Captain Defenestrator

28th Jan 2016

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: My question is regarding the first shot of the film. You see the back of a henchman holding a clown mask with a suitcase. Later you realize that this is the Joker, however he is in full make up. So does this mean he was standing out in broad daylight without a disguise on at the very beginning?

Answer: Yes. No reason not to. Nothing's happened yet and people in a big city like Gotham would just walk past the guy with the weird makeup and not think anything of it. (And since they wear masks in the holdup, nobody's going to think that the guy in the mask is in weird makeup under it).

Captain Defenestrator

Batman was shown a joker card in an evidence bag at the end of Batman Begins so would not at least some of the police be looking for him?

Bane91

This doesn't mean that the general public is on the lookout for a guy in makeup.

Captain Defenestrator

12th Nov 2015

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: When the bank robber has his gun on the Joker, how does the Joker know that the bus will come in time and hit him?

Answer: The Joker has planned the robbery to the last detail and has a talent for knowing how people will react in certain situations, so he was able to position himself so the other robber would be standing in the path of the bus.

Captain Defenestrator

25th Jun 2014

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: Seeing how most of Christopher Nolan's movies are filled with symbolism, themes, and deeper meanings, what exactly was Nolan trying to say with the brief introduction of the copy-cat Batmen? I ask because it would seem to contradict the recurring theme of "Anyone can be Batman", but I doubt Nolan would include something like that without having a reason that goes beyond simple plot reasons.

Answer: Batman has inspired others to take up the cause of vigilantism, but they're taking it to an extreme and crossing lines that he never would.

Captain Defenestrator

7th Jan 2009

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: Is the Joker supposed to have a high tolerance for pain/injury or something? Some examples: 1)Batman slams his head down hard on a table, violently punches his fingers, slams his head/face into the glass, and then punches him in the face during the interrogation scene, and the Joker simply laughs it off, and doesn't seem to have any broken fingers nor a concussion. 2) When Batman causes the truck to flip over, the Joker walks away without any visible injuries and although he stumbles and falls once, he seems to be perfectly fine. 3) Batman slices him in the face with his zipline, throws him off the building and then yanks him up. Again, no injury (at least a broken ankle?). Does the Joker simply not care about feeling pain, or perhaps even enjoys it due to his insanity? Do the comics ever touch upon this? Because in "The Dark Knight" he's able to withstand some serious physical punishment, the extent of which not many people would be able to.

Answer: In the comics, the Joker has an almost supernatural ability to survive things that would kill anyone else. Whether it's because of his insanity, the best luck in the world, or both, yes he has a high tolerance for pain.

Captain Defenestrator

2nd Jan 2009

The Dark Knight (2008)

Question: Quite at the end of the movie, as Gordon and his men are on top of the building opposite the Prewitt building, Batman talks to him and tells him to wait a few minutes. Then Gordon says that he won't wait because the people on the ferries will blow each other up. But why does he know? The Joker just told the people on the ferries. Batman knew as well because he could hear everything going on on the ferries, but he didn't tell Gordon. So from who does he learn this?

Answer: Someone with a cell phone on one of the ferries might have been able to call out, or The Joker could have broadcast his message on the Police Band as well. Likely the latter, since he likes an audience. Then again no reason Batman couldn't have informed Gordon offscreen.

Captain Defenestrator

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.