But For Me It Was Tuesday / The DCU

The DCU

Comic Books

Comic Books

• Batman:
  • The Joker has murdered and harmed enough people to make it inevitable that he's forget at least some of them.
    • He sees Barbara Gordon (whom he shot and paralyzed for life) briefly when she interrogates him, and he doesn't recognize her. He even asks her if he had put her in that wheelchair. Later, he meets her yet another time and still doesn't recognize her, though he is impressed by her complete lack of fear in facing him. Babs wonders to herself if he's killed so many people that his memories just blur together. Hours later, on his car ride back from town, it finally comes back to him, and he immediately turns around to torment her further.
    • Invoked again Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. He remembers few of his victims, if any, but doesn't care so long as Batman remembers them all.
      "No, I don't keep count. But you do. And I love you for it."
    • In Shadow of the Bat #38, "Tears of a Clown", this trope is used against the Joker. He celebrates his anniversary of the day when he was a still sane, but hapless comedian, and was thrown out of an exclusive Stand-Up Comedy club for an unfunny act. Being desperately poor, this marks his Start of Darkness as he agreed to provide for his family by pulling a job for the Red Hood gang (as seen at The Killing Joke). Back in the modern day he kidnaps all the patrons that didn't laugh with him and reenacts his act with control collars that will kill them when they laugh. The funny thing is that the patrons are really hardcore Stand-Up Comedy fans, so they have seen so many acts that nobody remembers the act of a bad comedian — which also preserves the ambiguity over whether this Start of Darkness really happened or if the Joker's Multiple-Choice Past is remembered Through the Eyes of Madness.
    • The Batman '66 story "The Joker Sees Red"/"Batman Hunts the Dead" has the Red Hood (here a separate character from the Joker) state that he wants revenge against the Joker. The Joker is enlisted to try and identify the Red Hood, but reveals that he has no clue who the Red Hood could be. After Robin calls the Joker out on not knowing which of the people he's wronged could be the Red Hood's true identity, the Joker gives the defense that he's tormented so many that it's hard to narrow down which of his victims could be the Red Hood.
  • The heroic version happens with minor villain the Eraser, who was a former college classmate of Bruce Wayne. The Eraser reveals to Bruce that he became a criminal because Bruce got the love of Lenny's life, Celia. However, Bruce does not remember Celia at all, sending the Eraser into a rage.
  • The miniseries Death and the Maidens introduces Ra's al Ghul's less famous daughter Nyssa Raatko, whom Ra's conceived with a Russian peasant girl in the 1700s. Nyssa's mother spent the rest of her life hoping that her "Arabian prince" would one day return to her, but Ra's admits to Batman that he doesn't even remember her name. There's no telling how many booty calls (and illegitimate children) he's had over the centuries.
  • Imagine what would happen if hundreds of regular, non-superpowered, run-of-the-mill Mooks that Batman took out on a nightly basis decided they wanted payback and formed an entire army, led by a guy who built himself a suit of armor to fight the Bat with? That's the basis of the character Terminus and his followers, the "Scar of the Bat". They aren't even really supervillains. They're just the regular criminals that Batman beat the crap out of and sent off to the police. Their nicknames are all based off the injuries Batman gave them. Like one guy named "Bootface". And the leader, Terminus, who was beaten in such a way that it caused him to develop a rare, terminal disease. During meetings with his henchmen, he acknowledges the fact that Batman probably didn't even give them a second thought at the times he first defeated them.
• Superman:
  • In Adventures of Superman Annual # 1 (1987), Superman fights an alien who has removed the brains of everyone in a small American town (while keeping the brains alive). Superman defeats the alien (who escapes) but is unable to return the brains to their bodies. The still sentient brains all commit mass suicide in horror of what's happened to them. A year later, during Superman's self-imposed exile in space, Superman has another run-in with that alien, who doesn't even remember Superman at first... because what that alien did to that one small American town is something he's regularly done to whole populations of entire planets, both before his first encounter with Superman and since then.
  • The Black Ring: During a Near-Death Experience for Lex Luthor, in which he meets Death of the Endless, he tries to blame her for the events of Blackest Night. Death simply states◊ that she thought that everyone was having a good time — it really wasn't that big of a deal for her since people come back to life all the time and she was busy at the time.
  • A key part of Superman's Pal: Jimmy Olsen (2019) is how Jimmy takes various events (transformed into creature, visiting Gorilla City, people trying to kill him, hanging out with super-heroes and visiting other dimensions) as just regular occurrences to his life. Likewise, other characters from Superman to Lois and Perry White brush off such nuttiness as simply what happens to Jimmy.
• Swamp Thing: Averted with the Bogeyman, a Serial Killer who runs afoul of Swamp Thing. The Bogeyman remembers his victims in detail, and will not only recite those details if called upon, but will actually ask people to quiz him on it, though most don't realize that's what he's doing when he says "Give me a number". In The Sandman (1989), some years after the Bogeyman's death, this actually trips up an impostor who tries to steal his identity to get into a serial killer convention but forgets that remembering his victims in detail was the Bogeyman's trademark. This calls the wrath of the Corinthian down on the impostor's head.
• A fairly rare heroic example: In the Titans story tying into the "Planet DC" event, Bushido is cornered by a bunch of Yakuza gunmen. Their leader wants revenge for his father's death at Bushido's hands; Bushido not only doesn't remember killing that specific mob boss, but he also thinks it's stupid of the grieving son to assume he would.

