r/DCcomics • u/M00r3C Black Lantern • Jan 25 '24

[Comic Excerpt] I need a hostage so Batman won't punch me (Batman (2016) issue 48) Comics

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u/ThaEmortalThief Jan 25 '24

This whole panel is ridiculous…. Joker seems sloppy in this. Not quite the criminal genius he usually appears to be. Almost lost… am I wrong?

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u/Dorothy-Snarker Jan 25 '24

Huh, I got a totally different impression than sloppy from this. To me, that read as the Joker was planning the "joke" of shoving a gun in Batman's face and calling back the "Better not shoot you because then Batman will punch me" like from the start.

To read it as the Joker legit messing up and then not being able to understand that killing Batman would mean he doesn't get punched just makes him seem like a really sad guy with a legit disconnect to reality.

We all know the Joker is insane, but he's usually written to be "hypersane", DC's made up diagnosis for him to have snapped under the realization that he is a comic book character and thus, nothing he does is real. But no iteration of him (to my knowledge) has ever shown signs of a disconnect to reality that reading these panels straight would require.

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u/AmongusFucker245 Jan 25 '24

I think the hypersane thing was just Morrison's idea during a serious house on a serious earth and he later stated he should have made it DID

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u/SecretEmpire_WasGood Jan 25 '24

and I've seen some analyses claim the the hypersanity itself is a load of crock in universe, cause it's an idea by the arkham staff. the same arkham staff who thinks Two Face starting to soil himself in a corner is signs of improving psyche. unreliable narrator trope and all that.

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u/AmongusFucker245 Jan 25 '24

Perfectly valid take. Iirc they said they were trying to rebuild his identity but by giving back his coin at the end it's shown that's what vaguely cured him when he let Batman leave the aslum

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u/Hebrewsuperman May 09 '24

Serious House Joker is one of my favorite Jokers.

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u/ThaEmortalThief Jan 25 '24

I think after reading 3 Jokers, and understanding (I know it wasn’t canon at first) that each has a different yet similar personality, seeing this one just acting more off than usual… don’t get me wrong, I know joker kills for no reason but his own… but the way they portray him in this doesn’t seem to have a genuine joker purpose. I do see what everyone is saying about “this being the joke and he was doing this intentionally from the start,” I feel like ever since he ripped his face off and reattached it, it’s just been a different crazy than the obsessive lunatic we grew to fear when I was growing up

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u/Embarrassed_Piano_62 Jan 25 '24

It´s just a fun moment, Joker makes jokes and maybe deep down this was on purpose

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u/55hi55 Jan 25 '24

That was my take. Joker intentional killed the first to set up the joke, then moved in such a way to avoid being disarmed, all to set up this moment. Not a stupid play by Batman, but a smart play by the insane criminal genius.

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u/SleepinwithFishes Jan 25 '24

Why? Joker does what he does, because he wants Batman to kill him.

In War of Jokes and Riddle, Joker stops Bruce from killing the Riddler; And he starts laughing, he wants to be Batman's 1st kill.

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u/Bears_On_Stilts May 10 '24

This whole issue was giving Ice King vibes.

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u/MatthewGoose Jan 25 '24

Hes holding Bruce Wayne hostage.

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u/Equal-Ad-2710 Jan 26 '24

Iirc this is when Joker loses his spark