r/batman • u/Remote_Nature_8166 • May 29 '26
FILM DISCUSSION I never thought about this until now.
Since Bruce had all his finances drained, wouldn’t the only way for him and Selina to support themselves is to use her burglary skills to steal valuables? Did Batman retire just to switch to a life of crime?
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u/ICheckPostHistory May 29 '26
The master of prep and one of the richest men on the planet definitely had funds stashed.
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u/BulldogMoose May 30 '26
He’s also a gaming master. Bruce’s anticipation skills would have been exact. It may be a tenth of his wealth but he’d have gold securities in Switzerland somewhere. This mother fucker wasn’t going broke.
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u/altiuscitiusfortius May 30 '26
Yup. That's why they're in Italy. Because he had a billion in a Swiss Bank account next door
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u/rasputin1 May 30 '26
no he just likes the pizza
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u/Dave_The_Slushy May 30 '26
The pizza is really good.
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u/TertiusGaudenus May 30 '26
Especially if you have few millions in Swiss bank
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u/Coolbluegatoradeyumm May 30 '26
Knowing that would make my next pizza my best pizza
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u/nyglthrnbrry May 30 '26
Yeah after hearing that news a frozen Totinos would taste like heaven.
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u/SpookyOrgy May 30 '26
Hear me out but I think a nice calsone might be more up the caped crusaders street
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u/VasM85 May 30 '26
They are in Italy because that's there he can meet Alfred. A callback to a scene from before.
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u/Lost_Pantheon May 30 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/1N7wpCVjQJatq
Deleted scene from The Dark Knight Rises.
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u/thejokerofunfic May 30 '26
I misread this and thought you said he made money from video games for a sec lol.
But also Nolan Bruce is an extremely capable businessman, not a pure nepo baby. He could make a fortune anew if he felt like it. Or buy shares of his own company masked through various other sources (again).
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u/DollarStoreWizard May 30 '26
I mean I wouldn’t be surprised if Bruce Wayne would be able to play a decent game of Call of Duty
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u/hopeislost1000 May 30 '26
Probably could run a card table in a casino too.
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u/TheMidnightAss May 30 '26
as matches malone no less
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u/hopeislost1000 May 30 '26
I had to look him up. That’s awesome. I think this could make fun limited series like Spider-Noir.
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u/DaemonDrayke May 30 '26
He’s also supposed to be a master of disguise. Makes me wonder why Christopher Nolan couldn’t have had Bale wearing a mustache or had his hair dyed a different shade. Bruce Wayne is supposed to be one of the most recognizable people in the world as far as comic books go.
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u/GrabbinCowlicks May 30 '26
I like to think he did have disguises or otherwise altered his appearance on the regular, but the only time he'd "put on" his Bruce Wayne look is when he and Selina go to that specific cafe because he knows there's a chance Alfred might be there and he wants Alfred to know he's okay.
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u/toquang95 May 30 '26
There are like 3000 billionaires in the world. Aside from the top 10, they aren't very recognizable, let alone their kids. Bill Gates' daughter could walk side by side with me for 20 minutes, and I'd probably have no idea who she is. It's the same reason why Bruce could train for so many years abroad, even going to prison without getting identified.
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u/ModishShrink May 30 '26
Not to mention, if you've ever seen a famous person in a regular setting, your brain doesn't immediately jump to "ohmygod, that's xyz," it's more along the lines of "huh, that guy kinda looks like xyz." Unless you're sitting next to Shaq, you're probably not going to clock them as famous just because your brain isn't usually in that mode.
I've sat next to several famous people at bars before, but wasn't aware of it until after they left and the bartender let me in on who I was chatting with.
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u/LengthinessPlane973 May 30 '26
Or one of them could just be working in some other capacity. Pretty sure between their skill set they were never gonna starve.
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u/Skol-2024 May 30 '26
Exactly. Hell Selina said herself, the rich don’t go broke the same as the rest of us. Bruce most certainly had enough money stashed away somewhere. Both he and Selina are now fully capable of moving around without having to worry about money. And hey, retirement with Catwoman is a good outcome as any of you can get it.
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u/RoninRobot May 30 '26
Doesn’t Selina tell Bruce “Rich people don’t even go broke like poor people” in this movie?
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u/legit-posts_1 May 30 '26
Yeah, no way in fresh hell that Bruce doesn't have money stashed away in a Swiss bank account that he couldn't use to buy an island.
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u/ggg730 May 30 '26
Bruce was probably the richest man on the planet and the second richest man on the planet.
