Batman Begins: The Defeat of Justice

Once upon a time, there was a people, a city. Once good, once ruled by a good ruler, once lovers of all that was light and good, they had sunken into the pit of corruption. The ruler was gone; hope was gone. They lied, they stole, they lived in utter fear of the evil one. Yet they did nothing, they hoped for nothing. They had no hope. All they knew was fear as they lived in the dankest, darkest hole of evil that you’ve ever seen.

Most – at least, those who bothered to care – said they were too far gone to hope for redemption. Justice demanded that they be wiped off the face of the earth. They weren’t worth saving. And, possibly, they themselves might have agreed with this statement. They knew their faults; they knew that they had not lived up to the standard so recently abandoned; they knew they weren’t where they were made to be.

The city’s name is Gotham. “Only a cynical man would call what these people have "lives," Wayne. Crime, despair... this is not how man was supposed to live.”

The people’s name is human. “Therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.”

And when justice came – as justice always comes, silent and utterly fair – their deserved end would have come. Fear. Death. It was kinder than the majority of them deserved; if fairness was the rule, then the morgue was fair end.

The city’s name is Gotham. “Gotham's time has come. Like Constantinople or Rome before it the city has become a breeding ground for suffering and injustice. It is beyond saving and must be allowed to die. This is the most important function of the League of Shadows. It is one we've performed for centuries. Gotham... must be destroyed.”

The people’s name is human. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Yet justice met the prince of the people, the son of the good, beloved ruler. And justice laughed in the face of mercy.

The prince is Batman. His enemy said, “It should be you standing by my side, saving the world.”

The prince is Jesus, His father is justice. His enemy said, “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.””

Neither gave in. They never would.

The prince is Batman. He answered, “I'll be standing where I belong. Between you and the people of Gotham.”

His enemy said, “No one can save Gotham.”

But the enemy was wrong.

And in our world, Jesus stretched out his arms and died. And in the face of death, He laughed. For in His death, He won. Against death he fought, yes. But also against justice.

Justice would have all of Gotham slain. Justice would have every human sent to hell. But there is a place for justice. The end of all things is just, but not in the way we would expect. Not what we would call just. Yet in this marvelous and impossible composition, justice and mercy merge into one.