Why is the Joker’s name Arthur Fleck in Joker?

Despite not featuring Batman, Joker was a huge success, but it changed a lot of the Clown Prince of Crime’s lore, including his name. The 2019 movie tells the origin story of the iconic DC villain, and while there have been many different origins for the character in the comics, his background has never really been explored in any of the movies.

Joker Follows Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a struggling stand-up comedian who is driven to murder after being bullied. The film is full of mystery and leads audiences to question what is real and what is not, including whether Arthur is Thomas Wayne’s son, which could make him Bruce Wayne’s half-brother. The sequel continued Arthur’s story and through the end of Joker: Folie à Deux, That story reaches its conclusion.

Joker deviated a lot from the source material, and it mostly worked, because the film managed to bring in over 1 billion dollars worldwide despite having a relatively small budget of 60 million dollars. However, one interesting choice made that does not follow the lore is the name of the antagonist in the film. Arthur Fleck is a completely original name when it comes to the Joker, because it was never his given name, an alias or anything else. In a movie full of plot twists, Arthur Fleck’s seemingly random name is one of the biggest head-scratchers, but there’s an explanation behind it.

Who is Arthur Fleck? Everything we know about Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker character

in JokerArthur Fleck worked like a clown, however Has dreams of being a comedian. He lives with his mother, who tells him that he was on earth to make people happy, why Joker: Folie à Deux Turns out it was a lie she told him. Arthur’s life spins out of control during the course of JokerAnd he killed three Wayne Enterprises workers, a co-worker, his mother, and Murray Franklin on live television. Right before he appeared on the Murray Franklin Show, Fleck adopts the Joker moniker and his actions lead to him being seen as a hero to many in Gotham.

Joker: Folie à Deux Sees Arthur Fleck in Arkham Asylum, awaiting trial for his crimes. The figure of Joker: Folie à Deux Includes many who look up to the Joker, including Lee Quinn, who he falls in love with. During the trial, Arthur’s feelings about Joker change, and he confesses to his crimes, essentially confirming that he was never Joker, and it was just a persona he made up.

What is Joker’s real name in the comics?

One of the most intriguing aspects of Joker as a character is that His backstory is never really touched upon. Of course, there are moments in the comics that explain a few things, but most importantly, his whole story is up in the air. Because of this, the Joker’s name is never usually mentioned or even touched upon. It is a mystery as much as he is. In other media, he was named several times, including in the 1989 Batman Film where his real name is Jack Napier.

Arthur Fleck is not even his real name

After the dispute with Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen) when Arthur confronts him about possibly being his father, it is revealed that not only is the billionaire not his father, but Penny Fleck (Frances Conroy) is not even his biological mother. Arthur finds Addition papers show that Penny adopted him as a baby and named him Arthur.

This means that he may have had a different name before he was adopted. However, none of the information given to the audience is 100 percent true, because Arthur is an unreliable narrator, and because Thomas Wayne has motives of his own, he could just as easily be lying and forging adoption papers.

A theory suggests that it is a reference to Ben Affleck

While Joker is packed with DC Easter eggs, the main character’s name might as well be one. Arthur Fleck is an oddly specific last name, and while it may have been pulled out of nowhere by writer/director Todd Phillips, one theory suggests that it’s actually a cheeky reference to Ben Affleck. The character’s name sounds a lot like Affleck when shortened to A. Fleck.

There isn’t much weight behind the theory aside from the fact that Affleck played Batman in the DCEU, but even then, Joker is a standalone movie and sits completely outside that universe. However, it is entirely plausible that Phillips, known for comedies like The hangoverwould make such a joke.

Joker has had many different names

There are so many different versions of the Joker, some of which run alongside each other, viz The Batman The Joker and the DCU will also introduce a new incarnation. Many of them have different names, and that’s if their names are even revealed, whether it’s Joe Kerr, Oberon Sexton, or Melvin White. And although their names are most often Jack or a derivative of Jack, such as Jack Napier or Jack White, they are still different names. This means that there is ultimately no one right answer to what the Joker’s name is, and Arthur fits in Joker is as good as any.

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