Is This The Truth Behind The Wayne Murders in "The Batman" Saga?

The Wayne Murders are a staple of any Batman timeline. The event of Thomas and Martha Wayne's murders is what sets a young Bruce Wayne on the path to becoming the Dark Knight in adulthood.

Every iteration has it's own spin on it in some way, but it's the universe of Matt Reeves' The Batman that angles the double murder as a mystery, with the first movie in the saga beginning to unpick the threads of it.

However, with what the first movie built up, and what we are expecting from the future of the saga, I do believe there is a strong theory to be had. So let's jump into it.

What We Know So Far

From 2022's The Batman, there a few ways to look at how Thomas and Martha were killed. But it does seem that there were too many coincidences for it to be a random event (though it is still possible).

You will remember that Paul Dano's Riddler revealed to the world that a reporter named Edward Elliot had dirt on Martha's past, which Thomas wanted buried. As Elliot wouldn't give in to bribes, Thomas turned to Falcone to deal with it. This led to Elliot's death.

Now, this is where the story goes in two different directions. Falcone claims that because he'd done a favour for Thomas, rival mob boss Salvatore Maroni feared this would mean The Wayne's were in his pocket for good, this giving Falcone secondary control over the city if Thomas is elected mayor. This had Maroni apparently having Thomas taken out so this couldn't happen.

But then there's Alfred's side of things! Alfred claimed that Thomas was distraught at the fact Falcone actually killed Elliot instead of just forcing his hand to drop the information he had. Thomas was due to go to the police to confess to everything (which he told Falcone), and it was that very night that he and his wife were killed.

With all of this in mind, I believe it's the latter; Falcone ordered the kill on Thomas. But this wasn't simply to protect himself. There was more at play here. Which brings us onto the ones really pulling the strings in Gotham. Even Falcone's.

The Court of Owls

The world of The Batman is very much centred around the corruption in Gotham City, and it's hinted that it runs very deep into the system. The first movie has it all revolving around Falcone, but in case you've forgotten, Falcone was killed by The Riddler. So, if the second movie is due to dive deeper into this theme whilst picking up another murder mystery, how can we up the stakes without the head honcho being around anymore? Well, by revealing that he wasn't at the top of the food chain. And that brings in a villainous group from the comics: The Court of Owls.

In the comics and in the Gotham TV show, The Court are a group of high society folks who have been controlling Gotham from the very beginning, all from behind the scenes. Every major move has them in control.

Surely a thug like Falcone, as cunning as he could be, wasn't doing all of this manipulation by himself. There's only so much bribes can get you. My theory is that what The Penguin and the corrupt cops are to Falcone, he is to The Court. Secretly controlling Gotham FOR THEM.

How does this tie to The Wayne murders? Well, The Court couldn't have there man in the trenches being dragged off to Blackgate prison, could they? My hunch has it that Falcone told The Court what Wayne was doing, and without hesitation they gave the order for him to be wiped out.

Who Pulled The Trigger?

So it does line up that Falcone was tied to the murders, and The Court were the ones in control of it. But now the question is who actually killed them? Now, I know. You're probably thinking "what does that matter?". But there it does feel that there is something to add about this. It could be played off as a flashback where Falcone just pays off a random thug and that's that. It doesn't matter about his identity. But then cast your mind back to the first Batman movie in 2022. Something does add weight to us knowing the identity of the actual killer.

When Bruce attends the memorial service for Mayor Mitchell, he comes across a dishevelled man who bad mouths the the high society of Gotham. Bruce seems to recognise this man slightly. To the point where he is intrigued. The man even asks Bruce if he himself knows him. But watch when Bella Reál says Bruce's name. If you watch closely, the man appears to understand where he knows Bruce from. As Reál then leads Bruce away, he looks back to see the man disappearing into the shadows.

What does this mean? Well, what if this means this is the man who actually killed his parents? What if this is The Batman's Joe Chill?

Yes, this could have been a random thug who wanted money and pulled the trigger accidentally like Alfred theorised, but what if it is a bit deeper than that. What if The Court had Falcone find a random thug to carry out the kill, and he was promised a high sum of cash to do so. The guy does look quite down on his luck and "drop heads" are spoken about a lot in this version of Gotham, so it does stand to reason that the cash would be gone in no time. But regardless, that meeting between the random man and Bruce was way too deep for it to be an encounter we shouldn't take notice of.

Where Could This Lead?

So let's pull the theory together. The Court of Owls got word of Thomas wanting to go the police over Falcone having Edward Elliot killed. They don't want to lose their golden goose so they order him to get The Waynes killed. Falcone has a down-on-his-luck thug brought in to kill them for a hefty reward, and he does so. More than likely Joe Chill.

Now the question is, "where could this take The Batman Crime Saga?". Well, for firsts, I like to think we won't get The Court as the villains of The Batman: Part II. That's a plot thread that should culminate in a grand finale for the third movie. No, the second movie seems to point to Tommy Elliot aka Hush. It keeps the story tied to the Wayne Murders in that Tommy likely wants revenge for Edward's murder now that The Riddler has outed the truth. It also makes good on Matt Reeves' promises that the sequel will be much more personal for Bruce and we're getting a villain who's never really been done on screen before (We've only had a younger version pop up in the Gotham TV series, and Tommy/Hush did show up for a short time in the Batwoman TV series). That's not to say The Court won't be mentioned. It's likely they'll have a quick appearance and/or Hush will hint at them from when he's done his research before launching an attack on Bruce.

It may also lead to Bruce coming face to face with the man who killed his parents once again. Let's set the scene. It would be very interesting for either Hush or The Court to manipulate Bruce into finally getting closure for the traumatic murders of both of his parents. He's given the address of a rotten apartment in the slums, and heads there in Batman garb to find the man who he was stood with in the church in the first movie. This then puts Bruce in a very interesting position. He could either cross the line and take the man's life, or let him live but make sure he knows what he has caused. Bruce could still give him a beating first, but it's likely this will be the moment where Bruce finally unloads all of the pain and grief hae has felt since that night.

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Ultimately, that's my take on things. Falcone was simply one cog in the system that led to the deaths of the Waynes. The Court of Owls were behind it all and it all trickled down to the universe's version of Joe Chill pulling the trigger. Yes, this is all something that kind of came to fruition in the Gotham TV show which I've referred to a few times here. But everything does seem to be leading in a similar direction.

What do you think? Does this all line up for you? Or do you think the Wayne murders won't be touched on again? Or do you think there is a completely different story here? Hopefully the future of Matt Reeves' vision unveils all in good time.