Joker (2019): 8 Major Problems No One Wants To Admit

2. Showing The Waynes' Death Was A Mistake

For all the blustering that Joker was "snuck" into the studio system as a film disguised as a comic book movie, it's still a Batman prequel. It's set in Gotham City, it revolves around the character of the Joker, and Thomas Wayne is a key focal point. Granted you could interchange any name and Joker's story would largely remain in tact, but longtime fans are more than aware of what the connections all mean.

Despite Joker largely existing in its own reality, those connections to the wider DC universe become more apparent as the film progresses. That's fine - after all, this is still a film set before the arrival of Batman, and as with any origin story, it's going to seed more familiar character arcs anyway.

Admittedly, Joker genuinely fashions a new, interesting legacy for the Waynes. They aren't Gotham's beloved family anymore, but instead the embodiment of social and economic inequality. They're a family who laughs at an exclusive screening of Modern Times, where Chaplin plays a poverty-stricken Tramp, seemingly oblivious to the disquiet brewing in their city. Thomas himself is also an abuser, and it's a refreshing change of pace to consider how the legend of Batman would adjust to accommodate a version of the family who were, in no uncertain terms, pretty horrid.

However, while Joker does option a new take on the Waynes, it also conforms to an old cliché when it comes to Batman's on-screen history by showing their death. They've taken Bruce to see Zorro just as they did in the comics, but showing their shooting with the obligatory pearls of Martha Wayne's necklace cascading in Crime Alley was too much.