Films

Films

• In Batman (1989), though the Joker apparently remembers killing Thomas and Martha Wayne and recognizes Batman as Bruce Wayne when Bruce confronts him over the fact, he nevertheless brushes it off as a youthful indiscretion and even refers to Bruce's grudge as "childish".
  Batman: You killed my parents.
  Joker: Wait... [chuckles]... what are you talking about?
  Batman: I made you, but you made me first.
  Joker: I was a kid^note according to the script, Jack Napier was in his early twenties at the youngest — not a "kid" and definitely old enough to understand what he was doing when I killed your parents. When I say "you made me", you gotta say "I made you"! How childish can you get?
• In The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent is infuriated that the Joker can't even remember Rachel Dawes' name just hours after kidnapping her and blowing her to pieces, although there's a strong probability that the Joker was just doing it to provoke him.
• SHAZAM! (2019):
  • Subverted. When Thaddeus Sivana was a child, he was taken to the Rock of Eternity and scouted as a potential successor for the wizard Shazam's powers, but was kicked out when he failed the test of character. When Sivana is an adult, he manages to find the Rock of Eternity and confronts Shazam to seek revenge. Sivana says he would understand if Shazam didn't remember him since it had been 45 years since they had met and the wizard had been testing and rejecting hundreds of potential successors through the years. To his surprise, Shazam recognizes him and recalls their first meeting.
  • Played straight with Billy's mother. When he was a toddler, his mother gave him a compass she won at the fair. It became Billy's most treasured possession and kept it as he was determined to find her. When he does find her, and learns she's not the mother he remembers, he gives back the compass. She doesn't even remember giving it to him.

Live-Action TV

Live-Action TV

• The Flash (1990): In the series pilot, Barry Allen's brother is ambushed and killed by the guy he put in prison years before. After becoming the title superhero, Barry confronts the killer and tells him why he's chasing him. The killer asks for clarification as he kills "a lot of brothers".
• The Flash (2014): Invoked in Fallout: When Caitlin says the odds of something that just happened are essentially impossible, Barry remarks, "Impossible's just another Tuesday for us." A bit of Leaning on the Fourth Wall here: the show airs on Tuesday night.
• Gotham: When Bruce Wayne finally comes face-to-face with his parents' killer, the guy doesn't even remember killing them until Bruce jogs his memory by filling in some of the details. (It's possible that this trope doesn't apply, since it's never made entirely clear that he is the actual killer and not just trying to enrage Bruce because he's feeling suicidal and wants Bruce to kill him.)
• A positive example from Legends of Tomorrow: Ray Palmer/the Atom tells Professor Martin Stein that he used to be one of his students and is shocked to find that Stein doesn't remember him. Stein later explains to Ray that he had so many exceptional students that he could never hope to remember all of them.
  • Played more straight when Mick is confronted by Amaya who accuses him of "killing him" which Mick just points out he's killed a lot of people and she'll have to be more specific. Somewhat subverted in that when Amaya does specify (Rex Tyler) Mick does know full well he didn't kill Rex especially since it was someone he had just met a few days prior and obviously would remember killing so soon.
• Lucifer
  • A pick-up artist who regularly lectures on how best to bed a woman finds himself falling in love with one for real. When she's kidnapped, he begs Lucifer to save her only to find she set the kidnapping up. It turns out she fell for his lines two years earlier and gave up her virginity to him but he never called her back. When she heard of his act, she went to see him only to realize that he literally didn't remember her. She thus decided to get him to fall in love with her for some payback and it escalated. Unlike many in this trope, the pick-up artist is deeply shaken to realize he slept with so many women he could forget the one he eventually fell for.
  • The title character does this a lot, being the Devil and all. Lampshaded when he's told that Maze is angry with him, Lucifer cheerfully asks if it's Tuesday already.
    Chloe: He had a drug problem?
    Lucifer: Well, only if you consider it a problem if you habitually stuff your face with millions of dollars of cocaine. For me that's Tuesday, but apparently it's frowned upon.
  • Happens a lot with his mother too.
    Lucifer: What did you do to her?
    Charlotte: You'll have to be more specific. I've done things to a lot of people by now.
  • Linda is getting things piled onto her, and when confronted with that Lucifer is letting the Eve shack up with him...
    Linda: I mean, I am carrying an angel-baby, I guess this is just a normal Tuesday for me now.
  • Inverted in the fifth season, when Lucifer notes, "I suppose what I call powerlessness is what everyone else calls a Tuesday."
  • Double subverted in "A Lot Dirtier Than That". Amenadiel encounters Reiben, the officer (now detective) who pointed a gun at his head in season 4's "Super Bad Boyfriend", and it seems Reiben doesn't remember him. It turns out he does in fact remember Amenadiel and tells him that their encounter was a wake-up call and inspired him to be a better cop and a better person. However, this turns out to be bullshit; it was just a Tuesday that he happened to remember, and he's the same violent, racist cop he always was.

