[OVERVIEW]

From the DC Universe we saw some of the most iconic superheroes ever created. Names such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. We also saw some very iconic villains. The most well known DC villain is probably The Joker. Today we are going to check out some theories about this universe.

KEEP IN MIND THESE ARE THEORIES ABOUT THE COMICS/NOVELS ONLY! THE MOVIES ARE NOT REALLY APART OF MOST OF THESE! UNLESS I BRING UP A SPECIFIC DC MOVIE!

ALSO, important note, most of the theories that come from the comics/novels will come from three major ones. These are The Killing Joke, The Golden Age and New 52 Jokers. If you haven't read these then not all of these might make a lot of sense but you can still enjoy if you are a fan of DC!

[KILLING JOKE]

Batman: The Killing Joke was a one shot graphic novel by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. It had an impact on the Batman family as well a shift the the Batman narrative. It's also been called the greatest Joker story ever told. When it released it faced many controversies, including the treatment of Barbara Gordon. But we won't be talking about that today. Instead we will be talking about the very end.

The end is left open as Batman laughs with The Joker. While many took it as just Batman on his last rope and laughing at the joke that The Joker made, many don't think it ends like that. Many think Batman kills The Joker.

There isn't much evidence to support this but legendary Batman writer Grant Morrison has stated he too believes Batman killed The Joker at the end.

[JOKERS TRUE IDENTITY]

One of the biggest mysteries in the DC universe is Joker. Who is he? How did he become The Joker? What had he done to become so evil?

While the backstory told in The Killing Joke is considered canon in the DC universe even Joker says himself in the same novel that even he isn't sure of his real origin. Then, during the Darkseid War, when Batman sat upon the all-knowing Mobius chair and asked it what the Joker's real name was, the chair revealed that there are three Jokers.

One fan theorized The Joker(s) could be Gelos, The Greek God (or personification) of Laughter. Joker laughs at pretty much anything and everything. Pain, death, and lames jokes and puns. So it wouldn't be that far fetched to believe he is the personification of laughter.

[BATMAN IS FAKE]

Batman is like heroes like Wonder Woman, Superman, The Flash, or Green Lantern. He is literally just a man. So how is it that no matter who he faces he almost always comes out on top?

One fan thinks because his life as Batman isn't actually real but rather consisted of simulated fantasies controlled by the executives at his father's company, Wayne Enterprises (similar to The Truman Show), with his trusty butler Alfred Pennyworth in on the ruse.

The theory is supported by the fact that Gotham Police uses the Bat Signal to call for Batman, which would allow for Wayne Enterprises to allow Bruce to play out his crime-fighting fantasies. This theory would also explain why Batman never loses his fights, why no one in the Batman Family really stays dead, and why Batman's villains always return to fight another day.

This theory isn't saying his parents are alive. His parents did die in this theory as well. But the company knows how much Bruce wants revenge and to fight for justice and setting up fake situations to make Bruce fight is their way of letting him life out his fantasy without him actually knowing they are staged.

[BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL]

Due to the massive popularity of Tim Miller's Deadpool movie, most people now associate medium awareness -- a character who acknowledges that he or she is a fictional character, part of a medium, also known as breaking the fourth wall -- with the Merc With A Mouth. However, Deadpool isn't the only character to possess the ability of medium awareness. In fact, one comic book fan has put forth some solid evidence stating that the supervillain Darkseid, the totalitarian monarch of Apokolips, also has possesses this knowledge.

Darkseid's sole purpose in life is to one day rule the entire universe and enslave every race within it, including humans. Therefore, his greatest fear would be discovering that he is not only restrained by human writers (DC Comics), but that he is also subservient to their wishes, which is why he's never conscientiously broken the fourth wall. Instead, he utilizes his power of medium awareness to benefit his goal of total domination. How else could we explain his ability to recall pre-Crisis and pre-New 52 events?

[3 JOKERS]

Now I just talked about the reveal of a total of 3 Jokers and one fan thinks they know why. This person thinks that the three Jokers came into being as a result of the massive crossover event Flashpoint, which resulted the creation of The New 52 universe in 2011.

