Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Batman.
The Batman heavily features the Gotham City vigilante, whereas alter ego Bruce Wayne is hardly in the film at all — here is why Bruce is only in a handful of scenes. The Batman is focused on Bruce’s second year as Batman, who primarily refers to himself as “Vengeance.” In the past, Batman movies have focused on the superhero’s origin story, but Matt Reeves’ film changes things around so that Bruce, sans his Batsuit, doesn’t get as much screen time.
Bruce Wayne and Batman may be one and the same, but they have long operated as two separate entities. As Batman (played by Robert Pattinson), the vigilante watches over Gotham at night, tracking down and fighting those who prey on others. He’s got a partnership with Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and they work to solve a series of clues from serial killer The Riddler. Bruce, on the other hand, is a recluse who barely ever sees the light of day and looks rather rough when he does. Gotham’s citizens haven’t heard from him in a long time and he never makes any appearances at the company he owns. To most, it’s as though he’s vanished despite the fact that his wealth, philanthropy, and influence — which Mayor Bella Reál points out — could be used to help Gotham.
Crucially, he doesn’t think he can help Gotham as Bruce and has yet to adapt the playboy billionaire persona that he’s known for. It’s Bruce Wayne, not Batman, who hides in the shadows and the film establishes that Bruce is Batman’s mask and the vigilante is who he really is at his core. Considering how disillusioned Batman has become and how he weaponizes vengeance to instill fear in Gotham’s criminals, it makes sense that the part of him that is Bruce Wayne, billionaire, would take a back seat. The Batman is focused on building his identity as the Caped Crusader and how he fits in with Gotham. The journey from being a symbol of vengeance to a beacon of hope is something only Batman could have accomplished. As Bruce, the character doesn’t exactly fit into the grittiness and corruption that Batman finds himself embroiled in.
Bruce makes only four major appearances in The Batman, scenes in which he is acknowledged and addressed by his given name: He comes to pay his respects at the funeral of Mayor Don Mitchell, Jr., Bruce also appears at the hospital to be by the side of an injured Alfred Pennyworth following an explosion, he shows up as Bruce to the Iceberg Club to confront Carmine Falcone about what happened with his parents, and in the Batcave where he gets frustrated and tells Alfred he’s not his father. It’s important to note that all of these scenes — save for the funeral — are linked directly to Bruce’s past before he transforms into Batman, as well as to his parents.
The Batman lays the foundation for the vigilante to forge his billionaire playboy persona in the sequel. Now that he has become a hopeful figure for Gotham’s innocent, he can perhaps help the city even further as a philanthropist rather than watching from the shadows as his company takes a hit. The Batman is, in part, about finding the Caped Crusader’s purpose and confronting the parts about his past that he didn’t know about. Bruce couldn’t do what Batman did in the film, and The Batman focusing on his life’s path as the Dark Knight means the parts of him that are still burned from the past needed to be healed first.
