In the age of the Internet, fan theories are all the rage, and since he's arguably the single most over character in the history of characters, Batman probably has more than any other. There are countless theories about Batman in the comics, such as that he's actually a patient at Arkham, or that he created Robin so that he'd have someone to take him down if he ever went bad. Some improve the reading experience, but some are wildly ruinous - but at least fans are seeing a new way to engage with the content. Somewhat inevitably, this also extends to Batman's movies as well. Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy ended up getting a fair amount of fan theory treatment, but there are theories that date all the way back to Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. And just as inevitably, some of them were dreamt up by minds as unhinged as the Joker's, and couldn't possibly be anywhere close to the truth. To their credit though, a lack of logic doesn't make them any less compelling when you consider them properly...
10. The Joker Didn't Kill Batman's Parents€”Batman Projects That On His Enemies
1989's Batman took a lot of liberties with the Dark Knight and with the Joker. Not only was Michael Keaton's Batman totally cool with killing villains, but the Joker even got a definitive origin with his real name revealed, something the comics have never done. And the decision was made to tie the Batman and the Joker together, with a flashback where Bruce realizes a pre-Joker Jack Napier killed his parents. Batman's always been a bit nuts, but this theory takes it up a step, saying that Jack Napier didn't actually kill Bruce's parents. Instead, that's just something Batman projects on every single criminal he takes down. The theory only works if you haven't seen the movie recently. Watch it again and it's pretty obvious that Napier actually did kill the Waynes. From Bruce asking Alfred to pull his parents' file to the Joker's pretty much outright confession during the whole "I made you, you made me first" conversation in the church at the end of the film.
Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com
