When it comes to comic book movie adaptations, fans trust no other like Marvel Studios. Its movies, over the course of several years, manage to tie-in many overarching heroes and villains. Despite the transformative cinematic event that was Avengers: Endgame, adventures from Marvel continue in theaters and with a slew of exclusive, original series, such as WandaVision and Moon Knight, from the streaming service, Disney+. The wit and action are inseparable, as if the panels had been removed from their pulpy pages and stuffed through the lens of a camera.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is amazing, fantastic, and onomatopoeia personified, not to mention its visual effects are otherworldly. Although, Marvel did make Howard the Duck and Morbius. Then there is the DC Comics Extended Universe (DCEU), dark, moody, and ever-serious in its delivery. The story arcs are grueling, some to the point of being gratuitous, even unintentionally goofy. However, DC Comics has had its share of box office successes. Most recently, The Batman and Joker, starring Robert Pattinson and Joaquin Phoenix, respectively, have reinvented the famous DC characters once again. Now that The Batman 2 and Joker 2 are in development, the DCEU has a chance to be a cut above the MCU.

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Batman Has Two Years Under His Utility Belt

     Warner Bros. Pictures

Bruce is still experiencing growing pains as he begrudgingly accepts Alfred Pennyworth as a father figure. Batman is still learning who he is as a crime fighter, and who his allies and enemies are. Some speculation surrounds the plot of The Batman 2 already, the earliest coming from Pattinson, humoring the thought of a tie-in with the comic book story arc, Court of Owls, a crime syndicate that oversees Gotham City’s criminal underworld. It makes sense; first it was Falcone, then the Penguin, what is a parliament of owls to Batman? Reeves also presented a different version of Gotham City, which gives this Batman plenty of room to explore.

Joker Has Yet to Make a Name for Himself

Director and co-writer Todd Phillips, with screenwriter Scott Silver, gave Joker a believable origin story. The audience is able to empathize with Arthur Fleck before he becomes a comedian who kills (literally) the people who do not get the joke. The film ends in a chaotic gray area (after taking liberties with the comics) and leaves Joker free to laugh and maim in Gotham. Joker 2 has a French subtitle: Folie à Deux, which could have Joker expressing more unhinged behavior compared to the first film.

Perhaps he will meet his partner in crime, Arkham Asylum psychiatrist, Harleen Quinzel, AKA Harley Quinn. Others theorize the plot will be a Batman crossover or a full-blown musical. Maybe it will put the “ha” in “hallucination.” Phoenix has the Bohemian spirit and deadly punchlines to make audiences squirm and think twice. Although, seeing this Joker perfect his wisecracks would offset the dark, psychotic torture. Let him crack skulls and crack jokes at the same time in vaudeville fashion.

For every hero, there is an equal and opposite villain. Without his colorful, dastardly array of baddies, Batman would not be half as interesting. Bruce Wayne would be left over, but he is the true mask after all, and his true face is Batman. As for his villains, their personalities are far too eccentric to be boxed inside comic book panels. The Mad Hatter has all the trappings of the deranged and fantastical to make one go insane. Clayface can shape-shift into anyone, so the mystery and suspense stays fresh. Man-Bat is a man who became a bat in pursuit of a cure for hearing loss using, bat DNA (Morbius wishes he was Man-Bat). The Ventriloquist, Anarky, Killer Moth, Killer Croc, Hugo Strange, the list of maniacal evil-doers is growing and will give Pattinson’s Batman endless capers.

Joker’s Origin is a Dark, Comedic Family Affair Cast in Uncertainty

Thomas Wayne is possibly Arthur Fleck’s father. Thomas Wayne cast aside Arthur and his mother like they were crazy, despite Arthur’s mother, Penny Fleck, claiming she had romantic ties with the philanthropist, and that he fathered her son. This news turned a sad clown into a killer clown. It is too bad Thomas died before Bruce could speculate and sleuth for the truth himself. Imagine if the Joker’s dad was Thomas Wayne and Batman found out. Batman would be stone-faced, but Bruce Wayne would be wishing he was dead. Plot twists like this will keep viewers guessing and wanting more.

Does Bruce come clean and make efforts to rehabilitate his criminal brother and the villains he locks up as Batman? Does the Joker want to finish the job and kill the last of the Wayne family? Do they become the best of friends and put on a happy face around their separate ilk? Hopefully DC filmmakers and fans find out, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!

Batman Can Reinvent the Wayne Legacy

Thomas and Martha Wayne’s shady past shows that power, even in the right hands, can corrupt the person who wields it. Martha, just like Arthur Fleck’s mother, was admitted into Arkham Asylum on account of psychological distress. Thomas hired crime boss, Carmine Falcone, to silence a journalist from revealing Martha’s mental illness with regrettable results. The Waynes have had a major impact on the origins of Gotham’s villains, consequences so damning that not even Batman can correct them. Bruce Wayne is the only person who can salvage his family’s name.

Some argue that Bruce Wayne is secondary to Batman’s presence, but they neglect the ambition and self-sufficiency of a man that lost all that he thought he knew. Future installments should give more screen time to a Bruce Wayne who can be a hero without a mask, rises above rumors and dark truths, and takes Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” literally to give back to a hurting city he believes can change for the better.

Batman and Joker Are the Precedent for Crossover Cinema

DC Comics has a surplus that could easily be turned into screenplays or post-credit scenes. The DCEU is easy pickings as it is no stranger to alternate universes. Take Bat Mite, an interdimensional being who claims to be Batman’s biggest fan, but puts the hero in situations for his own amusement. He could easily break the fourth wall with references to animated movies and comics that go over Batman’s head. Batzarro is “The World’s Worst Detective” and Batman’s evil doppelgänger from Bizarro World. He guns down unsuspecting couples walking down Crime Alley, then tries, and fails, to find their murderer.

There is no excuse, DC Comics can make any number of cameos, and unlikely team-ups and face-offs, alongside their flagship characters. The DCEU can show us heroes, villains, and worlds standing alone and colliding, in a fleshed out cinematic universe for years to come.