Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Joker: Folie a DeuxJoker: Folie à Deux features some very interesting Easter eggs and references, connections to the first Joker, the original DC Comics, and more. Starring Joaquin Phoenix who returns as Arthur Fleck’s Joker, this Elseworlds version of the classic Batman villain is joined in the sequel by Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn. With Fleck facing both a new romance and his day in court, Joker: Folie a Deux’s various ties and references are quite fascinating concerning the movie’s themes and the overall message it’s trying to tell.
In Joker: Folie a Deux, it’s been two years since the ending of the first Joker movie where Arthur Fleck killed six people (though the public only knows about five). Now, Arthur is featured preparing for his trial while also experiencing a brand-new and very real romance with “Lee”, a fellow patient at Arkham State Hospital completely infatuated with Joker. To that end, here are the biggest Easter eggs and references in the dark and twisted ride that is Joker: Folie a Deux.
20 Joker’s Looney Tunes Opening
The Fantasy Of The Murray Franklin Show
Remarkably, Joker: Folie a Deux opens with an animated sequence in the style of Looney Tunes, one that recounts a fantasy version of the final events seen in 2019’s Joker. In the cartoon, an animated Joker arrives in a limo to cheering crowds in front of the “Franklin Theater”. Arthur’s also seen battling with his own shadow that repeatedly steals the spotlight when the duo takes the stage in front of a live audience.
Furthermore, the “Live! With Murray Franklin” sign from 2019’s Joker that had been written in the same font from Batman: The Animated Series is replaced in this fantasy with “Live! With Joker”. Later on in Folie a Deux, this sequence is confirmed as Arthur’s fabricated fantasy, telling an interviewer that he believed it was his show and that Robert De Niro’s Murray was “a bad actor”.
19 Colorful Umbrellas At Arkham
Matching Joker’s Suit
While transporting Arthur between buildings to a less intensive wing at Arkham, Joker is shown enjoying the rain with a top-down camera angle. During this sequence, the guards’ umbrellas briefly change color, resembling the colors of Joker’s suit which he wore on the Murray Franklin Show. As such, this shows how Arthur still experiences a distorted reality in Folie a Deux.
18 Lady Gaga’s Harley Debuts With A Finger Gun
Mirroring Sophie Dumond
In Arkham’s less intensive B Wing, Arthur sees Lady Gaga’s Lee for the first time. As the guards keep moving Arthur to meet with his lawyer, Lee runs into the hall and calls out to Arthur, mimicking a gun with her fingers and shooting herself in the head. This is just like Joker’s Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz), Arthur’s neighbor with whom he fabricated an entire romantic relationship.
17 Loony Tunes Throughout All of Joker: Folie a Deux
Specifically Pepé Le Pew
On multiple occasions in Joker: Folie a Deux, actual Looney Tunes cartoons can be seen playing on various televisions in Arkham, specifically those featuring Pepé Le Pew, the skunk who’s constantly looking for love from a black cat with a white stripe he thinks is a skunk like himself. Not only does this connect to the movie’s opening animated sequence, but it also ties into Arthur and Lee’s entire relationship as well.
16 Arkham State Hospital & Corrections
Located On An Island
As seen in Joker: Folie a Deux, Arkham State Hospital and Corrections is located on an island connected by a single bridge to the rest of Gotham City. This mirrors the original comics with Arkham Asylum and its location on Arkham Island.
15 Joker 2 Has its Own Harvey Dent
Assistant D.A. (Before Two-Face)
Harry Lawtey plays Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent in Joker: Folie a Deux, serving as the prosecutor during Arthur’s trial. By the movie’s end and the car bomb explosion that blows up the courtroom, Lawtey’s Dent is specifically shown with half of his face having been damaged. While it is a nice nod to the classic character from DC Comics and his transformation into Two-Face, there’s certainly not as much weight behind the disfigurement nor the character overall compared to other depictions of Dent that have been seen in the past.
14 “That’s Entertainment”
The Band Wagon (1953)
Setting a fire during a movie night at Arkham, Lee and Arthur get some time together before they’re both apprehended by guards. However, the movie that plays is the 1953 musical Band Wagon, specifically during the song “That’s Entertainment” performed by Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, Oscar Levant, and Nanette Fabray. The song is also sung by Lady Gaga herself later on in the movie during the first day of Arthur’s trial, and the opening lyrics about “The clown with his pants falling down” connects to the movie’s opening where Joker loses his pants during the animated sequence.
13 Joker & Harley Dance At “Hotel Arkham”
Mirroring The Classic Alex Ross Cover
One of the imagined musical numbers between Joker and Lee is extremely reminiscent of the classic comic cover by Alex Ross of Harley Quinn and Joker dancing (similarly wearing a black tuxedo). Likewise, the two are seen dancing on a rooftop near a large neon “Hotel Arkham” sign, providing audiences with a literal sign that the musical number is part of the duo’s shared delusion, otherwise known as a “folie à deux”.
12 Joker Impersonates Nixon
V Signs on His First Day In Court
On the very first day of his trial, Arthur gives two victory signs to the courtroom. This is naturally a reference to President Nixon and the signature gesture he used even as he resigned and left the White House following the Watergate scandal. It also ties in with the period of the Joker movies during the early 80s, seeing as how Nixon resigned in 1974.
