History WMG / Batman

It does explain why Superman appreciates Batman and cares for him even though Batman can be so aloof: he's really Clark's property but his program is faulty and doesn't remember his master. So Supes just opts to let him be useful and do vigilante work instead of taking care of the fortress. This way also Batman can do the small fry (for Superman standards) in problematic Gotham City while Superman goes take care of real cosmic menaces. It's also the reason why Batman tends to be the strategist while the rest of the Justice League has more physical work to do: it's a relic from his days at the Fortress of Solitude. This is also why Batman figured Clark Kent & Superman are the same person: no detective work necessary, he already knew because he lived in Superman's intimate dwellings. It's also the reason why Superman never felt threatened by Batman knowing his real identity and why despite being so unlike each other, Batman feels compelled to work as part of ''ComicBook/WorldsFinest'' with his master, and Superman knows him too well since he built him.

Joker won't be mad, however. In fact, [[ActuallyPrettyFunny he'll find the irony of it absolutely hilarious]] and have a good laugh about it.

Oh come on, it's plainly obvious. Not only is there a whole bunch of FoeRomanceSubtext, but he hasn't shown any real attraction towards Harley Quinn. And this is [[EvilIsSexy Harley Quinn]] we're talking about. The only possible explanation is that he's gay. Whenever he kills or screws around with those close to him, it's because the Joker is either jealous or lashing out at the fact that Batman is straight. Why is he in the closet? While he's pretty evil, [[UnfortunateImplications associating with the depraved homosexual trope]] is something [[EvenEvilHasStandards even he's disgusted at.]] That, and [[EvilIsSexy he]] wants to [[NoFourthWall retain his fangirls.]] A similar principle applies to why Poison Ivy is in the closet, [[TransparentCloset even if it's painfully obvious]] [[LesYay she loves Harley.]]

His name is [[JustForPun Manny]], and he's obsessed with puppets. Let the fanfics commence.

ComicBook/IdentityCrisis was simultaneous with War Games, so even should Steph not be fired or maimed, then eventually the person killing Super Hero dependents would likely get around to the Drakes, as apparently Robin who hadn't even told Superboy his identity yet to my knowledge had his real name and familial details known to every b-list [=JLer=], and thus to the killer. The shock of losing his dad would, as usual, make Tim return to the fray to get revenge, and wouldn't give up.

* The first Robin, Dick Grayson, represents Bruce Wayne's childhood. His maturation into Nightwing is Batman deciding to visualize what he'd be like if he was a happy and well-adjusted visual-the reason why Dick's parents [[MemeticMutation are DEEEAAAD]] is Batman in denial, and partly to play a part of the FreudianTrio (Tim Drake was the second attempt to bring back his childhood innocence, but since Bruce can't move on from movie night with mommy and daddy [[ComicBook/IdentityCrisis Tim's parents are]] [[RunningGag DEEEADDD.]] Jason Todd was clearly thought up out of being angry at Dick/his childhood for moving on, and Damian Wayne is an outlet for his PsychopathicManchild tendencies.

The baby's appearance (brownish hair and green eyes) is similar to Molly's. Heck, take a [[http://pics.livejournal.com/uadlika/pic/0003y46k look]] for yourselves. She's even got a little hat on in that page. Bruce was to hide her away mysteriously, he might have somehow arranged for the child to be transported through ''space and time'' into the MarvelUniverse. What's a better hiding place than a completely different universe? And it's possible Molly's powers are not of the Marvelverse mutant variety, but of the [[ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey metahuman]] kind.

** In the recent miniseries ''Joker's Asylum'', he's a Cryptkeeper style host.

[[WMG: The Joker has a daughter, who is Tsuruya from [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]].]]

[[WMG: Bruce Wayne is the DC Universe's answer to LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya, and created the Batman mythos from his own psyche.]]

* Ladies and gentlemen, I am Alfred, Mr. Wayne's butler. It seems that you are suspecting Mr.Wayne's secret life, may I remind you that as a playboy, he often takes part in dangerous activities such as Polo and Snow skating. As his butler, I can ensure you that Mr. Wayne is no Batman, he is completely sane, in contrast to a Maniac who dressed up like a bat and assaulted Criminals. believe me, you have nothing to prove that there is any connection between Batman and Bruce Wayne. Oh my fucking bloody hell, little miss Helena, don't touch those suits, and young master Damian, stop littering your grandparents' rooms

* Ladies and gentlemen, I am Alfred, Mr. Wayne's butler. It seems that you are suspecting Mr.Wayne's secret life, may I remind you that as a playboy, he often takes part in dangerous activities such as Polo, Snow skating. and as his butler, I can ensure you that Mr. Wayne is no Batman, he is completely sane, in contrast to a Maniac who dressed up like a bat and assaulted Criminals. believe me, you have nothing to prove that there is any connection between Batman and Bruce Wayne. Oh my fucking bloody hell, little miss Helena, don't touch those suits, and young master Damian, stop littering your grandparents' rooms

* Albeit unintentionally. Allow me to explain: given the Joker's proclivity to screw with people, it's likely that Harley was meant to be an example of how he treats others, regardless of how close they think they can be to him. The writers seem to be aware of this as demonstrated in the story through years of physical and psychological abuse, at the hands of the Joker, culminating in the eventual moving on phase (her working on her own, with Ivy, the occasional flirtations with Bats and later her being part of Suicide Squad), If anything, her and the Joker's entire relationship is a textbook example (if not the definitive example) of real-life abusive relationships. In short, this was probably the writers' way of trying to deride the idea of "Mista J" in a relationship. But damned if they didn't make one hell of a lovable character in Harleen......

** No human could do those sorts of things, take and receive that level of punishment, Batman can't be human. Batman is a highly advanced experimental combat android able to withstand bullets, jump across buildings, and punch through walls.

* Everyone knows that Batman is really [[WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} David Xanatos]]. The man has enough bank to airlift a castle over the Atlantic because of some hocus pocus gargoyles; clearly he has the money for it and how did he make that money? With his cunning and intelligence! He makes all the gadgets himself to keep others out of the loop and funds them with his criminal empire. He's not really fighting crime; he's picking off rivals!
* ladies and gentleman, I am Alfred, mr. Wayne's butler. It is seem that you are suspecting Mr.Wayne's secret life, may I remind you that as a playboy, he often takes part in danger activities such as Polo, Snow skating. and as his butler, I can ensure you that Mr. Wayne is no Batman, he is completely sane, in contrast to a Maniac who dressed up like bat and assaulting Criminals. believe me, you have nothing to prove that there is any connection between Batman and Bruce Wayne. Oh my fucking bloody hell, little miss Helena, don't touch those suits, and young master Damian, stop littering your grandparents rooms

* '''I am Scarecrow. The master of ''fear''.''' '''[[spoiler:It is a true pleasure to tell you that [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight I have confirmed this theory.]] The Batman...''is Bruce Wayne.'']] Just as I thought it would be. ''This''. Is Gotham's savior. Not a hero in the slightest. But a ''man''. Just a ''man''. Devoid of hope, betrayed by his friends, crippled by fear.'''

* Adding to this, the Robin's (except Damien, his son) are all variations in the super soldier design (and therefore Bruce's brothers).

** Jason's "model" was an "improved" all around type but his type was later discontinued due to it's [[PsychoPrototype mental]] [[GoneHorriblyWrong instability]].

The above also explains the three batgirls. They are closer to spy models (even if they can fight they shouldn't unless they have to)
** Barbara - information analyst, and dispatcher -long range spy
** Cassandra - Kinetic understanding, the on the ground personal spy.
** Steph - Stealth. She's snuck up on Tim several times and nearly managed it on Batman once. Both time we knew Steph was Steph she was introduced as a midpoint spy, listening on a spy mike.

The Joker is more than one person, both sequentially and simultaneously. The DC Universe is bordering on insane - normal people just can't cope with alien invasions, gods and demons, and superhuman battles on a daily basis - and it needs a safety valve. The Joker exists to bleed off insanity and is more of a psychic entity than anything else. Every time he "dies," a new manifestation emerges, either full-blown out of nowhere or, perhaps, possessing someone and transforming their body. This explains how he never stays dead for long and his wild variations in sanity, stated origin, methodology, purpose, appearance, motivation, and attitude. This also explains how sometimes, very different versions of him can appear simultaneously in different storylines in a short period of time. Either that, or it's just Gotham City that's insane, and the Joker is how ''that'' manifests.

[[WMG: Riddler, The Question? Same person]]

* Both wear similar clothes, with bowler hat and domino mask instead of fedora and synthetic skin. (Remember, the Question can change the color of his clothes.)

Come on! Just drop the "E" and that's "Batman!" Could he make it any more obvious? Bateman's wealth would allow him develop all kinds of devices. And why else would Bateman work out so much? Or wander the streets late at night? How else can we explain the mysterious bloodstains on his clothing and person, except that he is fighting criminals? The Batsuit is as exquisitely tailored as any of Bateman's Armani. And the Batmobile - sheer style. Bateman is regularly mistaken for other Wall Street men - useful if one has an identity to conceal.

