Couple Of Questions

[Dark Knight Detective]

^ My guess is that he collected foreign valuables while living within each of the countries he was learning & training in.

[batass4880]

Anyone know what that weird look was all about that Knox gave to Vicki, right after he said to Bruce ?Yeah, six is good??

[DocLathropBrown]

He's trying to mock Wayne by mimicing his words, and like in real life, he doesn't know what Bruce is going to say, so that's why Knox's lipsynching doesn't flow perfectly with Wayne's words.

[johnnygobbs]

Bruce had sweetly but rather absent-mindedly sought Knox's approval as to the number of champagne cases he should open for his guests.  Knox had rather sarcastically concurred with Bruce's decision to open six cases, and was thus sharing a look with Vicki which acknowledged their earlier conversation about how eccentric the rich (i.e. Bruce Wayne) tend to be.
I love these small moments in Batman '89.  They're real 'character moments' in which the actors have been allowed to invest their roles with genuine quirks.  Not the ordinary bland, stoic playing you usually associate with 'comic book' movies.

[Dark Knight Detective]

Was the the Joker ever a failed comedian prior to becoming a mob hitman in the novel?

[johnnygobbs]

No.  I think that interpretation of the character only exists in The Killing Joke.
As far as the novelisation is concerned, there is very little extrapolation as to what you see in the film.  There are the occasional deleted scene, such as the Bruce and Vicki horseriding and if memory serves, the scene in the original screenplay in which the Joker holds the Mayor hostage (although I might be wrong about that).  But definitely no reference to the Joker being a failed comedian.  In fact the film makes it quite clear that Jack Napier is quite young when he makes his 'first hit'.

[DocLathropBrown]

There is no comedian backstory for the novel. If he were a mob hitman, chances are he wouldn't be trying his luck at comedy clubs. Such an idea would run completely counter to the characterization of Jack Naiper in the novel and film, hence why it's not there.

The novel actually extrapolates A LOT, the novel is the reason why I understand every little nuance in the film. And yes, the extended "mayor as hostage" sequence is in the novel. Frankly, I wish it had been filmed, I don't care if Batman appears in-costume at sunset, it's a badass sequence.

But had it been filmed, it would have added something like another 15 or 20 minutes to the film's running time, perhaps that's why they cut it from the shooting script?

[johnnygobbs]

I like the novelisation of this film but whilst I would agree that it occasionally explores the mindset of the characters, what they are thinking and feeling, I don't think it goes into that much detail regarding their backstory other than what we already get from the film.
We don't get much (or in some cases nothing) about Vicki Vale in the Corto Maltese, Bruce Wayne's day-to-day job, Jack Napier's background or Commissioner Gordon's family life.  The Batman Returns novelisation, which I've perused on several occasions goes even less into the characters' respective backgrounds and motivations, although there is a great section about Selina Kyle as a girl (the book states she had her own pony and trampoline).
I think Batman '89 pretty much speaks for itself regarding the various nuances of the characters mainly thanks to the exemplary performances of the leading actors.

[batass4880]

When Bruce was in the Batcave doing homework on the RTC, was he just doing research on the gang themselves because of what happened at Gotham Plaza or was he trying to prove that Cobblepot was their boss?

That line Alfred says confuses me. He says something like ?Why do you have to prove that the Penguin is not who he says he is??, which implies he was trying to link him to them.

But after Alfred says ?I suppose you feel better now?? Bruce says ?No, now I feel worse?, which implies he just stumbled on him being the leader.

[johnnygobbs]

Bruce Wayne was definitely trying to tie Oswald Cobblepot to The Red Triangle Gang.  He is after all an obsessive detective.  However, once he found out that his suspicions regarding Oswald were founded he didn't take any satisfaction in the bad news.