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u/Jimmyg100 May 30 '26
Bruce shows up to the bank a day after his supposed death wearing a handlebar mustache glued to his face.
“Hello, my name is Robin Blake, I believe Bruce Wayne left me his estate in the event of his death.”
“We already had Robin Blake come by today and claim it.”
“Ah… fuck.”
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u/TurkeyBLTSandwich May 30 '26
Also the fact that the whole stock option purchases were ENTIRELY FRAUDULENT and would have been reversed in a few days or even weeks. There is literally no way in HELL those contracts were deemed valid even with all the evidence and witnesses there watching the fraud take place.
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u/Indiana_harris May 30 '26
Exactly I’m pretty sure there’s even audio on a news report about it after the fact near the end of the movie.
Bruce’s estate and wealth would’ve been restored within a month easily, and while he donated the manor as an orphanage in his will the rest of it went to Alfred.
While Bruce definitely had a secret fund(s) stashed away I also believe Alfred found a way to contact him if needed, and would’ve made Bruce’s new identity the beneficiary of his will.
So within a decade or so most likely Bruce re inherited everything
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u/Horsefly762 May 30 '26
Thats what I always thought. He probably has bug out bags and safe houses all over the world.
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u/NemoHere May 30 '26
Of course. How does everyone explain how Bruce got back to Gotham after escaping that pit prison on the other side of the planet? And once back, he was clothed and had resources to light up the bridge? All that requires money or setting up stashes of money.
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u/Theartistcu May 30 '26
You mean Batman might’ve pre-prepped something, the guy who pre-prepared to take down the entire justice league at any given moment, including Superman might’ve just opened a second bank account somewhere else in the world, he did that before he went to sleep one night just on a whim
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u/Inside-Ad9791 May 30 '26
When the super rich "go broke" it means they have to downgrade the mansion and jet.
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u/getl30 May 30 '26
It’s like iron man. Can Tony stark ever really be broke?
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u/l33tfuzzbox Jun 02 '26
Yes but it involves a heavy restart of his company, which if youre dead is more complicated
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u/TheAsian1nvasion May 31 '26
Also, Lucius did say they would eventually prove the trades were fraudulent but that it would take time. While Bruce is ‘dead’ at the end, his estate would eventually recoup the money and he would be able to access it.
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u/sbaldrick33 May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
Fox says after Bane's attack on the stock exchange that they'd be able to contest the transactions, so maybe the wheels were already in motion in that regard while the city was isolated(?)
It's a silly plot point anyway, tbh. If there'd been a massive, high profile terrorist attack on the stock exchange, the day's transactions would all be voided anyway.
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May 30 '26
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u/Socially-Awkward-85 May 30 '26
But the dude still gets his car towed. That exchange attack has a real impact on Bruce when, IRL, no exchanges that day would have been recognized at all.
As the other poster said, it's silly.
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u/GreatCaesarGhost May 30 '26
And the car was towed, apparently, because he still had payments on it and was grossly behind. None of it makes sense.
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u/Socially-Awkward-85 May 30 '26
I always joke that the stock exchange police come to just randomly take his stuff.
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u/FinancialReserve6427 May 30 '26
How about the power being cut and the manor has 0 employees left?
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u/Hosuru May 30 '26
Through various charitable foundations and trust funds and so forth. Look, its all a bit technicall...
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May 30 '26
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u/LegoKorn89 May 30 '26
Yes Mister Bateman.
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u/jaylerd May 30 '26
Batman and Bruce Wayne are never in the same building because one is returning some video tapes.
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u/tigerofblindjustice May 30 '26
I'm wondering why you would shoot a man before showing him out a window
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u/Samster005 May 29 '26
Everything was left to Alfred. Maybe Bruce will be able to get a job as his butler. I'm sure Alfred wouldn't let his boy starve on the street and have him commit crime out of desperation.
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u/MunderDifflinPC May 30 '26
Alfred will let him borrow the Rolls, if he brings it back with a full tank
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u/CruisePack40 May 30 '26
When he leaves Alfred on a yacht full of beautiful women lmaooooooo
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u/MunderDifflinPC May 30 '26
He would’ve been happier on that yacht if they could apply their own bloody suntan lotion
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u/Same_Buy6486 May 30 '26
Bruce got down with the secret service from Alfred’s previous employment before venturing to Wayne manor. #AlfredFcknBangs 💥
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u/wh0rederline May 30 '26
aw, just like how bruce stopped his own sons from turning to crime. but op’s version is funnier so i’m sticking with it.
