The Dark Knight Rises Manual - The Joker's Past Has Robin Connection

By Michael Shelton / January 22, 2013

Insight Editions has recently published a tie-in book for The Dark Knight Rises that gives readers new information about the Clown Prince of Crime. Fans of the Joker will surely be pleased, and those that continue to question the true role of Joseph Gordon Levitt's character, John Blake, have brand new tidbits to speculate on. The book includes a report on the Joker that contains a wide variety of topics such as: Joker's Crimes, Known and Suspected, and Leading Up to His Incarceration. The GCPD report is generated after the events of The Dark Knight have concluded, so within the Nolan universe it would essentially be a compilation of everything that could possibly be known about the Joker. Within the report, it is suggested that Joker could potentially have been a patient at Arkham Asylum. This comes from the idea that it would be a plausible conclusion based on the fact that many of his henchmen were also residents of Arkham at some point in the past. Another theory relies on the Joker's seemingly relative comfort with military-grade techonology. In addition to the easy accessibility he seems to have for the weaponry. The Joker could potentially be a former soldier, suffering from PTSD. The main motive behind this theory would be that of "anarchy". Check out what the report states in the manual:

"The Joker has murdered or attempted to murder various civic officials. It is possible that he is an extremist anti-government agitator or a soldier angry with the government for sending him to war."

The third, and certainly most interesting of the suggestions, lies with the idea that The Joker could potentially be connected to Dick Grayson. Here's what the report says:

"The Joker does not appear to have any connections to Gotham's crime syndicates, though he knocked over a mob bank. One possible motive for this, which could also explain the clown motif, is the Haley Brothers Circus. The circus was recently in town for a two-month engagement and it was rumored their boss had connections to Sal Maroni. The Joker could be a former Haley Brothers employee with some kind of grudge against the mob."

For those of you unaware, Haley's Circus is where the Flying Grayson's called home within the comics. This connection could very well mean that Dick Grayson exists within the world that Christopher Nolan has brought to life. Now here's where I get all speculative fan-boy, and spoilerish...if I'm right, which lets face it I'm probably not. But oh boy wonder, can I hope. Sorry, that was bad. The Dark Knight Rises has already been confirmed to take place eight years after the Joker terrorized Gotham. Depending on when Dick Grayson's parents were killed, he could very easily have grown up within Gotham during the time gap between The Dark Knight and Rises. Internet speculation is already running rampant that John Blake, is set to take over the Cowl at the end of The Dark Knight Rises. With a possible connection to Dick Grayson now set to spread like wildfire, it is very possible that Nolan has altered the origin of Dick Grayson and transformed him into something new but familiar to fans of the comics. John Blake perhaps? Blake's parents could easily have been murdered amongst the chaos, or prior, and as a result Blake devotes himself to train and make Gotham City a safer place. He aims for justice, and aims to do it the only way he may know how, by joining the GCPD. Bruce Wayne will no doubt uncover the nature of his character, and perhaps we will have someone that can take over once Mr. Wayne finally gives Gotham everything he has. His life. But, this is all speculation. The important thing to remember here is that the GCPD are "still no closer to ascertaining" the Joker's identity. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Source: IGN