Gotham The Wayne's murder: intentional or happenstance?

Johns actually

Spoiler

has it planned as a murder, but accidentally thwarted by a power outage. They are the coincidentally shot by Joe Chill anyway.

 

In the trailer you can't see the killer's face.Are they going to pull a Jack Napier with this show?

 

That's my suspicion. If it was Chill they would have just cast someone now. But hiding the face suggest they are holding out for Napier. I hope not

 

On a particular level I don't care how this series treats The Joker as long as it works for the masses and it's a hit, but the Jack Napier route seems pretty boring. It's just been so done when there are so many more interesting ways to go about it that were introduced in the last 38 years.

 

Hasn't it only been done like...once?

 

Random crime vs. organized crime in Batman, especially the death of the Waynes, kind of puzzles me. Like, is a random killer scarier than a killer that's part of a conspiracy, even a small one? To a degree, it is hard to see if Bruce would really care after a while. I once tried writing a story where Bruce says this:

"When I was a teenager, I tried to find out if Joe Chill was working for Lew Moxon or someone else. That it had been planned. Eventually I realizing I didn't want it to be a conspiracy or someone else's fault. I wanted it to be okay. And I knew it never would be."

 

I'm not sure "scary" is the point, but I definitely think it's more effective, and I certainly disagree with your assessment of how Bruce, or anyone, would feel about it. The murder being a random act of violence doesn't make it okay. The killer being part of a conspiracy is a much more comforting thought. It means that there is an identifiable cause, that there is potentially a simple solution, and that there is someone he can blame. If it was just a random act of violence then it isn't really anyone's fault. It didn't happen because there's some shadowy cabal who runs the world and might one day be thwarted. It happened because the world is rudderless.

People believe in conspiracy theories because they're a much more comforting notion than the thought that bad things just happen because the world sucks.

 

This reminds me of something that Alan Moore had said and I agree with both you and him.

 

Ok, so i have been watching Gotham, it's really good.(Cant wait for it to come out on Dvd/Blu-Ray)

I have this crazy theory though, what if the Wayne killer is in fact:

Spoiler

The Mayor, played by Richard Kind.(Paul from Spin City) Take a look at the killers masked face, his eyes looks like the guy who plays the Mayor IMO.

My brother thought that it was a nutty theory. He said: "Why would the mayor gun down the Waynes? And even if its because he's corrupt, why would he do it himself? Surely everyone in Gotham knows what the mayor looks like!?"

Lets think about this for a second, first: the killer is wearing a mask, so he could be anyone, but he probably has an identity to protect. Second: He does the job himself because he doesnt want any hired help to implicate him later. And third and most importantly: I think his eyes and general build resemble Richard Kind, the mayor. Besides that, i think there is more to the mayor than meets the eye. So far he's been portrayed as a corrupt, spineless, buffoon. Obviously, he's played by Paul from Spin City!

My speculation is that it could all be revealed in a twist(season finale?)that the mayor did it. Gordon finds out but is powerless against the mayor, who by then have revealed himself to be a cold blooded killer, not a weak buffoon. Hmm, or maybe Falcone takes out the mayor? As a favor to Gordon.(and Gotham)

Edit: I wrapped my theory in spoiler tags, just in case. Sure, its probably unlikely to be true, but what the hey?

 

a mugging gone bad honestly makes NO sense.... NONE at all... Why would the be walking down a "bad alley" why would the go into a desolated alley? People as intelligent as bruce wayne would know how to take care of his FAMILY.

If it was a robbery he would have had a psychological way of dealing with it... a robbery gone bad is not really plausible when they are known to be good people, the robber would steal and be gone.

Having it being a hit makes more sense because now... No one is safe... from anywhere, anyone can be hit and Bruce has the PERFECT motivation to make the city safe again.

Bruce not only fights petty crime, he fights big crime, deep and hidden crime. Kind of crime that would take years of investigation, preparation and skill to bring down. Petty crime would not inspire a batman (at least imo). I always felt that the death of his parents was never really explored and this show is doing it....

In this latest episode s01e08, bruce says he is always angry, but we don't see him that way. We do see him assertive and getting himself prepared for what is next.

 

Random - but yeah, and I think that's kind of why I like it being Random in this universe, normally a billionaire would have mass amounts of security - where as Thomas and Martha did not and felt they did not need to hide behind security, and feels everyone should feel safe. Which is where I get the need for Batman comes in, because people just don't feel safe when those two get whacked, and they spur everything out of control.