Heard that a script for a follow-up to Joker is already complete, which almost certainly isn’t good news. The Joaquin Phoenix tour de force captured the flashpoint of so much unrest and should have left us all alarmed by the true power of the fully-realized demagogue. Similar to its inspiration by Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, my idea for an Owlman film or mini-series would be reminiscent of Oldboy, which always struck me as a superhero origin story, too. I know DC has done all sorts of variations on the Batman mythos, Bruce, Thomas, Thomas Jr., etc., and even made Alfred the killer, but this time the faithful butler could become Owlman, failing to protect the family. At least we wouldn’t need to explain the years of training, with his military background. I’m just uncertain what might spur such a vicious search for vengeance and how to twist it in a fucked-up enough way to leave him the nihilist who’d be welcomed into the ranks by the cameo appearance of Ultraman and Superwoman at the end. One thing for sure, I want his world to be the morally corrupt one in Morrison’s Earth 2 where the default outcome isn’t good. Maybe America in its death throes, ripped from the headlines: Commissioner Gordon won’t risk police injury to prevent the Wayne slaughter. Children like Bruce and brother Tommy sacrificed in the name of gun worship. And the fruit fly’s half-life attention span of the typical NIMBY/fuck-you-I-got-mine Gotham City resident who forgets about it a week later.
Update: I think I got something, at least an idea that hasn’t been done yet in the many Korean revenge movies I’ve seen, and that’s to have Alfred be Bruce’s real father, not by way of a predictable affair with Martha, but as a donor for his good friend Thomas—who was his lover instead? Or a ménage à trois? Hmm, seems like it’d be hard secret to live with for even their short time together, and while the angry vigilantism could very well result as a response (after all, Batman’s did), give me a bit longer to work out how it all gets fucked up for him by the end.
Update update: Bruce secretly survives, but becomes Owlman’s Joker.
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