* TruthInTelevision: The butler in a large estate is the ''chief'' servant; his job is to ensure the rest of the household staff is doing their jobs. Alfred may be Bruce's personal valet, but with regard to the estate, he's got the personnel he needs to get the job done. They don't necessarily need to be there full time, or even have access to Wayne Manor beyond the rooms they're assigned to take care of, which allows Bruce's secret identity to remain intact. Alfred is in charge of hiring/firing them and no doubt does ''very'' thorough background checks on any new maids/cooks/etc.
** Like Catwoman in the beginning of Dark Knight Rises.

*** Both of these are true. If Bruce Wayne's parents were not killed, he would have become a Stark-like genius playboy philanthropist billionaire, become best friends with Lex Luthor, destroyed a dangerously powerful alien before it could decide to turn against humanity and teamed up with his best mate Lex Luthor in a pair of power-armoured suits that let them wipe out crime in Gotham and lead Gotham and Metropolis to a Golden Age of peace and prosperity for all (but especially themselves). Of course, the two cities would also be rife with vice, but that's not a ''bad'' thing...

* Alternately, his real power is to adjust all nonliving matter to another timeline that splits from his own at least several hours in the past. He can't bring back the dead because his power can't handle the more drastic changes of a death being undone or change anyone's memories, and he only has the concentration to either land in a random timeline or find a timeline exactly like his except for the contents of his utility belt.
* Part of his angst is almost certainly from seeing worlds where Batman is just a guy who put on a bat-suit and proceeded to punch evil in the face. Deep down he wants to be that cheerful guy who's friends with the other superheroes instead of their silent partner, but he knows it wouldn't work in this universe, and that makes him sad.

* Or he's trying to actually exist in our reality. He has NoFourthWall, and is trying to use his popularity to become more than just a character. Heath Ledger's dedication in portraying him was the Joker trying to become a SplitPersonality of the man-but it backfired and the stress killed him. It's only a matter of time before he brings himself and the rest of the Batman mythos to our world.[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou And you thought fictional characters couldn't hurt you.]]

*** If so, then it's entirely possible that we could get [[spoiler:Zombie Batman vs. Caveman Batman.]]

* In [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] comics {{canon}}, Holmes trained Batman. What, you think the ''original'' world's greatest detective couldn't find a way to extent his lifespan?

** Which means Mr. Holmes probably met Ras Al' Ghul. Which explains the entirety of ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''.

Ignoring all of the DependingOnTheArtist designs there are, it seems that the Asylum doesn't have a set location. It might just be outside of the city or a relatively long drive. The Arkham Family actually bought a bunch of locations to be used for the insane, but due to the numerous jail breaks that occur, at least one is open while the others are being fixed.

Think about it. How else can he be so CrazyPrepared? It's because he comes back from the future, ''knowing'' exactly what is going to happen, and is able to determine exactly what he needs to counter it. The Batcave is his TARDIS, and Alfred and [[BadassFamily the Bat Family]] are his companions.

Let's see. A blond haired romantically obsessive psychiatrist? Where have we seen that before? Dr. Chase Meridian is a Harley who never met the Joker, and hence became obsessed with his nemesis. Remember, in that universe, the Joker died a long time ago. It's possible she changed her name from Harleen Quinzel ironically to avoid association with the late Mr. Napier.

* There are at least two incidents which may have been regenerations. In his second-ever appearance, The Joker died by stabbing himself in the chest. Moments later it's declared he somehow survived, even after Batman himself, and everyone else involved had already declared him deceased. Only problem is, there really wasn't that much of a personality change between the First and second Joker, though the second Joker lacked some of the nigh invincible quality of the original. In a later appearance he gets himself executed, only to return campier and considerably less murderous.

* Grant Morrison's prose description of the Joker's personality reforming after his shooting, in ''Batman'' #663, was eerily reminiscent of the ways that various ''Doctor Who'' novelisations described regeneration.

He's crazy. And he's an anarchist, as said above about his statement in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. The reason he lost is because he is fighting against the wrong government (democracy instead of dictatorship), allowing morality to take effect.

--> '''Joker:''' Joker here! Allow me to take a jab at this jackpot of jerks without any jurisdiction, for the just deserts of justice always seem to jut out in the most juvenile ways! Not to jinx myself, but I must say, this Jurassic jury lacks any type of joy and forms a joke with less joints than a jigsaw puzzle! Don't think of jogging away, for any jenny ass who tries and skips my wonderfully jovial joyride through town will get a thousand jolts! Jim! Start the juicers, we've got some lives to jeopardize! [[EvilLaugh Wahahahahahahaha!]]

If he ever gets brought back it'll create a time paradox based CrisisCrossover.

When the bat during the famed "cowardly and superstitious lot" scene flew in the window, Bruce had a heart attack and died of fright. Guilt-stricken, the Bat hastily built a [[MobileSuitHuman man suit]] and took the dead man's place. Not even Alfred knows, although he has his suspicions about how that guano keeps getting into Bruce's bedroom...

Bruce had witnessed the Graysons' deaths, noting the similarities to that of his own family. Even from that moment, he thought that this was a golden opportunity to get Dick's help in his crusade. At first, Dick wanted nothing to do with Bruce or Alfred until they both double-teamed him and managed to pretty much bribe him into staying (with promises of good food and a motorcycle). Alfred gives Dick a heartfelt speech about 'broken wings being able to mend' and promising that 'Robin will fly again', which probably got to him. They forbade him from entering a certain room that led into the batcave, which knowing a stubborn guy like Dick would make him deadset on going in. [[BatmanGambit Everything was carefully planned and executed by Batman]], despite his claims of not wanting a partner.

My guess is that the baby's going to show up in Gotham in about eighteen years to mess with her half-brother's "research" either as a violent borderline psychotic ant-heroine or as a very nasty villainess. Either way, there will be [[SlapSlapKiss borderline]] [[BrotherSisterIncest creepy]] SiblingRivalry [[FromBadToWorse from Hell.]]

* He has a well documented series of obsessions bordering on outright mania.

* There was an Elseworld comic that showed a Batman/Captain America crossover set in WWII. In the epilogue, Captain America is thawed 20 years later by Dick Grayson (Who took up the Batman mantle when Bruce Wayne retired) and Bruce Wayne Jr., a Robin with red hair. Who's the mother? Well, earlier in the comic, Wayne is seen dancing and shopping with a pretty red head. Maybe she was more than just a millionaire playboy's fling.

* Think of all the blatantly impossible stuff he does. The guy has to have at least Captain America level body alteration, plus a handful of random things like "the ability to know where guns are."

Near the end of her Batgirl series, Cassandra ends up in a battle next to the lazarus pit with her mother Shiva Wusa. She lost the fight but still crippled her mother. As an act of revenge Shiva took her daughter's body using the powers of the pit. The next time she appears, Cassandra appears smarter and better educated. Her crappier fighting style is due to Shiva not used to the smaller body. Eventually, Cassandra starts retaking control but merges partway with her mother's psyche, resulting in her altered state of mind.

Assuming this is an AlternateUniverse where Bruce never met Jason and he never became Robin, he grew up in the slums as before, except he dedicated himself to becoming a better, well educated person. Thus he got good grades and was on his way to college. Except Batman busted him for a crime he didn't commit, sending him to prison. In the end, he became everything he resented from his old life: a drug addicted "criminal". Everything he did in the movie was his revenge for Batman essentially fucking up his life. Some of the methods he uses are also reminiscent of him as Red Hood...except the taser to the crotch thing...

Why else can be break the fourth wall? The Joker has a far greater awareness of the nature of his universe than anybody else, to the point he knows he's fictional. He knows people are writing him. His senseless mayhem is commentary on the absurdity of the universe that most people are unaware of.

I contend that the Scarecrow is not at all insane, just very evil. His knowledge of psychology allows him to put on a really good show for the state psychiatrists and private doctors who testify about his mental health and get him transferred to Arkham, but he is really stone cold sane.

Obviously, for this to work, you have to disregard Jeph Loeb's characterization - ''Hush'' Scarecrow is obviously bat guano insane, what with the nursery rhyme quoting and the switching to normal speech when Batman rips his mask off heavily implying dissociative identity disorder, and of course the AGodAmI thing in Knightfall too. But most characterizations really aren't all that crazy - very obsessive and sinister, but not really crazy. In the Diniverse, it's worth noting that the only time we see Crane in a completely off-the-rocker rant, he's in Arkham Asylum with tons of patients and at least one doctor as witnesses - and stops himself to acknowledge Harley. And in Scarecrow: Year One, when he is about to kill the guy who got him fired, the speech bubbles beg you to picture either a stone cold killer or a LargeHam of Gary Oldman proportions - the fact the illustration shows him standing calmly suggests the former.

After the Joker was originally killed in his second appearance, he wasn't consciously reintroduced by writers, but forced back into the story ''by'' the story itself after it recognized him as Batman's ideal antithesis. Later writers thought this to be a Joker tradition, and continued the trend.

After Heath Ledger died he came to the DC Universe in a sort of Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}} turn of events then trying to perfect the role he had in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' he became The Joker. This is why he has no problem killing people as he knows they're not real and how he can keep coming back to life as this is his afterlife it would also show how he seems to have no fourth wall as he knows this is all happening in a comic or other such medium.
* Wait,didn't the Joker kill him,in a way?[[StableTimeLoop Oh yeah..]][[MindScrew Ow!My head!]]

