The Batman
On Halloween, Gotham City mayor Don Mitchell Jr. is murdered by a masked serial killer, the Riddler. Reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne, who has operated for two years as the vigilante Batman, investigates the murder alongside Lieutenant Jim Gordon, much to the disdain of the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD). The Riddler has left a message for Batman at the crime scene. The following night, the Riddler kills Commissioner Pete Savage and leaves another message for Batman. Batman and Gordon discover that the Riddler left a thumb drive in Mitchell's car containing images of Mitchell's affair with a woman, Annika Kosolov, at the Iceberg Lounge—a nightclub operated by Oswald "The Penguin" Cobb,[a] who is crime boss Carmine Falcone's lieutenant. While the Penguin pleads ignorance, Batman notices that Annika's roommate Selina Kyle works at the club as a waitress. When Annika disappears, Batman sends Selina to the Iceberg Lounge for answers and discovers that Savage, Mitchell, and the district attorney Gil Colson are on Falcone's payroll.
The Riddler abducts Colson, straps a timed collar bomb to his neck, and sends him to interrupt Mitchell's funeral. When Batman arrives, the Riddler calls him via Colson's phone and threatens to detonate the bomb if Colson cannot answer three riddles. Colson refuses to answer the third—the name of the informant who gave the GCPD information that led to a historic drug bust ending mob boss Salvatore Maroni's operation—and is killed. Batman and Gordon deduce that the informant may be the Penguin and track him to a drug deal. They discover that Maroni's operation was transferred to Falcone, with many corrupt officers involved. Selina inadvertently exposes them when she arrives to steal money and discovers Annika's corpse in the trunk of a car. Batman captures the Penguin after a car chase, but he and Gordon learn that the Penguin is not the informant.
Batman and Gordon follow the Riddler's trail to the ruins of an orphanage initially funded by Bruce's deceased parents Thomas and Martha Wayne, where they learn that the Riddler holds a grudge against the Wayne family for failing the orphanage. Bruce's butler and caretaker Alfred Pennyworth is hospitalized after opening a letter bomb addressed to Bruce. The Riddler leaks evidence that Thomas, who was running for mayor before he was murdered, hired Falcone to kill Maroni's journalist who was writing a story about Martha's family history of mental illness. Bruce confronts Alfred, who maintains that Thomas only asked Falcone to threaten the journalist into silence; upon learning that Falcone had murdered the journalist instead, Thomas planned to turn himself and Falcone over to the police. Alfred believes that Falcone had Thomas and Martha killed to silence them.
Selina reveals to Batman that Falcone is her father. After learning that Falcone killed Annika for discovering that he was the informant, Selina tries to kill him, but Batman and Gordon arrive in time to stop her. Gordon arrests Falcone, but the Riddler kills Falcone with a sniper rifle moments later. The Riddler is unmasked as forensic accountant Edward Nashton and incarcerated in Arkham State Hospital, where he tells Batman he took inspiration from him when targeting the corrupt. Batman learns that Nashton has planted car bombs and cultivated an online following that plans to assassinate mayor-elect Bella Reál. The bombs destroy the seawall around Gotham and flood the city. Nashton's followers attempt to kill Reál, but Batman and Selina manage to stop them. In the aftermath, Nashton befriends another inmate,[b] while Selina deems Gotham beyond saving and leaves. Batman aids recovery efforts and vows to inspire hope in Gotham.