At one point, Barry Allen aka The Flash traveled back in time and prevented the Reverse-Flash from murdering his mother, thus establishing an alternate timeline. In order to fix the timeline, Barry went back in time again, except this time to prevent himself from saving his mother. In doing so, the new character Pandora appeared and created a new universe, combining the then-canonical DC Universe with the Vertigo and Wildstorm universes into one cohesive timeline.

Despite the fact that the Vertigo and Wildstorm universes were separate from the DC Universe, what if there was a Joker in each imprint? Then when the three universes combined, all three Jokers existed in one timeline.

[THE NEW 52]

During Barry Allen's aforementioned trip back in time to prevent his mother's murder, he inadvertently altered the history of the universe, which precluded him from becoming The Flash and the rest of Earth's superheroes forming the Justice League. Of all the things that could happen in the universe, Barry saving his mother was the one act resulting in the future destruction of the world -- which, in turn, was the cause of the formation of the New 52 universe. But what if it wasn't Barry's fault?

One fan theorizes that the New 52 universe was formed because of Kyle Rayner, not Barry Allen. First pointing out that, in the New 52, characters who were previously constants throughout time (such as Bart Allen and Booster Gold) were affected by the reboot, the theory posits that Rayner, the once final Green Lantern, perhaps inadvertently created the New 52 universe.

The main points are as follows: Rayner once became the omnipotent Ion and gained the power to alter time and reality. He used his powers to rebuild the Green Lantern Corps and modified the Lantern rings, which resulted in the creation of nine Lantern Corps. Interestingly, despite all of this happening prior to the reboot, Rayner's actions carried over into the New 52 universe, thus suggesting he was responsible for the reboot.

[HAL JORDAN CREATED PARALLAX]

Following the death of Superman, four temporary substitute Supermen appeared in the DC Universe, which led to the Reign of the Supermen! story arc in which Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern's hometown of Coast City was destroyed by Mongul. Fraught with anger, Hal Jordan was driven insane and attempted to recreate the DC Universe during the crossover event Zero Hour: Crisis in Time.

While Hal Jordan was undoing the events of the DC world, thus causing rifts in the universe which allowed characters from alternate realities to appear in the canonical DC Universe, he went by the name Parallax. We later find out that Jordan wasn't himself during the event, and was instead possessed by fear incarnate, who had previously been imprisoned by the Guardians on Oa.

The revelation of Hal Jordan being possessed by an ancient being irked many fans who felt the decision was DC Comics' way of extenuating Jordan's actions, thus diminishing the effect of his downfall. But what if, in order to alleviate his guilt, Jordan created Parallax during Zero Hour as an excuse for his actions? It would explain why Jordan still had doubts about what he was doing during the event, even though he was supposedly possessed by his monstrous foe.

[SUPERMAN ONLY HAS ONE POWER]

Superman is not only one of the strongest beings in the DC Universe, but one of the most powerful superheroes of all time. He has superhuman breath, strength, energy, and senses, all of which are derived from our solar system's yellow sun. His only weakness is radiation, specifically irradiated rocks native to his home world of Krypton. But what if that was all in his head, and he, in fact, does not have any powers whatsoever -- other than telekinesis?

It's quite a leap, but it's certainly plausible that Superman could possess telekinesis without even knowing about it. If we accept that he does, in fact, have such an ability, it would explain how Superman has an array of diverse abilities, such as flight, the ability to carry a plane by its wing without the wing breaking, as well as his heat vision (to an extent). To explain his weakness of radiation, the theorist suggests that the radiation simply weakens his mind, thus preventing him from utilizing his abilities.

[ROBIN IS BATMANS WEAPON]

Dick Grayson aka Robin the Boy Wonder was the world's first superhero sidekick. He is hailed the best of all Batman Sidekicks. But what was his true purpose? At the time of his inception, DC Comics editors used the character to -- one -- act as a sounding board for Batman, and -- two -- appeal to younger audiences who may or may not have been interested in seeing an adult (especially one in a bat costume) fight crime. But what if there was another reason?

Batman is the embodiment of true justice, and one of his greatest fears is turning evil. What if the true purpose of Robin is to prevent Batman from succumbing to the darkness? As demonstrated countless times, Batman is a virtually unstoppable force. He's even able to defeat one of the strongest beings in the DC Universe (Superman) on a semi-regular basis. Accepting such a theory would explain why Batman trains kids, teaching them everything he knows, so that one day, if necessary, they could stop him from turning evil.