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Okay so after watching The Dark Knight Rises, I spent a bit of time thinking about the film, at first I didn't get it. I understood the storyline but this major plot flaw/continuity error really baffled me and annoyed me for practically the whole film.

When Bruce Wayne puts on the knee brace he is able to support his weight again after having as the film says 'no cartilage in his knee.' This means he couldn't walk without support aka this knee brace.

How is he able to walk/climb/jump in the pit without this brace?

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    related
    – Tablemaker
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 1:42
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    After you realize he gets from "paralyzed" to "flying squirrel" by hanging on the ropes and being punched by middleaged man you won't even notice the missing brace -_-
    – Mentales
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 1:59
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    Actually, I'm fairly certain that you can walk without any cartilage - it's just not very good for you (bone-on-bone), and can be painful. It's actually more probable that Bruce Wayne also had ligament damage - having a torn ACL (even partially) can make it difficult to stand, and certain activities (such as pivoting under load) can cause the leg to collapse. This is repairable, too, so can be recovered from.
    – Clockwork-Muse
    Commented Aug 2, 2012 at 16:53
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    How is this repairable? I suffer from the same condition (due to my years of crimefighting)
    – user1836
    Commented Aug 5, 2012 at 5:56
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    Probably because he is Batman
    – hmmmm
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 22:25

6 Answers 6

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I don't remember seeing Bruce Wayne without trousers or with short trousers in the pit.

He could still wear his knee brace, but why Bane would let him keep that would be a another mystery.

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I think the knee brace was originally just to allow Bruce to begin walking again.

There are many ways knee-cartilage can be replaced as seen in this article.

So Bruce could easily have had one of these procedures to fix his knee during the time between using the knee-brace originally and being thrown in the pit which would explain why he doesn't need the knee-brace in the pit.

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  • Bane probably let Bruce keep his pad for the same reason he let Bruce keep is life: to torture him with the though that he might actually escape and save the day.
    – TSJNachos117
    Commented May 13, 2015 at 6:40
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The whole cripple thing might just be a ruse from Bruce Wayne.
Thanks to that ruse, people let him alone when there's a party at the manor in the beginning (a bit like when he pretends to be drink in the previous movie).
Then thanks to that ruse again, he's able to secretly contact Gordon at the hospital, pretending a visit to the doctor. A minute after hearing the diagnosis, he jumps down several floors to chat with his friend.
This is probably painful anyway, but not as much for him as he'll tell people. As mentioned before, he's the Batman ! And can overcome by his master mind and iron will what his body would seem to refuse doing.

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    such an elaborate ruse that he really does need a knee brace underneath his batman outfit?
    – Tablemaker
    Commented Nov 17, 2012 at 15:20
  • When trying the knee brace for the first time, he literally breaks a wall of bricks in the Wayne manor when kicking it. The knee brace might be an overkill way to increase his leg strength, but not necessary for walking.
    – wip
    Commented Nov 18, 2012 at 2:45
  • why he tried knee braces in front of alfred? I don't think he needed to fool alfred.
    – Vishwa
    Commented Feb 6, 2018 at 8:25
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The inspiration for The Pit in the movie is (or can be found - Nolan, as far as I know, never said anything about it) found in Lazarus Pit from DC Universe (comic). Lazarus Pit is very well known for it's mystic healing abilities.

While this jumping and climbing from the point of view of Dark Knight Rises might be indeed plot hole, it is actually very plausible if we look at the whole Batman universe.

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    It might be an explanation, but it is too stretched. The Lazarus Pit seems to be the inspiration(hence the name), but it seems to me that Nolan tried to make the Batman universe more realistic(Bane's mask doesn't really give him superhuman strength), so the Pit makes the people who escape "revive"(spiritually, of course). What is more, if there were some mystical healing forces in there, why in the world would you build a prison in that spot? So, although it might be an explanation, if we consider Nolan's view on the Batman universe, what you're implying can't be right.
    – Dragos
    Commented Aug 6, 2012 at 10:16
  • @Dragos I agree and that's why I wrote second paragraph. Also note I used "very plausible". However, I can't find any better explanation how Bruce healled so quickly while he was in The Pit. Nolan wants (or wanted) to make Batman movies as reallistic as possible, but he also followed the comic as much as possible.
    – StupidOne
    Commented Aug 6, 2012 at 11:20
  • I have read all the questions here concerning this movie and it seems to me that there are too many inconsistencies. It seems to me that the movie was done in a rush. It makes me even more disappointed in it.
    – Dragos
    Commented Aug 6, 2012 at 11:26
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He was in the pit for 5 months. That's plenty of time to get fit. Though I still don't believe it's realistic, considering all his injuries. I think the broken back thing is just staying true to the comics and the will power of Batman.

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  • If he could've gotten fit in 5 months, he could've done it sometime in the 8 years too.
    – VPeric
    Commented Aug 14, 2012 at 18:36
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    There is a big difference between getting fit and miraculously re-growing cartilage.
    – hmmmm
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 22:26
  • He didn't necessarily re-grow the cartilage in the pit. He could've had an operation to do this before he met Bane
    – PriestVallon
    Commented Aug 24, 2012 at 1:45
  • He could have had an operation, but an equal amount of evidence supports that Jean-Paul Valley took over as Batman for all scenes in the Batsuit!
    – hexparrot
    Commented Dec 15, 2014 at 17:16
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IMHO, I think Bruce Wayne was still wearing his knee brace. We never saw his knee to confirm that Bane took it off.

We just assumed that Bane took it off, because it seems logical. However, think about it from Bane's perspective:

Bane was talking about breaking Batman. He said that he would break his body and soul. He did break his back leaving him crippled. All was left is to break his soul.

He was so sure that Bruce wouldn't even try to fight back or come after him (Remember his surprise when he saw him again).
A man so sure of his victory won't bother by simple details as a knee brace (which is neither a weapon or a communication device) when your opponent is already half dead and prisoned in a pit he himself failed to escape (again remember when he was fighting batman and bragged about being born in the shadows contrarily to batman who training in shadows ).

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