The Batman (2022) Theories: The Waynes and the Falcones "You're part of this too" - Wayne Murder Conspiracy?
I. Introduction
There already have been some great theories made. Plenty have pointed out the connection to Se7en and the solution to the Riddler's cipher. One I'd like to shout out specifically is u/xxXKurtMuscleXxx AKA @BigBatTheory on Twitter who's made a compelling case for the Joker appearing based on uncredited writer Mattson Tomlin having worked on the film (and by the way is now writing Batman: The Imposter for Black Label). He also pointed out a connection to the Silence of the Lambs and the true answer to the deciphered riddle in the trailer. I highly recommend checking his two posts out.
I'll do my best to add to those and not just repeat them. With that, the focus of this post will mainly be about a line from last year's trailer: "You're part of this too", the implications it has on the Wayne Family's relationship with the corruption in Gotham, then building off of that.
This post will be divided into the following sections, feel free to read one at a time:
- Introduction (this)
- Who are the Waynes?
- The Waynes and the Falcones
- Conspiracy Behind the Wayne Murders
- Will the Batman give into Vengeance?
- Sequel Theory
- Conclusion
Disclaimer: This is all just my speculation, predictions and theories which I share for discussion. These aren't leaks or confirmed spoilers and I do not claim to have any inside connections of the sort.
II. Who are the Waynes?
Thomas and Martha Wayne.
The richest couple in Gotham. Often themselves heirs to two of the oldest and richest families in Gotham.
But who were they?
Knowing who they are is important to my theories and understanding how Bruce, Batman, is the way who he is.
Usually, the Waynes were some of the best people in Gotham. People saw them like saints. Professionally, Thomas was a doctor and Martha was a philanthropist and they are essential in shaping who Bruce Wayne is.
As Bruce, they inspired him to create the Wayne Foundation , the non-profit charity organization distinct from Wayne Enterprises which mainly consists of :
- Thomas Wayne Foundation - the foundation for medicine
- Funds free clinics throughout Gotham such as the Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic run by Leslie Thompkins
- Provides medical aid and healthcare
- Awards breakthroughs in medicine
- Has funded, rebuilt and renovated Arkham Asylum more than once
- Martha Wayne Foundation - the foundation for arts, family and education
- Funds and sponsors soup kitchens, orphanages and free schools throughout the city
- Provides grants for artists
But they are also significantly crucial for how Batman is who he is.
Martha
In the best incarnations of Batman, compassion is always present even when his more negative aspects are there. It's the true reason why he adopted his adoptive sons, no he didn't want or even create Robin (but anyway that's another topic). It's why he gives comfort to Ace in JLU (Epilogue) or the orphan taken to crime in War on Crime. It's why he personally backs Arkham and actively attempts to reform villains, succeeding with Clayface in Detective Comics Rebirth and Bookworm in Gotham Academy for example. It's why he gave the Joker a chance in the Killing Joke.
War on Crime
Justice League Unlimited Episode "Epilogue" (S2 Finale)
The Killing Joke
Thomas
One of the most notable aspects of modern Batman's character, which is critical for many of his greatest stories in comics, animation and games is his "No-Kill Rule". It's unfortunately one most live-action iterations often forgo and is one constantly debated and misunderstood by critics in and out of universe as well. Through Thomas, we understand why he has this rule and how it actually works.
Ed Brubaker's Batman #604
It's not just about "not killing". It's about valuing the sanctity of all life. That includes everyone, even criminals and monsters like the Joker. That's why he generally won't even allow himself to kill in self-defense or cause death indirectly. His anger and thirst for justice and vengeance often leads him to do very violent things, but he cannot bring himself to end a life and he's compelled to even save the lives of these criminals. Even Batman Begins' "I don't have to save you" version of the rule is a departure from this and the Nolan films so far the only ones that really emphasized its importance as part of their stories.
Thomas displays this morality in many stories, including Pre-Crisis with the mobster Lew Moxon (more on him later), who he saved from a bullet before turning him over to the police. In this story he was even wearing a prototype batsuit. More on this kind of situation later.