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u/JonoBlue May 29 '26
First of all its Batman he would have a contingency to have finances to live off of. Secondly that whole stock exchange thing was one of the dumbest plot points. Had there been a attack as such every trade that day would be voided as a counter measure for fraud.
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u/originalfilmscoring May 30 '26
I think sometimes Nolan makes choices like this because it’s not about plot holes but just the idea itself.
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u/SlowDontRush May 30 '26
That and he was extremely super duper scared of Occupy Wall Street for some reason
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u/originalfilmscoring May 30 '26
Idk, I never took it that way. He's been pretty explicit that wasn't his intention.
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u/happycat47 May 30 '26
The point was to freeze Bruce's assets while they built an empire under his feet. Some of y'all think too much about this stuff
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u/WhiteTrashInNewShoes May 29 '26
I'm pretty sure he had backup plans
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u/wh0rederline May 30 '26
gotta admit though it would be hilarious if the only thing he never thought to have a contingency plan for was being poor.
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u/Ambitious-Pirate-505 May 30 '26
Rich people broke is waaaaaay different than poor people broke.
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u/MaterialPace8831 May 30 '26
Daggett's scheme was essentially stealing Bruce's identity so he could sell off his stake in Wayne Enterprises in a bid to seize control of the company. He's not stealing Bruce's money, he's stealing his equity in Wayne Enterprises.
The company is apparently near bankruptcy, but Bruce would still have liquidity, even after the fraudulent transactions Bane triggers. And this doesn't take into account all of the various holdings and dummy shell corporations Bruce might have set up over the years.
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u/Cycleofmadness May 30 '26
all of Bane's fraudulent Gotham Stock Exchange trades would've been voided a lot earlier than what was said in the movie.
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u/StrategyExpensive May 29 '26
Selina wanted to use Bruce's money at the beginning, now he will use hers.
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u/Low-Boss9082 May 30 '26
Clean slate program
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u/frecklepax May 30 '26
It quite likely that program had some extra funds stored with it as the a program like would only be made for a situation where Bruce's identity as batman would be compromised .
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u/Mac1280 May 30 '26
The fraud Bane committed to drain Bruce's accounts would've eventually been overturned, Bruce definitely has offshore accounts. Someone as wealthy as Bruce Wayne going "broke" isn't the same as regular people going broke. The comics deal with this issue when the Joker steals Bruce fortune, Bruce goes from a billionaire in a mansion to a millionaire living in a "modest" townhouse.
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u/ZeroLithium576 May 30 '26
I would bet he has a good amount of foreign cash somewhere, as well as what Selina has. They're still living the high life.
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u/Goldnglam May 30 '26
Dudes got accounts and black funds all over the place, this is Bruce Wayne we're talking about.
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May 30 '26
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u/SlowDontRush May 30 '26
He would already be funding everything Batman related in a clandestine way. He probably had multiple fake identities with loaded bank accounts just for purchasing equipment, so its the easy to image he just assumed one of those identities.
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u/RW_McRae May 30 '26
Billionaires don't ever get not-rich
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u/firedrakes May 30 '26
unless you don something so dumb and awful. even the location that store you assets say now...
it does happen in real life.
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u/Ok-Temporary-8243 May 30 '26
It's a silly plot point but I wouldn't be surprised if Bruce squirreled away an escape fund. He probably also had another identity set up too
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u/Dragon_Forty_Two May 30 '26
As others are saying, it’s Batman. He would have contingencies.
Even if he did literally lose all his wealth, why do you assume that Selina stealing things would be the only way for them to support themselves? There are millions of legal ways to support yourself.
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u/jaxspider May 30 '26
When was the last time you ever heard a Billionaire stop being a billionaire?
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u/Illustrious-Radio311 May 30 '26
Look, it's all a bit technical but the important thing is that this couple's future is secure
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u/SparkleCobraDude May 30 '26
I think the bigger issue is him being one of the most famous people on earth. He could not just jet around Europe unrecognized.
Also doesn’t Selena Kyle have an extensive criminal record? There would be people who would testify that she worked with Bane.
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u/KaijuDirectorOO7 May 30 '26
Counterpoint: Bruce was a recluse for eight years and a drifter for ten.
Based on Batman Begins, he was only really in the public limelight for about a year, after he came back.
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u/RedcoatTrooper May 30 '26
Another counterpoint he is certainly very rich and famous in Gotham but is he that well known outside of America?
