling.
Alfred appears with a tray of champagne glasses. He,
too, looks up at the ceiling.
ALFRED
Can I help you, sir?
KNOX
You know if you cut your bath in
half, you'd have my whole
apartment.
ALFRED
We do have a rather large
bathroom, sir.
KNOX
No, I meant your bath... as in
TUB.
Knox takes a drink and Alfred MOVES ON.
ANOTHER ANGLE
Alfred stoops to pick up some glasses, the other glasses
on his tray slide. He's caught a bit. Vicki catches the
glasses. Vicki smiles.
VICKI
You okay?
ALFRED
Yes, thank you.
A small bond has been formed. Alfred CONTINUES on his
way. As an afterthought Vicki calls after him. Stops.
Bruce has been watching. Vicki turns to him.
VICKI
Excuse me... which one of these
guys is Bruce Wayne?
BRUCE
(caught off guard)
I... I'm not sure.
VICKI
Thanks.
BRUCE
Uh... yeah.
Vicki WALKS AWAY. Bruce watches her, very intrigued.
ANGLE ON GORDON
At craps table, blowing into his fist, he rolls dice.
Snake eyes. He passes the dice as Knox and Vicki PUSH
UP.
KNOX
Commissioner Gordon, Mrs. Gordon.
How nice you look tonight.
(to Gordon)
Have you heard this crazy rumor
that you have opened a file on
the Batman? That's not true is
it?
Knox puts his hands up behind his head and wiggles his
fingers -- like little bat ears. Gordon GROANS.
GORDON
Knox, for the ninth time, there
is no bat. If there were, we
would find him -- we would arrest
him --
KNOX
... find him, arrest him... that's
what I always hear, Commissioner.
Be straight with me.
Dent ambles up, claps a hand on Gordon's shoulder.
DENT
How's your luck, Jim?
KNOX
Mr. Dent. Commissioner Gordon and
I were just talking about winged
vigilantes, what's your stand?
DENT
Mr. Knox, we have enough real
problems in this city without
worrying about ghosts.
AN OFFICER motions to Gordon, who FOLLOWS HIM into
another room. Vicki nods at Knox as they slip away to
FOLLOW THEM.
ANGLE ON BRUCE
He watches them. Especially the beauteous Vicki.
EXT. AXIS CHEMICAL CO. - ESTABLISHING - NIGHT
A NEON SIGN reads: "AXIS CHEMICAL. THE FUTURE IS NOW."
From the SIGN we PAN TO a METAL SLUICE GATE -- dumping
TONS of CHURNING TOXIC SLUDGE into Gotham's East River.
A PLAIN VAN pulls up. Jack and GOONS get out.
ANOTHER ANGLE
The SECURITY GUARD in a booth at the entrance to the lot.
One of Jack's BOYS creeps up and takes the GUARD out.
Jack and Goons sneak in.
INT. WAYNE MANOR - ARMORY - NIGHT
Knox and Vicki ENTER looking for Gordon. No luck. Knox
goes goggle-eyed at the armory.
KNOX
(ironic)
And here we are in the arsenal.
On the wall hang EXOTIC WEAPONS. Every arcane implement
of death the human mind has ever devised. Knox lets out
a low whistle.
KNOX
Look at this stuff. Who is this
guy?
Bruce ENTERS and stands just behind them. Vicki sees
him, but having seen him earlier, regards him casually,
like another partygoer. Bruce listens with interest.
VICKI
Strange. He gives to humanitarian
causes... And collects all this...
KNOX
Probably does it to get chicks.
They like him for his big charity
balls.
VICKI
(mischievous)
I think it's his enormous...
bankroll they go for.
KNOX
Hey, the more they've got, the
less they're worth.
VICKI
This guy must be the most worthless
man in America.
KNOX
(pointing to
a sword)
Where'd this come from?
BRUCE
It's Japanese.
Knox turns. Bruce is trying to remember, but is really
watching Vicki.
KNOX
How do you know?
BRUCE
Because I got it in Japan.
KNOX
Who are you?
BRUCE
Oh... Bruce Wayne.
KNOX
(extending a
hand)
Alexander Knox.
