The Wayne family dynamic isn’t perfect but, aside from their only son being orphaned and turning into a vigilante, Thomas and Martha Wayne are portrayed as good people, almost sinless, most of the time.
Steady changes in that image have taken root lately, changes that might grow more severe in The Batman if a new rumor from Giant Freakin Robot is to be believed.
According to an exclusive by the site, “Robert Pattinson will be playing a Bruce Wayne who discovers his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, were actually villains.”
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They add their source is a trusted one that fed them the scoops Don Cheadle would be in Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Josh Brolin is reprising his role as Thanos in the MCU. If true it doesn’t bode well for the Waynes’ wholesome veneer.
“Our source says that it will be somewhat similar to the interpretations we have seen in Joker or the video game Batman: The Telltale Series where the Waynes are revealed to be either outright malicious in some way or, at the very least, not the squeaky clean idols we have seen in many iterations of the Batman world,” continued the exclusive.
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You may remember that, in Joker, Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen) was viewed as an out-of-touch billionaire by a segment of the public that turned on him when he announced he was running for Mayor. He also roughed up Arthur Fleck when confronted about the bogus paternity claim, but wasn’t a terrible person through and through.
Matt Reeves might expand on that and call into question the Waynes’ reputation in The Batman’s big mystery that’s throwing The Riddler in the center of things.
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“Part of the reason Paul Dano’s Riddler is playing his deadly game with Bruce is because of the sordid history of Thomas and Martha,” says GFR.
Dano referred to Bat-tinson’s “blind eye” and accused him of being “a part of this too” in the trailer. That could mean Riddler knows Bruce is the Bat much like he did in Hush and Batman Forever. Or he could know something the just-starting-out Dark Knight doesn’t: that is to say the dark secret of his parents.
The scoop doesn’t speculate on any secret they could be hiding but we know it could have something to do with The Court of Owls. Gotham’s arcane founding organization is believed to be involved in The Batman’s story in some way, and they could be where the Waynes come in.
Thomas and Martha may be members or were at one time, only to leave in regret, shock, and chagrin while still harboring knowledge of the Court and their agenda, making them a liability. In New 52, the Wayne family fought the Owls for generations when there existed ties to the group and a Talon who thought he was Bruce’s brother – all of which turned out to be a ruse.
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Reeves could borrow from this canon in such a way that provides himself an escape hatch to slip through in case Bruce’s parents turning bad doesn’t go over the way he hopes, theoretically, requiring the director to back down from the twist and retcon it.
The Waynes’ deceit and wickedness would then turn out to be a deception concocted by the Owls to tarnish their reputation, or something along those lines.
Again, we can only speculate as this scoop is a rumor at this point. More about it should come to light between now and when The Batman releases next year.