Batman: Begins Batman

“You will take a life,” Ra’s al Ghul commanded, his eyes burning with the fire of righteous annihilation. “A murderer’s life to save a thousand innocents. That is the weight of the League.”

“You’re just a boy with a trust fund and a dead daddy,” Falcone had sneered, years ago, in that same restaurant. “You don’t understand the deep water.” Batman Begins Batman

Bruce, bruised, bearded, and hollow-eyed, stood on the frozen lake. The League of Shadows’ monastery loomed behind them, a razor-cut silhouette against a sky the color of old lead. He had stolen from Wayne Enterprises. He had been beaten in Bhutanese alleyways. He had eaten rice from a bowl shared with a pickpocket in Calcutta. He had stared into the abyss of the world’s cruelty, and the abyss had stared back with Joe Chill’s face. “You will take a life,” Ra’s al Ghul

“I burned it because I had to,” Ra’s replied, serene despite the storm. “The League has done this for centuries. Rome fell. London burned. And now, Gotham will be purified by its own poison. The Scarecrow’s toxin in the water main. A city driven to madness. A beautiful, necessary extinction.” “You don’t understand the deep water

Bruce looked out over the city. The Narrows was still dark, but a single window had flickered on. A light in the abyss.

And for the first time in his life, the child felt not afraid of the dark, but protected by it.

“And you’ll never have to,” Batman replied, the cape billowing in the chemical-scented wind.