BRUCE
(genuine)
I read (present tense) your work.
I like it.
KNOX
Great. Give me a grant.
Bruce flips a polite smile at Knox then switches smoothly
to VICKI, who is amused at being had by Bruce. She
sticks out her hand.
VICKI
Vicki Vale.
BRUCE
Bruce Wayne.
VICKI
(smile and edge)
... You sure?
BRUCE
(smile)
I've seen your photographs from
Corto Maltese -- You've got an
extraordinary eye.
Bruce is charming. Knox's territorial instincts arouse.
KNOX
Some people think she has two.
VICKI
This is an amazing house. I'd
love to shoot it sometime.
A WINE STEWARD ENTERS. Vicki and Knox exchange glances.
STEWARD
Mr. Wayne, we need to open another
five cases of the champagne. Will
that be allright?
BRUCE
Uh -- yes, sure. Open six.
Steward EXITS. Bruce turns back to catch up with himself.
BRUCE
(to Vicki)
Yes... Will you be staying in
Gotham for a while?
VICKI
I'd like to. I'm intrigued by
Alex's giant bat story.
A RICH COUPLE waves at Bruce as they EXIT. He politely
waves to them. Then he looks after them like he can't
remember who they are. Then he does remember. Then back
to Vicki.
BRUCE
Isn't that a little light after a
war in Corto Maltese?
VICKI
(smiling zap)
Light? What do YOU do for a
living?
Alfred appears in the doorway behind them.
ALFRED
Sir? Commissioner Gordon was
compelled to leave.
BRUCE
Thank you, Alfred.
He turns back to Vicki. Alfred persists.
ALFRED
Ahem. Sir -- very unexpectedly.
BRUCE
(getting it)
Oh, thank you, Alfred.
(to Vicki)
I hope you'll excuse me.
Vicki smiles. A connection has been made. They both
know it.
VICKI
Sure.
Bruce turns to go. Setting his glass too close to the
edge of the table. Alfred calls to him.
ALFRED
Sir, I think perhaps THIS way.
BRUCE
Oh yes... thanks. Oh, Alfred,
they need mare wine in the front
and someone named Mrs. Daly wanted
a copy of the menu. Oh, and,
Alfred. Give Mr. Knox a grant.
He winks at Knox. And goes the OTHER way out of the
roam. Alfred fluidly sweeps up Bruce's glass and follows
him briskly OUT OF THE ROOM. Knox is stung and Vicki
transfixed.
KNOX
Nice talkin' to ya, Bruce. Now
are the rich odd? Yes they are.
(jealous)
Helllo? Vicki?
VICKI
(waking up)
Sorry, I was -- He's comp-lic-ated.
KNOX
I said odd.
VICKI
Mm.
KNOX
Ah -- Well you're not the only fan.
This guy loves himself. There're
mirrors in every roam.
And indeed, the two of them are standing before an
enormous WALL MIRROR, eight feet wide, running from
floor to ceiling.
KNOX
Maybe it should be Bruce VAIN.
CUT TO:
REVERSE ANGLE - THROUGH MIRROR
LOOKING DOWN ON Knox and Vicki THROUGH one-way glass.
Behind the mirror... recording everything that happens in
the room... is a small, silent, state-of-the-art SURVEIL-
LANCE CAMERA.
CLOSEUP - VIDEO MONITOR
showing KNOX and VICKI in the library. The screen we're
watching is only one in a whole vast bank of video mon-
itors -- a control center showing everything that happens
in the house. The background is blurry, indistinct... but
we seem to be in the midst of a vast, dark CAVE.
On another screen, GUESTS move backward with exaggerated
speed, as a videotape REWINDS. At the panel, Bruce Wayne
hits a button -- and watches COMMISSIONER GORDON talking
to a uniformed PATROLMAN.
PATROLMAN (V.O.)
-- anonymous tip. Napier's
cleaning out Axis Chemicals.
GORDON (V.O.)
Good Lord, if we could put our
hands on him we'd have Grissom.
(obviously agitated)
Why wasn't I told about this?
Who's in charge of the --
PATROLMAN (V.O.)
Eckhardt, sir.
GORDON (V.O.)
Oh my God...