This, his compassion and the fact that he lost the two people who taught them these things right in front of him are why he's morally like this. A great story that supports this and delves into Bruce's character and psychology deeply is Batman: Ego, which Matt Reeves cited as inspiration for this film, as "Fear" confirms the reason for his no-killing rule.
This is not something he learns from killing or nearly killing someone, it's written in his conscience from idolizing his father. It's there with Batman from the start whether consciously or subconsciously.
However the question remains then.
Could be Waynes were just as corrupt as anyone in Gotham?
From politicians, to police, to the mob and of course the upper class, Gotham City is filled with people complicit in crime and corruption. What if the Waynes weren't the saints people saw them as?
What if they were part of it too?
There are three pre-existing scenarios that played with this:
- In Grant Morrison's Batman run, specifically Black Glove, RIP and Return of Bruce Wayne, Simon Hurt created a false conspiracy that Thomas instigated the murders, that Alfred had an affair with Martha and even impersonated Thomas himself. This was an attempt by Hurt to destroy Batman. He failed or course.
- In The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, two books that the film are confirmed to be inspired by also, they do have connections to the mob, but are not directly complicit in crime. More on this later.
- In Batman Telltale, which actually has many similarities to the film, they are corrupt and evil (or at least Thomas was), more on this later.
Now, what do the last two have in common?
The Falcones
III. The Waynes and Falcones
The Falcone Crime Family, AKA the Roman Empire, is the largest and most powerful crime family in Gotham. By Bruce's time, it's headed by Carmine "the Roman" Falcone. In The Batman, Falcone seems to be a major character, played by John Turturro.
First let's look at The Long Halloween and Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. The books follow up his story from Year One, where he was first introduced by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. Year One definitely has influence on this film as well, directly or indirectly, with its much more grounded and gritty tone. As I and others discussed in u/yung215's post, it is different from the Nolan films.
As I mentioned earlier, originally Thomas saved the life of mobster Lew Moxon. That was Pre-Crisis. Post-Crisis in Long Halloween, Carmine's father brought his son to Wayne Manor and Thomas saved his life despite knowing who they were. Bruce actually witnessed this too, in awe of seeing his father at work.
He saved Carmine's life.
Alfred notes that Thomas would've saved anyone who showed up in his door regardless, but in the end it was Carmine and so the connection with the Waynes and Falcones are formed. Carmine would even tell Bruce his father was more than just a friend. Carmine was even there at their funeral, though Bruce immediately saw him as evil (that's in Dark Victory, the sequel).
This played a huge role in the present story involving a trial where Harvey as DA believes he is complicit with Falcone. Even Alfred was there. Dent even asks why Thomas never reported on Luigi and Carmine Falcone.
Speaking of, more on the Wayne murders later.
Saving the Roman's life, not trying hard enough to take him down if at all despite his wealth and influence, this in my opinion is more than enough for the Riddler to target the Waynes and claim they're part of this.
But what about Telltale?
The Telltale games' story was actually really good, but as an Elseworlds one. Still, they did good with what they wanted to do, and that's explore the idea that Thomas Wayne was 100% corrupt. Evil even. Falcone himself said he's the real gangster of Gotham. He worked with Falcone and the corrupt Mayor Hill, but his business extended beyond them. He sends their political opponents to Arkham and use drugs to turn patients at Arkham insane, including Oswald Cobblepot's mother so that he could take their land. This was especially terrible since Bruce and Oz were childhood friends here.
Do note: the Penguin according to Collin Farrell only has around 10 minutes of screen time so it's unlikely they'll get into that, unless he's the main villain of the next film. It is hinted that Bruce calls him "Oz" here too.
He also legalized many of their illegal operations, worked with arms dealers, had Lady Arkham's parent's killed etc.
The Riddler himself could also be a child of someone unjustly put into Arkham and this is his way of revenge, if they want to go that route. Or perhaps he has an accomplice who was.
This truth is a huge part of the Telltale story. It lead Bruce to doubt why he's been doing this in the first place in a very emotional scene with Alfred.
So what will The Batman go with?
