Rachel Dawes

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caption =Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes in "The Dark Knight".
character_name =Rachel Dawes
publisher =DC Comics
debut ="Batman Begins" (June 15, 2005)
last = "The Dark Knight" (July 18, 2008)
creators =Christopher Nolan
David S. Goyer
alter_ego =
Base of operations = Gotham City
alliances =Gotham City D.A.'s Office
aliases =
supports=Batman
powers=|

Rachel Dawes is a fictional character who first appeared in Christopher Nolan's 2005 feature film, "Batman Begins". She was portrayed in that film by Katie Holmes and as a child in flashback scenes by Emma Lockhart. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Holmes in the 2008 sequel "The Dark Knight". [cite web|url=http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/03/08/maggie-gyllenhaal-cast-in-the-dark-knight/|title=Maggie Gyllenhaal Cast in "The Dark Knight"|author=Peter Sciretta|publisher=Slash Film|date=2007-03-08|accessdate=2008-08-02] The character appears exclusively in the films, and is not based on any comic book character. Gyllenhaal also appeared as Dawes on the viral marketing website "I Believe in Harvey Dent", [ [http://www.ibelieveinharveydent.com/ "I Believe In Harvey Dent"] ] giving the aspiring District Attorney her endorsement.

Fictional biography

Rachel is a childhood friend to Bruce Wayne. Rachel's mother worked as a domestic servant at Wayne Manor, and the two would often play together on the grounds. After Bruce's parents are murdered by Joe Chill, Rachel's mother seeks other employment and leaves Wayne Manor with Rachel.

Rachel enrolls in law school and gets an internship at the Gotham City District Attorney's office during her first year. After Chill is murdered for testifying against Mafia boss Carmine Falcone, Bruce reveals to Rachel that he intended to murder Chill himself. Rachel is horrified, and tells Bruce that his late parents would be ashamed of him. Soon afterward, Bruce leaves the United States and Rachel continues her studies in law school. Years later, she becomes an Assistant District Attorney and has a brief romantic relationship with her boss, District Attorney Carl Finch, who is later murdered by Ra's al Ghul's henchmen.

"Batman Begins"

Rachel dedicates her career to eliminating crime in Gotham City, in the process making enemies of Falcone and Dr. Jonathan Crane, Arkham Asylum's corrupt chief psychiatrist. Falcone eventually sends two thugs to kill her, but she is rescued by Gotham City's mysterious vigilante, Batman. Around the same time, Bruce returns to Gotham. Rachel is surprised that he did not contact her, and later feels disappointed in Bruce, believing that he has apparently become a playboy.

Later, Crane drugs her with his fear toxin at Arkham Asylum while she is evaluating Falcone, who has suffered a psychotic breakdown from the hallucinogen. Batman rescues her again, administers an antidote and tells her that Crane is working with the League of Shadows, a terrorist organization led by Ra's al Ghul. He then gives her instructions for a plan to save the city from the League's attack, after which he sedates her and has his butler, Alfred Pennyworth, return her home. She reawakens in her bed, remembers Batman's instructions immediately, and delivers samples of an anti-toxin to Batman's ally, Gotham City Police Department sergeant James Gordon.

The League starts a riot in one of Gotham City's slums, and Rachel is trapped. Crane, who has now assumed the criminal alter ego of "The Scarecrow", attacks her again. She defends herself and a boy caught in the riot by firing a taser at Crane, driving him away. Soon, the city is overrun by Arkham's inmates, whom the League has released, and Rachel and the boy are surrounded by lunatics led by Falcone's henchman, Victor Zsasz. Batman saves them at the last minute and gives Rachel a hint as to his secret identity. As Rachel realizes that her childhood sweetheart is also her masked savior, he leaves to save the remaining innocent bystanders and defeat Ra's al Ghul in battle.

Towards the end of the film, Rachel visits the remains of Wayne Manor, finding Bruce and Alfred sorting through the wreckage. She and Bruce share a kiss, but she tells him that they cannot be together until Gotham no longer needs Batman.

"The Dark Knight"

By the start of the second film, Rachel is in a relationship with Harvey Dent, creating a conflict between herself, Bruce Wayne, and the newly elected District Attorney. Dent soon asks Rachel to marry him, but she does not have a clear answer, being torn between her love for both him and Bruce Wayne.

At one point, the Joker confronts Rachel at Dent's fundraiser, holding her at knifepoint. Batman arrives and fights off the men, but the Joker grabs Rachel and throws her from the skyscraper window. Batman, without thinking twice, jumps out the window after her, breaking their fall on a car below. The Joker now knows that Batman and Rachel are more than just strangers.

Rachel is next seen at the funeral of police commissioner Gillian Loeb, who was murdered by the Joker. There one of the Joker's henchmen is wearing a tag that reads "Rachel Dawes", marking her as the Joker's next victim. Dent flies into a rage and threatens to kill the man, but Batman stops him. Rachel then takes shelter in Bruce's penthouse at Dent's insistence. There she and Bruce briefly rekindle their romance. He admits that he desires to turn himself in as Batman and hopes they could eventually be together. He leaves for Dent's press conference, where he sees Dent claim to be Batman and take Bruce's fall. Rachel is shocked and offended, giving Alfred an unsealed letter for Bruce "when the time is right." She promptly leaves the penthouse.

After Batman and Gordon capture the Joker, Rachel and Dent are kidnapped by corrupt Gotham City police officers working under crimelord Sal Maroni's payroll. After interrogating the Joker, who devised the plan, Batman soon discovers Rachel's situation. The Joker tells Batman that he must choose which one to save: Dent or Rachel. Unbeknownst to Batman, however, the Joker had switched the addresses where Rachel and Dent are located. Batman speeds off, believing that he is travelling to Rachel. Both Rachel and Dent are left in rooms with petrol drums and a phone-bomb, allowing them to talk to one another. Rachel tells Harvey that she accepts his proposal and wants to marry him. Batman arrives at Dent's location in time to save him, but Gordon fails to save Rachel, who is killed in the explosion. Dent, meanwhile, is horribly disfigured and, under advice from the Joker, becomes the vigilante Two-Face in order to seek revenge on Batman, the corrupt police, Maroni, and Gordon for Rachel's death.

In a note written for Bruce that Rachel leaves with Alfred, she reveals that she has chosen Dent over Bruce, whom she genuinely loves:

"Dear Bruce, I need to be honest and clear. I'm going to marry Harvey Dent. I love him and want to spend the rest of my life with him. When I told you that if Gotham no longer needed Batman we could be together, I meant it. But now, I'm sure the day won't come when you no longer need Batman. I hope it does. And if it does, I will be there, but as your friend. I'm sorry to let you down. If you lose your faith in me, please keep your faith in people. Love, now and always, Rachel."

Alfred is about to give the note to Bruce after her death but, upon hearing Bruce ponder that his only solace is the knowledge that she would have waited for him, he decides to burn the note instead, deciding that, in Batman's words at the end of the film, sometimes, "The truth isn't good enough. Sometimes, people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded."

References