Narrative in The Dark Knight

How far is the hero’s journey completed?

One of the main things that sets The Dark Knight apart from its superhero film peers is its disregard for the generic story structure that superhero films tend to follow. Batman / Wayne does not have a happy ending. He does not “get the girl”. The villain escapes, Harvey Dent – once the city’s hope for justice – loses his sanity, murders various people and dies, and all hope is lost when Batman takes the blame for the murders Dent committed. Through the film, we can see a fine start to the hero’s journey, however following the death of Rachel the hope for a happy ending begins to dwindle. There is no satisfaction to the story, which is unfortunate, but it reflects the bleak atmosphere that Nolan was trying to create.