Great Moments in Nerd History: The Bank Manager of The Dark Knight

Join me friends as I harken back to a simpler time. The Dark Knight just came out, the Internet was a younger place and the denizens of /co/, 4Chan's Comic and Cartoons board, were enamored with their favorite character in Christopher Nolan's sequel.

Batman? Joker? Black Dynamite? No.

They were pumped for Willaim Fichtner as The Bank Manager.




Blink and you'd be rocked away by the shotgun of Fichtner, who appears in the briefest of cameos as the manager of the mafia-owned bank in Gotham City. But nearly a year ago, The Bank Manager became the subject of an epic /co/ thread that elevated Fichtner's cameo into the stuff of nerd legends [btw, that link is extremely NSFW due to advertising. Be warned to scroll fast.]

There was some rumor that the manager was itself a spoiler role and he was Tony Zucco, the man who arranged the hit that killed Dick Grayson's parents. But the co/m/mrades soldiered on with their new hero. Mainly, through questioning if he'd show back up or if this was an origin role cameo.

"He becomes the riddler with a shotgun," one wrote. Then came a more Golden Age approach:

He is the last son of MANE-GOR, a foreign planat based on bureaucracy and money transactions. When an intergalactic economy crisis hit it, it blew up. His escape capsule happened to land on earthwhere he used his superhuman banking and shotgunning skills against evil... Err.. wait. Did I get him mixed up?

Another had a more practical answer: "[I]t was william fichtner, humorless actor, he just stumbled onto set one day and started improvising and shooting his shot gun."

Thanks to Tripfa..code user J !EM5exyYJvA, the best part about this thread started: the one-liners.

• -He'll take you to the bank..the blood bank.


• -Want a stock tip? Invest in lead. *BANG*


• -I would like to make a deposit of these rounds into your fucking skull.


• -"You go back into your car, but I'm calling shotgun." *BANG*


• -Sorry. *BANG* WE don't accept American Express.


• -"So what's it gonna be Joker? Leaded, or unleaded?"


• -The DOW just went down 5 points.  And now so will you *KABLAMMO*


• -CREDIT CHECK!  *blammm!* DENIED!


• -No, ma'am. BANK you.


• -Looks like I'm gonna have to shell out for you as well!" BANG!


• -The economy is headed for a second depression. So I'll make a depression. In your chest. BAAM


• -

Then, inevitably as it does on any comic forum, came a question of who was better:

Bank Manager vs. The Punisher
They both have a shotgun
Who wins?

• -Bank Manager.  Because of the interest he has in seeing the Punisher dead.


• -THE PUNISHER KNOWS HOW TO USE COVER. THE BANK MANAGE, BADASS AS HE IS, DOESN'T REALISE THAT HE'S NOT GOING TO PENETRATE THE TABLES. HE RUNS OUT OF AMMO AND GETS SHOT BY FRANK.


• -the bank manager can liquidate any table. your theory sucks.


• -THE BANK MANAGER KNOWS HOW TO RUN A BANK. THE PUNISHER DOES NOT.  BANK MANAGER IS VICTORIOUS.


• -The reason why the Bank Manager would be victorious is because The Punisher would miscount how many shells the Bank Managers shot get out of cover and be blown away.


• -The Bank Manager. Because the Punisher keeps selling himself short.


• - The Punisher may be good at saving people. But the Bank Manager is better at WITHDRAWING people.

Perhaps the scene is best relayed in this bit of dialog:

"Hey Castle!"

"You still alive?"

"Yeah!"

*BANG*

"You forgot your receipt, Castle. Never forget to ask for..."

*BANG*

"...your receipt."

Quickly came the next pairing: The Bank Manager vs. Captain America:

"Sorry, Cap. But I guess no one told you..."

*BANG*

"...you're in a recession."

Bank Manager vs. Iron Man:

BM: "Mr. Stark, that's no way to run a corporation. Keep doing that and you'll end up...

*snaps Tony's neck*

...broke!"

And finally, The Bank Manager vs. Spider-Man:

(Spiderman hanging by a thread of his webbing over the side of a building)

Bank Manager: You just keep making the same mistakes. Even after the dot com bust, you continue to invest in --
(shoots the webbing sending Spiderman plunging to his death)
Bank Manager: -- the web.

On that day, a grand meme was born thanks to Christopher Nolan. And from that day forward, tales of The Bank Manager would spread far and wide. In fact, some say if you listen real close, you can almost hear him firing his shotgun into tables. After all, this was a Great Moment in Nerd History.