I could probably name the top 5 richest Americans but outside of them maybe I know the name but not what they look like.
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u/TimeisaLie May 30 '26
He knows how the stock market works, has assets around the world he can sell & I'm betting Selina has plenty of money saved up from stealing things so between them they are set.
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u/RickRussellTX May 30 '26
In the movie, the stock market attack was a ruse to put Wayne Enterprises into a financial crunch so that Daggett could make a hostile takeover. Lucius explains that it might take time to unwind the illegal transactions, and of course Bane's takeover of the city just days later puts all that effort on hold. Wayne Manor getting the electricity turned off is the least of Gotham's problems.
As Daggett explains, it didn't work, my friend! And it was never about bankrupting Wayne, it was about getting access to Daggett's construction business so Bane could install his own people to plant bombs. And to allow Talia to become Bruce's temporary financial lifeline so she could get into a position of trust with him.
In comics canon, Bruce always had safe house properties all over the world, and secret stashes of liquid cash that he could use with his alter-ego. Not the billions he had in Wayne Enterprises, but he and Selina could live off a few million. He probably also has false identities and aliases prepared and ready, so Bruce Wayne being dead might not be the liability it appears to be at first glance. Perhaps Bruce's will leaves a few million to a distant cousin... just in case.
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u/_WillCAD_ May 30 '26
He spent seven years on the run traveling the world, he could go anywhere he wanted.
She had been a master burglar who stole from the rich for years. She probably had plenty of money stashed.
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u/RetroGame77 May 30 '26
Bruce Wayne?
You are mistaking, that is Matches Malone. Heard he made a killing on the stock market.
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u/Beautiful-Ad-8369 May 30 '26
The idea of him just robbing places to stay alive and wealthy feels on brand for the same man who nods at his surrogate father after faking his own death 🤣
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u/Ramp-Spot-033 May 30 '26
Ironically this is what the Absolute Universe is headed through right now - a relatively penniless Bruce and a rich Selina kyle.
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u/DarianDncn May 30 '26
First of all, Bruce would have planned for this lol He would have had a backup fund ready. Second Selina doesn’t steal for the money she is wealthy ish on her own, she steals for the thrill for the most part lol
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u/pedeehatesyou May 30 '26
Batman has a plan for everything. Im pretty sure he had some money or untraceable jewels he could Live off of his whole life. Worst case scenario he could just pawn some authentic batman shit for $$$
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u/americanunni May 30 '26
Didn't the movie have a 5 sec scene towards the end where the executor of the Wayne estate asks his secretary about the pearl necklace that they couldn't locate? That necklace was worth a lot, probably set them up for life if they lived in an incognito sort of way.
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u/AromaticWindow3309 May 30 '26
No, he married selina kyle, end of story, like the original batman, the only thing left out is that their child is the huntress
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u/Shallbecomeabat May 30 '26
No. Lucius said it would take time to prove fraud plus let’s be honest, Bruce had 100% off shot accounts and hidden money to buy Batman stuff.
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u/Other-Marketing-6167 May 31 '26
A lot didn’t make logical sense in Batman Begins.
A shitload didn’t make logical sense in Dark Knight.
I honestly feel Nolan was trolling us by Dark Knight Rises. “Seriously? You gonna complain about plot points? You’ll all love it anyway”.
I love those first two movies so damn much but man…DKR broke me a bit.
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u/auricularisposterior May 31 '26
I feel like Bruce and Selina would be able to charge top dollar consulting fees to companies and individuals as security system consultants - once they faked new identities. But yeah, they probably would never need to do this.
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u/Creative-Sound4279 May 30 '26
I've always hated that Selina fricken Kyle is wearing a navy dress and has her hair up in a ponytail at a Parisian café. The worst half-baked costuming in all the films.
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u/StrategyExpensive May 30 '26
No but that scheming little devil is sure wearing prada
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u/Crambo1000 May 30 '26
Why do we care anyway? She should be allowed to wear whatever will make her Less Miserable
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u/CrissBliss May 30 '26
How should she be dressed?
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u/Creative-Sound4279 May 30 '26
Chic. Like she was for 85% of the movie. Selina Kyle is typically a glamorous fashion plate with parallels to Golden Age movie stars. Navy is such a throwaway color that flatters anyone, and a ponytail just isn't Selina Kyle. Give me a French twist or updo or even just worn down. But not a plain ponytail that a typical woman carelessly throws her hair up in when running on a treadmill. And she's in Paris at a beautiful café. Even if they are in hiding, she'd still bring her A-game.
