Warning! Spoilers for Batman #107 ahead!
The real villain behind the attack on Arkham Asylum that killed Bane, and which Joker has been framed for, may not be who everyone presumed. Infinite Frontier #0 saw Arkham Asylum under attack, resulting in the death of every subject within its walls including notorious villains like Bane. What could have been Joker's worst crime of all is pretty much established to be a setup, and someone else is behind the attack.
Along with Bane, Scarecrow was presumed dead in the chemical attack on Arkham Asylum. Therefore, people were quick to dismiss the toxin-induced criminal even though it fits his M.O. However, Infinite Frontier #0 revealed to readers that Scarecrow is in fact alive and is planning something big for Gotham. His first steps in his plan are taking place currently in Batman's latest issues. With Scarecrow alive, fans have naturally assumed that the masked villain is behind the attack on Arkham. But in the world of the comics, the blame has been pinned on the Joker due to his past history with toxic gases.
In Batman #107 by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, and Tomeu Morey, Batman believes that the true culprit of A-Day is not Scarecrow. This is a shocking turn of events as it's been set up that Scarecrow is the obvious villain behind the attack. He faked his death, he's planning something for Gotham, what more hints do fans need? Batman implies that he doesn't think Scarecrow is behind the attack as his gut feeling says no. However, he thinks someone else, the person who helped him escape Arkham, could be the true culprit.
Batman is only basing his hunch off of a gut feeling, therefore, it's possible that he's wrong and it could be that this turn of events is just a red herring. However, it's more likely that a greater mystery around the culprit is brewing and that we are bound to get more and more teases as the issues by. Additionally, in this issue, Scarecrow confronts Simon Saint. The two are partners working on their next steps to bringing Gotham down to its knees. Saint seems like an unlikely candidate as Scarecrow is unsure whether he's up for killing the citizens of Gotham.
There is still a possibility that fans could be right in that it was Scarecrow who actually carried out A-Day. Yet, it feels like it's no longer so clear cut and that anyone could be the true culprit. Over the next few issues, readers will likely get a greater insight into this mystery as Batman's series continues over at DC Comics. Likewise, it seems that The Joker series will be exploring Joker's side of the story. The latest few issues of The Joker, make it clear that he was far away from the attack as he is pictured reading a newspaper about it. The Batman #107 is available in comic book shops and on digital platforms now.
