This is not a typical Cinematic Chiasmus. I have written an ambitious article detailing how Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises mirror each other quite breathtakingly. The only problem is that the article is so huge that I have had to delay publishing it for a couple of days instead on my usual Tuesday.

So to whet your appetite and let you know that I am not just slacking off but hard at work on this latest article, I present to you this chiasmus. I couldn’t include this in the main article because it would make it so huge as to be unwieldy. I will publish the main article tomorrow when my amazing wife and I finish putting together all of the images to go with it. This is going to be epic.

Batman Begins

A. As a child, Bruce Wayne falls into what will become the Batcave

 B. As an adult, Bruce is a nameless prisoner in China

  C. Ra’s al Ghul tells Bruce that he must make himself more than a man to become a legend

   D. Bruce is introduced to the League of Shadows and is told, “Here you will face death”

    E. Young Bruce’s parents are killed, and Sgt. Jim Gordon comforts Bruce

     F. Bruce faces off with Ra’s and is about to defeat him when he plunges Bruce into a frozen lake

      G. Joe Chill is shot and killed by a woman in front of Bruce

       H. Rachel Dawes slaps Bruce after he reveals the gun he was going to use to kill Chill

        I. Bruce faces Mob boss Carmine Falcone for the first time

         J. Bruce single-handedly defeats the League of Shadows

          K. Bruce returns, seemingly from the dead, to his butler, Alfred Pennyworth

           L. Bruce and Alfred discuss tactics aboard a private jet

            M. Bruce starts setting up the Batcave

             N. Dr. Jonathan Crane and Falcone discuss the need to kill Rachel

              O. Bruce returns to Wayne Enterprises, Rachel hears about it, and Bruce meets Lucius Fox

               P. Bruce invites Alfred to come near the waterfall, but he refuses, after which Bruce prepares the Batsuit

                Q. Batman jumps off a building without a rope and barely manages to land on a fire escape

                 R. Fox gives Bruce the gadgets he needs to be effective as Batman

                  S. Batman beats up Falcone’s men and ties Falcone up on a Batsignal for all of Gotham to see

                   T. Batman saves Rachel and gives her valuable information

                    U. Alfred forces Bruce to get out of bed the morning after a long night of crimefighting

                     V. Ra’s men steal Wayne Enterprises’ microwave emitter from a ship

                      W. Bruce acts like a worthless playboy

                       X. Scarecrow terrorizes Falcone and sends him to Arkham Asylum

                        Y. Batman interrogates a dirty cop named Flass as he hangs upside down from a high-rise

                         Z. The District Attorney is killed for asking too many questions

                         AA. Batman gets poisoned by Scarecrow and put out of commission

                          BB. Rachel goes to see Bruce on his birthday. After she leaves, he hurries and puts on the Batsuit

                           CC. Batman saves Rachel from Scarecrow

                            DD. Bruce kicks out all of his party guests

                             EE. Bruce refuses Ra’s final offer to be his right-hand man

                              FF. Ra’s burns down Wayne Manor

                               GG. Alfred tells Bruce he’ll never give up on him

                                HH. Criminals run loose in Gotham

                                 II. Rachel hands Gordon the antidote Batman had given her

                                  JJ. Batman saves Rachel from being killed by hallucinating criminals and then reveals his secret identity to her

                                   KK. Ra’s puts the microwave emitter on a train, causing manhole covers to explode with steam

                                    LL. Batman beats Ra’s in combat, foils his plan, and flies out of a train

                                     MM. Fox replaces Earle as the CEO of Wayne Enterprises

                                      NN. Bruce starts the process of rebuilding Wayne Manor

                                       OO. Rachel tells Bruce that she can’t be with him because of his mask

                                        PP. Gordon introduces the Batsignal

                                         QQ. After helping Batman, Gordon gets promoted

                                          RR. Batman tells Gordon he’ll never have to say, “Thank you”

The Dark Knight

   SS. The Joker has his henchmen in clown masks kill each other during a bank heist

    TT. Batman fights the Mob and the “Batmen” who are supposed to be on his side

     UU. A mobster tries to shoot District Attorney Harvey Dent, but the gun misfires and Dent punches him

      VV. Harvey says, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain”

       WW. Joker storms into a roomful of mobsters and threatens to blow them up

        XX. Harvey promises to get a Chinese bookkeeper named Lau to “sing” to the police if Batman gets him back to Gotham

          YY. Joker kills Gambol

           ZZ. Batman uses a cell-phone sonar device to capture Lau in Hong Kong

           AAA. Harvey uses the law to put mobsters behind bars

            BBB. Joker films a captured “Batman” being killed

             CCC. Bruce touts Harvey as the “face of Gotham’s future”

              DDD. Joker kills Commissioner Loeb and a judge

               EEE. Joker threatens Rachel with a gun and then drops her out a window

                 FFF. Alfred tells Bruce a story about a bandit who just wanted to watch the world burn

                 GGG. Joker kills Harvey and Dent

                  HHH. Mr. Reese attempts to blackmail Bruce or he’ll reveal his identity as Batman, but he’s thwarted by Fox

                   III. Bruce is too late to stop Joker’s attempt on the mayor’s life. Gordon takes a bullet for the mayor

                    JJJ. Harvey unsuccessfully interrogates one of Joker’s men using his two-headed coin

