So if Batman already knew who the Joker was, why did he ask the Mobius Chair?
So if Batman already knew who the Joker was, why did he ask the Mobius Chair?
Because it was a poorly thought out and executed story.
I'm not being facetious here that really is the answer...and it's the answer to just about every plot question you might have.
Q:Why is Joe Chill still alive here?
A: It's a poorly thought out and executed story.
Q:Why does Jim Gordon tacitly acknowledge that his daughter is Batgirl?
A: It's a poorly thought out and executed story.
Q: Is it in continuity?
A: Who cares, it's a poorly thought out and executed story.
I would fault Johns on that except he & Fabok made it clear enough in interviews that this story was being done apart from strict continuity. It'd be a contradiction otherwise, but this was meant to be untethered from Rebirth/continuity.
Once Johns gave up on this being strict continuity/canon, he both a) changed the Jokers themselves and b) ignored the Mobius Chair.
Things I love: Batman, Superman, AEW, old films, Lovecraft
Grant Morrison: “Adults...struggle desperately with fiction, demanding constantly that it conform to the rules of everyday life. Adults foolishly demand to know how Superman can possibly fly, or how Batman can possibly run a multibillion-dollar business empire during the day and fight crime at night, when the answer is obvious even to the smallest child: because it's not real.”
double post
If it had never been teased in the regular books you'd have a point, it would be like complaining about how Batman's costume is wrong in Gotham by Gaslight because he looks totally different in Detective...but since it didn't start as its own separate thing and was built up several times leading up to the release of the book it just comes off as sloppy.
Things I love: Batman, Superman, AEW, old films, Lovecraft
Grant Morrison: “Adults...struggle desperately with fiction, demanding constantly that it conform to the rules of everyday life. Adults foolishly demand to know how Superman can possibly fly, or how Batman can possibly run a multibillion-dollar business empire during the day and fight crime at night, when the answer is obvious even to the smallest child: because it's not real.”
He couldn't undo past stories, but he could have told a good one. If the story itself had been even a quarter as great as it was hyped up to be people would be content with what was there on the page but because the story was so flat and pointless everyone one has time to glom on to peripheral flaws.