When the Waynes were killed, Alfred's long-simmering resentment over being forced into early retirement and his perceived steady decline of law and order congealed into a plan for revenge. Instead of encouraging Bruce Wayne to engage in the process of healing, Alfred nurtured the boy's rage and fear. Immediately, he began teaching Bruce subterfuge, self defense, thievery, and other spycraft. At this point Alfred was still telling himself that what he was doing was in Bruce's best interest. Disagreements over this aspect of Bruce's education are the reason Leslie Thompkins's relationship with Alfred never flourished.

During Bruce's teen years, they began traveling the world, meeting up with Alfred's old spy contacts who each trained young Bruce in their areas of specialty. Even as he was honing Bruce's mental and physical skills, Alfred kept Bruce in a stunted emotional state. He kept the boy isolated and encouraged the eight-year-old's instinct for confronting complex problems: hit it until it goes away. He taught Bruce that the outside world is a chaotic, violent, and unpredictable place, and that only Bruce could restore order and justice.

When Bruce took on young Dick Grayson, Alfred got an audience's view of the abuse he had put the young Bruce through an realized too late that he had started a pattern that would perpetuate itself until it imploded. He stepped back from his commitment to Bruce's training and found himself in the position of discouraging his former methods and attempting to steer the Dick through a healthier path to adulthood. As Dick matured but Bruce remained the same, Dick began to see how childish Batman's game and distanced himself from it. Bruce perceived this, naturally, as a lack of commitment on Dick's part and further proof that the world is unreliable and naturally corrupting.

Finally having seen the error of his ways, Alfred remains Bruce's attache out of a sense of self-imposed penance and responsibility for what he has wrought. He now spends his energy desperately trying to walk Bruce back from the very precipice Alfred placed him on in the first place, as well as hopefully defuse the very time-bomb he created: a highly trained, highly intelligent, paranoid, top-secret vigilante with the emotional development, moral compass, and self-awareness of a pre-teen

** And that means all his children, adopted or otherwise, are the Robins! His first adopted ward, Dick Grayson was obviously the first Robin, and when Dick grew up and moved out, that Robin just disappeared. And the hero Nightwing arrived in Bludhaven around the same time Grayson did! Later when Wayne adopted that street kid Jason Todd, a new Robin appeared. But notice that once Jason tragically died in a "freak accident," Robin was gone and Batman worked without one for quite some time. Later on, a new Robin showed up, but Bruce Wayne hadn't adopted any new kid. But later, he had adopted Tim Drake, who was about the same age as the new Robin and whose father had been killed by a supervillain. There must be hundreds of children who are orphaned due to supervillainy, so why did Wayne choose Grayson? Because Grayson was already Robin, obviously! The fourth Robin, the female one, is a mystery, however... Recently, it seems that Bruce Wayne has found his biological son Damien Wayne, who seems very similar to the newest Robin running around.

* You guys are nuts. Next you'll be saying [[Series/KamenRiderFourze that Ryusei Sakuta is Meteor]]. Or that Spider-Man is really Peter Parker who revealed his identity during CivilWar [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay then his Aunt May got shot with no one able to save her so he made a]] DealWithTheDevil [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay and traded his marriage to the most beautiful woman he'd ever get to save a woman who probably would have died a few years or so later and take back the identity reveal]]... [[ComicBook/BrandNewDay why does this sound so familiar]]

The suit gives him an array of superpowers, including superstrength, flight, and even has a cloaking device. It's far more advanced than any Batman costume created and even has a complete faceplate. When Bruce Wayne returns to his role as Batman he will put it away, but as his age catches up to him he will refit it with a bat-motif and use it as his costume of choice again to take advantage of its enhanced abilities and power assist functions to compensate for his age.
* This seems likely, especially since the Insider suit was introduced shortly after DC started publishing a Batman Beyond comic. It's even possible that he will keep using the enhanced suit (modified to fit the Bat-motif) immediately after he takes back the mantle of Batman. Or that he will remain the Insider for some time to come, letting Dick Grayson spend more time as Batman.

* How else could he find the time to do everything from take care of a 50-room mansion to run the high-tech Batcave without anyone's help?

The Joker is actually a ShipperOnDeck who wants Jim and Bats to get together. He knows he's a fictional character, right? So who says he doesn't manipulate the story in ways similar to real life fanfiction writers. My guess is that all the torment the Joker has put Jim through over the years is one attempt at a Hurt/Comfort fic after the other, and killing Sarah Essen-Gordon was a DieForOurShip.

Oh come on, it's plainly obvious. Not only is there a whole bunch of FoeRomanceSubtext, but he hasn't shown any real attraction towards Harely Quinn. And this is [[EvilIsSexy Harely Quinn]] we're talking about. The only possible explanation is that he's gay. Whenever he kills or screws around with those close to him, it's because the Joker is either jealous, or lashing out at the fact the Batman is straight. Why is he in the closet? While he's pretty evil, [[UnfortunateImplications associating with the depraved homosexual trope]] is something [[EvenEvilHasStandards even he's disgusted at.]] That, and [[EvilIsSexy he]] wants to [[NoFourthWall retain his fangirls.]] A similar principle applies to why Poison Ivy is in the closet, [[TransparentCloset even if it's painfully obvious]] [[LesYay she loves Harley.]]

The movie Bruce harbored a deep-seated prejudice against clowns and was not even consciously aware of it (or was, but was too ashamed to admit it). His parents died for literally no reason, and so Bruce recoiled from all suggestions of absurdity and chaos, however innocent-seeming. Attempting to make sense of a confounding and cruel world, Bruce became a strict Cartesian rationalist who did not accept (and in fact intensely hated) anything that could not be explained by any sort of rigorous philosophy. That is why he disguised himself as an animal - a creature governed by instinct and subject to natural law (and also why he was so drawn to Catwoman in the sequel) and why he relied so much on the scientific method when it came to crimefighting.

And so he couldn't stand the sight of the Joker. Clowns are inherently unreal: they are pure artifice, literally paintings come to life. They have no place in the natural world; they have no right to exist. Bruce was filled with fear and loathing of all clown-like creatures long before the Joker appeared on the scene: note his reaction of what is arguably disgust when several men appear to him on the street disguised as mimes, and this before he knows they're working for the Joker or is even yet aware of the Joker's existence. Then, when he saw the Joker's permanent smile, he naturally connected it to the smile on the face of the mugger who shot his parents. Only a clown-like creature - a figure thoroughly illogical and nihilistic - could have caused such a senseless tragedy.

Over the years, Killer Croc has gone from a GeniusBruiser with a legitimate skin condition, to TheBrute with crocodilian fangs and a tail. The writers claim that Killer Croc [[HandWave suffers from an extreme form of atavism]], [[EvolutionaryLevels which is causing him to devolve]] [[ArtisticLicenseBiology into a crocodile]]. Thus, it's not going to stop at him being a were-croc; one day, Killer Croc will simply be an ornery and particularly cunning crocodile living in Gotham's sewers.This is practically canon.

But every masked super hero ever. He has the power to clone himself much like Multiple Man, and tends to send his clones out into the world in hopes that they'll gain super powers. Some of them actually succeed at gaining powers; while others work as regular costumed vigilantes. Bruce Wayne actually died years ago, and was replaced by one of West's clones that got cosmetic surgery and brainwashed himself into thinking he was Wayne. All the others have undergone similar brainwashing. Also, the main west, or "West Prime" is actually... Commissioner Gordon.

Hush in the "hush returns" arc was not the real Hush but someone else, whose memories were altered with brain surgery by the real Hush to, what else, distract Batman while Hush was preparing his actual plans. Furthermore the "Joker" was a similarly mind-altered impostor too, but because of an error in the brain-surgery, this impostor had a sense of honor. Also, to my knowledge this theory is already canon with Prometheus, except the memory-alteration-by-hush-part.

Even worse, he read it cover to cover. In this ancient eldritch tome, the man who would become the Joker discovered, to his horror, exactly how insignificant humans were in the grand scheme of things, and how thin a membrane of what we would consider reality lies between us and soul-rending terror. He realized then, with his first glimpse of the true nature of the universe, how hilariously ''stupid'' humanity's many endeavors are, when set against the fathomless depths ruled by inhuman creatures that, if we are lucky, pay us no mind at all. This is why the Joker does what he does - he knows full well that nothing matters in the grand scheme of things, because eventually they will be swept aside like so much dust in the incalculable eons.

Carl Grissom ordered Jack to kill Thomas Wayne, because they were both running for city council. Jack brought along Chill to make it look like a random mugging. But Chill was surprised that Jack also killed Martha, which wasn't part of the plan. Chill heard footsteps or police sirens, so he told Jack [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere they should leave]].

Evidence? Lets see....

* Great-Granny Keeny: Tortured and punished her great grandson (more on him later) using chemically trained birds. She punished him for such things as reading {{Literature/Ulysses}} and being born.

