The Dark Knight Manual, a new book detailing everything since Bruce’s inception of Batman in Nolanverse, is the center of attention now bringing with it some ideas as to who the Joker really is and reigniting some good old Robin rumors. Now before we get started let me remind you that Nolan has stated over and over that Robin will NOT be in The Dark Knight Rises…but he never said anything about Dick Grayson being in film. This is all pure speculation, but before we get into the would be Boy Wonder, let’s talk about everyones favorite psychotic clown.
In the manual, a GPD (Gotham Police Department) report that was made after the arrest of the Joker at the end of The Dark Knight gives some interesting theories about Agent of Chaos’ identity but still noting that they are no closer than they originally were into drawing a assertive conclusion. But here is what the boys in blue have come up with so far:
1) The Joker is a former patient of Arkham.
This theory comes from the relation of a number his henchmen, as some of them have a history with the asylum. But this may be a dead end as there have been no records of him being there.
2) The Joker is a former soldier, maybe suffering from PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder).
This theory comes from Joker’s access and seemingly familiarity with military grade tech such as automatic weapons and explosives. The motive of “anarchy” adds fule to the fire, the manual states: “The Joker has murdered or attempted to murder various civic officials. It is possible that he is an extremist anti-government agitator or a soldier angry with the government for sending him to war.” Also remember what the Joker’s henchmen said about the war paint bit.
3) The Joker was a former member of Haley Brothers Circus (more on this in a second).
The reason behind this theory is because of the clown makeup: “One possible motive for this, which could also explain the clown motif, is the Haley Brothers Circus. The circus was recently in town for a two-month engagement and it was rumored their boss had connections to Sal Maroni. The Joker could be a former Haley Brothers employee with some kind of grudge against the mob.” This one is my least favorite as this could easily be coincidence and besides it was all a part of the plan, right?
This is where the John Blake/Robin rumors come back into play. The Haley Circus is a throwback to the Flying Graysons, and since the circus was in town no pun intended, this makes them canon in Nolanverse. The manual also goes on record to say that *SPOILER* is in fact an orphan who “channeled his anger and pain … into his work serving and protecting the people of Gotham.” Sound familiar? And this makes it all possible for Dick to be in Rises. Remember I say Dick NOT Robin.
Dick Grayson in the comics did work for the police, and under different alias’ so it wouldn’t be a stretch for another one of Nolan’s characters to be working under a different name. So does this mean that John Blake is in fact Dick Grayson? More than likely no. Do I believe that he will be in the film? No, but we won’t know definitively until July 20th.
Source: IGN