JOKER (DC Black Label)

* *This is a clone page, created for the DC Extended Universe wiki site. For a primary page from the DC Elseworlds site, see: JOKER.*

**JOKER** is an American neo-noir psychological thriller film based on the DC character of the same name. It is the first installment of the DC Elseworlds/Black Label, as well as part of the Batman Cinematic Multiverse. The film is directed by Todd Phillips and written by both Phillips and Scott Silver.

## Plot

A clown and aspiring stand-up comedian named Arthur Fleck lives with his mother, Penny, in crime-ridden Gotham City during the early 1980s recession. Arthur suffers from a neurological disorder that causes him to have random, uncontrollable laughing fits, requiring medication, for which he depends on social services to obtain. After Arthur is attacked by street urchins, his co-worker Randall gives him a revolver for self-defense. Arthur pursues a relationship with his neighbor, single mother Sophie, and invites her to see his routine at a comedy club.

Arthur is fired from his job at a children's hospital when he accidentally exposes the gun despite his explanation that it was given to him by Randall, who denies this. While riding home on the subway still wearing his clown makeup, Arthur is mocked and beaten by drunk businessmen from Wayne Investments; he fatally shoots two of them in self-defense and murders the third as he attempts to flee. The killings are condemned by their employer, billionaire mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne, but protesters begin donning clown masks in Arthur's image. Budget cuts shut down the social service program, leaving Arthur without his medication.

Sophie attends Arthur's stand-up routine, which goes poorly; he laughs uncontrollably, and his jokes fall flat. Arthur intercepts a letter from Penny to Thomas, alleging that he is Thomas's illegitimate son, and berates his mother for hiding the truth. He goes to Wayne Manor, where he meets Thomas's young son Bruce, but flees after a scuffle with family butler Alfred Pennyworth. Penny suffers a stroke and is hospitalized. Arthur's idol, popular late-night talk show host Murray Franklin, presents clips of Arthur's failed performance on his show and mockingly calls him a “joker”.

Arthur confronts Thomas at a film theater. Thomas tells him that he is not his father, and Penny is not his biological mother. In denial, Arthur visits Arkham State Hospital and steals Penny's file, which states she was a narcissist who adopted Arthur while working as a housekeeper for the Waynes in the 1950s. Penny then raised Arthur with her abusive boyfriend, who later died in jail. Penny was sent to Arkham for allowing the abuse. Distraught, Arthur enters Sophie's apartment unannounced. Frightened, Sophie asks him to leave, revealing their relationship to be a figment of Arthur's imagination. The following day, Arthur smothers Penny to death at the hospital.

After his stand-up clips go viral, Arthur is invited to appear on Murray's show. He subsequently plans suicide during the broadcast. While crafting a clown-inspired persona, he is visited by Randall and another ex-colleague, Gary. Arthur kills Randall, but spares Gary for his kindness to him in the past. Two detectives investigating Arthur's involvement in the murders of the businessmen pursue him onto a subway filled with clown protesters. One detective accidentally shoots and kills a protester, thus inciting a riot, while Arthur escapes.

Before the show goes live, Arthur asks Murray to introduce him as “Joker”, a reference to his earlier mockery. Arthur behaves lewdly, tells morbid jokes, confesses to the subway murders, rants about how society abandons the downtrodden and mentally ill, and berates Murray for ridiculing him. After one more morbid joke, Arthur fatally shoots him on air. He is arrested, and riots erupt across the city. One of the rioters corners the Wayne family in an alley and murders Thomas and his wife, sparing Bruce. Rioters in an ambulance crash into the police car carrying Arthur, freeing him; he stands atop the car, starts to dance to the cheers of the crowd, and smears blood on his face into the shape of a smile.

At Arkham, Arthur laughs to himself about a joke while with a therapist, but declines to tell it, claiming she would not understand it. He leaves behind a trail of bloodied shoe prints as he is chased down a corridor by an orderly.

## Cast

* **Arthur Fleck** (portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix) – A mentally ill, impoverished party clown and stand-up comedian disregarded by society, whose history of abuse causes him to become a nihilistic criminal with a clown-inspired persona.
* **Murray Franklin** (portrayed by Robert De Niro) – A talk show host who plays a role in Arthur's downfall.
* **Sophie Dumond** (portrayed by Zazie Beetz) - A cynical single mother and Arthur's “love interest”.
* **Penny Fleck** (portrayed by Frances Conroy) – Arthur's mentally and physically ill mother, who formerly worked for Thomas Wayne.
	+ Hannah Gross as young Penny.
* **Thomas Wayne** (portrayed by Brett Cullen) – A billionaire running for mayor of Gotham.
* **Alfred Pennyworth** (portrayed by Douglas Hodge) – The butler and caretaker of the Wayne family.
* **Bruce Wayne** (portrayed by Dante Pereira-Olson) – Thomas' son, who becomes the Joker's archenemy called “Batman” as an adult.