* Karen Keeny: Seemed to have escaped insanity, but does have horrible taste in men and a did abandon her son. Speaking of her son...
* Jonathan "Scarecrow" Crane: Systematically killed off his family(one could argue they had it coming); killed the people who bullied him; fired a gun off in his class when he was a professor at Gotham U.; killed the people who fired him for this; created fear toxin and uses people as guinea pigs; admitted into Arkham regularly....I think you get the idea. Crane seemed to have been hit by the crazy stick ''particularly'' hard.
** Now to find out how crazy is carried. Since most of the Keeny's are female, crazy is either carried through mitochondrial DNA or the X-chromosome.

He lost Tim Drake. Stephanie Brown volunteers. He trains Stephanie. There are now 2 trained Robins, however, only 1 is active. He could easily sacrifice Steph to get back Tim, all he needs are the right circumstances. He fires Steph, allows a girl who only wants approval alone in the Batcave, and waits for her to do her thing. If she doesn't start a terrible gang war, she will likely get herself killed or crippled vigilantee-ing anyway, which would make Tim come back for revenge, and once back fighting crime, with such a terrible loss, would be unlikely to give up. If she does, he will come back when some other tragedy occurs for the benefit of Gotham, and knowing what happened through his enabling, would be unlikely to stop. Is Steph or some other vigilante were to die, then the guilt from allowing such a thing to happen will make him a far more efficient and colder vigilante, worth more than his old self and Steph. [[XanatosGambit Any which way, Gotham benefits]].

ComicBook/IdentityCrisis was simultaneous with War Games, so even should Steph not be fired or maimed, then eventually the person killing Super Hero dependents would likely get around to the Drakes, as apparently Robin who hadn't even told Superboy his identity yet to my knowledge, had his real name and familial details known to every b-list [=JLer=], and thus to the killer. The shock of losing his dad would, as usual, make Tim return to the fray to get revenge, and wouldn't give up.

And should somehow none of those work, the tedium of everyday life and the lure of his Teen Titan friends, not to mention rebellion against his father that comes in adolescence, would likely have him at least rejoin the Titans. Which would mean that Batman's Robin would have weekends free, and the TT Robin would be fresh from the school week, not being a TripleShifter, as well as there being 2 well trained Robins, increasing the overall amount of Robins for little cost.

The Joker is actually a virus that turns the skin of people white, and degrades their mental state. Everytime the Joker dies, he's replaced by another person that's contracted the virus. Its only passed via prolonged contact, and doesn't affect women, so it usually passes to henchmen.

Having been raised by a zealot of a great-grandmother, Crane grew up to resent religion. But dear old Granny had ingrained religion to deeply into his psyche for him to not believe in God, so instead he decided God was just as cruel as everyone else in his life. After all, what kind of God would allow a child to be locked in a church and torn apart by crows regularly?

Destruction hasn't been around much for awhile and yet, still in DCU, we have Batman and a somewhat enigmatic butler who has had spec ops level training. Curious.

How you may ask? the blessed side of things means that it makes it so hard for authors to convey batman's humanity if the FanDumb assumes that batman is in fact a ShowyInvincibleHero instead of a BrokenAce. It also makes it hard for newer heroes to breakout as the fans will just clamor for more Batman. The cursed with awesome side of things: Batman's supposedly cursed with a strong inability to feel genuine happiness, but the awesome part is that he does gain a great deal of affection for having his bat family to support him.

Think about it. Damien Named one of his kids Thomas Wayne in honor of his own grandfather, whom gave his son the name Bruce in honor of one of the greatest heroes that ever lived. Both the real Bruce and Damien died at a time when Gotham was crime free and when news that Batman died reached the criminals, it became a crime city again. This Thomas decided to be a doctor like his great grandfather rather than take up the Bat Mantle, so he could escape from that life. Joker quit after Batman died and became a two bit thug who had a kid named Jack Napier. Who followed in his footsteps to become a criminal. He ends up killing Bruce Junior's parents and Bruce Junior decides to be Batman. Napier heard stories from his father about a giant bat terrorizing criminals but refused to believe them until he met Batman face to face. This along with being dropped into the chemicals made him Joker Junior.

* Gotham city while still crime city, has cars reminiscent of the 1930s dominating the streets. Yet the music being listened to is either classical or 80s pop like Prince. This among the state of the art gadgets and armor Batman uses, would suggest a dystopian future.

Due to his parents death, he had a psychotic break and was confined to the mental institution. All of the rogues gallery are other residents. Joker is the sociopath in the next room, taunting him constantly for his delusions, Selina Kyle and the various incarnations of Catwoman are patients with extreme cases of kleptomania, Harvey Dent is being treated for his severe bipolar disorder, the Riddler for his obsessive-compulsive disorder, Bane is a patient who attacked him, Doctor Strange is his psychologist and Jim Gordon is a kindly security guard. The various Robins are actually manifestations of Bruce Wayne's inner child and not real. Alfred is also the owner of Wayne Industries and comes to visit him regularly.

** Ras adopts young Bruce into the League of Shadows, gives him training, befriends him and then seemingly betrays him; knowing this is going to cause the rather volatile proto-Batman to reject the League's mission. Violently. Then he fakes his death, and comes back to do a kind of reverse Obi-Wan pep talk in the third film, knowing that THAT would give him a reason to get out of the Pit.

When Barry [[ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}} reset the universe]], he had to create it from scratch, with the details that are different being because as he didn't know every detail about his world. Cass and Steph, to my knowledge, never interacted with Barry, and aren't exactly so well known, so he didn't think to add them in. They'll come back when [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} someone *cough*Tim*cough*]] works out Barry's part in the universe change and tries to get his ex and adopted sister back (More details to be added in the Flash WMG section).

More than that, she actually hired someone (either Joe Chill or someone else) to kill Thomas and fake her death, but specifically not kill Bruce. She wasn't happy; she no longer liked city life and even though she loved Thomas and Bruce, she resented them and the way of life they were a major part of. But she couldn't ask Thomas to leave the city and give up everything his family had built, and he wouldn't grant her a divorce, so she didn't have many options. For a while, she was content splitting time between the city and a more agrarian environment she found to be more down-to-earth and fulfilling, but she didn't think that was fair to anybody, so when her paramour asked her to marry him, she had to resort to desperate measures. After her "death", she settled in with her husband full-time and shortly after, they began to raise their adopted son, Clark.

The Joker has been hinted/outright stated to be able to see past the fourth wall. He is aware he is in a comic book. If he is aware of this, he might also know that the only reason his universe exists is because people are entertained by it. This realization drove him to desperate measures. He figured out that the only way to keep the universe going and not let {{The End of the World As We Know It}} happen is to keep the readers entertained.

He decided to do this by becoming the ultimate entertainer. He dresses like a clown, and in order to keep his entertainer image 24/7, he purposefully touches his face up with the stuff that transformed him in the first place whenever new skin or hair grows in in his natural coloring. At first he started with simply killing and robbing, the kind of villain people typically read about when he was created. But as time went on, he has had to constantly change his persona to keep the readers invested. Over the years he has had to resort to more horrific and bloodthirsty tactics than ever before in order to sate the ever more jaded [[YouBastard readers']] thirst for crazy and gore.

Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's valet, is ex-S.I.S, a former professional actor, and was an employee of the British Royal Family before moving to the U.S. to work for the Waynes. Not long after he settled-in at Wayne manor, young Bruce Wayne's parents were gunned down before his eyes just as they were leaving a Zorro movie together, leaving an intelligent, healthy, filthy-rich and impressionable youngster on his own. Alfred immediately became Bruce's legal guardian. He then helped him to seek training to become a vigilante, mentored him in spycraft, and exerted an inordinate amount of influence on him his entire career. And it was all done so subtly that Bruce Wayne never once considers the possibility that his parents' death was set-up, and the most likely culprit is the person that he trusts the most. And worst of all, if it is true, is that "The World's Greatest Detective" can't even see that he was the victim of the world's worst cliché.

... Billy Batson. Think about it, he's a young orphan, but can turn himself into a figure who's as powerful as Superman. If he could just give him the reds & greens, evildoers wouldn't stand a chance in Gotham. Bane and Killer Crock would be on the floor crying and bleeding.

Similar to the premise presented in ''Series/{{Revolution}}'', but it would be handled differently. First, it would leave Bruce Wayne in a pickle, because most, if not all, of his toys are electric, and they would be useless in the event of a worldwide blackout. Then Batman would have to bring order to Gotham City, in a manner comparable to ''The Dark Knight Returns''. Also, he would have to discover the existence of [[spoiler: electricity absorbing nanomachines]]. But once he does, he could discover ways to put it to good use....

The reason his past and identity is such a mystery is that he comes from a dimension where such things are fluid. In Wonderland, everyone has a multiple choice past. Furthermore, his dress style, his (il)logic, and his sense of humor have a distinct Wonderland- aesthetic. His name is that of a playing card, indicating he comes from the deck of cards found in the novel. The Joker never is mentioned in either of Carroll's books, but that doesn't mean he isn't there. Perhaps the Queen of Hearts banished him to Gotham?