And suddenly Gordon is grabbing for his coat. The monitor
GOES BLACK. Bruce is somehow different. More relaxed.
He stands up. He gathers himself. Focuses inwardly in
a way that empowers him.
CUT TO:
EXT. AXIS CHEMICAL COMPANY - PARKING LOT - NIGHT
POLICE CARS are pulling into the lot.
Eckhardt circulates among his ARMED SWAT TEAM, handing
out Xeroxed copies of a MUG SHEET: Jack NAPIER, front
and profile.
ECKHARDT
Shoot to kill.
INT. AXIS CHEMICAL - FILE ROOM - NIGHT
SPARKS FLY. A SAFECRACKER, in welder's mask, trains a
blowtorch on the office safe. Behind him, Jack's HOODS
are at work on the filing cabinets. Jack stands watch-
ing, squinting through the fumes. He holds a silk
handkerchief over his nose and mouth.
The SAFECRACKER kills his blowtorch and opens the metal
door of the safe, giving Jack a good look inside:
SAFECRACKER
Empty.
JACK shakes his head: they've been set up. A SIREN
blares outside.
JACK
We've been ratted out here, boys.
INT. AXIS CHEMICAL - THAT MOMENT
Jack and his HOODS duck out of the office, two stories
above the refinery floor, onto a network of ladders and
CATWALKS.
A COP, stationed behind a bank of machinery, shouts out:
COP
Freeze!
One of the HOODS OPENS FIRE. Half of his colleagues dive
back into the office, looking for a rear exit. The
others take off across the CATWALKS.
INT. FACTORY FLOOR - A MOMENT LATER
COPS SHOOT BACK as the HOODS scatter. The COPS' bullets
puncture ducts and pipes from which gas and unpleasant
looking liquid begins to leak.
All at once, a CORRUGATED STEEL DOOR rises -- and COM-
MISSIONER GORDON MARCHES IN with a squadron of UNIFORMED
COPS. He grabs a startled Eckhardt by the shoulder:
GORDON
What the hell is going on here?
ECKHARDT
Christ, what are you trying to do
-- blow the collar?
GORDON
I'm in charge here. Not Carl
Grissom.
(shouting)
I WANT HIM TAKEN ALIVE. I REPEAT
-- ANY MAN WHO OPENS FIRE ON JACK
NAPIER WILL ANSWER TO ME!
Eckhardt SLIPS AWAY INTO THE PLANT. Gordon realizes he's
gone and follows with gun drawn.
ANGLE ON JACK
Down on the floor, racing, THROWING SWITCHES -- anything
to create a diversion. GIGANTIC MACHINES ROAR to life.
OVERHEAD CHEMICAL TANKS rotate into place above giant
basins and spew out their contents.
COPS an Jack's tail. He SHOOTS at them AND RUNS.
ANGLE ON CATWALKS
HOODS 3 and 4 scuttle across the elevated walkways,
FIRING at the POLICE and PUNCTURING mare DUCTS, PIPES,
and CONTAINERS, thereby releasing more CHEMICALS. Their
HEADS TURN at the sound of a sudden CLANG --
-- as BATMAN drops onto the catwalk from above. For a
moment, they gape. Then HOOD 4 takes off running; HOOD
3 turns and LEVELS HIS GUN at Batman --
-- who goes to his belt for a miniature SPEAR GUN and
FIRES at HOOD 3... planting a BARBED HOOK in the HOOD'S
JACKET, SPINNING HIM AROUND. HOOD 3 drops his gun, slips,
and -- with a terrible shriek -- TOPPLES OVER THE RAILING.
The hook in his jacket jerks him up short... leaving him
to DANGLE thirty feet above the factory floor!
ANGLE ON COMMISSIONER GORDON
His gaze whips upward from the dangling hood to the
figure on the catwalk. As he's just realized... there
is a bat.
GORDON
Oh my God!!
INT. CHEMICAL SUPPLY ROOM - THAT MOMENT
Jack looking for an exit. Behind him, a STEEL DOOR
begins to rise -- more COPS. He picks up the axe and
runs to bottom of iron stairs to huge steel containers
with DANGER! HIGHLY TOXIC written on them under SKULL
AND CROSSBONES. He swings the axe releasing a river of
wild-colored poisons.