With Batman: Ego also being an important inspiration, I do believe that Thomas and Martha's impact on Bruce and Batman will be a large focus, and shattering his image of who he was. Either is possible of course but I think it's likely Matt Reeves will go for somewhere in between. Making the Waynes too innocent or too guilty lacks originality as we see here, and finding that gray area adds more nuance too. He may also take inspiration from the whole false conspiracy thing with Simon Hurt.
Overall, the Waynes' influence on Bruce's morality and identity, and their connection to the Falcones, will likely be the key for the film's story.
But that's not all. One more thing I'd like to discuss and theorize on...
IV. Conspiracy Behind the Wayne Murders?
This section's a bit less supported by evidence and is definitely more theory/speculation on my part, which is the point of this post anyway.
Building on what I just covered, I think it's reasonable that
- Joe Chill was never caught or even identified.
- Bruce might come to believe that their deaths were not random.
Why the first one?
This was the case in Post-Zero Hour and in TLH as Alfred stated. Joe Chill was never identified or caught so Batman's war on crime becomes a personal crusade of vengeance on all criminals. This is perfect for showing how damaged, violent and broken this Bruce is and how he basically projects the killer of his parents on every criminal he fights.
The Nolan films in contrast had Joe Chill was caught on the same night. Begins even went as far as having Chill killed even before becoming Batman and so Bruce's war on crime becomes a crusade primarily made to live up to his parents. Their killer was already brought to justice, and his death did not take away that pain. Post-Infinite Crisis and Post-Flashpoint have similar origins to this.
The Batman's Bruce does not have that.
So vengeance becomes a strong motivation that drives what kind of Batman he is.
But what happens when Bruce finally has a specific person or people to aim that rage and vengeance on?
Let's go back to Lew Moxon, the mobster Thomas saved and put in prison in Pre-Crisis. For revenge, he hired Joe Chill to murder the Waynes. He didn't turn Falcone in to the police in The Long Halloween and the same could be true here, but there may be other reasons Falcone would've wanted him dead later on.
In Telltale, Bruce suspected Falcone was responsible for the hit but it was later revealed to have been done by Mayor Hill, the other third of the Gotham triumvirate who partnered in ruling Gotham. Martha apparently threatened to leave Thomas if he didn't end the partnership so he did and that lead to their deaths.
It's highly likely that the Riddler would plant this idea in Bruce's mind, that either Falcone or someone else had the Waynes murdered to manipulate him in hopes of him either joining his cause or killing that person for revenge and also to fix Thomas' "mistake" of saving his life.
So will the Waynes actually have been murdered by a conspiracy?
If yes, I still think Bruce will not give in to the temptation to kill. Like in Ego, he'll realize that the good his parents taught him are the way to make a better Batman, defying Riddler and defining the difference between them and resolving to do better than his parents, whose connections and faults in Gotham's state (whatever they may be) caused their deaths in the first place.
If not, Bruce may solve the mystery with his detective skills. Or perhaps he won't, but discovering the person did not do it after all, even if they planned to, which is something both Court of Owls and Batman Earth One did too. The latter is another series suspected to have inspired the film and on reread I can definitely see tons of similarities in all three volumes.
He could also meet Joe Chill himself and come to understand if he was just a random crook, a poor criminal mugging a rich couple. If the conspiracy is true then that would shift his focus on the ultimate perpetrator, in this case maybe Falcone. Either way, confronting that desire for vengeance, and realizing that he needs to let it go to become a better Batman is the likely outcome.
The Batman needs to be more than just a symbol for vengeance.
This is something Batman: Ego deals with heavily as well.
But what if he does give into vengeance?
V. Will the Batman give into Vengeance?
So what's my argument for him not killing Falcone?
Firstly, Carmine was the man who he witnessed his father saved the life of, potentially instilling that value for life that resulted in his "no killing" rule. Killing him isn't just a violation of that rule, it's ultimate rejection of his father and the good he taught him. It would be killing the part of himself that was still the authentic Bruce Wayne (not the playboy persona), which makes Batman something more than just a vigilante.
But if Thomas was corrupt, then shouldn't he reject his father?
