novelkee Chapter 2266
Chapter 2266
Chapter 2266
Sif didn't look at Heimdall's expression because she knew her brother wouldn't understand her feelings at all.
She no longer wanted to be Sif, someone who was expected to be someone else; she wanted to become who she wanted to be... Although she still didn't know exactly what she wanted to become, it certainly wasn't like she used to be.
"Anyway, you stay here for now, and we will release you soon."
"This is betrayal, do you know that?" Heimdall looked at Sif sadly.
He now only had two guesses. The first was, as he had thought before, that Sif had been bewitched. It must be this Ger, with some kind of insight into people's hearts, who instantly broke down Sif's defenses. Just like the Joker destroyed Harvey Dent!
(I really, really love Batman: The Dark Knight. It's my favorite film in the trilogy!)
The Joker's five key traits are: "Self-awareness": He is very clear about what he is doing. "Insight": He knows what others want. "Planning": He has meticulous and interconnected plans. "Execution": Having plans alone is not enough; the Joker ensures the success of each of his plans through self-control and adaptability. "Detachment": He is not bound by worldly norms. When I first watched *The Dark Knight*, I thought the Joker, devoid of humanity and only thinking of killing and destruction, must have something wrong with his mind. He disregarded his own safety, repeatedly putting himself in danger. His exorbitant demands on the mob seemed like the behavior of a madman. However, upon closer examination of his words and actions, I discovered that the Joker is not only not insane, but he is also one of the few people who is very clear about what he is doing. The scene that best demonstrates that he is "not insane" is when, after turning on Dent in the hospital, he actually used hand sanitizer. He was alone at the time, so it wasn't for show; he understood the importance of "maintaining hygiene." Because he lacks other characteristics of paranoia, this is proof of his clear mind. After understanding his "self-awareness," one admires even more his wisdom and confidence in repeatedly using himself as bait to win in perilous situations. The Joker's ability to strike at his opponents' weaknesses with every word and every scheme lies in his exceptional observational skills. Gangsters value money above all else, so he robbed them. Gambler wanted him dead, so he offered his own "corpse." Batman wanted to protect the citizens, so he used threats against them to force Bruce to comply.
Dante initially hated him intensely, but Dante easily shifted the blame to a corrupt system and the hearts of men. His unique skill was "using someone else's strength against them." As he said: Madness is like gravity; you only need to give it a gentle push.
The Joker seems to always judge others with a cynical mind, but tragically, every gentleman has a cynical side; it's just a matter of whether they've successfully controlled it. Therefore, every word the Joker says simply reflects what others truly think. For example, the reason he can force the police to cooperate is because he understands everyone's weaknesses. Those who can be bribed are easy to deal with, but when faced with those who can't be bribed, he targets their families. The Joker knows that even the most righteous police officer will succumb and abandon their principles when their loved ones are in danger.
The Joker's elaborate schemes are the essence of the entire film, but the reason his plans proceeded smoothly lies in his "execution." And the best manifestation of execution is "self-control." The Joker himself possesses extremely high self-control. When the mob calls him a "madman" or a "freak," it's clear he's unhappy. However, he absolutely will not let his emotions ruin his plans, something that someone with mental problems would never do.
His displayed "madness" is also a meticulously calculated act, designed to keep his opponents guessing. When his plans encounter variables, such as an accountant trying to leak information, he can quickly devise contingency plans, turning the variables to his advantage. The Joker's final trait, and what elevates him to the status of "the greatest villain of all time," is his "detachment." Unlike most villains who possess worldly weaknesses, whether related to money, power, or even family, the Joker is alone and without support, but also without attachments. He doesn't want money, power, or even his own life. When he desires nothing, he has no weaknesses, allowing him to confidently tell Batman, "You have nothing to threaten me with." His confidence in being right is his greatest motivation. But unlike other characters whose confidence leads to arrogance, the Joker's confidence stems from his understanding of himself and humanity, thus ensuring his invincibility.