In truth, Bruce Wayne is not the embodiment of the BadassNormal trope, but rather a borderline-omnipotent RealityWarper. The meta-gene for reality alteration came out when his parents were killed. To this day, Bruce Wayne is completely unaware of his true powers, as he can only use them on a subconscious level. Thankfully his RealityWarper powers only manage to affect Gotham City. Gotham City is a CrapsackWorld because its seen through a depressed AdultChild, and Arkham Asylum is Bedlam up to eleven because it embodies Bruce's insanity. And most of the characters embody a part of Bruce Wayne's psychology:

* The reason why so many of Batman's villains are [[EvilCounterpart dark counterparts of themselves]] is because Bruce Wayne is trying to deal with his issues. Two-Face embodies his split personality disorder and feeling of victimization, Bane embodies his obsessive nature, the Scarecrow embodies his cruelty and Ra's al Ghul embodies his hero complex. The Penguin, ironically, is a manifestation of his sanity-the kind of individual Bruce strives to be, but makes a villain because he refuses to give up being the Batman. The JokerImmunity is a result of Bruce remaining insane.
* Darkseid thinks Earth is where he can find the Anti-Life Equation because of Batman. Batman's own misery and despair has caused the whole of Gotham to [[CrapsackWorld reflect that]], which led to Darkseid deducing that if it wasn't the Anti-Life Equation at work, it was part of it. This may even be how Darkseid pulled of the ComicBook/FinalCrisis. Ironically, Batman's major SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome wasn't a result of his RealityWarper powers: Darkseid [[EldritchAbomination is far worse than Batgod]] and was cancelling out Batman's powers-[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu it was just Batman/Bruce Wayne by himself, with a Radion gun, who slew the]] GodOfEvil.
* Batman, Nightwing and the Joker serve as the FreudianTrio: Batman is the super-ego, serving as an [[{{Ubermensch}} ethical authority]] to the Robins that typically embody his ego. Nigthwing is the balanced ego. The Joker is Batman's id incarnate, embodying his insanity and rash, twisted passions. Batman needs Nightwing to prevent himself becoming [[KnightTemplar too extreme]], and the Joker to not be consumed by depression. The HoYay between the three is a result of desperately needing them and the same reason for [[ScrewYourself selfcest.]]

When the Joker asks about dancing wit the devil by the pale moonlight, that isn't just a catchphrase. Satan was at work behind the plot of the '89 film from the very beginning. He corrupted Lieutenant Eckhart Judas Iscariot-style (really, what need would that fat slob have had for all that extra money?), planted the seed of paranoia in Carl Grissom's mind, and disguised himself as Alicia in order to seduce Jack Napier to justify that paranoia. It was all in the service of setting up Napier's death in order to strike a deal with him in Hell (similar to Al Simmons's in '{{'Spawn}}'') to be allowed to return to Earth in exchange for helping the Prince of Darkness fulfill his master plan (with the "clown" disfigurement merely a bonus that wound up making the sacrilege a lot more fun). Vicki Vale was prophesied to be the mother of the Antichrist (note that her last name alludes to the "vale of tears" that the Virgin Mary is supplicated to rescue humanity from), and the Joker was to be the father. The helicopter at the end was to whisk them back to Axis Chemicals - satanic ground, for that is where Napier began the journey to the netherworld that granted him his powers - for the celebration of the Black Mass that would result in the conception of the Beast. (It wouldn't have worked in the cathedral for obvious reasons; that was merely where the Joker intended to romance Vicki in order to make her more compliant to the scheme.) Also notice how the Joker miraculously escapes being shot and bombed at the parade; that wasn't just JokerImmunity, but black magic protecting him so that he would fulfill the prophecy. Bruce Wayne was earmarked by the forces of good to thwart this apocalypse because of his father's (converted) Catholic faith and his tremendous physical and spiritual willpower.

That and it's comic books. If there's a slight chance that people are related, they WILL be related. It's not as prominent in DC as it is in Marvel, where almost the entire roster of heroes and villains are related in one way or another, but still.

Which means that Two-Face and Scarecrow almost became related by marriage, adding even more crazy to the whole mix. Thanksgivings would have been ''aaaawkwaaaaaaard...''

Since Cranston was a heroin dealer whose activities caused hundreds of thousands, or even millions of crimes,

It does explain why Superman appreciates Batman and cares for him even though Batman can be so aloof: he's really Clark's property but his program is faulty and doesn't remember his master. So Supes' just opts to let him be useful and do vigilante work instead of taking care of the fortress. This way also Batman can do the small fry (for Superman standards) in problematic Gotham City while Superman goes take care of real cosmic menaces. It's also the reason why Batman tends to be the strategist while the rest of the Justice League has more physical work to do: it's a relic from his days at the Fortress of Solitude. This is also why Batman figured Clark Kent & Superman are the same person: no detective work necessary, he already knew because he lived in Superman's intimate dwellings. It's also the reason why Superman never felt threatened with Batman knowing his real identity and why despite being so unlike each other, Batman feels compelled to work as part of ''ComicBook/WorldsFinest'' with his master, and Superman knows him too well since he built him.

It also explains how can a seemingly BadassNormal can become proficient at a dozen kinds of martial arts and learn a dozen languages and still have the time to be good at chemistry and math and escapism and extra stuff for which a non superpowered human would need 100 years to sort of learn: it's in the programming Superman installed on him. It also explains that he also gets the time to pretend he's a playboy millionaire (which is a failed attempts at what he/it believes to be an actual human life) as well as his inability to be intimate and why we shouldn't worry that Bruce constantly adopting stray kids seems so pedo: it's just Superman's way to help and give a home to gifted children by proxy without going through all that family stuff with a workaholic jerkass like Lois Lane. Alfred and Bruce's social life are just programming in Bruce's head Creator/PhilipKDick style

Also it would nicely help explain how come someone can be so pathologically mistrustful and yet become pals with Superman: his programming inadvertently drives him to be nice with Supes, the mistrust is just the guarding of the Fortress of Solitude part of the programming that went awry. It also explains why Superman never feels quite threatened by Batman: he can push a button somewhere in the Arctic and turn Bats off. Otherwise Batman's natural ally ought to be ComicBook/LexLuthor, not Superman as is the case. It also solves why Batman, the supposedly dark, badass, cool one of the two, chooses not to kill, following the program built in him by Superman.

Finally it also justifies how Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent physically resemble each other with square jaw and black hair and all that, what with Superman tending to build the Fortress' robots to resemble him.

* This curse extended to his son Damian, who aged 10 years in the space of 5 but has over 20 years experience in combat and other skills.

Martha had an affair with Alfred under Thomas' nose, and Bruce is really Alfred's kid. Alfred knows this. Eventually some writer is going to make this canon, no matter how much it undercuts Batman's DeathByOriginStory.

Just like Batman, the Joker's fate after death is to be reincarnated as himself, in a different universe. However, the difference between him and Batman? He remembers. After being doused in Ace Chemicals(the one thing that seems constant across all origins), the Joker remembered ''all'' his previous lives, though wasn't able to hold onto information as the Joker. His MultipleChoicePast? He remembers the origin stories of each of the Jokers in the multiverse, and is unable to determine (or just doesn't care) which is "his" past.

With all the ineptness of the people there you'd think that they'd hire better staff, or better legal work. Hell, even Bruce would help improve. Rather than the insanity of the people there being ''that'' potent, the staff are incompetent on ''purpose''. There's a conspiracy of the people in charge, in the legal and prison system. Why? By making it easier for dangerous criminals to escape, the long arm of the law would be able to come in and save the day. Or get publicity from this, or in general make money from Batman's Rogues' Gallery and their antics. Somewhere in Gotham is a rich mogul/group of rich moguls who's making a quick buck off the revolving door prison system, using flawed or inept lawyers to get clearly legally sane people like the Joker in Arkham instead of getting the chair, and making sure the staff doesn't have the training to control them. And all the meanwhile Batman has no clue this is happening as he's busy with crime and hasn't figured someone might pull this stunt.

Instead of them being from different continuities, there is a universe where light-hearted Batman becomes stoic and dark. Before Jason Todd's death, Batman was a wisecracking guy who made puns and did the "Batusi" in clubs. He starts getting dark and serious after Jason's death. Criminals stop cracking jokes as well as time went on. Joker is no longer the wacky thieving prankster, but now a Charles Manson type killer.

Bruce Wayne is dying of an incurable disease. He only has a few years to live, so he decides to spend his final years living out his super hero fantasies. He hire actors to play the role of super villains, mobsters, crooks, and police officers. All of his adventures are all one big LARP (live action role play), only the citizens are not in on it. Gordon and Alfred are playing along because they care deeply about the sick billionaire.

It was all a fantasy. Batman secretly lusts over Batgirl, but can never act on it since she is Jim's daughter and Dick's on-and-off girlfriend. Every now and then he will have soap opera type fantasies about her. The infamous sex scene never happened.

Deep down, Batman doesn't want his foes to be normal. Without super villains, he would go back to beating up thugs and muggers. He enjoy playing Riddler's puzzle traps and chasing an evil clown.

