Editors’s Note: The following article contains spoilers forJoker: Folie à Deux
Summary
Now thatJoker: Folie à Deuxis officially out in theaters and the movie-going audience can see it, there have been mixed reactions. There have also been some varied approaches to the characters in the film, and it’s quite obvious that the writers and higher-ups in the studio had plans for a potentially expanded universe. Though the critical and box office reactions to what is essentially Joker 2 likely mean any expanded universe is all but dead.
Director Todd Phillips has already said thatJoker: Folie à Deuxwas a difficult project to work on—difficult enough that he’sdone with the franchiseand ready to move on to other stories. The fact that theydidn’t even do test screeningsmight have been a sign that Phillips was ready to just be done. However, if the universe had continued, if one character had birthed a new franchise, it’s pretty clear which one stood out as being interestingly loyal to its comic book beginnings.
Comics Accurate In The Real World
Phillips made some pretty major changes to Arthur Fleck’s Joker and Lee Quinzel’s Harley Quinn. Not the least of which is thatHarley had most of the powerin this film. She was the one who made Arthure fall for her and might have even tricked him into thinking she was pregnant. She set herself up as his only real friend and this transfer of power definitely made both characters a little more realistic than the psychologist who was turned insane simply by talking to the Joker. That has long been Phillips' goal. To put his characters through a more realistic lens.
Joker: Folie à Deux
Starring
Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson, Harry Lawtey, Steve Coogan, Leigh Gill and Zazie Beetz
Todd Phillips and Scott Silver
Directed By
Todd Phillips
MostJoker 2fans thought this new realistic lens likely meant that while the movie had a Harvey Dent, there wasn’t a plot pointwhere the birth of Two-Facecould really be done well. After all, it’s hard to believe that someone having half their face burned or blown off would somehow turned a good guy into a bad one. At least the level of a Batman villain.
However,Joker: Folie à Deuxdoes a pretty good jobof showing exactly how such a thing could happen. And it first shows that Harvey Dent might not be the good man that the audience usually believes the prosecutor’s version of the character is. In this case, the “realistic lens” actually lends itself to showing a Harvey Dent who is talented at what he does, but is driven by more than the desire to “do right.” Harry Lawtey’s version of the man before the tragic accident is doing what his job requires, but he’s also vainglorious and not particularly nice.
Spoilers ahead
The final courtroom scene also tends to be more comic-accurate for Harvey than any other character in the movie. Things start out with there being a rather long back and forth about whether or notThe Joker is two distinct peopleor one person who is simply bad. The defense of Arthur Fleck is in fact, a good person, and The Joker is a villain personality residing in the same brain but is separate and distinct. It’s hardly the first time the “duality of man” has played out in a movie, but it’s especially effective here, considering that Harry Lawtey’s Harvey Dent is on the other side of the argument.
As thetrial comes to a headand Arthur decides to take over the case and be his own lawyer, he also admits that it was, in fact, his does in fact take responsibility for his actions and admit that those actions have, in turn, made other people in Gotham do bad things as well.As he’s going through his monologue, someone sets off a bomb outside the courthouse that injures or kills many of the people inside. Those injured include Dent, who appears to have half his face burnt off.
This is not a shot for shot depiction of how Two-Face is created, but it is very similar to one of the comic book storylines work, in that Harvey is shot in the face with acid during a trial of Sal Maroni. InJoker: Folie à Deux, the audience doesn’t see the final transformation, as it leaves him scarred and on the ground, but the intent is clear.
Could DCU Pick Up New Harvey Dent?
While Phillips has said he is done with the DC Comics universe and there has never been any indication that James Gunn wants to makeJoker: Folie à Deuxan official part of the DCU, it does seem as if a more realistic Two-Face would fit in well with the story of an upcoming movie.The Batman 2has already shown villains like The Penguin and Riddler based on what seems more like the real world.
There is an opportunity to continue the story of theJoker 2character that fans know least about. A brief flashback could show what happened to Harvey Dent and then movedirectly intoBatman 2. While this doesn’t sound like the most likely outcome, it would allow the DCU to avoid losing everything from its Arthur Fleck series.
