WARNING: FLASHPOINT BATMAN SPOILERS
I apologize if this is really poorly written. It's 5 AM and I have yet to sleep.So, the popular idea kicking around lately regarding Flashpoint's various universe alterations is the answer to the question on everyone's mind: If Thomas Wayne is the Batman, who exactly will be filling the shoes of the clown prince of crime? Surely Thomas didn't replicate the exact SNAFU that created the Joker we all know and love in the main DCU, but we know The Joker does exist, and we know a precious few things about him.
So, who is Flashpoint's Joker? It seems the public would like to think Bruce Wayne, and I think that's a wonderful idea.
We know two very important facts about Flashpoint Joker:
- He is intimately connected to Dr. Wayne/Batman (Which is kind of a necessity for the character, I feel.)
- He is a child molester/killer (See Flashpoint: Batman #1). The last page kind of implies pedophile along with killer, which is territory The Joker hasn't been taken into, which is surprising considering he's a clown. Kids love clowns.
With me so far? Good, because I'm not being very coherent about this.
Anyway, this would also just be a great play for Flashpoint. The Joker is creepy because we don't know him. Despite multiple attempts to explain his origin, we never got a very good grip on what and who the Joker was before he was the Joker, and even then his personality is constantly shifting. Bruce as the Joker would be chilling because we know exactly who he is, or at least, who he should be. Seeing the man we know as the unshakable champion of justice in the corrected timeline as The Joker would probably be the most unsettling path they could take with the character in Flashpoint.
So what do you think. Chances on Bruce being the Joker? If not him, then who? Anyone we know? Or does the Joker simply... exist, even in the otherwise radically different Flashpoint timeline?
Side Note: If they go with the angle of The Joker being Joe Chill/Whoever murdered the other two Waynes in this timeline, which seems the other obvious answer, I'll be very put out. I was always a little bothered by that interpretation in Batman '89.
(Again, I apologize for incoherency. Early in the morning. Very little sleep. Felt like banging this out.)
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