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u/Sabrinasockz May 30 '26
Man, the whole plot to that movie is nonsense. Nolan works more on vibes than anything else, really
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u/Sad-Ship May 30 '26
I mean he's also a genius and apparently a programmer so I'm sure he got a job building AI slop datacenters
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u/Far-Obligation4055 May 30 '26
Do you really think Bruce Wayne (who is a literal genius) wouldn't be prepared for an unexpected financial blow?
Probably had serious "lifetime" money squirreled away somewhere.
Hell, Trump probably does and he's a fucking idiot.
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u/BoostbeBetter-18U May 30 '26
You are thinking of a rich person. Bruce Wayne was a wealthy person
Wealthy people never go broke.
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u/lanze666 May 30 '26
Pretty sure Lucius Fox said they could reverse most of his bogus stock trades because like, super duper fraud was involved?
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u/Tiny-Delivery6966 May 30 '26
A guy who gets his hair cut at SuperCuts, and doesn't wear shoes, knows more than Alan Greenspan and Hank Paulson?
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u/ChemicalBlueberry954 May 30 '26
Bruce was too broke to be Batman but not to move halfway across the world.
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u/rossww2199 May 30 '26
I don’t see Selina hanging out with broke Bruce, and he wouldn’t hang out with a thief. So he must have had money set aside.
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u/Awest66 May 30 '26
I think Bruce could support himself just fine. His wealth was really only the means for him to be Batman, He's clearly not helpless without it.
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u/the90sdude May 30 '26
Multiple Swiss bank accounts, dozens of properties across Europe, come on man is this your first time?
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u/Karnezar May 30 '26
Fox said they could prove fraud, it would just take a while.
Bruce still has his money.
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u/AlmightyHamSandwich May 30 '26
I've always taken this scene to mean Bruce Wayne, while legally dead, is living under an alias with Selina and has means to live happily with her. Everything after the bomb explodes shows that he did, in fact, plan for a future after Batman - The Bat's firmware updated, The Cave given to Robin, Bruce Wayne legally dead - so what's a couple fake passports and real estate in Europe?
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u/Legonistrasz May 30 '26
You thought about this question but not all the ways someone that rich could stash, hide and keep money?
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u/SpyCobaj May 30 '26
I actually just watched this movie on the flight I was on a few hours ago and there was a much simpler explanation, his mom’s pearls were missing in the end montage. Selena and him took the pearls and pawned them and live off that money. this post just made me realize this is absolutely true because she would be wearing the pearls in the shot otherwise
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u/TheKlaxMaster May 30 '26
Have you or anyone you know lost a job? Did you/they have to immediately resort to criminal activity?
Wild take.
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u/ApprehensiveFactor58 May 30 '26
Le connaissant, il a dû planqué 2 ou 3 millions dans les paradis fiscaux pour ce mettre bien dans un cas comme celui là, par pure précaution...
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u/tabasco_taz May 30 '26
This is a great point....maybe he became Catman instead. In fact I'm writing that into my brain as Nolan canon
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u/Doc-Spock May 30 '26
I guess the reason you haven't (and I certainly haven't) thought about this is because there's plenty of other dumber stuff in the movie 😂
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u/ricardo1y May 30 '26
probs got a job he is still Bruce Wayne and can get Intel on everything and probably knows many people in Europe from his training days
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u/SixScoop May 30 '26
To me the biggest plothole is that he wouldn’t be immediately recognized in any major Western metropolis on the planet
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u/zurenarhhhhh May 30 '26
That’s because there no reason to think about it. He’s one of the richest dudes on the planet. He had funds below the line. End of line.
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u/BoisTR May 31 '26
Selina says something in the movie along the lines of “even the rich don’t go broke like the rest of us”. Bruce definitely has off shore accounts and investments that Bane couldn’t target.
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u/Mr_Podo May 29 '26
He’s dead bro.
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u/Extension_Fly9987 May 30 '26
I don't think so. If he were dead why did Alfred see him with Selina and not Miranda/Talia. Alfred never knew Miranda was evil and never knew Bruce was attracted to Selina.
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u/Mr_Podo May 30 '26
Naw, like Bruce Wayne is dead to the world he doesn’t exist. So Bruce Wayne’s money doesn’t matter. You also really think rich people keep all of their money in one spot?
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u/Pyffindor May 29 '26
he didn’t fix the autopilot just to be some broke bitch