The Dark Knighttrilogycan be quite funny when it needs to be, with plenty of comedic scenes that make light of Batman’s movie universe.Christopher Nolan’s moviesare known for being relatively grounded, sweeping epics that take themselves seriously, diving head first into heavy themes and complicated plot lines. But Nolan’s talents with comedy are often an underappreciated aspect of his strength as a director, especially inThe Dark Knighttrilogy.
Humor in Nolan’s Batman mythos comes in a wide variety of forms.For as much as Nolan attempts to groundthe movies ofThe Dark Knighttrilogyin real life to some degree, there’s a certain amount of comic book silliness he’s ultimately unable to escape, something he leans into with hilarious scenes of superhero logic clashing with his true-to-life sensibilities. Luckily, Nolan is able to lean into this to produce some memorable comedic beats that round out his Batman films with some degree of levity.
10Gordon Tries To Drive The Batmobile
Batman Begins
Batman Beginsis probably the least comedic of all three Christopher Nolan Batman movies, burdened with the task of selling audiences on the esteemed director’s vision of a DC universe slightly more grounded in reality. However, it still manages to find time for a few entertaining goofs and gags, including a beat that highlights just how big the gulf between Batman and the Gotham City Police Department’s resources are. During the final action sequence, Batman trusts Commissioner Gordon with piloting the Batmobile.
10 The Dark Knight Trilogy Decisions That Aged Way Better Than Any Of Us Expected
The Dark Knight Trilogy is one of the most celebrated superhero franchises ever, and even questionable decisions have been vindicated in hindsight.
The scene is perfectly set up by an earlier beat in which Gordon watches Batman pancake some cars with the vehicle, saying “I gotta get me one of those”.When he finally gets his chance, he’s hilariously inept at the unwieldy controls of the tank-like car, mouthing “sorry” after turning a row of parked cars into scrap metal, showing off Gary Oldman’s comedy chops. The Tumbler might not be everyone’s favoritemovie Batmobile, but it at least resulted in this funny joyride.
9Alfred Insults Bruce While Saving His Life
Michael Caine’s Alfred is far more than just a butler to Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, but a dedicated ally and worthy confidant who has Bruce Wayne’s back even in the most intense of life-threatening scenarios. Even in the most dire of circumstances, he’s keen to unleash a dry sense of English humor that allows him to keep a stiff upper lip in times of crisis.As the Wayne Manor is burning down, Alfred rescues an unconscious Bruce, pinned under a piece of debris.
Alfred starts the sequence off hilariously by knocking out the arsonist perpetrator with a swift blow to the back of the head, muttering “I hope you’re not a member of the fire brigade.“He then goes on to insult his hot-headed master while saving his life, exasperatedly exclaiming “What’s the point of all those push-ups if you can’t even lift a bloody log?”. His delivery of lines like these proves why Michael Caine was such a brilliant choice for the sassy British butler.
8Lucius Fox Gives Coleman Reese A Wakeup Call
The Dark Knight
Another great old-timer and steadfast ally to Bruce Wayne is Morgan Freeman’s Lucius Fox, the Q to Batman’s James Bond responsible for manufacturingChristian Bale’s awesome Batman gadgetry.Lucius Fox and Bruce Wayne have a fun relationship in the movies, with the former clearly agreeing to help the latter in his fight against crime while refusing to ever outright admit it. However, this unspoken agreement is tested inThe Dark Knightwith Coleman Reese.
Even if it’s a subplot that goes nowhere, this scene is a gut-bustingly funny use of Morgan Freeman’s expert acting skills.
A Wayne Enterprises employee that finds out about Lucius and Batman’s arrangement, Reese attempts to leverage this information to blackmail Bruce Wayne and Fox.Unfazed by the threat, Lucius Fox calmly lays out Reese’s plan in front of him, causing the arrogant corporate slimeball to realize what a poor decision making an enemy of The Dark Knight would be. Even if it’s a subplot that goes nowhere, this scene is a gut-bustingly funny use of Morgan Freeman’s expert acting skills.
7Joker Insults Gotham’s Criminal Underworld
It’s no secret that Heath Ledger’s breathtaking performance inThe Dark Knightis not only thebest cinematic Joker, but one of the greatest movie villains of all time. While his kudos is often attributed to how scary and threatening he can be, an underrated aspect of Ledgers performance is just how genuinely funny he can be as the Clown Prince of Crime.No scene better encapsulates this than his first real appearance, the scene in which he meets with Gotham’s criminal underworld.
Fake laughing as he saunters on screen, Joker is equal parts hilarious and terrifying as he saunters into the meeting uninvited.His disappearing pencil act is an unnerving but darkly humorous setpiece, and the way he dryly replies “…Yeah.” when Gambol asks him if he really thinks he can get away with stealing from them demonstrates a mastery of comedic timing. Ledger’s Joker isn’t just a scary face, but an actually talented comedian who takes pleasure in humiliating others.
