Chapter 126: Batman as the Protagonist? No, It's the Joker!

Los Santos, Cathay Theater.

*Batman: The Dark Knight* is now in its hot run!

Stuart is the owner of a small comic shop. The shop doesn't make much money, but he really enjoys chatting with customers about comics inside.

Not long ago, the *Spider-Man* craze gave Marvel comics sales in the shop a big boost,

Stuart felt a little regret. As a die-hard DC fan, he hoped even more that Batman's popularity could climb back from the valley to its peak.

After *Batman Begins* was released, there was a slight recovery, but not much.

He heard that this time Xu Can would be playing the Joker, appearing in *The Dark Knight*,

Stuart waited in line at the ticket window for an entire night, and finally snagged a premiere ticket.

He wanted to bring his newly-met girlfriend along, to introduce her to the comic-book world he loved.

However, his girlfriend Katie didn't seem to care much for superhero movies.

"This movie — it won't flop like *Batman Forever*, will it?"

"I don't know, but the trailer did look pretty good."

"I feel like all superhero movies are the same — punching and fighting, the hero beats the villain."

Katie pouted dismissively.

"Suspense films by great directors are still better. I prefer movies with depth."

On this point, Stuart found it hard to argue back against his girlfriend.

The previous Batman films had been an absolute disaster,

*Batman Begins* could only be called decent, and he himself didn't have much confidence in *The Dark Knight*.

"If you don't trust Nolan, can you still not trust Xu Can? He's sure to bring a surprise."

At that moment the auditorium suddenly went dark, the IMAX opening appeared, and everyone instantly fell silent, waiting for the film to begin!

……

【produced by Warner Bros. Pictures】

【DC Comics】

【co-produced by Xinghe Pictures】

Tick-tick—

Tick-tick—

At the start of the film, Hans Zimmer's score immediately rendered an atmosphere of tension and unease.

Like the sound of a clock's hands accelerating, it kept tugging at the audience's emotions, as the camera slowly pushed forward toward a building.

Bang!

Glass shattered, and the film drew back its curtain!

A robber wearing a Joker mask fired a grappling hook.

On another street corner, there was a back view brimming with oppressive force, holding a Joker mask in hand as well.

The camera kept slowly closing in, and this back view grew ever more massive. Combined with the IMAX giant screen, it actually gave people a feeling of being unable to breathe.

Five masked robbers were dividing up the work, entering a bank from different places to carry out a robbery.

Looking at the style of those masks, everyone already knew the answer in their heart.

The one planning it all behind the scenes was surely the Joker!

At this moment, one of the robbers also began to bring up that name.

"Why does everyone call him the Joker?"

"I heard he paints strange makeup on his face… like war paint, used to intimidate enemies."

The masked robber swaggered into the bank and let off a burst of bullets at the ceiling.

"Hands up, get down on your knees! Nobody move!"

"We're here to make a withdrawal!"

The bank lobby was under the robbers' control, while the man on the roof simultaneously blacked out the circuit and cut off the alarm.

But no sooner had this technician finished his work than he was shot dead by the robber behind him!

The film had barely begun, yet it already gave the audience a little surprise!

Inside the bank lobby, while the robbers were controlling the civilians, one of the managers grabbed a shotgun and took out a robber.

"You think you're stealing whose money?"

This bank was no legitimate bank — the boss behind it was none other than the mob boss Falcone!

But his shotgun jammed, and he was gunned down by the robbers.

The robber in charge of opening the vault had just succeeded in opening the door, when he was shot dead by a partner behind him.

It turned out the Joker had told them: once the task was done, kill that man on the spot, and the rest could split an extra share!

Such a treacherous scheme of dog-eat-dog made the audience's eyes go wide,

The Joker hadn't even appeared yet, but his evil was already gradually spilling off the screen.

In the end, once the cash had been divided into several large bags, only two robbers remained.

One of them was clever — he pointed his gun at his own partner.

"The Joker definitely told you to get rid of me too, right?"

He had just been about to pull the trigger, when a school bus actually smashed through the wall and slammed him to the ground on the spot.

The bus driver was also one of the Joker's partners. He got off to help load the money, but was gunned down by the last surviving robber.

Then that Joker-masked robber walked up to the bank manager and stuffed a grenade into his mouth.

"I believe, whatever doesn't kill you…"

Generally, that line is: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Yet the actual line was:

"... makes you weirder!"

The instant the robber pulled off his mask, the entire audience let out a low gasp almost in unison!

The Joker! He was the Joker himself!

Xu Can's face was painted in grotesque makeup, revealing a spine-chilling grin!

Since Warner announced that Xu Can would play the Joker, the media had been endlessly debating whether his Joker was up to the task.

In the original *Batman*, the Joker shaped by Jack Nicholson was already a silver-screen classic.

Critics didn't believe anyone's performance could surpass Nicholson's version of the Joker.

This line of thinking grew more and more common, and even many of Xu Can's fans were doubting whether he could take on Jack Nicholson, take on an Oscar-winning actor.

Until this very moment, when Xu Can's Joker made his first official appearance,

everyone instantly forgot the old version of the Joker,

as if this was what the character of the Joker was supposed to look like!

But then they saw the Joker grab the money, hop onto a school bus, and drive it crashing out of the bank,

and outside there was even a convoy of school buses linked together!

The Joker simply blended in among them, successfully evading the police's line of sight!

From the film's opening to the present six minutes, the entire robbery plan was airtight—ruthless and meticulous in its scheming!

The Joker's image was instantly cemented!

People even forgot this was a Batman movie; their minds were filled with nothing but the Joker's performance just now.

On the rooftop of the Gotham Police Department, Police Chief James Gordon switched on the Bat-Signal, and the Batman emblem appeared in the night sky's clouds.

This was how he summoned Batman.

Except, Batman was busy dealing with criminals.

Scarecrow was trading with the mob, while ordinary people had dressed up as Batman hoping to play the hero.

In the end, both groups were bound up by the real Batman,