by Chuck Hoodak

Created on: August 01, 2008   Last Updated: August 19, 2008

What would you do if you knew that there was no hope? Would you give in and accept it, or would you fight to make a difference and hope others would be inspired to do the same? These are the issues Batman struggles with in the sequel The Dark Knight, a memorable story about the struggle between good and evil, and right and wrong.

Batman has firmly established himself in Gotham City as a force to be reckoned with against crime. Criminals have taken to conducting their business carefully so as to not attract Batman's attention. The police, although admitting that Batman is a vigilante, have come to lean on him as the one person who can get results. The corruption is so bad that Detective Jim Gordon doesn't know who he can trust. This forces him to rely on Batman the most because he can operate outside the influence of the crime mobs.

Bruce Wayne, on the other hand, has found Batman to be the heavy cross that he has to bear. The double life he is leading is wearing him down and he longs for a normal life. A life without Batman. A life with Rachel Dawes, the love that he cannot have because he is Batman.
Bruce wants someone to step up to the plate and fight the fight that only Batman has been able to do. The new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, may be just that man. Dent is forthright and undaunted in his effort to bring justice to the beleaguered city of Gotham. So promising does Harvey Dent look, he has now been labeled as Gotham's "Golden Boy".

Just as things look bright for everyone's future, the Joker enters the scene and begins to create chaos. Not only does he attack the innocent, but he forces the criminals to bend to his way of thinking. The Joker is not motivated by money or power, he is a violently disturbed individual, bearing the mysterious scars and makeup that give him a maniacal joviality. If there is one thing that the Joker wants, it is for Batman to take off his mask and reveal himself to the world. The Joker begins to put pressure on Batman and the authorities as he places people into perilous situations to prompt either Batman to come forward, or for someone else to do it for him.

But all of this turns out to be a ruse. The Joker's real intentions creep by unnoticed to everyone, and they are even more twisted and evil than material destruction or even the loss of life as he is set to plunge the city into despair. Nothing is more devastating than the death of hope.

The Dark Knight is like the late show act where the guy spins a bunch of plates on a

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