While she cares about her son, she has shown to lie to him multiple occasions which leads to her downfall. It is currently unknown why she let this happen, but it's presumed she was abused by him as well, causing her mental problems. She is shown to be neglectful as she didn't save Arthur as a child from his abuse. Penny is not mentally well, as she possibly has schizophrenic and narcissistic tendencies hinted in the film.

Having found legal documents from Arkham which confirm his suspicions, Arthur kills her while in custody of the medical hospital by smothering her with a pillow in revenge for all years of lies and the abuse during his childhood. Fed up with lies, Arthur meets her in the Gotham General Hospital after she suffers from a stroke. Arthur soon finds out about her letters, causing her to explain to him about her supposed relations with Thomas, stating that he is a good man.ДЄfter Arthur investigates the truth about her claims after being told off by Alfred Pennyworth and assaulted by Thomas Wayne, he finds out that what she said was not true, and that the letters were feigned. She began writing letters to Thomas Wayne to get his attention, believing that she once had a relationship with the man. This caused her to adopt Arthur Fleck and take him as her son but was sent to Arkham Mental State Hospital because of her mental instability and her inability to save Arthur from abuse at the hands of her boyfriend.ДЄrthur, as a result of the constant abuse and trauma he had endured, grew up to forget that Penny was apart of this abuse and this resulted in him growing up with her. When Penny Fleck was younger, she worked for Thomas Wayne and developed an obsessive crush on him but couldn't pursue the relationship, either because she was already in a relationship with her abusive boyfriend or because Thomas was already in a relationship with Martha. Penny was portrayed by Frances Conroy as an adult, while her younger self was portrayed by Hannah Gross. She was was responsible for letting her former boyfriend abuse Arthur in his childhood and was temporarily sent to the Arkham State Hospital for unsolicited claims. Much like her son, Penny suffered from an unspecified mentally illness. Penny Fleck is was the adoptive mother of Arthur Fleck, a mentally unstable failed comedian who would later call himself the Joker. ' Thomas Wayne is a good man.' вЂ•Penny Fleck about Thomas Wayne.

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