It proved that the classic fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" had endured for so many years for good reason.
Over the many years Batman had fought the Joker, he had become far too familiar with the Joker's behavioral patterns and methods of plotting schemes.
Many DC Comics fans found it difficult to understand: Batman was so capable, so why did he only discover the Joker was up to something at the very last moment, when the Joker forced him into a moral dilemma? Shouldn't he have noticed the moment the Joker kidnapped the hostages?
First, Batman was like an emperor in a feudal dynasty, with three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines. Countless Gotham villains took turns causing trouble; he did not favor the Joker alone.
While the Joker was secretly plotting, other villains had already laid brutal crime scenes out in plain sight. Batman would naturally choose to stop the most dangerous threats first.
Second, whenever the Joker decided to prepare a grand feast, he would inevitably create some appetizers to draw Batman's attention—or run one scheme openly while concealing another.
No matter which scheme Batman investigated, the Joker could turn the other into the main course and serve it to Batman later. On the surface, Batman seemed to be chasing after the Joker without ever managing to stop his plots in advance, but in reality, he might have already resolved more than a dozen schemes during the pursuit.
Batman had experienced this too many times, so of course he assumed the Joker had once again devised some impossible, two-pronged dilemma to mess with his head.
Batman analyzed the situation. This time, the Joker's scheme appeared to have Spider-Man as its victim. After all, not long after Spider-Man appeared, the Joker had injected him with the Source