The Injustice in Justice
Before him from the rooftop, the twinkling skyline is impressive, one he never tires of seeing: Gotham City. His father's city, his city, his inheritance as much as the billions in the Wayne family fortune, as much as the stately manor on the outskirts of town. He loves Gotham with a ferocity that he cannot describe or justify beyond the noteworthy fact that he is Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gotham, the city's first son. As such, he can bolster the city and its millions of residents through the Wayne Foundation, despite his public persona suggesting that he is a lazy, self-indulgent playboy who prefers to fiddle while Gotham burns. In private, of course, he has a more direct approach toward aiding the innocent and downtrodden of his city. Putting criminals behind bars is his bounded duty, and he should be happy Rupert Thorne, one of Gotham's worst malefactors, is a self-confessed murderer who'll never see the light of day again.
In the Batman's palm, however, is the killjoy of the moment, the reason Thorne will walk away a free man: Tetch technology, a mind-control device that helped engineer the confession.
The Dark Knight closes his hand over the chip, eyes closing, head bowing. If Tetch was telling the truth - and Batman is dead sure that he was - Two-Face was responsible for this conspiracy, for involving Strange and framing Thorne. Harvey Dent, a man he considers a friend, is lost again to the monster within. As a result, Two-Face, Mad Hatter and Strange together enabled Thorne's arrest, and Gotham would be far safer with that man behind bars.
The number of people who know about the mind-control device is limited: Mad Hatter, Harvey Dent, Hugo Strange. Without Batman supplying evidence of the conspiracy, the case against Thorne is air-tight. Someone flagrantly guilty of any number of crimes will finally get his just reward.
Unjustly.
Stomach soured, Batman stands on the edge of the rooftop, mourns his friend's mental state, and berates the lunacy of the Thorne case. By doing wrong, the mad trio has accomplished something right. Only Batman can keep Thorne from being imprisoned on false charges, and thus Batman will be responsible for allowing the crime lord back on the streets. By serving justice, he is failing his city.
There's little about life he doesn't hate right now.
In the Batman's palm, however, is the killjoy of the moment, the reason Thorne will walk away a free man: Tetch technology, a mind-control device that helped engineer the confession.
The Dark Knight closes his hand over the chip, eyes closing, head bowing. If Tetch was telling the truth - and Batman is dead sure that he was - Two-Face was responsible for this conspiracy, for involving Strange and framing Thorne. Harvey Dent, a man he considers a friend, is lost again to the monster within. As a result, Two-Face, Mad Hatter and Strange together enabled Thorne's arrest, and Gotham would be far safer with that man behind bars.
The number of people who know about the mind-control device is limited: Mad Hatter, Harvey Dent, Hugo Strange. Without Batman supplying evidence of the conspiracy, the case against Thorne is air-tight. Someone flagrantly guilty of any number of crimes will finally get his just reward.
Unjustly.
Stomach soured, Batman stands on the edge of the rooftop, mourns his friend's mental state, and berates the lunacy of the Thorne case. By doing wrong, the mad trio has accomplished something right. Only Batman can keep Thorne from being imprisoned on false charges, and thus Batman will be responsible for allowing the crime lord back on the streets. By serving justice, he is failing his city.
There's little about life he doesn't hate right now.