It has been 16 years sinceThe Dark Knightwas released and left one mystery hanging above theDCmovie, but now the answers have been revealed.The Dark Knightis considered one ofthe greatest superhero movies of all timethanks to itsexemplary interpretations of Batmanlore, withHeath Ledger’s Jokerbeing a standout feature. His frenetic, violent take on what was once a much campier villain remains paradigmatic, with his motives being a terrifyingly unpredictable antithesis to Batman’s preoccupation with order.
Joker’s desire to sow chaos is further exemplified by his unwillingness to play nice with the leading members of Gotham’s criminal underworld, despite their shared enemy. While the heads of various mobs had formed a shaky truce in an attempt to form a united front against Batman, Joker would prove just as disruptive to their nefarious goals. One crime boss, in particular, quickly took umbrage with Joker’s aggravation and led the charge in flouting Joker’s influence, which would prove a fatal mistake. Or, at least, so it seemed.
The Dark Knight Left Gambol’s Fate Ambiguous
Joker Seemingly Kills Gambol With A Cut To The Cheek
Of all the conspiring crime bosses, Gambol was the most antagonistic towards Joker. It was one of his goons that fell foul of Joker’s infamous “magic trick” that involved making a pencil disappear. Gambol would then put out a hit on Joker, offering $500,000 and $1 million to anyone who could bring Joker in dead or alive, respectively. This hit would be his undoing, as Joker used it as a pretense to get close to Gambol, whereupon he quickly outwitted and restrained Gambol and his men beforedelivering one of the most recognizable origin stories about his facial scars.
How Did The Joker Actually Get His Scars?
Heath Ledger’s Joker had many particularities, such as scars on his face that formed a permanent “smile” – but how did he get those scars?
As Joker does this, he holds a knife to Gambol’s cheek as if to emulate his story. When his speech is over, we only see the grimace of one gang member as Joker presumably cuts a Glasgow smile into Gambol’s face. In the next shot, Gambol’s limp body falls to the ground, ostensibly dead.The baffling implication here is that a slash to Gambol’s cheek was enough to kill him instantly- which simply makes no sense. It is easier to believe that the shock of the attack knocked him out and that Gambol survived the ordeal.
The Dark Knight Novelization Gave An In-Universe Answer To The DC Movie Mystery
The Dark Knight’s Novel Describes Gambol’s Death In Greater Detail
The novelization forThe Dark Knight(which bears an identical title) provides a far deeper look at much ofThe Dark Knight’s events and characters. Harvey Dent, for instance, enjoys a much deeper backstory in theThe Dark Knightnovel, which includes how he and Rachel came to meet.It also helped to remedy the confusion surrounding Gambol’s fate, thanks to a clear description of his encounter with Joker.
The events ofThe Dark Knight’s novelization are considered canon in Nolan’s trilogy.
The novel describes howJoker actually cut Gambol’s throat to kill him, which obviously makes far more sense than his death stemming from a lacerated cheek. Gambol being killed during thisscene inThe Dark Knightmakes sense, as Gambol is definitively out of the picture from this point onward. Still, the editing for this scene is confusing for a reason, according to the actor who portrayed Gambol inThe Dark Knight.
The Dark Knight’s Gambol Ending Could Have Led To A Storyline In The Dark Knight Rises
Gambol Was Initially Going To Survive The Joker’s Attack
Michael Jai White revealed toThe Hollywood Reporterin 2018 that Gambol was indeed supposed to survive his ordeal with Joker. He references the “strange cut” when clarifying that he never actually shot the death scene depicted in the final cut, stating “The character wasn’t supposed to be gone. That is something that happened in editing later.” He goes on to speculate that Heath Ledger’s death prompted the last-minute edit as he believedthe original intention was to have Gambol return inThe Dark Knight Rises,which would obviously have seen him sporting his own Glasgow smile.
How Gambol’s return would have affected the narrative forThe Dark Knight Risesis purely up for speculation, as the movie wasn’t written until after Ledger’s death. GivenJoker was never killed inThe Dark Knight, it stands to reason that Ledger’s celebrated performance would have led to him reprising the role inThe Dark Knight Rises, providing an intriguing dynamic between him and the gang boss he mutilated. Still, between Michael Jai White’s comments andThe Dark Knightnovel’s clarification, the somewhat awkward editing for Gambol’s death now makes much more sense.
The Dark Knight
Cast
The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, is the second installment in the Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale as Batman. Released in 2008, the film follows Batman’s alliance with Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent as they combat the organized crime that threatens Gotham, facing the menacing Joker.
