One of the mysteries in director Todd Phillips' Joker is whether Arthur Fleck really is the son of Thomas Wayne as his mother Penny Fleck claimed. Both Wayne himself and Alfred Pennyworth said it was untrue and that Penny was delusional, hence her eventual stay in Arkham Asylum.
In Joker, Thomas Wayne (Batman's father) and Penny Fleck (Joker's mother) are key characters. Penny claims that Thomas is actually Arthur's father.
In the Joker, is Arthur's dad really Thomas Wayne? No, he was adopted, and his mother allowed her boyfriend at the time to abuse him physically and maybe sexually. Arthur found this out when he went to get his medical records/birth certificate from Gotham state hospital.
Image via Warner Bros. Key to Arthur's spiral is new information he learns from his mother Penny (Frances Conroy), with whom he lives. Arthur finds a letter Penny has written to Thomas Wayne, claiming that Wayne is Arthur's real father.
As we come to learn, not only was Penny a Wayne employee, but she claims she and Thomas were lovers and that he is Arthur's father. That's right: Batman and Joker are half-brothers, at least according to Penny.
If there is a Joker sequel, then Batman and the Joker's possible brotherhood might be further explored. However, in the wider DC Universe, the Batman and Joker are not brothers and never were. (Image: Warner Bros.)
Penny Fleck was the adoptive mother of Arthur Fleck, a mentally unstable failed comedian who would later call himself the Joker. Much like her son, Penny suffered from an unspecified mental illness.
As he confronted his mother, Harley's allies found her and informed her that they had found Joker's body. Joker Jr. then revealed himself to be Harley's son who she had abandoned as an infant.
In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Harley Quinn reveals she gave birth to Joker's daughter, but gave her up for adoption rather than subject her to a life with Joker as a father. Similarly, Harley becomes a mother to twin children in the Batman: White Knight universe, though with happier results.
On antimatter Earth, Owlman was now Thomas Wayne Jr., the older brother of that reality's Bruce Wayne. In most mainstream DC universes, Batman's genesis occurred when young Bruce Wayne was witness to the murder of his parents, and was inspired to devote his life to fighting crime.
Jeremiah Valeska is a major antagonist in the television series, Gotham. He is the twin brother of the terrorist cult leader, Jerome Valeska, as well as being the arch-nemesis of Bruce Wayne. Jeremiah is the show's equivalent to the Joker, taking over from Jerome, although both of them never took on the Joker alias.
Damian Wayne is the only son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, and the only grandson of Ra's al Ghul. The character was created by Mike W. Barr, and first appeared in Batman: Son of the Demon (1987).
Penelope "Penny" Fleck is the deuteragonist villain of the 2019 psychological thriller film Joker, the first installment of the DC Black film series. She is the adoptive mother of Arthur Fleck, a mentally unstable failed comedian whose lack of success and respect triggers his transformation into the Joker.
In Batman's origin story, Joe Chill is the mugger who murders young Bruce Wayne's parents, Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne. The murder traumatizes Bruce, inspiring his vow to avenge their deaths by fighting crime in Gotham City as the vigilante Batman.
Richard John "Dick" Grayson was Batman's first Robin until Batman fired and dissowned him. After this, Dick went on to become the second incarnation of the Joker.
One of the biggest secrets in the world of DC Comics has been revealed as one of its most iconic characters, an enigmatic villain, gets an official name. In the latest issue of Flashpoint Beyond #5, the Joker's real name has been revealed: Jack Oswald White.
Injustice: Gods Among Us Year 2
Harley reveals to Black Canary that she has a four-year-old daughter named Lucy who is being raised by her sister. After discovering she was pregnant, Harley left the Joker for almost a year to have their baby instead of abortion.
Believe it or not, this tale saw the Clown Prince of Crime himself become pregnant and give birth to a child. The mother of the child? That was none other than DC's famous magical hero Zatanna, who cast a spell on the Joker after he tried to persuade her to start a family with him.
In Countdown Presents The Search for Ray Palmer: Crime Society it is revealed that Earth-3's heroic version of the Joker, the Jokester, is the father of Duela Dent and that her mother was Evelyn Dent, Three-Face (the Earth-3 version of Two-Face).
Nicholas Quinzel married Sharon Quinzel at an unknown age. He fathered two children with her, Harleen and Barry. He was a gambler who constantly got into trouble with the mob and got beaten up for money.
Harley eventually undermined Joshua's confidence and escaped, at which point the Joker demanded that she admit that she was "nothing" without him, or else he would have her killed. She refused, so he ordered the Penguin, Scarecrow, Two-Face, and Bane to attack her.
Arthur Fleck is a failed comedian and party clown struggling with mental illness and a laughing disorder. It's later revealed that he actually is sociopathic and gradually begins to become evil as result of his abusive treatment from the people of Gotham City, leading him to become the vengeful anarchist Joker.
The psychopathology Arthur exhibits is unclear, preventing diagnosis of psychotic disorder or schizophrenia; the unusual combination of symptoms suggests a complex mix of features of certain personality traits, namely psychopathy and narcissism (he meets DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder).
The most common story involves him falling into a tank of chemical waste that bleaches his skin white and turns his hair green and lips bright red; the resulting disfigurement drives him insane. The antithesis of Batman in personality and appearance, the Joker is considered by critics to be his perfect adversary.