ANGLE ON COPS
At the bottom of the stairs, they RETREAT hastily, bump-
ing into each other, as POISONS FLOOD toward them. Jack
on other side of the chemical moat, throws away the axe
and climbs the stairs.
INT. FACTORY FLOOR - A MOMENT LATER
A RIVER OF CHEMICALS courses out into the main refinery.
COPS SLIP AND SLIDE on the wet surface of the factory
floor GASPING on ACID FUMES.
METAL STAIRS LEADING TO CATWALK
Jack climbs metal stairs. Above him, vats of CHURNING
CHEMICAL SLUDGE -- and SLUICE GATES opening on the East
River. It's the waste dump.
UP ON THE CATWALK, Batman slips into the shadows and
watches Jack approach.
Jack reaches the catwalk. Located above the center of
it is a glass paneled WINDOW, propped open by a support-
ing rod. Beyond this is a forty foot drop to the swirl-
ing black currents of the East River... and freedom. To
reach the window, Jack will be exposed to police bullets.
He makes a dash for it, and has begun to climb up to it
on the catwalk railings, when BATMAN HURTLES IN and puts
him in a wrestling hold. Jack struggles for a moment,
then registers what's hit him and freaks out.
JACK
Jesus!
But just then...
VOICE
HOLD IT!
ANGLE ON FACTORY FLOOR - THAT MOMENT
Bob's got a gun pointed AT COMMISSIONER GORDON'S HEAD.
BOB
Let him go or I'll do Gordon.
A tense moment passes.
Eckhardt appears on floor. Looks up at Jack.
CATWALK - A MOMENT LATER
Batman releases Jack and stands clear. Jack straightens
his clothes and fixes his hair.
JACK
(smirking at Batman)
Nice outfit.
GOON
Jack, let's get out of here.
Jack spies .38 AUTOMATIC abandoned an the catwalk.
ANGLE ON FACTORY FLOOR
Eckhardt uses this moment to sneak away. A voice breaks
the tension:
JACK
Eckhardt!! Think about the
future!
ALL EYES TURN to Jack standing poised with the .38 in his
fist. He FIRES. Eckhardt FALLS DEAD. Jack turns gun
to Gordon.
Batman moves. Jack spins on Batman.
Their eyes meet for a second.
TIGHT ON BATMAN
-- a questioning look on his face. A spark.
TIGHT ON JACK
-- a small smile plays on his lips.
ON TRIGGER
-- He FIRES POINT BLANK at Batman.
ON BATMAN
-- he swings his heavy cape. The BULLET RICOCHETS
DIRECTLY BACK AT JACK.
AN UNGODLY HOWL OF PAIN echoes out from the catwalk
above. Jack reels and staggers, CLUTCHING AT HIS CHEEKS.
BLOOD GUSHES from between his fingers.
JACK NAPIER HAS BEEN SHOT THROUGH THE FACE.
He staggers into the catwalk railing and topples over,
just managing to grab hold of the lowest rung. Directly
beneath him is a catch basin full of BUBBLING TOXIC WASTE.
ON CATWALK - THAT MOMENT
Batman leaps and tries to grab Jack's hand.
Jack drops but catches himself on a pipe. He's slipping.
Batman reaches, gets a poor grip. He stares, perplexed.
at the stricken expression in Jack's eyes.
CUT TO:
ON CATWALK - SAME MOMENT
Jack is sliding out of Batman's grasp. A long BEAT --
Jack looks up at him in terror and SLIPS AWAY to plunge
the TWO STORIES DOWN into the CATCH BASIN of BUBBLING,
TOXIC WASTE, SCREAMING ALL THE WAY.
ANGLE ON FACTORY FLOOR - MOMENT LATER
GORDON
Goddammit, we had him!
COPS level their guns on Batman. A couple of them appear
at either end of the catwalk, effectively blocking his
escape. He takes in the situation, HANDS ON HIS BELT.
GORDON
Hold it right there..
Batman raises his hands in a gesture of surrender. As
the COPS advance from both ends of the catwalk -- he
flicks two tiny capsules at the nearby wall.
