History Headscratchers / Joker2019

** As the film points out, he's been taking a lot of medication which could account for his emaciated look. For all we know, he may be a naturally fit man. Fit enough to withstand punishment from a martial-artist the size of a small linebacker like Batman and, using unorthodox offense, also able to deal damage to him. Joker, the character, never seemed like the type to workout but we also never see the character in any version exhibiting any "bad habits" like drug use. Once he gets back right, he may be the type of man that's a physical threat well into middle age which is key. Assuming that this Batman does start at 25, that means he'll begin in about 12-14 years roughly. If this Joker is younger than he looks, lets say he's 35, that means he'd be 47-49 when Batman makes the scene.

* How was Murray able to air the footage of Arthur's comedy act without getting a release first?

* One piece of evidence in the "Arthur's father is Thomas Wayne" theory is the photo of Penny signed by "TW" on the back. But if that really was a memento given from Thomas to Penny, why would it be a photo of ''Penny''? Wouldn't it be more appropriate if it was a photo of Thomas, since he presumably would sign it and give it to her as a small token of their relationship? It seems more plausible to me that Penny forged the message on one of her photos as part of her delusion to build up their non-existent relationship.

* This page's recap section mentions that at Sophie's apartment, when he realizes he has no actual relationship with her, Arthur deduces that his mental illness is worsening, so therefore "This causes him to believe Thomas over Penny". Where in that scene is this statement made clear.

** Notice that Penny not necessarily abuse Arthur, but rather stood by as her boyfriend did. Plus, you ought to see actual kids separated from their parents by the state. Often the child cannot wait to be reunited with his parent(s) no matter what happened.

** I noticed that the show's director made a "cut" gesture in the background, meaning camera feed was probably cut off and somebody may have at least tried to slip out and find a phone to call the police. (Early eighties, no cell phones.) Meanwhile, Murray was doing what he was best at. He talked to the madman, let him have his rant, give him attention, be entertaining and engaging. In doing this, he kept Joker's attention on him and off the audience and other two guests. Maybe what he does could be seen as less idiotic and more heroic in that light. "Not all people are awful."

** You can forget some pretty dramatic things if they happen when you're young. Personally I've got a fairly noticeable face scar on one side, which I apparently got in an accident, but I don't remember any of it.

** There’s also the likelihood of (physical) trauma-induced amnesia or he simply repressed the memory.

* Why doesn't Murray run off set when he realizes he is sitting next to a psychopathic killer,any normal person would.

** Because even if they exist in this universe, Falconi and Marconi are high-ranking mobsters. Why would they have any direct involvement with some failing stand-up comic with no money and mental health problems? Even if this movie were to touch on the mob, the most contact Arthur Fleck would have with them would be some low-level enforcers.

** The first reason is simple ease of reference. "Wall Street" is a general metonym for "yuppie financial stock broker banker type stuff"; you say "Wall Street", people will instantly get what you're talking about. You call it, I dunno, "Infantino Street", that's not going to be as immediately clear. Yeah, they probably could have included a cute little reference from the comics to make all the comic geeks in the audience feel a little smug about getting it, but that would be at the expense of making it little a bit less clear for all the people watching who aren't as up on, say, their Batman creative teams. They went for clarity over world-building here, anyone who doesn't like it just has to suck it up on this one.

** He's an unreliable narrator who has a poor relationship with his mother. It might all be a lie and that he accepted the abuse claim since he got tired of her.

* If Arthur had been abused so badly as a kid by his mom and her boyfriend, then 1)Why doesn't he remember, and 2)Why wasn't he taken away from her by child protective services?

* "Because they were awful"? Really Arthur? ''That's'' the reason you give for killing those guys? How about "Because they assaulted me?"

** Do I have to point out Jack Nicholson's Joker being a grown man when his Batman was a little boy? Or Batman Beyond where the Joker was an artificial mind using a well aged Tim Drake. Assuming Arthur is no younger than 30, Bruce can face him when he's in his early twenties where the Joker would be much older but not a geriatric.

** Feels way more risky and dumb than just denying the kid is his. Because now the staff in arkham and child services know the kid is his and can always loom it over him. Faking adoption paper here means a kid suddenly came from nowhere and got adopted.

* Does the fact that Penny suffered form mental illness suggest that she was Arthur's Mother and he had inherited his mental illness from her?

*** To be absolutely fair, the Arkham case file is more evidence than just the word of a clearly deranged woman. We don't actually see Thomas doing anything wrong (other than being understanbly hostile towards a Arthur after the stunt he pulled on Bruce) that may suggest he is so amoral and corrupt that he would go into such illegal extents, instead of doing what real rich people do when they want to hide old shames (hire a "fixer" lawyer to quietly reach an economic agreement).

* At the end, what did Arthur mean when he told the psychiatrist at the end, "I could tell you a joke but you wouldn't get it", was he implying that none of the events in the film were reality all in his head.

* If Penny and her boyfriend abused Arthur when he was little and she was incarcerated,why would Arthur want to live with her wouldn't he have been separated from her by the state?

* Why did Arthur do the shooting gesture, to Sophie in her apartment?

** No.

** There were bullets in the bag with the (there could have been 15-20 or more in there) gun. He only carried the gun with enough to fill the chambers but didn't carry extra. On the subway, he simply used up all the bullets that were in the gun and did'nt reload. He simply could have reloaded later with some bullets he left at home.

** The same reason the Waynes are apparently dim enough to go see Zorro in the middle of a city-consuming riot against the upper class. Also, Arthur doesn't seem inherently unstable at first - when they meet he's just an enthusiastic fan, and based on the footage he played Arthur is just incredibly awkward and sad; it's arguably not clear until it's too late that Arthur is actually a danger.

*** 3) The name joker ends up being a title that Gotham’s craziest, most dangerous and influential criminal takes over; this would allow for a “Jokerverse” where each style of Joker gets his day. Failed comedian turned anarchist murderer, mob boss using the insanity plea, a pure force of chaos and evil- Gotham’s dark side personified.

*** Given Arthur is also an unreliable narrator - like his relationship with his neighbour and the circumstances under which he got the gun - it's also difficult to discern whether he ''was'' actually attacked first.

* When Arthur smothers his mother in the hospital, she's wearing a nasal cannula presumably hooked up to oxygen - how did she asphyxiate?