So, back in the sizzling days of July, we discussed the possibility that Jared Leto’s Joker was possibly the former Robin who was coming after his former mentor, Batman. In an unrelated posting on Reddit soon after, another person put forward the idea that Leto’s Joker would be Robin turned evil, and many outlets picked it up to run with it. Both were greeted with some interesting replies, some of them rather upset that such a stupid theory would even exist, and much fun was had in the process.
But the theory is still out there and we haven’t really touched on it since those days following Comic-Con. Apparently there are clues with Leto’s Joker that add a little bit of credence to the idea that he used to be Robin. His tattoos matching up with the costume on display in the trailer for Batman v Superman. Another tattoo featuring some sort of bird, likely a Robin. Not to mention all of the influences and source material that has played with the same idea. Plenty of you mentioned Return of the Joker, Arkham Knight, and The Dark Knight Strikes Again in the previous post, which all feature some form of Robin “breaking bad” and becoming Batman’s greatest enemy.
It’s a fun idea, but it’s just an idea. Do I truly believe Robin and The Joker are the same person? Not really. It’s fun to theorize and put forth something that lives on the fringes of crazy (especially when people get very angry with their replies). But it is a lot of moving parts to deal with, making it unlikely that the filmmakers would want to deal with that while also attempting to launch a new series of films off the ground.
Still, apart from the disappointment in Dark Knight Strikes Again, it’s a cool layer to add to an already interesting conflict. The Joker is a fine villain, but what could be done to set him apart from previous versions we’ve seen? This would be it.