A BLINDING FLASH OF LIGHT. Colors burst in a wild pyro-
technic display. COPS stumble backwards, momentarily
dazzled, as a THICK WALL OF BLACK SMOKE conceals Batman
from view.
A tiny grappling hook rockets out of the dense curling
cloud and catches on the edge of a window in the roof.
COP
Look!
The COPS are FIRING WILDLY into the smoke. But the BLACK
MAJESTIC FIGURE OF THE Batman whips upward, DISAPPEARING
into the shadowy heights, safely out of range.
COP
... Who is this guy?
GORDON
(to Cop)
I don't know and until we find
out, keep a lid on it.
CUT TO:
EXT. AXIS CHEMICAL COMPANY - NIGHT (THAT MOMENT)
A BLACK SHADOW scurries across the roof. From the il-
luminated sign with its neon ace, WE PAN DOWN PAST the
chemical sluice TO a SECOND ACE... a card from Jack's
lucky deck, pierced by a neat, round bullet hole, bobbing
on the oily surface of the foul, polluted river.
Gradually, OTHER CARDS from the deck swirl past: a nine.
A deuce. A queen. And finally, a Joker -- SHOT CLEANLY
THROUGH THE FACE.
A BONE-WHITE HAND BREAKS THE SURFACE as we --
SHOCK CUT TO:
INT. GOTHAM GLOBE - CITY ROOM - DAY
A BANNER HEADLINE on the late edition of the Globe:
"BATMAN FOILS ROBBERY. JACK NAPIER DEAD. WHO IS MASKED
VIGILANTE?"
Behind the newspaper, feet propped up on his desk, is a
jubilant Knox. He's on the horn to Gordon.
KNOX
Yes, Commissioner. If there's no
Bat, then who dropped this guy
Napier into the acid? Wait a
minute, I want to get this on
tape.
He holds a tape recorder up to phone. Listens. A LOUD
CLICK as Gordon hangs up on him.
Vicki BUSTLES IN with sheaf of photographs. Starts to
hang them on wail. Making a photomontage of the city.
Cartoonist sticks head in door, tapes drawing of Batman
with arm on Knox's shoulder. GUY EXITS. Knox hangs up.
KNOX
Vicki Vale! (I'm) Nostradamus!
VICKI
Look at this, Allie.
Knox comes around. She points to her montage map.
VICKI
Here's the inner city, and here's
Axis Chemicals. Here are the
sightings so far.
KNOX
Did you do this? This is great.
VICKI
Maybe the Batman's got some sort
of flight pattern or something.
KNOX
Yeah, tonight we'll walk the
trail.
VICKI
Tomorrow maybe. I've got a date
with Bruce Wayne. Sorry.
KNOX
(shouting)
Bruce Wayne? No, A DATE is when
two normal people go out to enjoy
each other. A date for Bruce
WAYNE is when he goes out to a
restaurant with mirrors, by
HIMSELF!
She plants a kiss on his forehead.
VICKI
You're awfully sweet to be so
concerned but thanks anyway.
Vicki smiles and EXITS. Knox looks pole-axed.
KNOX
(irritated, picking
up phone)
Copy, get me the morgue.
(BEAT)
Morgue... give me all you got on
Bruce Wayne.
CUT TO:
EXT. BRUCE'S ESTATE - RIDING STABLES - SUNDOWN
Bruce and Vicki GALLOP UP on horseback. They dismount;
Bruce grooms his horse. Vicki watches.
VICKI
You're not bad on a horse.
BRUCE
Horses love me. I keep falling
OFF. Maybe that's why they love
me. You should see me, I'm one
big mass of bruises.
VICKI
(laughing)
Maybe we can arrange a little
examination?
Bruce, without missing a beat, puts the curry comb up on
a rail and turns to her.
BRUCE
Yeah, how about right now?
Vicki is caught in her own sexual trap.
VICKI
Just kidding.
BRUCE
You thought you had me, didn't
you?
Bruce smiles and walks past her up to the main house.
Vicki smiles.