Yes he should reject his sins, but not the good he did. Alfred will likely play a large role in encouraging Bruce to become the man Thomas was supposed to be.
More importantly though, I think the key for why Bruce won't kill Falcone is Selina Kyle, Catwoman. In Dark Victory, it's revealed that she's in fact the daughter of Carmine Falcone. This is probably "too obvious" sure, and I know there are theories she's his mistress instead, or both as u/xxXKurtMuscleXxx theorized based on Chinatown being a film brought up by Matt Reeves.
But let's just say she is his daughter, possibly one he abandoned and someone who'll have to discover that herself, but her daughter nonetheless.
Think of it this way:
Would Batman take the life of someone's father away from them?
No. Bruce Wayne became Batman so no other child ever has to go through the same pain he did. That is the ultimate and more heroic motive, which Bruce here might realize is what he needs to build Batman on. If Bruce and Selina's relationship is explored this may be more important then we realize as well. His compassion and connection to her may help prevent his murder of Falcone. Further, them being the son and daughter of Thomas and Carmine adds an even stronger connection between them too.
Batman Earth One volume 2
And yes this is similar to the Martha scene from BvS, but, no offense to fans of BvS, I'd argue this is better. If Bruce hasn't killed anyone yet there's more impact here. The one responsible for his parents' deaths that he didn't know about all this time is also a better reason. Also, the fact that the person he might kill is the father and not the son/daughter makes that parallel even clearer.
Ultimately, if Matt Reeves is aiming to give his Batman an arc to transform from the early days as seen in Ego to his more heroic and less vengeful self, narratively I do not think he would get Batman to lose and give into murder. He'll come incredibly close, but he won't fall in.
VI. Sequel - "The Batman and Robin"
Matt Reeves has gone on to confirm potential for a trilogy. I think it'll likely involve a Robin. Hopefully Dick Grayson though I can see him skipping and/or combining Robins. One reason to believe this is that the sequel to The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, features a post-crisis origin of Richard Grayson as Robin.
This is perfect for a sequel to The Batman.
Here is another child who has lost his parents to crime. Bruce basically just failed that one true motive for being Batman with this child, and now he might end up just like him.
From Young Justice S01E22: "Agendas"
Generally Bruce succeeds in saving Dick and redeeming himself. This is exactly why Richard Grayson is who he is today, something he's said more than once. In most continuities he works to get Zucco to justice almost immediately, with Dick helping against his orders. He taught him about justice and both he and Alfred were there for him in his youth. Nightwing isn't consumed by vengeance and darkness because of Batman, not despite of him.
But it also goes both ways.
It's Robin's presence that changes Batman for the better. At least for a while. In Grant Morrison's Batman #682 that's even the explanation for how a young and gritty Batman would become the Silver Age classic Batman.
"It was as if color had come to our monochrome lives."
Batman smiling
What better way to redeem the Dynamic Duo in film and that title by pulling a Suicide Squad and adding "The" /s. But seriously, an adaptation of this concept would be perfect for the sequel. The Batman would not give in to murder but vengeance would still take hold of his heart. Teaching someone else often lets you learn more too, and that's perfect for continuing Bruce's arc. He probably won't transform into Adam West Batman by the end but he'd be more stoic than rage-filled, occasionally feeling happiness even.
There's also the fact that Dick Grayson has a connection to the Court of Owls, and that could come into play instead of the Hangman Killer and Two Face to but I digress.
VII. Conclusion
Well, that's all. I'm looking forward to Fandome 2021 and the film eventually releasing next year. I'm just hoping the pandemic's not as bad so I can see it in theaters but either way I'm hyped.
I did have another idea I couldn't squeeze into here. There's a mysterious new character "Bella Reál" running for mayor. I suspect she's similar to Jessica Dent in Batman Earth One, and may take Harvey's role in TLH and Telltale. Or maybe she's complicit with the Riddler and is similar to Vicki Vale in Telltale. Huh never mind I guess that about sums that up.
Matt Reeves has displayed a great love, respect and understanding of the character and world of Batman. This film could definitely be the best live-action Batman film.
Thanks for reading.
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