VaizD

This user has not updated recently.

256 1 11 19
Forum Posts Wiki Points Following Followers

Off Vaiz's Mind: Flaspoint Joker; Bruce Wayne?

By VaizD 12 Comments

WARNING: FLASHPOINT BATMAN SPOILERS

 I apologize if this is really poorly written. It's 5 AM and I have yet to sleep.
 
So, the popular idea kicking around lately regarding Flashpoint's various universe alterations is the answer to the question on everyone's mind: If Thomas Wayne is the Batman, who exactly will be filling the shoes of the clown prince of crime? Surely Thomas didn't replicate the exact SNAFU that created the Joker we all know and love in the main DCU, but we know The Joker does exist, and we know a precious few things about him.
So, who is Flashpoint's Joker? It seems the public would like to think Bruce Wayne, and I think that's a wonderful idea.
We know two very important facts about Flashpoint Joker:
  • He is intimately connected to Dr. Wayne/Batman (Which is kind of a necessity for the character, I feel.)
  • He is a child molester/killer (See Flashpoint: Batman #1). The last page kind of implies pedophile along with killer, which is territory The Joker hasn't been taken into, which is surprising considering he's a clown. Kids love clowns.
Intimately connected to the Wayne family points to one of two options: Bruce or Alfred. Bruce fits the bill far better as far as his connection to Thomas goes. Second of all, the child killer angle. If Bruce is the joker, his transformation would have begun the night he was supposedly killed with his mother right in front of his father's eyes. Perhaps this form of that trauma, instead of driving him to become the Batman, instead drives him to become a monster bent on stealing the innocence and lives from other children as it was stolen from him. It's a stretch, sure, but this is all theoretical anyway. Note how Thomas freaks the hell out when Barry talks about Bruce and how quickly Thomas accuses him of being an agent of the Joker, implying the Joker has knowledge of Thomas Wayne's identity as Batman and the connection to the murder of his family, which narrows the list of suspects down a lot (assumingJim Gordon and Harvey Dent apparently knowing Thomas is Batman is an isolated thing). It fits. Sure, he says Bruce is dead, but as someone pointed out, that could be a metaphorical "That thing isn't my son" sort of 'dead'.
 
With me so far? Good, because I'm not being very coherent about this.
 
Anyway, this would also just be a great play for Flashpoint. The Joker is creepy because we don't know him. Despite multiple attempts to explain his origin, we never got a very good grip on what and who the Joker was before he was the Joker, and even then his personality is constantly shifting. Bruce as the Joker would be chilling because we know exactly who he is, or at least, who he should be. Seeing the man we know as the unshakable champion of justice in the corrected timeline as The Joker would probably be the most unsettling path they could take with the character in Flashpoint.
 
So what do you think. Chances on Bruce being the Joker? If not him, then who? Anyone we know? Or does the Joker simply... exist, even in the otherwise radically different Flashpoint timeline? 
 
Side Note: If they go with the angle of The Joker being Joe Chill/Whoever murdered the other two Waynes in this timeline, which seems the other obvious answer, I'll be very put out. I was always a little bothered by that interpretation in Batman '89.
 
(Again, I apologize for incoherency. Early in the morning. Very little sleep. Felt like banging this out.)
12 Comments