EXT. WAYNE MANOR - PATIO - SUNDOWN
A broad patio behind the manor, looking out on the es-
tate. Bruce and Vicki ARRIVE from the stables. Alfred
APPEARS with a bottle of champagne, smiles discreetly at
Vicki, then DISAPPEARS. Bruce POPS the cork unhandily.
ALFRED
The historical Society called to
remind you of the banquet. Should
I say you'll be there?
BRUCE
Yes, absolutely... I'll be there.
Alfred starts to walk away. Bruce thinks.
BRUCE
Alfred... Which Society?
ALFRED
Historical.
BRUCE
Oh, yeah, right. Yes.
Alfred EXITS.
VICKI
That Alfred's great.
BRUCE
I can't find my socks without
him. Been with the family since
I was born.
Pouring, he tries, unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.
VICKI
(amused, teasing him)
Am I keeping you up?
BRUCE
(slightly embarrassed)
I'm sorry. I've got a lot going
on at the moment.
VICKI
Like who?
BRUCE
(flustered)
No... Just business... I'll be
honest with you, I bore myself
silly, tell me about you.
VICKI
I take pictures. And I love doing
it. I feel naked without a camera.
BRUCE
(little smile)
Well we better get you one.
(as she smiles)
Go on.
VICKI
I'd been floating around for a
while, doing fashion. It was
alright... I don't know. Things
change.
(searching for an
explanation)
How old are you?
BRUCE
Just turned 35.
VICKI
You've probably had it happen too.
You know... you wake up one
morning and say, hey this is who
I am. I see things through
cameras. All kinds of things.
Not just long legs and great
skirts, but... things... You know?
BRUCE
I'm not sure.
VICKI
Well... I just picked up and left.
BRUCE
What did you see?
VICKI
(sigh, BEAT)
A lot'a hotels. A little terror. A
little love once in a blue moon.
BRUCE
(pandering it)
A little terror. A little love.
VICKI
(softly)
It's out there. I was never in
the right place I guess.
Bruce looks around at his opulent estate, falls SILENT.
VICKI
You're a little elusive, Mr.
Wayne. I feel like there's a lot
going on in there.
BRUCE
Oh... not really.
VICKI
Come on, say what you're thinking.
BRUCE
I was just thinking how beautiful
you looked on that horse... and
that... it's kinda nice to have
someone here who notices things.
She finds herself irrevocably drawn in.
VICKI
(mischievous; offer-
ing her hand)
See... I do have an extraordinary
eye.
BRUCE
(taking her hand)
Two.
INT. WAYNE MANOR - NIGHT
A vast, darkened entry hall, framed by long semicircular
stairways on either side. Bruce and Vicki enter; she's
giddy.
VICKI
I feel like I'm in Paris in the
'30s. Is this fair? I'm half
drunk and you're not even --
BRUCE
Two drinks and I'm flying.
Vicky smiles. They stare into each other's eyes for a
moment, on the verge of kissing.
He's struggling with something. She touches him.
VICKY
Why are you afraid of flying?
He steps towards her and they begin a kiss which turns
into a passionate embrace. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING trans-
ports us to:
EXT. OFFICE BUILDING - ESTABLISHING - NIGHT
Broken windows, graffiti on the walls: a waterfront
rathole.
INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT
TIGHT ON a face swathed in bandages. The patient sits
erect in a wooden chair, surrounded by the grimy para-
phernalia of an unlicensed gangland doctor.
The DOCTOR, a nervous little ferret, steps up with a
pair of scissors.
DOCTOR
Well, let's see how we did.
He begins to snip away. As the bandages come off, we
get:
JACK NAPIER'S POV
The last strands of gauze peel back. The DOCTOR stands
there, looking at his handiwork. His mouth falls open.
His eyes bug out. He GASPS.
JACK (O.S.)
Mirror.
The DOCTOR just stands there staring AT CAMERA, stock-
still, apparently transfixed by the sight of Jack's face.
JACK (O.S.)
Mirror.
ANGLE ON DOCTOR
He clears his throat, reaches apprehensively for a hand
mirror, and passes it OUT OF FRAME to Jack.
We hear a GASP and SOB. Two beats. Then, the sound of
GLASS SHATTERING as the mirror drops to the floor. The
DOCTOR gulps hard.
