Hey friend it’s always a pleasure getting those asks because I get to revisit some of my favorite comics and then flail about them, and this is gonna be another one of those instances – not so much an analysis but rather “why Dracze loves the thing”
So let me just say one thing right out the gate – many animated Jokers don’t quite hit the sweet spot for me, and this goes for BTAS Joker as well (yeah I can already hear your outraged cries)
I like them! I do!
They’re just…
not quite nailing that very specific vibe that made me love character the most. Comics and some games so far, and recently “Justice League Action” Joker and “Brave and the Bold” Joker, have been the only Jokers that made me go “Yup, THAT is my Clown Prince of Crime right there.”
That said, I still enjoyed “The New Batman Adventures” and while not quite mine, this Joker is still hella fun. And so is this comic – it’s fun, and fast-paced, it gets its emotional core to work really well and its entire premise is straight out of a fanfic scenario so there is very little here not to love.
Basically, during one of his crime sprees, Joker caused the death of the son of a would-be mayor (”He had it coming!” J declares, “He splahed mud on my new khaki walking shorts.” Which. ugh. J. I love it when he’s petty but… khaki? really?) and the grief-stricken father decides to take drastic steps: if Batman and the “liberal” Gotham justice system are not willing to take out this public menace for good, then he will put a prize on Joker’s head (to the tune of 50 million dollars!!!!) for anyone who actually manages to kill him.
And the Gothamites…
Let’s just say they embrace the idea
Since there’s a literal bloodhirsty mob waiting for Joker outside of Arkham, the Asylum’s director rightly assumes that bringing J there might not be the best idea. To which Gordon replies that actually he has no idea where Joker is, because Batman never turned him over to the police.
And that’s because, in true Batman fashion, instead of taking the risk of someone getting to kill Joker, Bruce decides to hide him away in the only safe place left in the city: the batcave.
Right off the bat, we get exactly the kind of comment from J we’d expect:
(D’awwwww. This ship literally sails itself I swear to God.)
Tim and Barbara are already in the cave, and as Bruce handcuffs J to the railing (jumping the gun a little there, Bruce? the clown literally just got in. Maybe wait a little until the kinky stuff huh?) Then in rides Dick on his motorcycle, and J warms right up into the role, going into full mom mode:
And I’m sorry but I’m having the time of my life here because my ultimate fluffyverse dream is to have J be part of the batfam not just for Bruce but for the kids as well and any glimpse of it, even in joke, is still treasured.
Trouble starts when Alfred descends into the batcave – J can’t see him, or he’ll know exactly who Batman really is, so Tim rushes to the rescue and tackles Alfred out of view, saying this:
Yeah no that’s not gonna put anyone at ease there, Timmy my boy.
Okay, so then the plot kicks in for good – Batman is needed since the Riddler is out on the town, leaving Gordon cryptic messages. Bruce leaves J with Barbara (and the creative team indulge in a bit of TKJ-evocative intertextual play, which honestly I could have done without) and leaves with Tim to deal with it. Riddler’s puzzle leads him to an abandoned theater where the trap is sprang – Riddler wants to keep Robin as a hostage until Batman delivers Joker to him, so Ed can kill him and earn the 50 mil. He emphasizes that he’s not above torturing Robin to get the information he needs if Batman doesn’t comply.
In the meantime, we cut away to Barbara who is on clown-sitting duty. J does his usual little shit stuff – sings, tries to rile Babs up with bad jokes, pretends they’re having a slumber party while lounging on the rail like… this…
And when he realizes that she won’t rise to his bait, he turns to the ultimate “gag” – he proves that what Batman cuffed was just a fake replica arm, and that he could have gotten out of the handcuffs at any time. He just waited to do so until it was “funny.” It’s a good moment, reminding us that Joker is SMART and a worthy opponent for Batman, and yeah the first time you read it it’s pretty damn terrifying.
Barbara, being the awesome badass she is, jumps straight to action and holds her own against J pretty damn well – but not for long. Sadly J manages to one-up her and we get a very disturbing “censored” panel of him clobbering her with his fake arm until she passes out (again, uncomfortable imagery I could have done without, poor Babs always getting the short straw here). Then J wonders what to do with himself until he is distracted by the sight of stairs. He follows them up to emerge from behind the grandfather clock to the manor proper, indulging in a “Shining” referece
(the layers of meta are kinda blowing my mind here)
His adventure is short-lived though, since Alfred promptly whacks him on the head and drags him right back down to the cave to a waking Barbara. Go Alfred. They then proceed to tie J up with duct tape, because “a gentleman’s gentleman is always prepared.”
Alfred Pennyworth for president.
Over with Bruce and Tim, they manage to get out of Ed’s ambush, but Ed himself slipped the fray and left another clue. The good citizens of Gotham are still on their full scale clown hunt, scouring the city with guns and any other weapon they can whip up on such short notice. There’s a bit of a kerfuffle when some random guy appears to have the real Joker in his custody, but in no time at all it’s revealed that it’s Clayface hoping to trick everyone and get the prize impersonating Joker; Nightwing takes him out with very little trouble, but ugh, yeah Dick, better wash that hair.
