@shauner111 Here's what I think gets overlooked with TDK's ending. It's not about the logic of "they could've just blamed The Joker or a goon", there ya go problem solved.
First of all, people always say it, but blaming The Joker doesn't work (I know that's not what you said, but it's the common question people ask). He had already been apprehended prior, that's on record, as will likely the fact that he was operating in the Prewitt building throughout the ferries incident. As far as blaming a random Joker goon-- there was a perimeter of cops already on the scene. The story of how some random could've gotten away undetected would probably be a little fishy. A lie with an element of truth in it is likely going to be more effective (heck, that's exactly what Joker was so good at). Batman is witnessed by some cops fleeing the scene, so the story at least has a seed of credibility. It's also actually what happened. Batman did kill Dent. They're just conveniently leaving out that Dent held Gordon's family hostage, and using Batman's lie to conveniently absorb all of Dent's other crimes, wrapping it in a neat bow vs. having a bunch of 'unrelated', unsolved crimes that might eventually incriminate Dent anyway if they were investigated close enough. (Yes, the "2 of them cops" line will always be a mystery. Nolan even once said he would answer that "one day"...I don't think that's happening
). That's a minor detail though, Dent did at least murder one cop that we saw on screen, as well as a mob boss and his driver. Maybe Maroni's driver was an undercover cop.
But more importantly IMO though, Batman consciously
chooses to take the blame. I don't think he does so because he thinks there's literally no other way out-- I think in a moment of clarity, he determines that it's what needs to happen. It's the culmination of his journey in the film. From the start, he wanted to pass the baton to Dent and let a lawful hero take the reigns. The events of the film cause him to have to confront the chaos he has unleashed by going about his war on crime. By intentionally casting himself as the villain who killed Harvey, he elevates Harvey as a martyr against the lawlessness that he now feels responsible for unleashing on Gotham. I always saw Batman's choice at the end as kind of an attempt to atone for his sins on the one hand, and an attempt to preserve hope for Gotham on the other. It's the natural payoff for the whole throughline about Batman being 'more' than a hero. I can't imagine the movie ending any other way.