6Batman Takes Down The Copycat Vigilantes
Another ofThe Dark Knight’s many interesting one-off subplots is the idea that others have since followed in Batman’s wake, emulating the Caped Crusader in his attempts to take down the various criminals and villains that terrorize Gotham City.After taking down Scarecrow and some of his thugs, Batman turns around and does the same thing to his imitators, restraining them to be taken in by the cops. Batman insists he doesn’t need any help in his war on crime, leading to quite the funny interaction.
Scarecrow plays up his psychology career after hearing Batman say as such, calling out “Not my diagnosis!”, a quippy line for a character in Nolan’s universe. When one of the Batman imitators points out The Dark Knight’s hypocrisy, asking what the difference between them is, Batman merely replies “I’m not wearing hockey pads”, instantly shutting down the copycat with a sick burn.As serious as he is, Christian Bale’s Batman still knows when to crack a joke.
5Alfred Patches Up Bruce’s Wounds
As Batman, Bruce Wayne has to be prepared to tackle all sorts of unorthodox opponents, even of the non-human variety.During the same garage fight scene that saw him encounter Scarecrow and the other Batman imitators, the Caped Crusader ends up tanking a few nasty bites from some vicious Rottweilers owned by one of the criminals doing business with Scarecrow. This leads to a conversation with Alfred about upgrading his armor with some underrated banter.
Stitching up Batman’s wounds, Alfred remarks at the nasty injuries sustained by Bruce when out in the field, asking him if he was mauled by a tiger.
Expressing disbelief that it was simply a dog that did the damage, Bruce exasperatedly clarifies that “It was abigdog”, leaving enough said about the sloppy battle. Once again, Michael Caine proves his worth as perhaps thebest movie Alfredthanks to his unmatched comedic chemistry with Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne.
4Joker Visits Harvey In The Hospital
Another instance in which Heath Ledger’s Joker shows off his actual skill as a clown is when he visits Harvey Dent in the hospital, officially witnessing the transformation of Two-Face. Sneaking into the clinic with a hilariously bad nurse disguise that looks like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon, The Joker checks up on his latest victim, still nursing horrific burns on half of his body.Though the scene is quite dramatic, it starts and ends with a hilarious bang.
First of all, it’s absurd that Harvey doesn’t recognize The Joker in his reckless disguise until he removes his face mask, somehow missing the smeared face paint and wild green hair. After their heart-to-heart conversation is over,Joker waltzes out of the rigged-to-blow hospital only to find his detonations aren’t going according to schedule,hilariously mashing his detonator until the rest of the explosions roll. This moment showcases Heath Ledger’s ability to roll with the punches when things don’t go according to plan, making for an unforgettably funny beat.
3Joker Tosses Rachel Off A Balcony
For the most part, the scene inThe Dark Knightin which The Joker invades a charity dinner is framed to be quite scary, the pinnacle of Joker’s malevolent rage.In fact, Heath Ledger’s performance was so terrifying here thatMichael Caine famously forgot his linesupon seeing him in action for the first time, a genuine fear that was worth including in the final cut. However, by the end of the scene, Joker can’t help but inject a little bit of levity into his theatrics.
Joker is so gleeful and cheery in his crimes that it’s almost hard not to root for him in scenes like these.
Seeing Joker dangle Rachel Dawes off a balcony, Batman can’t help but scream for Joker to let her go.One can actually see the thought unfolding on Heath Ledger’s face as Joker asks himself if Batman really just asked him what he thinks he did, giggling “Very poor choice of words!” before obliging. Joker is so gleeful and cheery in his crimes that it’s almost hard not to root for him in scenes like these.
2A Cop Shoots At Batman
The Dark Knight Rises
Though Batman might have something of an adversarial relationship with the Gotham City Police Department, by the time ofThe Dark Knight Rises, the two prongs in the war on Gotham’s crime have come to a kind of mutual understanding.Upon realizing that Batman will be making an appearance at their latest call, a veteran cop excitedly tells a rookie that he’s in for a show, racing to the scene with glee.Upon actually seeing Batman in action, the younger officer is so shaken that he actually fires at Batman on pure instinct.
Luckily,Batman’s suit inThe Dark Knightis completely bulletproof, so the shot pings harmlessly away.Yet the scathing look Batman wordlessly gives the shaking rookie cop as he offers a meek apology makes the shot sting in a more emotional capacity. This brief exchange is easily one of the funniest moments in the entirety of Nolan’s filmography.
1"So That’s What That Feels Like”
Batman disappearing in the middle of conversations on rooftops is practically a well-established trope of the character at this point, with some variation of that exact thing happening across many different iterations of live-action Batman. Usually, Commissioner Gordon is the one at the brunt of these cold Irish goodbyes, butinThe Dark Knight Rises, Batman himself finally gets a taste of his own medicine.
During a sultry conversation with Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman, Batman is interrupted mid-thought by suddenly realizing that his conversation partner has ditched him. Batman slowly realizes what just happened, inexplicably muttering “So that’s what that feels like” still in his over-the-top growly monster voice despite being alone by himself. Beats like this prove that Christopher Nolan deserves more props for his skills as a comedy director withThe Dark Knighttrilogy.