DOCTOR
You understand that the nerves
were completely severed -- Mr.
Napier --
Jack begins to LAUGH. The DOCTOR turns uneasily away,
gestures apologetically at his seedy equipment.
DOCTOR
-- You see what I had to work
with here --
More laughter. The trembling DOCTOR covers his face with
one hand, whining now, not daring to look at Jack.
DOCTOR
-- I'm sure that with proper recon
-- recon -- reconstructive
surgery --
A DOOR SLAMS. Jack is gone. The grateful DOCTOR breathes
a sigh of relief and steadies himself on an operating
table as Jack's AWFUL LAUGH ECHOES in the hall outside.
DOCTOR
(puzzled)
What's so funny?
INT. BRUCE WAYNE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Vicki is asleep. CAMERA PANS TO Bruce lying next to her.
He's silently looking at the cascade of her hair on the
pillow. He watches her face, perplexed. Grandfather
CLOCK CLANGS. He checks his watch, stands up and looks
out window. He's constrained. He stretches impatiently.
ON CLOCK FACE
TIME HAS PASSED. PAN TO VICKI -- sleeping. A RHYTHMIC
SOUND. She stirs, half-wakes. CAMERA PANS to see Bruce,
upside-down, SLIGHTLY SWAYING in inversion boots.
INT. GRISSOM'S PENTHOUSE - NIGHT
The private elevator HISSES open. JACK steps out,
bundled up in a trenchcoat, muffler, and slouch hat --
his face concealed from view. He plops in the big plush
swivel chair behind Grissom's desk.
GRISSOM (O.S.)
That you, sugar bumps?
Grissom WADDLES IN fresh out of the shower, a towel
wrapped around him. Using a smaller towel to dry his
hair, it's a moment before he sees the bundled-up figure
at his desk.
GRISSOM
Who the hell are you?
JACK
It's me. "Sugar Bumps."
GRISSOM
Jack?
(advancing
cautiously)
Thank God you're alive. I heard
you'd been...
JACK
Fried. Is that what you heard?
Jack stands and gestures him over to the empty chair.
Grissom moves when he sees the gun pointing at his belly.
JACK
YOU SET ME UP!
(beat)
Over a girl. You must be insane!
Grissom surreptitiously reaches for a desk drawer.
JACK
Don't bother.
GRISSOM
Your life won't be worth spit.
JACK
I been dead once already. It's
very liberating -- You have to
think of it as therapy.
GRISSOM
(beginning to panic)
Jack, listen -- we'll cut a deal --
JACK
Jack? Jack's dead, my friend.
You can call me Joker.
He flings away the hat. RIPS THE MUFFLER from his face.
And -- as Grissom gasps in shock -- stands revealed in
his full horrendous glory.
His flesh is bleached bone-white. His hair is a luminous
seaweed-green. And his cheeks are torn and puckered from
the bullet wound, TWISTING HIS MOUTH INTO A HIDEOUS,
PERPETUAL HARLEQUIN'S GRIN.
JACK
And as you can see, I'm much
happier.
Jack begins to GIGGLE, building to hysterical LAUGHTER.
Grissom makes a lunge towards his desk drawer. Jack
FIRES. AND FIRES AGAIN UNTIL THE CLIP IS EMPTY.
EXT. GRISSOM'S BUILDING - NIGHT
We TILT UP the facade of the skyscraper, arriving finally
at the TOP FLOOR: a PLATE GLASS WINDOW spiderwebbed with
cracks where Jack's bullets hit.
INT. GRISSOM'S PENTHOUSE - NIGHT (THAT MOMENT)
Darkness. JACK -- or, as we'll know him from this moment
on, The JOKER -- sits in Grissom's swivel chair and
surveys the moon-drenched city.
JOKER
(nostalgically)
Gotham City. It always brings
a smile to my face.
As he swivels in the chair he notices a copy of the Globe
(now blood-splattered) lying on Grissom's desk. The head-
line catches his eye. WINGED FREAK TERRORIZES GOTHAM'S
GANGLAND. He picks up the paper and starts HUMMING.