Let's consider that "lousy comedian turns to crime to feed his pregnant wife, but she and the baby die, his 'associates' try to make him their scapegoat, falls in acid and turns mad" Joker origin is true. Now, let's consider what it could mean for him to be close to another woman; maybe there's a part of him that feels guilt for "cheating" on his wife, maybe Harley's dream of a family feel like a punch in the gut for the family he almost had. So he abuses her, hurts her, tries to keep her far away from the place his late wife had. But, if anything, he's a pragmatic man, and sees a valuable asset in Harley, and devotion that high is so hard to come by... So he has to keep her close enough, too. So he plays the UnholyMatrimony with her, time and time again, but then he realises it's becoming less a facade each time, so he beats her, throws her out the window, keeps her at bay. But the times when they are intimate, she sees the good man underneath the psychopath, the man that can actually love her. He knows that, and he resents that she can provoke that in him, hates himself for letting her so close.
That's why, in many depictions, he seems almost asexual; he knows it his week point and refuses to do it beyond the minimum necessary to keep her enthralled with him.

Selina strikes me as a woman who like dark mysterious men and thrills. If Bruce gives up being Batman, she would no longer be attracted to him. Imagine if a bad boy stop being a bad boy. That would be a major turn-off for the woman since she was attracted to his bad boy persona. If Batman succeeds in cleaning up Gotham City and becomes a full time Bruce Wayne, Selina would probably get bored of him, and eventually dump him.

Batman's sometimes on good terms with the cops and sometimes he's not. Sometimes he's focused on the more down to Earth crime dramas and sometimes he's a member of the JLA [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu facing god-like monstrosities]]. Without knowing who he is or being able to see pass the fourth wall like the readers can, it wouldn't make much sense for your average citizen in the DC Universe to think there are multiple Batmen to explain his DependingOnTheWriter state. Bruce Wayne encourages this and other conspiracy theories, since it makes it harder for them to learn he's actually Batman. Hell, they may even be kind of right since cloning, alternate universes and impersonators Bruce hires are a thing, along with other characters having taken up the mantle on occasion.

Joe is not really a mugger, just a guy who is concerned about Gotham. The REAL reason Joe Chill killed Thomas and Martha Wayne is so their kid can grow up to become a super hero. Joe realizes Gotham is a cesspool, so he decides to create a super hero for his city. It's not a coincidence he chose a rich family to gun down. He knows this new super hero will need money for gadgets, tech, vehicles, etc. The whole "give me your necklace, lady" thing was just an act he put on. He didn't want Bruce to know his true plan. He felt killing the boy's parents was necessary evil to stop bigger evil.

Bruce became attached to Jason after he managed to make him laugh in Crime Alley on the aniversary of his parents deaths. Like any newly adopted child at first Jason was walking on eggshells, therefore behaved in an orderly manner that appealed to Bruce's control freak tendencies. Then Jason became for certain of his place in the Wayne household and puberty and hormones did not do his temper any favors. Batman started to take issue with him using 'excessive force' on criminals. Ignoring that as a young boy that spent a most of his life malnourished Jason was smaller and weaker than the grown criminals that he fought. Lacking Dick's ingrained acrobatic skills, Jason would have little choice but to put the criminals down hard and fast. Bruce behaved in a way that made Jason insecure ( constant criticism, accusing him of killing the rapist with diplomatic immunity with no solid proof) and fearful for his future. Which caused Jason to grasp at straws and try and find Sheila. Once Jason returns from the dead it is quite obvious that he has Lazarus pit madness and needs his family to help him. Bruce ignores that someone that was exposed to the Lazarus pits unwillingly can't morally or legally be held responsible for any misdeeds committed under the influence. Also, it is telling that Bruce reacts violently whenever Jason commits a crime and does not do so when the rest of his family does, like when Kate Kane murdered Clayface. The final proof would be the fact that Jason was not invited for the family portrait that Bruce had done with his 'sons', Dick, Tim and Damian. Bruce only deigns to talk or interact with Jason whenever there is a crisis in Gotham and needs extra muscle, but has stopped caring for the boy, if he ever truly did.

Because most of his most prominent crushes often have red hair or have been characters associated with red hair at some point in their history. Sonia Star and Barbara Gordon from the Adam West show, Veronica Vreeland and Roxy Rocket in the DCAU, Edward Nygma in Gotham, not to mention the countless nameless red-haired [[PaidHarem floozies]] that [[BodyguardBabe follow]] him in the comics.

When she was a psychiatry student, she had a boyfriend that was madly in love with her. However, one day she told her she had gotten a job at Arkham and they couldn't spend so much time together so as to focus on her job, though they could still be lovers. Thinking she had abandoned him in favour of a bunch of horrid freaks, he was furious and told her if she loves these freaks so much, why doesn't she marry one?

As soon as that happened, [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker one certain patient]] in Arkham started laughing like crazy, and when he was done that, he spoke "Oh, that's hilarious! And its just the start!"

Basically, Harley Quinn was cursed by her easily offended, possesive ex to fall in love with the worst man in Arkham as revenge for caring more about her job then her love life. Joker is fully aware of it.

** Why Wanda? Her and Emma are complete opposites in terms of personality.

Joker won't be mad however. In fact, [[ActuallyPrettyFunny he'll find the irony of it absolutely hilarious]] and have a good laugh about it.

* Albeit unintentionally. Allow me explain: given the Joker's proclivity to screwing with people, it's likely that Harley was meant to be an example of how he treats others, regardless of how close they think they can be to him. The writers seem to be aware of this as demonstrated in story though years of physical and psychological abuse, at the hands of the Joker, culminating in the eventual moving on phase (her working on her own, with Ivy, the occasional flirtations with Bats and later her being part of Suicide Squad), If anything, her and the Joker's entire relationship is a textbook example (if not the definitive example) of real life abusive relationships. In short, this was probably the writers' way of trying to deride the idea of "Mista J" in a relationship. But damned if they didn't make one hell of a lovable character in Harleen......

The Flying Graysons either didn't have a son, or that son died too. When Bruce saw the dying Graysons at the circus, he flashed back to that painful memory when his parents died. This led him to hallucinate a child who wanted revenge for his parents murder, just like young Bruce. Basically the Robin hallucination is what Wayne wishes he could have been when his parents died but couldn't due to lack of training and skills. That is "Robin" is a manifestation of a repressed element of his personality. The original Robin is Bruce's childhood happiness that was destroyed by the murder of his parents, as well as his belief that his parents could be quickly avenged. "Jason Todd" is a reflection of Bruce's early bratty personality and "Tim Drake" is an reflection of Bruce's innate intelligence. Together they paint a portrait of the Bruce Wayne who lost his parents all those years ago. He was a happy child, if occasionally moody/given to temper tantrums, and very bright. All of the other sidekicks are additionally either parts of Bruce's tortured personality, or remnants of memories of his lost parents.

** Or why Dick Grayson was allowed to go live with some random rich guy. Apparently his family didn't have any friends in the circus?
** Or why a character like Batman, who relies heavily on stealth, has a partner who wears bright red, yellow, and green. It doesn't matter, because no one else can see Robin.
*** Not so. ComicBook/TheJoker can see Robin, as we find out in a one-shot issue where he's talking about Robin continuously coming back after he killed Jason. This could be a shared hallucination or two crazy people just playing off of each other's insanity, since Joker actively kills a Robin at least once. So this leads to the implication that the Joker isn't just crazy enough to see the fourth wall and lean on it, but he's also crazy enough to see other crazy people's hallucinations.
*** Also, Ra's al Ghul brings Jason back to life. Wanting to have Bruce be the future head of the Demon would make him want Bruce to have a clear head, and so playing off of his delusions would not be part of his agenda. Not to mention that many other people can see Robin, and not just the Joker. This includes most characters in the series. Besides, who took over as Batman after the Final Crisis, and who founded the Teen Titans?

All of Batman's back-story is just an illusion created by himself to try to gain trust, justification, and admiration from the public (comic book audience, aka YOU) and from supers, hence why they often seem distant to batman when not discussing things, etc. Batman only SEEMS to not be a super, for he is the most ultimate human mentally and his real power lies in his ability to manipulate everything without anyone's knowledge.

His body maybe that of the original, but his spirit might not be the same. It's possible that it's a different soul who ''believes'' he's Jason.

That is, the ability to see 1 second into the future. However, via his training and reflexes, he can exploit this to kick your ass. How? He sees you about to hit him a second early, and there for dodges right then, dodging your attack. He can only be caught off guard if you change a second before impact. Basically, [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower he should be useless, but with training, he isn't.]]
* Do you one better. His power is his [[CrazyPrepared ability to inexplicably prepare for almost every circumstance, including entirely unforeseeable ones.]] He's not consciously aware of the power, and it's subtle enough that people assume it's just becausehe's a paranoid genius.

[[WMG: Batman does not want to save Gotham. Gotham is a training grounds for his arms sales/holding cell for his army of villains.]]
* Wayne enterprises makes a lot of its money selling the weaponry to top-secret organizations; weaponry that Batman has trained with and tested against some of the toughest villains ever. Alternatively, Batman is "training" his nemesis to be nearly unstoppable, except by him. That way he can release them whenever he wants and have a rampaging, chaotic army. This threat keeps the money pouring in for him.

