Question: How did the League of Shadows use economics to attack Gotham?
Answer: They used their influence to trigger the economic depression that was gripping Gotham when Bruce was a child.
What type of influence did they have?
It's never specified in the film, so any answer would be pure speculation. They merely say they attacked Gotham economically in the past. I'd presume they'd use power and threats to do things like tank companies, make people lose their jobs, increase homelessness, make it more difficult for people to get help, etc. Basically, just ruin the citizens financially.
Question: I was wondering about the final scene between Ghul and Batman. Batman says he doesn't have to save him and lets him fall in the train and the microwave generator explode. Despite this film being closer to the comics than the previous films, isn't this still against the "code" Batman adheres to in the comics? This was one of the reasons Bruce Wayne has to stop Jean-Paul Valley's new Batman in the Knightfall/Knightsend series. (Valley had let someone die).
Answer: In the Knightfall series, Valley chose to go after a bad guy instead of go to the assistance of an innocent. In Batman's view of things, that is a lot different (and a lot worse) than simply chosing not to rescue a bad guy from a train about to crash.
Question: Does anybody know what Batman means by questioning whether he can beat two of Ra's al Ghul's pawns?
Answer: Watching this before without subtitles, I thought it was more interesting without the question mark. "I can't beat two of your pawns." After all, one star student SHOULDN'T be able to beat two second-tier ones. I liked the extra weight of the insurmountable odds "as you wish." Adding just one question mark changes this scene completely.
Question: When training Bruce, why did Ducard say that the deaths of Bruce's parents was actually Thomas' fault? If anyone's to blame it was Joe Chill.
Answer: First, he follows it up by saying it's because Bruce's father failed to act against Joe (to try to stop him), implying that his father was weak and a coward. But overall Ducard's stance was crime cannot be tolerated. "Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding." The League had tried to destroy Gotham before with economics, but men like Thomas Wayne tried to help the poor and he was killed by the same people he tried to help. In Ducard's mind, had Thomas Wayne not tried to help the poor and criminals, he wouldn't have been shot.
Answer: He was trying to get Bruce angry, so he can learn to control it and use it whilst fighting.
Question: Why did Bruce fire Mr. Earl? It's not like he did anything bad such as affiliating with the mob or Ra's Al Ghul.
Answer: Earle attempted to conceal the loss of the microwave weapon and fired Lucius Fox when he asked whether it had been lost. One, aside from Bruce's personal friendship with Fox, for a company that deals in military contracts this is anywhere from unethical to criminal. Two, his desire to move directly into weapons - rather than defensive technologies - was contrary to the original Thomas Wayne vision for Wayne Enterprises. Three, his patronization of Bruce Wayne, attempt to forcibly remove all stake of the Wayne family from the company (which was held in trust by Alfred Pennyworth), and desire to take the company public did not allow the stewardship and oversight that Bruce Wayne wanted for the company.
Answer: He believes (rightly) that Earle is not interested in the good of the company as much as his own profits. He also knows Fox will do a better job and be more inline with what he's planning (becoming Batman).
Question: What is the significance of the meeting between Bruce and Ducard at the party right before Ducard torches Bruce's house? Was Ras Al Ghul really Ducard or was Ras Al Ghul even a real person?
Answer: Ducard is the real leader of the League of Shaddows. Whether he is Ras Al Ghul is debateable. The whole idea of theatricality is present. "Ras Al Ghul" is a figurehead, not necessarily a single man. This gives immortality in much the same way that Bruce mentioned that, as a symbol, he could be incorruptible and untouchable.
Answer: Bruce does refer to Ducard directly as "Ra's" in this scene, stating it with some emphasis to show that he has come to the realization that Ducard is the leader of the League of Shadows: "Or cheap parlor tricks to conceal your true identity, *Ra's*?" Ducard does not challenge or deny the name, but the uncertainty still remains.
Answer: Ducard was always Ra's Al Ghul. The other guy was a cover/patsy to protect the real Ra's. He likely never planned on Bruce knowing that he was the leader of the league of shadows. When Bruce turned against him, he decided to tell him.
Question: Shouldn't Bruce be as insane as Falcone? Unless the dosages delivered to Batman and Falcone, respectively, were different. Also, why didn't Rachel yell and scream and go crazy like Falcone did when he was hit?
Answer: Bruce is just as infected as Falcone, however he is rescued by Alfred shortly after he is poisoned and given an antidote by Lucius shortly after that. He is then bedridden for many hours. If he had not been saved as quickly as he was, he no doubt would have been a blubbering mass just like Falcone. The reason Rachel and even Bruce don't react the same as Falcone the moment they are poisoned comes down to how each individual person reacts to fear: Bruce tries to fight, Rachel faints, Falcone screams in horror.
Answer: Also he had taken it before, earlier in the mountains.
Answer: Bruce was thoroughly trained to deal with fear. It's likely he'd be able to hold his mind together better than most.
Question: What happened to the Scarecrow? Rachel just tasers him and he rides of into the shadows seemingly still alive?
Answer: At the end of the movie, when Gordon and Batman are on the roof Gordon says, "The Narrows is gone and we still haven't rounded up Crane or half the inmates of Arkham."
Answer: Exactly. The filmmakers set it up so that he can reappear in a sequel. Comic book villains (in more recent movies, at least) are very rarely killed, they somehow always survive to possibly come back later on. Crane appears in The Dark Knight rises.
Answer: He appears at the beginning of "Dark Knight" as a common drug dealer.
Answer: By having their own people working inside the trading company, they would do a pump and dump. Take a small company, put the word out that it's the next big thing, watch the prices rise, then sell. Like insider trading, the millionaires become billionaires, while the billionaires become broke.