"Why would the League of Shadows attack a peaceful city?"
Since the boards are closing, I thought I'd address this common criticism one last time.
The LoS doesn't care if a city is "at peace" or not. They care about destroying centers of decadence and corruption. And in their eyes, Gotham had been that for decades.
The reason Gotham was so crime-ridden in BB was BECAUSE of the LoS. People often forget this. "Create enough hunger and everyone becomes a criminal." The LoS created the depression that allowed Gotham's underworld to thrive. People act like all the League cared about was crime. Nope. Crime was a TOOL that they used to try to destroy Gotham. But because of people like Thomas and Martha Wayne, Gotham had "limped on ever since."
All that crime-talk from Ra's in BB was just his way of getting Bruce on board (since Bruce cared about crime). But the LoS wasn't opposed to "crime" (in and of itself). It was opposed to decadence and corruption (which can lead to crime). This is made abundantly clear.
To review: The LoS identifies Gotham as the center of decadence and corruption in the world. They create an economic depression that allows Gotham's underworld to thrive (in an effort to destroy the city). Some of Gotham's rich decide to "fight back" by doing things for the poor. Gotham "limps on." Bruce is chosen by the LoS to finally destroy Gotham. He rejects this mission. Ra's al Ghul takes matters into his own hands. Bruce defeats him. Gotham survives... for now.
In TDKR, the League is operating under the same MO that they always have. Like their predecessors, they CAUSED the incident that would ultimately lead to Gotham's undoing (at least that's what they hoped). They used class warfare (and a bomb) to ultimately finish the job.
Plus, it's important to understand that the LoS wouldn't accept the narrative of the Dent Act. It was based on the OBVIOUS lie that Batman murdered the city's "white knight." So even if they didn't know the exact details regarding what actually happened when they put their plan in motion, you can be assured that they intended to find out and use it against Bruce.
When you take all of this into consideration, it makes perfect sense that the LoS wouldn't "give up" on their mission to destroy Gotham.
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