JOKER
Watch it, Batman. Wait'll they
get a load of me.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. BRUCE WAYNE'S BEDROOM - DAY
Bruce is asleep, his legs over the back of a chaise
lounge. Vicki is dressing. Alert.
VICKI
Bruce. I'm late, but I've a
proposition.
Bruce sits up wearily.
VICKI
I'll make us lunch tomorrow.
At my apartment. I'll show you
same of my photos. Will you come?
He's stretching. A hesitation flashes in his eyes.
BRUCE
Sure. Oh no... I -- I can't make
it.
Vicki stops brushing her hair. Checks out his vibes.
VICKI
Oh. Is anything wrong?
BRUCE
No -- I -- I've got a real
important meeting.
VICKI
Well... later in the day?
BRUCE
No... I... I've got to leave town
for a few days.
Vicki wonders, but continues.
VICKI
Well... when you get back.
Bruce thinks. No answer. Not wanting too much vulner-
ability herself, she lightens it up.
VICKI
Hey, I've got to get moving. See
you.
She pecks him on the cheek and breezes by him.
BRUCE
Yeah. I'll see you.
DOOR SHUTS. Bruce thinks.
IN HALLWAY - ON ALFRED
Alfred shows her out the door.
ALFRED
So nice to see you again, Miss
Vale.
VICKI
Yeah. I guess I'll see you when
you guys get back.
ALFRED
Back, ma'am? We're here for quite
a while I believe.
VICKI
Oh... never mind. See you.
But she noticed. And it hurt a little. Bruce was lying.
INT. ALICIA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Alicia, with an armload of dress bags, ENTERS -- and is
startled by a VOICE FROM BEHIND.
JOKER (O.S.)
Honey!
She pivots. Her eyes widen. She SHRIEKS.
Sitting cross-legged in an easy chair is The Joker. He's
in a smoking jacket and slippers, reading the paper, a
dry martini at his side.
JOKER
You wouldn't believe what happened
to me today.
Alicia faints.
INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE - NIGHT
GANGLORDS stare at Joker at the head of the table.
JOKER (O.S.)
So that's how it is, gentlemen.
Until Grissom resurfaces... I'm
the acting President. And I say
we start with this Anniversary
festival and run this city into
the ground.
Joker's dressed in a big slouch hat. His FACE is layered
with flesh-toned makeup, and his HAIR's been rinsed black.
But he can't conceal his ghoulish SMILE. VINNIE RICORSO
is the smartest of the bunch. He doesn't believe Joker
for a minute.
RICORSO
Why don't we hear this from
Grissom?
ROTELLI
How come you re wearing that stupid
smirk?
JOKER
Because life's been good to me.
CARMINE ROTELLI, an exceptionally oily mobster, speaks up:
ROTELLI
What if we say no?
JOKER
Nobody wants a war, Carmine. If
we can't do business, we shake
hands... and that's it.
ROTELLI
Yeah?
JOKER
Yeah.
ROTELLI stands up and extends a hand. Joker shakes.
A JOY BUZZER's concealed in Joker's palm.
40,000 VOLTS course through ROTELLI's body. He drops
back into his seat a blackened husk, SMOKE pouring out
from his sleeves and shirt collar.
A SQUAD OF ARMED THUGS BURSTS INTO THE ROOM. These THUGS
have all been specially selected and distinctively STYLED
by the JOKER. (NOTE: these are the first of Joker's
creations We now begin to see Joker restyling every-
thing in his world.)
BOB's now Joker's number two man, staying close to him.
JOKER
Carmine got a little hot under the
collar.
The Joker begins to LAUGH at his own joke.
RICORSO
(getting up to leave)
... You're insane!
JOKER
(affronted innocence)
Haven't you heard of the healing
power of laughter?
He begins to LAUGH again, removes his hat and mops sweat
from his brow, exposing a patch of CHALK-WHITE FLESH --
to the bewilderment of the ONLOOKERS.
JOKER
Now GET OUT OF HERE -- And give it
some thought.
Gangsters are ESCORTED OUT by the Joker's thugs. Joker
grabs a copy of the Globe.
JOKER
Bob, I want you to take a camera
and follow this reporter Knox.
Find out what he kno
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