* He makes his villains stronger and stronger by sending them back to the hellhole that is Arkham. Every villain who has visited there has come back not rehabilitated, but even more dangerous than when they went in. Look at what happened with Destiny, Calendar man and Dr. Crane, not to mention Harley Quinn. Arkham Asylum is not attempting any therapy on their patients; instead, they are a breeding ground for tougher and tougher villains. That's why Batman doesn't kill them, he needs them for testing and to hold as a threat against the world.

* He spends significant amounts of time in a costume resembling humanoid version of said animal.

* This theory is supported by ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited''. When Batman is captured by Lex Luthor, he decides he needs create dissent among the villains and gain allies. He ends up making out with Cheetah (an anthropomorphic feline), and striking a deal with Ultra-Humanite (albino gorilla).

Both seem to exist just to cause chaos for the sake of chaos, and both are good at manipulating people, and talent for GambitRoulette. Joker's makeup is like a mask, reference to the thousand-masked god, perhaps?

* The Joker is ''Nyarlathotep''? Congratulations: you have just come up with a better identity for him than any comic book writer yet has. Although a bit of backstory would be required explaining how this "mask's" powers became diminished. Anyone care to take a shot?

*** Frankly, the Joker as a HumanoidAbomination explains quite a bit. His very blood is poisonous - a tiny bit once left Damian Wayne paralyzed. His ability to survive damage up to and including being shot in the head. His knack for hiding bombs absolutely anywhere, despite the difficulty blending in you'd expect with green hair and chalk white skin. His inhumanly tall teeth. His strength, which exceeds what he should capable of with his skinny frame. The inability of the world's greatest detective to find anything about his past. It would certainly explain what [[GoMadFromTheRevelation happened]] to [[MadLove Dr. Harleen Quinzel]].
* If he isn't an avatar or Nyarlathotep, then he's a friend. I say this because I can image the Joker being crazy and [[LaughablyEvil hilarious]] enough to be someone Nyarathotep would see as an equal, instead of a tool.

After leading a sheltered life, Bruce Wayne came face to face with the harsh realities of the world all at once. Instead of seeing a sick old man, he saw his parents murdered, leading him to embrace violence as a means of escape rather than the life of an ascetic. He is currently partway down his road to enlightenment, at about the point when the original Buddha passed out in the stream. Soon, thanks to the grace of a woman (Leslie Thompkins?) who nurses him from near death, he will renounce his path of vengeance and go into isolation. He will emerge having discovered the Middle Way, as seen at the end of Kingdom Come. He eventually lead the other superheroes to Nirvana. This means he is also the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitreya Maitreya]], the prophesied reincarnation of the Buddha.

As Comicbook/{{Superman}} is clearly a thinly-veiled Jesus, this would seem to answer the perpetual question of who would beat whom in a fist fight: Buddha just barely beats Jesus, with prep time.

** Clearly Jesus (on whom be peace) would win, because Buddha was a pacifist. He wouldn't have fought back at all. It would be like matching someone against a guy who has voluntarily tied himself up for the fight.
*** One: both Jesus and the Buddha were huge pacifists; that was one of their core messages. Two: it is a little more well thought out than "Hero = Saves people = Jesus," it's more "Father sends his only son to Earth to save people, son grows up with two completely ordinary hard working people, son becomes hero/savior when older." While I agree that is kinda stupid how often the two are compared to each other, it is understandable how they can be compared to each other.

Just the fantasy of a boy who read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy as a kid. That's why it started simple and optimistic, but keeps getting DarkerAndEdgier as his brain begins to lose function and his dreamworld falls apart...

[[WMG:Gotham isn't Franchise/TheDCU version of New York or Chicago. It's ''[[Creator/HPLovecraft Innsmouth]]''.]]
Either Innsmouth started out named Gotham in the DCU, or sometime around the mid-thirties, when the city began to grow larger (enough to encompass Arkham and Dunwich as well), the new city was officially called Gotham and Innsmouth, Dunwich, Arkham, etc. became just boroughs. This explains the dark, twisted nature of the city, its architecture, people, mad scientists... not to mention Arkham Asylum. Related theories:

** I, Tropers/ElectricalLass, was going to say that Nyarlthotep is named "''Joker''" in the DCU, but the below WMG beat me to it

** It probably started as Innsmouth, seeing how the heart of Gotham is near the ocean. It later spread out to near the inland Arkham, which is why Arkham Asylum is always depicted as being on outskirts of Gotham, away from the sea.

[[WMG:The entire DCU is a delusion Bruce is having while locked up at an insane asylum for the rich.]]

... Think about it. All the villains are based on his fellow inmates (it explains their own issues). Superman is the kindly idealistic male nurse father figure, while Wonder Woman is the motherly psychiatrist. The Flash is the resident chemist, and Green Lanterns are the guards. It started so optimistic because he was sent there as a child, but he is getting older. The crisis was him hitting puberty...

** No less than three of his villains are psychiatrists (Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, and Hugo Strange). The tonal differences in different periods of Batman's history is due to different medication regimes.

* This is probably due to his insanity, although ''Arkham: A Serious House On Serious Earth'' has a psychologist speculating that Joker is supersane.
** This may, thus, be the driving point behind many of his apparently senseless actions. His ability to change personalities allows him to "refresh" his character at will; his utter lack of empathy stems from the belief that his victims aren't "real" people anyway; and all of his lines about acting on a stage for a crowd become much more literal.
** The Joker is supersane. Everything Superman does is super-whatever. Superman is sane. Therefore, he is supersane. Therefore, Superman is the Joker. He's ... bipolar?

* Joker knows he is a fictional work, which is why he does what he does. Think of how much fun it is in games like VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto to throw caution to the wind and let loose and cause chaos for chaos's sake. Joke's nature is his powers (Super-Sanity as mentioned above); he can get away with what he does because he knows no one is truly killed, since they were never alive in the first place and are fictional characters that the audience hates. This is why he "fudged" the location of Rachel and Harvey in the movie: He knew that the fans felt that Rachel was TheScrappy and that they would much rather see Two-Face. Since this was a movie, she was in no real danger, just like his assistant for his magic trick. He would only seem dangerous to the "[=NPCs=]" of his universe - the police, Batman, Alfred, and Harvey Dent. But to him, he's aware he's Oscar gold. His super power is to be the ultimate crowd pleaser!

* Joker not only has no fourth wall, but is also infused with godly powers. Oh, and I, err, he, goes on TV Tropes.
** the joker is unsure of whether or not he will disappear is based on the fact that he's a batman villain so with batman dies then he has no nemesis but he is also aware of the dc universe's continuity and this is where it gets complicated he knows that with he kills batman he will continue to exist but he also knows that batman is a fan favorite and one of the dc universe's most beloved heroes, so with he kills him then the fans will despise him and want him dead so he may be killed "in-universe" but he isn't sure of that because the creators may want to use it to put the jokers evil and hatred level up to eleven and/or let make him TakeALevelInBadass or maybe just to prove that heroes aren't always brought back, or to have a lesson in consequences, or infinite other possibility's this is what drove him mad

*** Unfortunately, your theory has a flaw: The Martian Manhunter is weak to fire. If what you say is true, and that Superman ''was'' the Martian Manhunter, than he would have died in the explosion, as the heat would have been close enough.

Whatever Happened's main text takes place first. It's reasonable to assume that if Lois lied about Superman dying, then she lied about the Gold Kryptonite. In exchange for giving him a new identity, the government requested a few odd-jobs every now and then from Superman. Then, between Whatever Happened's main text and the [[ScrapbookStory frame story]], the ''Dark Knight Returns''. This requires that you disregard the ''Dark Knight Strikes Again'', but [[TakeThat would you miss it?]]

* This is canon ([[OlderThanTheyThink again]]) in the short-lived ''Series/BirdsOfPrey2002'' TV series. But somehow, this version of Helena shows her lineage with Catwoman by having cat-powers.
** Not that far fetched since Wildcat's illegitimate son was found to be a werepanther.

The baby's appearance (brown-ish hair and green eyes) is similar to Molly's. Heck, take a [[http://pics.livejournal.com/uadlika/pic/0003y46k look]] for yourselves. She's even got a little hat on in that page. Bruce was to hide her away mysteriously, he might have somehow arranged for the child to be transported through ''space and time'' into the MarvelUniverse. What's a better hiding place than a completely different universe? And it's possible Molly's powers are not of the Marvelverse mutant variety, but of the [[ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey metahuman]] kind.

Just think about it, fellow Gotham residents! Have you ever seen Batman and Bruce Wayne together in the same room? And yet all other high-ranking people in the community are either confirmed or rumored to have associated with The Bat, including Commissioner Gordon himself. The strange bruises and cuts we see on Mr. Wayne's face and hands sometimes. The evidence points to only one conclusion!

*** Batman is a ninja. Do you really think a scrawny billionaire like Bruce Wayne just climbed up a mountain and found the dojo of an ancient secret society of ninja?

** Well now that you mention it, they do look suspiciously similar....

** Harvey Dent is dead. The Batman is not. Proof enough for me.

*** There was supposedly a body, but it's impossible to tell if was him - half his face was burned off. Beside, I was at party once where the Joker burst in and started threatening Dent's girlfriend, Rachel Dawes. Batman showed up and acted very concerned about her - because he's really Dent!

