Warning! This article contains spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux
Joker: Folie a Deux
is set in 1985, while the first movie was set four years earlier, in 1981, meaning there was plenty of time for Gotham and its inhabitants to change significantly. Joker Takes place in an alternate timeline to any of the others DCU
or DC Elseworlds projects. This not only helps to distinguish the project and separate it from everything else, but it means that the events of the movie can play out naturally without impacting or impacting any other films or characters.
While the first movie introduced the struggling Arthur Fleck against the dark and unsavory backdrop of 1981, it appears that his influence on Gotham as the Joker caused a seismic shift in the community. Not only were people interested because of the sensational true-crime aspect of his story, but a large group of people felt a connection with and a respect for Fleck’s actions, despite the fact that they were openly brutal. So, in the US Four years that passed between Joker And Joker: Folie à DeuxMuch has changed.
The Joker TV movie came out
Arthur Fleck is a superstar
True-crime stories are incredibly popular. Whether it’s because of the sensational aspect, or the intrigue in learning a fractured or violent mind, people can’t get enough of these stories. As a result, high profile crimes and many serial killers end up with their stories repeated over and over on television, film and other settings like radio and podcasts. And when Arthur Fleck’s crimes played live on national televisionIt may have horrified many people watching at home, but it also generated intrigue around the character who did the violent deeds.
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The history of Fleck’s crimes was impossible to hide from, and many people have already witnessed the resulting consequences of his outburst. So, when a film came out with an explanation behind Fleck’s mental state, and diving into the murders that happened before he was featured live on-air, people were intrigued. This TV movie was one of the things that got people like Lee Quinzel interested in the Joker’s storyAnd causes you to pursue Fleck more aggressively.
The day the laugher died was published
A movie, a book, and now a national broadcast trial
And if capitalizing off of Fleck’s weak mind is not clear enough by the appearance of a TV movie, a book has also been published that dives into the death of Murray Franklin, and the state of Arthur Fleck, who killed him. The book may be released closer to the time of Joker: Folie à DeuxLike one of these Guards can be seen asking Fleck to sign his copy of the bookWhich makes it like it came out just a short time before the events.
There is very little detail about how and what the book explores, as only the cover and a blank inside page are shown, but presumably, it Explores the rise and fall of Murray FranklinAnd the tragic death of the man when the mentally unstable Arthur Fleck appeared on his show. It appears that in the case of the film and in the book, Fleck was not consulted or spoken to, which suggests that both pieces are primarily speculative, and relied on other sources for information to confirm their stories.
The Joker cult grew
Joker’s popularity was at an all-time high
Regardless of who told Arthur’s story while he was locked up, his disciples outside of prison grew to love and idolize him more and more. at the end of JokerRegions break out, and People can be seen cheering Arthur onBut the fact shown in Joker: Folie à Deux Is that this was just the beginning. Crowds gather outside the secure facility where Arthur is locked up, and even larger crowds gather at his trial. Many of the people in attendance hold signs demanding the Joker’s release, but beyond that, they treat Fleck as some kind of religious leader.
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This cult-like devotion to the Joker sees other people in Gotham begin to act in anti-social ways, committing crimes and trying to do things they would imagine the Joker would do too. From looting in the streets, to literal car bombs, the people try to emulate their hero and his arbiters of the same chaos he created in Joker. Until then Joker: Folie à Deux Coming to its natural conclusion, the depth and breadth of these people’s devotion is made clear, because they willingly break the law in order to be more than the Joker.
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