The Joker's ultimate goal is to prove his argument: "No one is immune to corruption." In Gotham City, Batman, the "symbol of justice," is the Joker's only obstacle, making defeating Batman his objective. To achieve this, he devises a series of meticulous plans.
Here are the Joker's appearances in The Dark Knight: bank robbery – consolidating the mob – threatening Batman – killing high-ranking officials and storming a party – assassinating the mayor – being arrested and imprisoned – kidnapping Dent and Rachel, interrogation room – escaping – burning banknotes – Dent turning evil – ferry incident – final showdown.
If we break down the scenes, we can see that his plan is basically divided into four phases: preparation, execution, adjustment, and harvest. Furthermore, while all these events were pre-planned by the Joker, there were still three "unexpected" events.
That's Gambler, who secretly issued the wanted poster; Batman, who barged into the party; and the accountant who wanted to expose Batman's identity. Gotham City is a melting pot of criminal elements, and even with Batman in charge, the underworld's criminal forces are not to be underestimated. The Joker knows that defeating Batman requires psychological warfare. Therefore, he must first gain Batman's complete attention, which means dealing with other evil forces to prevent them from interfering with his plans or distracting Batman from other crimes. So he begins his scheme, first robbing the mobsters' bank to gather them together to discuss countermeasures, and then storming into their meeting. He uses their most desired possession—"Batman"—as bait to get them to entrust him with their affairs. But he also knows the mob isn't so easily swayed, so he must make an example of them. He constantly provokes them during the meeting, and this time, the hot-tempered Gambler takes the bait, angrily announcing: a $50 reward for the Joker's body, or $100 million for his capture alive. Having predicted Gambo's anticipation of his capture, the Joker, disguised as a corpse, successfully approached Gambo and brutally murdered him. The mob officially accepted his proposal, allowing the Joker to represent them against Batman. With everything in place, the Joker and Batman could face off without hindrance. The Joker's first move to gain Batman's attention was shrewd: he captured a citizen impersonating Batman, publicly tortured and murdered him, and broadcast the incident to the entire city. He then threatened Batman to reveal his true identity, or he would kill citizens daily. While Batman is a symbol of justice, he is not legally bound by the law. Therefore, the Joker pointed out Batman's "illegal" actions, positioning himself as the "whistleblower," and then dragged all the citizens into the "punishment," forcing Batman to comply. However, he wouldn't wait idly, knowing Batman wouldn't yield to ordinary citizens, and immediately moved on to the next plan. He killed the more influential and powerful police chief and judge, and then set his sights on Attorney General Harvey Dent. When he stormed into the fundraising dinner Bruce hosted for Dent, he didn't find Dent, but instead encountered Batman who had wandered in. Here, he gained his most unexpected insight: Batman's attention to Rachel. Even though he didn't know Batman's true identity, he saw that Batman would risk everything for Rachel, and thus a new idea formed in his mind. The Joker then proceeded to his next step: assassinating the mayor of Gotham City. Although Bruce was in hot pursuit and Gordon's faked death prevented the mayor's assassination, Bruce was helpless against the Joker and decided to give in and reveal his identity. Unexpectedly, Dent beat him to it, impersonating Batman. The Joker hadn't anticipated Dent's impersonation, but he absolutely refused to believe that Dent was Batman. However, this gave him an opportunity to adjust his plan, intending to kill two birds with one stone, eliminating both Dent and Batman at once. So he pretended to kidnap the transferred Dent, but his real purpose was to be captured by the faked-death Gordon and then sent to the imprisonment of the mob accountant, Mr. Liu. Even as he was being arrested, he had already planned his next move, bribing the police to kidnap Dent and Rachel and hiding them in two different locations. Interestingly, during the arrest, the Joker confronted Bruce, who was rushing towards him. But at the last moment, Bruce stopped, choosing to throw himself rather than kill the Joker. This gave the Joker an opportunity, a gamble to see if Bruce could break his vow of decency due to impulsiveness. Therefore, when Bruce threw himself, the Joker showed a regretful and disappointed expression.