In the meantime, Bruce gets back to the cave, and we get to my favorite part of the entire issue. Let me just paste the entire exchange here because it’s so good it speaks for itself:
THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE. THIS IS WHY I’M IN THIS FANDOM IN THE FIRST PLACE. The game of wits. The one-upmanship. Joker’s thirst for Batman’s attention (the “…and you’re ignoring me” comment is genuinely chilling). Joker’s constant need to hit a nerve with Bruce, and Bruce’s indulgence (if he REALLY wanted Joker to shut up he would have gagged him right from the get-go instead of just vaguely threatening to do that). The fact that Joker wants to HELP (and be a nuisance while he’s at it) because the only thing as funny as messing with Batman is messing with the other rogues, ALONGSIDE Batman. The fact that even tied down and in a position of subservience Joker can completely control the situation. And that J blasts the illusion of Bruce genuinely getting the upper hand over him wide open with his admission that he’d been letting Bruce win, because he knows full well that with Batman gone he will have nothing to replace him with, no reason to keep on existing (that last bit doesn’t really apply to Timm-era animated Jokers who aren’t quite as wholly dependant on Batman for their existence as comics Jokers, which is part of why they don’t quite do it for me, but the sentiment of needing one another is still very much there in this exchange). That’s how I read their interactions too – Joker does go to a lot of effort to give Bruce a way out, always, even if he pretends it’s not the case. If the game is over, it’s over. It doesn’t make sense to end it while he’s still enjoying himself.
Joker really can play Batman like a “trombone,” and I LOVE the fact that even as they’re openly antagonistic, even as Batman is gearing for violence (!) Joker still ends up helping. (I like to think he used the musical instrument metaphor on purpose, to help Bruce get on the right track with the riddle. Because he’s a slippery bastard like that.)
With that clown-inspired lightbulb going off in Bruce’s head, he finds and takes out Eddie with no trouble at all, and admits:
Story of Bruce Wayne’s life.
Okay, so the part between Bruce and J in the cave is definitely my favorite and a top notch batjokes moment, but the finale is really good too, and a very emotional way to wrap up the issue. Mainly: Bruce decides that the mayhem won’t stop until Reid, the man who issued the reward, retracts it. So he goes for a bold statement – he kidnaps Reid in the middle of the night, takes him right to a tied-up Joker, and gives him a choice. He won’t let Reid “buy a murder” – if Reid wants the Joker dead, he’ll have to kill him himself, and Batman is giving him that opportunity right then and there.
He then retreats into the shadows, and Reid is seemingly left alone with his worst nightmare, and for a moment it seems that he might actually do it. When Joker actually baits him (”Get on with it!”) the man lunges for him.
But of course we know that Bruce wouldn’t put Joker in such a risk if he didn’t have every confidence that the man won’t be able to follow through, and he’s right. Reid hesitates, hands trembling, and then gives up, and admits that no, he can’t do it. He won’t kill another human being, no matter how depraved. We then learn that he does retract the reward and instead will use the money to start a fund for the victims of violent crime and their families – a very worthy goal, and one that is a much better healing mechanism than the drive to get revenge, as the comic reinforces at the end.
So yeah, strong stuff, a solid story with real emotional stakes told over just a few pages, but it’s no surprise – Gotham Adventures tends to be like that, telling smaller, quality human stories tha strike a nerve at the very least. This first issue does a great job of setting up the kind of themes the series will try to tackle, and the central theme here – not forgiveness, exactly, because J is never forgiven, nor should be he, but rather the slow trajectory of grief that can turn even the most benevolent and humanitarian of people to their lowest point, then redemption and reclamation of humanity even in the face of that tragedy – is a touching one to pursue, even if it came across a little ham-fisted here at times.
I would have loved the issue for the batjokes moments alone; the fact that it was centered around an ordinary man’s moral stumble and eventual redemption, that it focused on a very human idea of hope in getting back up again and doing more good in the world even with the burden of heavy trauma, just makes it all the more great.
I also love how the story validates Bruce’s rule not to kill his enemies, nor to let them get killed – it’s that human instinct to protect, redeem and win over those dark impulses that’s celebrated by the narrative. Unlike other stories like for example “Devil’s Advocate,” Bruce’s decision to protect Joker is never questioned by his allies – none of the batfam protest it, and neither does Gordon, all agreeing that this is necessary if only because if Joker actually does get killed, they’ll have to put Reid, a good man and known humanitarian, in jail. More than that though, the possibility that Bruce might NOT protect Joker and just let him get murdered, as it arguably would make the city safer in the long run, is never raised in this story, where it would have been so easy to once again make it the center of the conflict. I’m GLAD this issue doesn’t go there because the to kill or not to kill angst is something I’m frankly tired of, in Batman canon and in fandom discussions alike. Here, it’s a non-issue because the answer is obvious to Bruce and to everyone who really knows him, and it’s a breath of fresh air to have that kind of unquestioned certainty and validation of Bruce’s personal moral code.
So yeah, in short, it’s a great, funny, witty, moving standalone story with fantastic character beats and a plot that you could easily see happening in Gotham. Go read it.
And enjoy even more fodder for all our “J is trapped in the batcave” fanfic.
Dracze's Rambles 