Video Games

Video Games

• Injustice 2: As is with him in most DCU media, the Joker doesn't remember the names or keep a count of the countless victims he's killed, tormented or maimed throughout his career. Lampshaded in one of his intros with Cyborg.
  Joker: And what's your beef?
  Cyborg: You killed people I loved.
  Joker: Gonna have to be more specific.

Western Animation

Western Animation

• Batman: The Animated Series:
  • In "Robin's Reckoning: Part 2", Robin goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against Tony Zucco, the gangster who killed his parents. Of course, Zucco's a member of The Mafia, so he's killed plenty before. Zucco also doesn't know that the Graysons' son has grown up to become Robin, so he could not have made the connection even if he knew it was over those two people specifically.
    Zucco: Don't tell me what I gotta worry about. I'm not back in town five minutes — five minutes — and he's on my tail. You don't know the Bat. He don't let up! He's the dark angel of death, man, and he wants me!
    Mook: Why does he want you, boss?
    Zucco: How should I know?!
  • Subverted in "Joker's Millions". When the Joker throws a party that Bruce Wayne attends, Joker offers Wayne some champagne, which Wayne refuses, citing the fact that the last time the two met, Joker threw him off a building. Despite only happening a month ago (in-universe), the Joker doesn't seem to remember the incident at all. It turns out that the Joker that Wayne is talking to is a body double in the real Joker's employ.
• Batman Beyond:
  • In "Meltdown", a reformed Victor Fries, having been given a cloned body without the condition to need freezing temperatures to live in, is confronted by an elderly man whose family Mr. Freeze destroyed years ago in the original Batman series. Fries cannot even recall the event. However, moved by this, he sets up a foundation based on the money from his legitimate earnings and the accrued interest to pay back all the victims of his crimes, though admitting it is still no excuse.
  • In "Ascension", Batman and his nemesis have a chat, throwing in a little Black Comedy for good measure. This exchange eventually becoming an internet meme.
    Blight/Derek Powers: Who are you?!
    Batman/Terry McGinnis: ...You really want to know?
    Blight: Yes!
    Batman: You killed my father.
    [Beat]
    Blight: [irritated] Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?
    Batman: Too bad. It's all you get.
  • Later, in "Speak No Evil", a newly-sentient, speech-capable gorilla named Fingers tracks down the poacher, Van Dyle, who captured him and his mother when he was a baby. Given that Van Dyle is cowering and all but begging for his life (and wouldn't you be?) it's considerably less badass.
    Fingers: Where is my mother?!
    Van Dyle: I p-probably sold her.
    Fingers: Probably?
    Van Dyle: I don't know, I don't keep track!
    Fingers: She was my mother!
    Van Dyle: [clearly terrified] To me it was just another gorilla...
• The Batman:
  • Zigzagged in regard to the Joker and Clayface/Ethan Bennett, who is psychologically tortured by the Joker and dosed with the Joker Putty formula. However, the Joker does not initially realize that his Joker Putty turns people into shapeshifting monsters, so when Clayface breaks into Arkham to get revenge on the Joker, the latter has no idea who he is. However, later in the episode, when he finds out that Clayface is Bennett, then the Joker remembers... and in his sick mind, he's pleasantly surprised that what he's done has turned out so well.
  • The Cluemaster is a former boy genius who was the reigning champion on a quiz game show until he got a question wrong but was convinced that the producer and host engineered his loss to a more marketable girl prodigy champ. Decades later, he abducts all three people who he blames for his loss to punish and kill them, and none of them have any idea who he is at first (To be fair to them, it is decades later, and Cluemaster doesn't look remotely like his childhood self, having become morbidly obese from his consolation prize of a lifetime supply of chocolate). Even Batman points out that he could have been anything he wanted with his brains, instead of wasting his life obsessing over something that the rest of the world neither remembers nor cares about.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: In "Chill of the Night!", Batman furiously confronts Joe Chill, the man who killed his parents and set him on the path to becoming the superhero he is. While Chill does remember killing the Waynes when Batman confronts him, it clearly had much less effect on him than it did on Bruce; his immediate response to Batman's accusations is "That was a lifetime ago!"
• DC Super Hero Girls 2019: In "Detention Club", Kara tries recalling what exactly has landed her in detention this time, but by her own admission does so much stuff she can't recall what specifically it was, only that it must've been stupid.
• In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Dead Reckoning", Deadman, possessing Wonder Woman, beats the crap out of Devil Ray, telling him that he killed his mentor and friend. However, Devil Ray is kind of justified in being confused in this case, since he didn't kill Wonder Woman's mentor.
  Devil Ray: You'll have to be more specific, lady. I've killed a lotta people.
• In Superman: The Animated Series, Superman finally ends up fighting Darkseid and gives him an And This Is for... punch for Dan Turpin, the man he killed during the Apokolips invasion. Darkseid has no idea who he is talking about and merely exclaims: "Had I known one human's death would pain you so, I would have killed more."

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