One of my all-time favorite movies is Batman Begins. There are so many things going on in that story that I’m still seeing new things each time I watch it.
For example:
There’s a scene in the movie where Bruce Wayne is being trained by Ra’s al Ghul (at that point, , Wayne believes him to be Henry Ducard).
They’re battling on the ice and Ducard is telling Wayne that his father’s death wasn’t Wayne’s fault… that it was his father’s. Specifically, his father’s failure to act— to do what was “necessary.”
There’s a deeper story here tho, methinx (spoiler alert).
Unless it’s your first time watching, or in case you never read the comics, Ra’s al Ghul is the main bad guy. But, he describes people like Falcone (the crime boss), Dr Crane (Scarecrow), and the man accused of a heinous crime (and brought before the League of Shadows for Wayne to execute).
He even explicitly tells Bruce Wayne he wants to strike at the heart of criminality in Gotham, that the League of Shadows has infiltrated Gotham’s highest offices and corrupted them. And because they were corruptable, that is evidence of their unworthiness.
But… Ra’s al Ghul obviously excludes himself… even views himself as righteous for wanting to “press the reset button” on Gotham, murdering millions of innocent people.
He sees himself as beyond good and evil, fighting the “injustice” of a cruel world… an amoral figurehead of a movement that judges others, but is somehow immune to justice.
In my not-so-humble opinion, one of his lesser qualities.
On the other hand, one of his greater qualities is when he tells Wayne:
“You know how to disappear. We can teach you to become truly invisible.”
Speaking of which, one of the lesser-known aspects of what I do for a living is teach folks how to move away from making their money “disappear” by using dorky tax gimmicks and corporate shell games and move towards making their savings truly invisible to the IRS — as in, not reportable on any tax form.
Poof!
Gone.
If that sort of thing appeals to you, go book an appointment with me and I’ll show you how its done: