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RSS FeedThe Countdown: The Joker Gets The Last Laugh
The Joker: The head that can't be shrunk. (DC Comics)
As we here at Comic Riffs eagerly await Friday's cinematic release of the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight," we are spending this week counting down the top five Joker moments of all time:
Countdown to "Dark Knight': Top Joker Moment No. 4...
The moment: In Frank Miller's comic "The Dark Knight Returns," Batman comes out of retirement many years past his prime to once again try to bring justice to the streets of Gotham.
The full story: Set 20 years into the future in a media-obsessed world, Batman's return is considered big news. Especially to the Joker who has spent the past 10 years in a catatonic funk. Motivated by the return of his greatest enemy, the Joker somehow convinces his shrink that he's finally sane and wants the world to know. So the Joker appears on a late-night talk show and proceeds to kill everyone in the studio while escaping the authorities. Batman goes after the Joker in a rage, realizing that if he had killed him a long time ago, a lot of pain and suffering could have been avoided. But when Batman finally gets his gloves around the Joker's chalky white neck, he still can't bring himself to cross that fatal line. The Joker, disappointed that Batman still couldn't do the deed, decides to finish the job, twisting his broken neck and killing himself in an attempt to frame Batman for murder.
What lines and moments can't you forget? Share them in the comments section.
--David Betancourt
By Michael Cavna |
July 15, 2008; 1:00 PM ET
| Category:
Superheroes
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Posted by: Andrew | July 15, 2008 3:32 PM
Well, Miller's book was superb in a lot of ways, but its most supernatural moment was the two panels where they "kill" Jason. "ALFRED: Have you forgotten about Jason, sir? BRUCE: I will never forget Jason. He honored me."
That was it, but every issue after that was "when will Robin get it?". Did Miller get permission? It took them two years to follow it up to its conslusion, and frankly, I think the Joker could have killed Jason/Robin a lot better.
I read the original Red Mask story, with the Joker as a surprise guest at the end. "the Killing Joke" took this campy throw-away origin and made it into something sublime. It's the same Joker, but you finally got a look at the horror his victems experienced.
But before all of them, to me, was Neal Adams. His Joker was, as far as I can tell, the first one to kill someone with an exploding cigar.
Posted by: JoE | July 15, 2008 9:41 PM
More recently, my most vivid memory of the Joker came from the recent "Crisis". Lex confronts a powerless Alex Luthor with the line: "Your biggest mistake was not letting the Joker play." Then, with ruthless laughter, Joker does his thing as Alex screams for mercy.
After years of Joker being heartless yet cunning, his core nature was displayed in this lone comic frame. I felt a real sense of what he COULD accomplish on a higher level, if it weren't for Batman. I'm actually not a big fan of killing in comics, but this one panel really struck a note.
Posted by: Matt B. | July 16, 2008 11:00 AM
The joke in Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's "The Killing Joke" - the joke (two men are trying to jump across a building - one jumps across, the other is afraid to jump - the guy who has jumped said he will light his flashlight to act as a bridge for the other guy - the other guy says he will not cross because 'what if you turn the flashlight off'. My interpretation of the joke is that both Joker and Batman are trying to set each other on the path of righteousness. but each believes that the other is afraid to have faith and make the leap - in effect, both are (from their own point of view) 'friends' trying to help the other see the light.
While I haven't seen the new movie yet, from the reviews, I think the movie's relationship between Joker and the Batman share this type of warped relationship.
Purely visually, my favorite 'Joker' scene is from Steve Englehart - Marshall Rogers' Joker story from way back, when Joker uses a variant of his gas on fish - leaving fishes with Joker faces. Great art by Rogers.
Posted by: Junsok Yang | July 16, 2008 12:20 PM
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This Joker moment was the one for me. But then again, there's the one where he killed Robin...