11 Joker 2’s Judge Resembles Martin Scorsese
Scorsese Passed On Directing The First Joker
Bill Smitrovich plays Judge Herman Rothwax in Joker: Folie a Deux, and it certainly seems he was meant to resemble iconic director Martin Scorsese, complete with signature black-framed glasses. This would make sense, seeing as how Martin Scorsese passed on directing and producing the first Joker, as well as the fact that Todd Phillips’ Joker was directly inspired by Scorsese’s past films such as Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, and Folie à Deux was likely inspired by Scorsese’s own musical drama New York, New York.
Robert De Niro’s casting as Murray Franklin in 2019’s
Joker
was largely due to his leading role in
Taxi Driver
and
The King of Comedy
. De Niro also starred in
New York, New York
.
10 Lee’s Origins Twist Connects To Harley’s DC Comics History
Grad School For Psychiatry
While Lee initially claimed that she had a similar rough childhood full of abuse like Arthur’s, this was eventually revealed to be a lie by Arthur’s lawyer. Likewise, it’s also revealed that Lee came from a wealthy background and went to grad school to study psychiatry. This connects to Lee’s original DC Comics origins where Doctor Harleen Quinzel fell in love and was gradually corrupted by The Joker after he was assigned to her as one of her patients. Instead, Lady Gaga’s Lee had herself committed to Arkham to be closer to Joker, manipulating him into maintaining the Joker identity over Arthur.
9 Lee Claims She’s Pregnant With Joker’s Child
A Rare Comics (And Games) Connection
Although it was more than likely another lie to keep herself close to Joker, Lee claims that she’s pregnant with Arthur’s child. This idea is something that’s rarely seen in the comics, though several versions of Harley in both the comics, 2016’s Suicide Squad, and Batman: The Animated Series do see Quinn wishing for children with the Clown Prince of Crime. Notable exceptions include the alternate Injustice and White Knight universes, as well as an Easter egg in the Batman: Arkham City video game where positive pregnancy tests and a crib can be found in connection with Harley.
8 Joker’s Southern Accent
“A Simple Country Lawyer”
Once Arthur fires his lawyer and chooses to represent himself as Joker, Fleck adopts a southern accent and drawl during his questioning of Gary Puddles, the fellow clown-for-hire he let live in 2019’s Joker. This is a classic TV and movie trope evoking characters such as Matlock or Atticus Finch. As such, Arthur undoubtedly takes on the “simple country lawyer” accent for comedic value in Folie a Deux.
7 “That’s All Folks”
Another Looney Tunes Reference
The Looney Tunes references continue in Joker: Folie a Deux when the judge asks if Arthur wants to give any final defense before closing statements are made. In response, Joker turns to the crowd with the classic Porky Pig stutter and “That’s All Folks!”, confirming that his defense rests.
6 Joker’s White Suit
Mirrors The Dark Knight Returns
In another fantasy musical number with Lee, Joke is shown wearing a striking white suit. As such, it very much resembles the classic white suit worn by Joker in The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller when he fought Batman and received a batarang to the eye.
5 Lee’s Final Court Outfit in Joker: Folie a Deux
Inspired By Harley’s Classic Red and Black Costume
Having worn black tights with diamonds on the first day of Arthur’s trial, and a black top with a diamond pattern the next, Lee goes all-out on the final day, wearing all red and black and makeup. As such, this is meant to be Lee’s full transformation as Harley Quinn to show her full support for Joker, mirroring Harley’s original red and black costume as seen in Batman: The Animated Series where the character first debuted.
4 Arthur and Lee’s Relationship Ends On Joker’s Iconic Stairs
From Joker (2019)
Arthur’s full confession and decision to turn away from the Joker persona at the end of the trial saw Lee leaving the courtroom in disgust just before the judge’s ruling and the car bomb explosion that led to Fleck’s escape. Running to find Lee, Fleck and Quinzel’s relationship ends on the same stairs first seen in 2019’s Joker, as Lee had only ever been attracted to Joker and the fantasy that came with it. As such, the setting is incredibly poignant: The site where Arthur’s Joker persona truly dies is on the same steps where Joker was first born. A version of the steps was also featured in Joker and Lee’s final musical number as well.
3 Arthur Resting Head on Police Car Window
Just Like Joker’s Ending
Arrested on the steps, Arthur is taken back to Arkham in a police car. His makeup faded, Arthur leans his head against the window and looks out at Gotham, much like he did after he was arrested after killing Murray Franklin and the riots he motivated at the end of the first Joker.
2 “You Get What You F***ing Deserve”
Arthur Dies The Same Way As Murray Franklin
Back at Arkham, Arthur is heading to meet with a visitor when he’s stopped by a fellow patient who’d been inspired by Joker. Angered by Arthur’s words at his trial, this unnamed patient tells Arthur a joke, and the punchline is the exact same as the one Arthur told Murray before he shot him: “You get what you f***ing deserve!”. The patient then repeatedly stabs Arthur with a knife while laughing, killing Arthur and bringing an end to his story (but not Joker’s legacy).
1 Arthur’s Killer Cuts The Sides of His Mouth
Connecting To The Dark Knight’s Joker
As Arthur lies dead, the unnamed patient can be seen in the background using the knife to cut open the sides of his mouth while laughing in the final scene of Joker: Folie a Deux. As such, the surprising implication is that this patient will seemingly become the real Joker, complete with scars matching none other than Heath Ledger’s Joker from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. To that end, this final shocking reference is absolutely one that will be debated about the most with quite a bit of controversy.
Joker: Folie a Deux is now playing in theaters.
