This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Disclaimer: The should not be taken as any form of legal counsel or guidance; there may be errors in interpretation of the law and there may be crimes and violations missing from this list. I am not an officer or an attorney; I am a movie fan with a blog.
Just how far outside the law did Bruce Wayne go in his war against crime?
Well, he committed an estimated 68 crimes in "Batman Begins" and 112 in "The Dark Knight." One might argue he broke more laws than bad guys' bones in his first years as a vigilante. But after earning peace in Gotham through the lie of Harvey Dent's murder, Wayne dialed back his criminal activity in "The Dark Knight Rises" — way back.
The tally, enumerated below and based on Utah statutes, is not that surprising considering Wayne spends much of the movie out of the Batsuit. There is only so much trouble you can get into when you are grooming an angry-looking goatee in the manor's east wing.
Reckless driving • Have you seen the way he drives that Batpod?
Failure to stop at an officer's signal • Wayne does not stop for the cops chasing him with their lights activated.
Two counts of assault • Wayne yanks the stock broker high up into the air, then punches Bane's henchman in the face.
Two counts of possession of an explosive device • The Batpod is loaded with missiles …
Two counts of use of an explosive device • … that Wayne fires at the car transporter.
Leaving the scene of an accident • He purposefully crashed the Batpod into the henchman's motorcycle, then takes off.
Obstruction of justice • Wayne keeps evidence of Bane's crime from the police.
Four counts of assault • Wayne attacks the henchmen on the rooftop.
Three counts of assault • Wayne attacks Bane's patrol guards in the sewers.
Three counts of assault • Wayne knocks out Bane's men with Bat-darts.
Conspiracy to commit aggravated arson • Wayne pours an accelerant all over a Gotham bridge with the intent to set it on fire.
Possession of an explosive device • Wayne has a grenade…
Use of an explosive device • … which he activates and gives to Blake to throw.
Aggravated assault • Wayne fires the Bat's machine guns at the driver in the truck.
Two counts of aggravated assault • Wayne fires missiles on the men in the Tumbler.
Two counts of aggravated assault • Wayne fires repeatedly at the man and Talia in the truck.
Ten counts of possession of an explosive device • The Bat is shown to be equipped with at least 10 missiles during the finale…
Ten counts of use of an explosive device • ... which Wayne fires throughout.
Possession of an explosive device • The Bat has at least one more missile…
Use of an explosive device • … that Wayne fires at the building on his way out of the city.
Dialing it way back from the showcase in law breaking that is "The Dark Knight," Wayne commits only 51 crimes in "The Dark Knight Rises" before the end credits roll. If INTERPOL ever put hands on Bruce and brought him back to Gotham (and back to life, as far as official records go), and a court were to convict him on all counts, the judge could hand down a maximum sentence of 277 years on top of 14 life sentences.
Then if you add that to his counts from the previous two movies, Wayne could face up to 1,003 years behind bars, plus 29 life sentences. No good deed goes unpunished.