I Re-Watched Tim Burton's Batman For The First Time In Years, And I Have A Major Problem With Joker's Plan

As much as I enjoy reading news about upcoming DC movies, sometimes it’s nice to revisit the classics. That’s what I did recently when I showed someone Tim Burton’s first Batman movie who’d never seen it before. While there are certain moments I will occasionally watch on YouTube every now and then, this was the first time I’d watched the movie from start to finish in many years. (I was also motivated to do this after having read Batman: Resurrection, which takes place after this movie and features a unique version of Clayface.) While I still found 1989’s Batman to be an enjoyable viewing experience overall, there’s one aspect of The Joker’s plan that really got on my nerves this time around.

Joker’s Smylex Plan Starts Off Reasonably Strong

The combination of falling into the vat of chemicals and the back alley surgery that ended with his face twisted into a permanent smile eradicated whatever sanity Jack Napier has left, and he wasted no time leaning into his new Joker persona. Jack Nicholson’s character quickly got himself a purple-heavy wardrobe and assembled a collection of kooky weaponry, like an electric hand buzzer and acid-squirting flower. He even got a spring-loaded boxing glove to shoot at his TV. Why? It doesn’t matter, because that moment gifted us the line, “This town needs an enema!”

It’s only when the Clown Prince of Crime started dispersing Smylex that his ultimate goal started becoming clear. With the right combination of cosmetics, makeup, toiletries and more tainted with this poison. Victims would be sent into a laughing fit for a few moments, then die with a grin plastered on his face. This was demonstrated on live TV when news anchor Becky Nartia died just that kind of horrible death in the middle of a broadcast. Adding insult to injury, Joker hijacked the airwaves mere moments later to officially tout Smylex, the perfect counter to Brand X, in a twisted, yet absolutely hilarious “commercial.” So far, so good, this is just the kind of thing Joker would do in the comics.

Why Did Anybody Attend Joker’s Parade?

But then it falls apart for me once Joker’s parade comes into the picture. Donning the same makeup he used to look relatively normal, Joker once again went on TV to claim that while he might be a little “rough,” he wasn’t a killer. He then announced he would give away $2 million at his own parade to replace the official one that had been planned for Gotham City’s bicentennial. People turn out in droves, Joker and his goons toss money into the crowd as Prince music, and then Smylex gas is sprayed from the gallons and killing untold amounts of people until Batman swoops in on his Batwing to take the balloons away.

Here’s my question: why did anybody show up to the parade? Yes, I get free money is enticing, but the man offering it was someone who went on TV and freely confessed to killing people with his ghoulish poison. Did they really think they could just show up, grab as much money as they could and nothing bad would happen? Joker might as well have shouted from the rooftops, “Come to this and you’re going to die!”

Also, his second TV broadcast is baffling to me. I’ll say again, Joker literally advertised that he was poisoning products with Smylex, so for him to try to suddenly deny he’s a mass murder is a bizarre move, though not as bizarre as all the people who suddenly believed him or were willing to risk their lives for free money. Plus, even though Jack Napier kept a relatively low profile in his pre-Joker days, if his boss Carl Grissom was so well known around Gotham, I have to imagine that were a handful of people who’d at least heard of the man and would start warning others about him.

Feel free to break out your Max subscription to rewatch Batman and see if you agree with me or decide I’m making too much out of this. But I’ve said my piece, so now I need to carve out some time to rewatch Batman Returns and see if my feelings have changed about that movie.