Certainly one of the most talked-about films of last year was Todd Phillips’ Oscar-winning Joker. The dark character study told the story of Arthur Fleck, a troubled young man living in Gotham who gradually loses touch with reality, embraces his violent impulses and adopts the title of Joker.
Anchored by Joaquin Phoenix’s electrifying performance, the movie was incredibly compelling. However, it left no easy answers for viewers with so many possibilities seemingly left up to the audience to decide. Almost a year after its release, there are still some big questions about Joker people are still asking.
What’s Up With The Super Rats?
Gotham is usually not seen as an ideal place to live, but this version of the fictional city is especially grim. The film is set in the 1980s and uses New York City at the time to inspire the dirty and corrupt nature of the city.
The city is also on the brink of a riot as a garbage strike has left the poorest neighborhoods overrun with filth. Early in the film, there is mention that the city has “super rats”. That seems like a pretty dramatic inclusion to make, but nothing is really made of it for the rest of the film.
Was Arthur’s Sign Really Stolen?
Arthur always says that he was put on this earth to bring a smile to people’s faces. He attempts to do that through his job as a clown who helps advertise businesses on the street. In the opening scene of the film, Arthur has his ad sign stolen by some teens who proceed to beat him up.
When Arthur explains what happened to his boss, the man doesn’t seem to believe the story. Arthur is incredulous that he would think that was a made-up story, but given what is revealed later in the film, could this be an early reveal that Arthur doesn’t have a strong grasp of reality?
Did Arthur’s Mother Really Have A Relationship With Thomas Wayne?
One of the most important and disturbing relationships in the film is between Arthur and his mother. It seems like it is a loving relationship, even though they are struggling to make ends meet and share a tiny apartment together.
Arthur’s mother keeps insisting Thomas Wayne will help them and later reveals she had an affair with Wayne when she worked for him. However, like Arthur himself, not everything his mother says can be believed. Did this relationship really happen or was it in her head?
Will Bruce Become Batman?
Though this is the story of Joker, Bruce Wayne does make a brief appearance. He is seen as a young boy and, like countless other iterations of his own origin story, his parents are killed in front of him at the end of the film.
It’s unclear if we’re meant to believe this young Bruce Wayne grew up to become Batman. If that is true, then would his arch-enemy Joker be at least thirty years older than him?
Did Arthur Kill Sophie?
The very talented Zazie Beetz has a small supporting role in the film as Sophie, Arthur’s kind neighbor, who is also a single mother. Throughout the film, we see Arthur and Sophie becoming closer and she seems to be the only positive influence in his life.
As his world begins to crumble, he sneaks into Sophie’s apartment and surprises her. It is then revealed their entire relationship has been in Arthur’s head this whole time. The scene cuts to Arthur returning to his own apartment and we never see Sophie again. Did Arthur kill her or simply leave?
Is Thomas Wayne Arthur’s Father?
Aside from learning about his mother’s supposed affair with Thomas Wayne, Arthur also discovers that she has written to Wayne and told him that Arthur is his son. Arthur eventually goes to confront Wayne about it, but he denies it and even hits Arthur.
This version of Thomas Wayne is much less heroic than other versions. He is an entitled man of wealth who looks down on those of lower social standing. Despite Arthur’s mother being unreliable, it’s not hard to believe this version of Wayne would have had an affair then ignored the love child.
Did Arthur Kill The Nurse?
Following the riots at the end of the film and Arthur’s escape from custody, the film abruptly cuts to Arthur inside some sort of asylum. He sits across from a nurse and laughs hysterically. When she asks him what’s so funny he replies that she wouldn’t get it.
The film ends with Arthur strolling out of the room, leaving bloody footprints. Are we meant to believe that he has killed this nurse?
What Became Of Gotham?
By the end of the film, Gotham is in chaos. The anger in the city has boiled over, largely inspired by Arthur’s various murders. Following his execution of Murray Franklin on live television, Arthur becomes the image of a revolution that begins tearing the city apart.
While the protests and riots in the film began as people rightfully angry about the inequality in the city, the film then turns them into violent monsters who cheer for a cold-blooded murderer. How would the city possibly recover from such devastating destruction of society?
Is It All In His Head?
As we see throughout the film, some of the things that happen turn out to be all in Arthur’s head. Given the unreliability of him as a narrator, it begs the question if anything we see in the film actually happened or if it was all imagined by Arthur.
Some people took the final scene to mean the entire movie was one big joke imagined by Joker. It is an interesting theory that seems to go along with Joker’s penchant for changing up his own origin story. But it also opens up a lot more questions.
Is Arthur The Real Joker?
While this film was marketed as the origins of Batman’s greatest villain Joker, many fans pointed out that it’s hard to believe Arthur Fleck would one day be the Clown Prince of Crime. Arthur is a timid, awkward man who accidentally inspires the riots rather than causing them himself.
He is far from a criminal genius, so some fans have theorized that Arthur isn’t actually the Joker from regular Batman lore, but rather that the real Joker took inspiration from Arthur. Given that the film doesn’t hint at that, are we to believe Arthur is the only real Joker?