*** Its artistic license for the movie. Its a ShoutOut to Film/ImNotThere. Is Music/BobDylan Batman?
* You people are completely on the wrong track. The question is have you ever see ''Clark Kent'' and Batman together? Think about it.

* The Batmobile is a scrapped Wayne Enterprises military project: the Tumbler. The Tumbler was an experimental bridging vehicle abandoned by the military and only a handful of prototypes exist, and Batman somehow managed to get a hold of one? Chasing a tank down the freeway you would think the GPD would think to look through a few back issues of ''Jane's'', given the current state of things Wayne is probably bribing the police.

** Which leads to a question: why is Bruce Wayne covering for Dent's extracurricular activities and giving him so much free crime busting gear?

* Don't be ridiculous. Bruce Wayne's not Batman - Bruce Wayne's gay. All those supermodels are just a long line of beards. But he seems to spend a lot of time with his dark haired blue eyed wards, not to mention Clark Kent, and he was even seen with Lex Luthor, and everybody knows the rumors about ''him''.

** Clark Kent isn't gay. He's married to Lois Lane. Not that she's faithful. Hey, who could blame a gal for fooling around with a super powered muscle bound man in tights when her husband is so mild-mannered? And the worst of it? She uses this to get all the scoop on Superman and beat out her honest husband for a by-line! The nerve of some people.

** But that's obviously [[OnlySixFaces Clark Kent without his glasses]]! [[StylisticSuck Bruce Wayne doesn't look like a professional linebacker]]. Wait... Combining this and the image of the robot Batman liked above... Clark Kent ''is'' Batman, and he uses the robot duplicate for when he has to be in Metropolis and Gotham City at the same time, or prove he isn't Batman. He always wears the cowl because it has built-in corrective lenses!
* I can't BELIEVE you guys are going so far with this tourist trap thing. Helloooo? Batman's not real! You ever seen Batman? Hell no! All we have is the word of the news, the police, and the Council that there's ACTUALLY some kind of, I don't know, ''Uber-Hero'' running around, taking out the mafia with his amazing skills and stopping purse-snatchings on the subway, de-shitholing Gotham one alley at a time. Yeah, right! He's about as real as the Loch Ness Monster - you think anybody would visit Lake Ness if there wasn't a "monster?" Batman has more to do with the fact that only 29% of Gotham college graduates go on to get jobs here than some super-resourceful, super-athletic guy wanting to clean up crime all of a sudden.

* You're all wrong! Batman really is a girl! I mean, no self-respecting baddie would admit that he has been beaten by the girl, would he? So, this means that Bruce Wayne is not Batman, neither is Clark Kent. Lois Lane, on the other hand...
** Yeah! You're right! I saw her back in No Man's Land. Spraying bat-tags and everything.
* Batman is Peter Parker, who is Spider Man, who is [[ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} that dreamy Toby MacGuire]]. Unnaturally strong? Check. Can't fly? Also check. DoesntLikeGuns? Spot-on. If you cut him, does he bleed? Yep. Lastly, does he use grappling wire to get around the city? Totally, unquestionably the same guy.
** If he uses grappling wire he must be the Amazing Spider-Man, unlike Toby who is a radioactive spider with Peter Parker DNA. A human with spider DNA doesn't create web with his own body but a spider with human DNA would have no problem doing this.
* I always thought Batman was [[Manga/DeathNote L]]. Biggest detective in the world, many aliases, creepy looks... So, that would make Joker... Kira?

* ''I'' know who Batman really is. Has access to very expensive, custom made equipment, so he's clearly got wealth. Needs some kind of support crew-- but kept to a minimum, possibly even just one, to avoid endangering his SecretIdentity. But that one would have to be very competent as well as fully dedicated-- a BattleButler, if you will. And Batman would certainly need a cover identity which could explain away any injuries or criminal entanglements-- but he'd also need to be extremely well-trained and well-educated to do what Batman does, perhaps a great deal of travel or combat experience... Ah-HAH! It can only be one man! Batman is... [[Anime/TheBigO Roger Smith!]]

* You're all morons! Harvey Bullock is Batman! Think about it: Bullock always says he hates Batman, he's much fatter than Batman, he sounds nothing like Batman, he has a reputation of taking bribes and being a crooked cop, and he uses guns. It's the perfect disguise! Who would suspect him?

* Oh, come on everyone. It's obvious that Batman is [[Series/MadMen Don Draper]]. Think about it: He's so mysterious, I don't think I've ever heard him talk about his past. Why does he disappear so often? He just leaves the office sometimes with no explanation. He disappeared for a whole two weeks just recently. And why does he live in a regular house? As head creative director, he should make more than that. I'll tell you why, all those gadgets are expensive. Even Harry Crane, head of the Television Department, guessed this once.

** He's very narcissistic--a man with unlimited resources and ability whose only hindrance is that he believes justice must be meted out by man dressed as bat

** What are you talking about? Christian Bale couldn't be Robin (of which I suspect there have been at least two or three, possibly as many as five), he's Nightwing. Some paparazzo for the Gotham ''[[HollywoodHypeMachine Hype Machine]]'' got pictures of him recently wearing a battle suit without a mask (some time after the whole deal with the evac ferries, with all the political stuff that was going down), and it's ''way'' too functional to be Batman. Batman can't even turn his head in that cowl! He doesn't even have a bright yellow "Batman" logo on, and Nightwing's chevron is almost invisible in the dark. I could easily see TV's Adam West as Batman, though. Playing him on TV is the perfect cover, especially since he ''also'' plays [[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Catman]], and everyone ''knows'' Catman is as much of an urban legend as Spider-Man.

* Please. How can none of you see the signs. Bruce Wayne may have the money, but is too much of a drunken idiot to do anything like be a vigilante. The person who's actually Batman would need to be vastly intelligent to fill the role as World's Greatest Detective, fabulously wealthy to put up with the cost of equipment, really buff and muscular so he can fulfill the physical side of it, we know he has a good relationship with Superman, and I've heard rumors he's got no powers and is only a mortal. .... None of you guys get it? Batman is actually '''LEX LUTHOR!'''

** You're close. [[http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/JLA:_Welcome_to_the_Working_Week Batman was a cover identity for a team of operatives trained and outfitted by Luthor to keep an eye on what he viewed as a superhuman menace. But the team member who spent the majority of the time with the Justice League, learned that they really were dedicated to helping humanity. He confronted Luthor and found out Lex didn't care, so he grabbed as much cash and technology as possible (and a little bit of Kryptonite just to be on the safe side) and "defected" to the JLA.]] Another of the other team members, who had been stationed in Gotham, fought a criminal who called himself "The Joker" and came to realize that Gotham needed a permanent protector more than Lex needed a spy. So he also went rogue and is secretly funded by GCPD Commissioner Gordon with money he got working for the mob in Chicago and outfitted by the legendary online hacker "Oracle" (who is actually a hive mind of computer geniuses who were fused together by Brainiac and left a disfigured mass of superintelligent flesh after the fact).

** Who would suspect that batman is also iron man?
* You're all barking up the wrong tree. Batman has all these super martial artist skills, surrounded by hot-babes that have their own super martial arts skills, total JerkAss, keeps meeting up with super martial arts costumed foes with daft gimmicks, Batman is [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Ranma Saotome]]. The bat suit is obviously some sort of attempt to keep the water off, obviously it doesn't work all the time because y'know, Bat-Girl.

* You've all got it wrong. The Batman is obviously a disguise for that Matches Malone crook. Think about it- every crime he's in on gets busted! Every single one!
* Professor Hugo Strange is clearly the Batman. Look at him! He has the physique, the intellect, not to mention the fact that he's a criminal psychiatrist! Such a high-paying job no doubt allows him to finance his operations, and it explains Batman's detailed knowledge of the criminal mind!'

** the joker is unsure of whether or not he will disappear is based on the fact that he's a batman villain so with batman dies then he has no nemesis but he is also aware of the dc universe's continuity and this is where it gets complicated he knows that with he kills batman he will continue to exist but he also knows that batman is a fan favorite and one of the dc universe's most beloved heroes, so with he kills him then the fans will despise him and want him dead so he may be killed "in-universe" but he isn't sure of that because the creators may want to use it to put the jokers evil and hatred level UpToEleven and/or let make him TakeALevelInBadass or maybe just to prove that heroes aren't always brought back, or to have a lesson in consequences, or infinite other possibility's this is what drove him mad

In truth, Bruce Wayne is not the embodiment of the BadassNormal trope, but rather a borderline-omnipotent RealityWarper. The meta-gene for reality alteration came out when his parents were killed. To this day, Bruce Wayne is completely unaware of his true powers, as he can only use them on a subconscious level. Thankfully his RealityWarper powers only manage to affect Gotham City. Gotham City is a CrapsackWorld because its seen through a depressed AdultChild, and Arkham Asylum is Bedlam UpToEleven because it embodies Bruce's insanity. And most of the characters embody a part of Bruce Wayne's psychology:

** Bruce represented a [[SuperPrototype prototypical]] [[TheMario all around]] type.

[[WMG: The Joker spends his free time on Wiki/TvTropes and is reading this.]]