There are two reasons why the Joker deliberately got arrested: first, to rescue Mr. Liu, and second, of course, to gain a face-to-face encounter with Batman. In the interrogation room, the Joker finally had the chance to meet Batman and used his ultimate move: "The Choice of Fate." He told Batman the location of Dent and Rachel, but deliberately reversed the order. Knowing that Bruce would definitely choose to save Rachel, and that he was capable of doing so, his intention was to make Bruce save his rival, Dent, causing the two to become enemies over Rachel's death. Frankly, the Joker had already won at this point. Just getting Batman to make the decision to "save his beloved instead of his rival" was enough to prove that Batman, too, would succumb to "humanity." So, the Joker, now smug, began to enjoy the final harvest of his plan. When Batman rushed out of the interrogation room and split up with Gordon to rescue Dent and Rachel, it was the perfect opportunity for the Joker to escape. He first provoked himself into being attacked, then seized the opportunity to subdue a police officer, and detonated a suicide bomb he had planted in the detention cell. This move served two purposes: creating chaos to escape and simultaneously kidnapping Mr. Liu. Rescuing Mr. Liu was ostensibly fulfilling his promise to the mob and reclaiming their money. However, his true aim was to dismantle the Gotham City mob, hence the burning of all the money. Without money, the mob was powerless. His first "gift" to becoming Gotham City's crime prince was instigating the assassination of the accountant who claimed he would expose Batman's identity. This move again demonstrated the Joker's insight and resourcefulness; he wouldn't allow anyone to defeat Batman before him. With just one phone call, he turned the entire city into his allies, helping him handle the unexpected situation. At the same time, he subtly showcased his abilities to Gotham City.
Next, the Joker prepared to claim his second prize: Harvey Dent, whom he had dethroned. In the hospital, he confronted Dent, confessing to his crimes without reservation. Faced with Dent's rage, the Joker cleverly shifted the blame onto the law enforcement officers he had easily bribed.
This move was extremely ruthless, because Dent had always adhered to the law and the system, but he never expected that his lover would ultimately die due to police negligence. The physical and emotional trauma, coupled with the old and new grudges he harbored against corrupt law enforcement officers during his time in the inspectorate, caused Dent to lose his sanity, becoming the Joker's best assistant—Two-Face. Dent also helped the Joker eliminate the remaining mob bosses and corrupt police officers who were no longer of use. After Dent's transformation, the Joker continued his reaping spree, and his next target was to completely destroy the "morality" of Gotham's citizens. Taking advantage of the city's chaos and the rush to evacuate, he used bombs to seize control of two ferries filled with passengers: one carrying ordinary citizens, and the other carrying prisoners. He then unleashed his ultimate move, "Choice of Fate," demanding that both sides blow up the other's ship to save himself. Unexpectedly, neither side could bring themselves to do it, and the Joker himself was captured by Batman before he could manually detonate the bombs. Up to this point, the Joker had been incredibly prescient; everything had unfolded according to his plan. The final plan, however, failed because of a misjudgment of the human nature of the passengers on both ships.
Heimdall believed that Gol was a schemer just like the Joker!
After all, Gale possesses all the characteristics of the Joker!
Insight: Gale saw Heimdall's weakness as Sif and accurately exploited it. (Just guessing)
The plan: This applies not only to the Sif incident but also to the Pantheon. Even if Gale is strong, he's still just one person, yet he single-handedly threw the entire Pantheon into chaos, causing heavy losses. To outsiders, this seems like a sign of cunning and scheming… But Heimdall is overthinking it. Little did he know, the Pantheon was even more ruthless than the Nationalist army!
Detachment: This is indeed true of Ger. He is not bound by so-called morality. In order to destroy the Pantheon, he is willing to destroy the Earth!
Execution: Needless to say, even if ordinary people knew about the God Bomb, they would be unlikely to carry it out, since it's not even certain whether it's real or fake. But Ger didn't care and immediately went to do it, and almost succeeded.
Doesn't it fit perfectly?