Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Batman, Batman #96, joker war, mark of zorro, spoilers

The Joker War Rewrites The Mark Of Zorro Origin (Batman #96 Spoilers)

The Mark of Zorro is a 1940 black-and-white swashbuckling Spanish Western produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, that stars Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Basil Rathbone. It follows up on a 1920s silent version and is also based on The Curse of Capistrano written by Johnston McCulley, originally published in 1919 which introduced the masked hero Zorro.

In DC Comics continuity it is established that The Mark of Zorro was the film that the eight-year-old Bruce Wayne saw with his parents, Thomas and Martha, at a cinema, moments before they were murdered in a mugging. The Dark Knight Returns has the 1940s Tyrone Power version, another had the silent Douglas Fairbanks 1920s original. In the movies, Batman v Superman has Bruce and his parents leave a screening of 1940's The Mark of Zorro, while The Joker has Zorro, the Gay Blade from 1981.

In today's Batman #96, the Joker is putting The Mark Of Zorro back on at the Monarch cinema, and looking at the logo in the posters, it is the 1940s version he has in mind. But there is something about how it was shown in Batman's origin that seems to be being rewritten, as The Joker promises a remastered version with The Gotham Cut.

Which is stating that only Martha Wayne, Thomas Wayne and Bruce Wayne say this version. A version that was, somehow, created just for them. Was there something in that movie intended to inspire Bruce Wayne? Speak to Thomas Wayne? In somehow arrange their murder, or be placed in the movie intended to inspire a Batman? Naming it The Gotham Cut seems intended to mirror The Snyder Cut but it also looks to retcon the Batman origin by adding a new element.

And can we all start campaigning to see The Gotham Cut from this moment on?

BATMAN #96 JOKER WAR (RES)
DC COMICS
JUN200445
(W) James TynionIV (A) Guillem March (CA) Tony S. Daniel
Reeling from the effects of the worst Joker toxin attack ever, Batman is on the run through Gotham City, pursued by the dark shadows and voices that haunt his past and present! As The Joker's plan materializes, the only person who can save Batman from the brink of true madness…is Harley Quinn?! Plus, who is the mysterious new figure known as Clownhunter?In Shops: Aug 05, 2020 SRP: $3.99

I bought mine from Piranha Comics in Kingston-Upon-Thames. Piranha Comics is a small south London comic store chain with a small south-east store in Kingston-Upon Thames's market centre, which runs Magic The Gathering nights on Fridays, and a larger south-west store in Bromley, which also runs Magic nights and has an extensive back issue collection and online store. If you are in the neighbourhood, check them out.

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