                     KKK. Harvey takes the fall for Batman

                      LLL. Rachel hands Alfred a letter to give to Bruce

                       MMM. Rachel says goodbye to Harvey as he is carted away by the police

                        NNN. Batman chases Joker in order to capture him and rescue Harvey

                         OOO. Joker is interrogated by Gordon

                         OOO. Joker is interrogated by Batman

                        NNN. Batman races to the rescue of Harvey as Joker escapes from the police station

                       MMM. Harvey says goodbye to Rachel as she dies in a huge explosion

                      LLL. Alfred reads Rachel’s letter and learns of her intent to marry Harvey

                     KKK. Alfred spares Bruce pain by withholding Rachel’s letter

                    JJJ. Harvey discovers his half-burned coin and is fruitlessly interviewed by Gordon for information

                   III. The police are too late to stop Joker as he burns the Mob’s money and kills their leader

                  HHH. Joker tries to have Reese killed after he publicly threatens to reveal Batman’s secret identity

                 GGG. Joker manipulates Harvey into becoming Two-Face

                FFF. Joker explains what he is to Two-Face. He’s an “agent of chaos”

               EEE. Joker lets Harvey threaten him with a gun and then walks away

              DDD. Joker blows up a hospital

             CCC. Gordon fears the worst when a disfigured Harvey disappears

            BBB. Joker films a kidnapped news anchor giving a bomb threat

           AAA. Two-Face takes the law into his own hands and kills a dirty cop named Wuertz

          ZZ. Batman unveils his city-wide sonar device to Fox

         YY. Two-Face kills Maroni

        XX. The mayor asks how long Gordon can keep Harvey’s disappearance a secret

       WW. Joker threatens to blow up two boats filled with criminals and civilians

      VV. Two-Face claims to be fighting for justice, but he has become a villain

     UU. Two-Face is unable to kill a dirty cop named Ramirez, so he punches her instead

    TT. Batman fights Joker’s men and the cops who are supposed to be on his side

   SS. Joker tries to get cops to accidentally kill civilians in clown masks

  RR. Batman saves Gordon’s son, giving him a big reason to say, “Thank you”

 QQ. Batman takes the blame for Two-Face’s crimes and becomes a hunted man

PP. Gordon breaks the Batsignal

The Dark Knight Rises

                                       OO. Bane says no one cared who he was before he put on his mask

                                      NN. Bane destroys an airplane

                                     MM. Gordon is going to be replaced as Police Commissioner

                                    LL. Selina Kyle steals from Bruce, easily beats him, and jumps out a window

                                   KK. Bane’s men escape in the sewer and set off an underground explosion

                                  JJ. Gordon barely escapes being killed by Bane, which prompts John Blake to tell Bruce he knows he’s Batman

                                 II. Bruce goes to see Gordon in the hospital and Selina at a fundraiser

                                HH. Bane gets away as the police chase Batman

                               GG. Alfred leaves Bruce

                              FF. Bruce loses everything, except Wayne Manor

                             EE. Bruce gives control of Wayne Enterprises to Miranda Tate

                            DD. Bruce is kicked out of a Wayne Enterprises board meeting

                           CC. Bruce talks with Selina after Bane kills Daggett

                          BB. Miranda spends the night with Bruce. After she falls asleep, he sneaks away and gets into the Batsuit

                         AA. Batman gets broken by Bane and takes months to recover

                         Z. Blake arrests Selina and then asks her if she knows whether Bruce is dead or alive

                        Y. Bane taunts Bruce as he lies helplessly on a cot

                       X. Bane terrorizes the people of Gotham and then releases all the prisoners from Blackgate Prison

                      W. Gotham’s rich are stripped of their wealth

                     V. Bane’s men place Wayne Enterprises’ stolen nuclear core into a truck

                    U. Bruce crawls out of bed and then a fellow prisoner pushes his spine back into place

                   T. Special Forces men enter Gotham to gather intelligence, but they fail to escape and deliver it to their superiors

                  S. Bane kills Special Forces men and hangs their bodies for all the world to see

                 R. Bruce unsuccessfully tries to jump out of the prison, and he then gets helpful advice from a doctor on how to escape

                Q. Bruce jumps a final time without a rope and makes it out of the prison

               P. Gordon tries to convince Foley to put his police uniform back on and help, but he refuses

              O. Bruce returns to Gotham, talks to Selina, and tells her he needs Fox

             N. Crane sentences Gordon to his death

            M. Bruce finds Fox and gets his help to access his other hideout

           L. Bruce and Fox talk about the status of the Bat

          K. Batman returns, after a long absence, to Gordon and Blake

         J. Gotham’s police force fights against Bane and his army

        I. Batman fights Bane for the last time

       H. Miranda stabs Batman and reveals her true identity as Ra’s vengeful daughter, Talia

      G. Bane is shot and killed by Catwoman in front of Batman

     F. Batman faces off with Talia and kills her, but not before she floods the chamber with the nuclear core

    E. Batman reminds Gordon of how they first met after his parents’ death

   D. Batman destroys the League of Shadows’ plans by facing death

  C. Gotham City honors the fallen Batman with a statue, turning him into a legend

 B. Bruce has shed his identity as Bruce Wayne forever

A. A platform rises, lifting Blake inside the Batcave