Batman and the Joker have a pretty horrible relationship — mostly because of Batman’s justified refusal to kill the Joker. Meanwhile, the Joker has a desire so twisted that Batman can never fulfill it. While some fans might think that the Joker simply wants to kill or be killed by Batman, the truth is that the Joker wants to become Robin.

In Batman: Last Knight on Earth #2 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, Batman finally learns exactly what it is that the Joker wants. After the world is utterly destroyed by humanity choosing doom over justice, Batman awakes in an apocalyptic world and finds the decapitated head of the Joker. Shockingly, the Joker is still perfectly alive.

Batman needs a guide to the strange, dangerous world that he finds himself in, so he takes the Joker with him. This scenario leads to tons of conversations between the two, and it’s here that the Joker admits the one thing he truly wants: to be Batman’s Robin.

The Joker Admits that He’s Always Wanted to Be Robin

Batman: Last Knight on Earth #2 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, and Tom Napolitano

Batman and the Joker have been fighting one another for decades. They’ve become a major part of each other’s lives, and some interpretations have even positioned them as twisted friends. Snyder and Capullo’s New 52 run on Batman heavily leaned into that idea, so it’s no surprise to see the same concept brought up again in Last Knight On Earth by the same creative team. While the Joker is no doubt a Batman villain, he has tried to “help” the Dark Knight in his own way, a truth best seen during Death of the Family (again by Snyder and Capullo), wherein the Joker thought he was making Batman stronger by getting rid of the Bat-Family.

The Joker has always been unique among Batman’s villains because he doesn’t necessarily want to kill Batman. Other villains like Two-Face, the Penguin, and Black Mask typically want control of Gotham itself, and Batman is just an obstacle to that goal. Villains like Bane, the Riddler, or Hush all specifically want to kill Batman. But the Joker doesn’t want either of these things. Instead, the Joker has only ever wanted to be the center of Batman’s attention, and he doesn’t care how that happens. With the world now destroyed and the Joker having no way to force Batman’s attention, he simply admits that he wants to be Robin.

The Joker Has Always Wanted to Be Batman’s True Partner

The Joker Surprisingly Did Become Robin in This Story

The Joker has always been fixated on Batman, but his desires have never been as lethal as other villains, at least not for Batman. The Joker simply wants Batman’s attention at any cost. There’s no better way to be close to Batman than by becoming his Robin. It puts a lot of the Joker’s past actions into a new light, such as the Joker killing off Jason Todd, possibly to open up the role for himself to fill. While the motivations and desires of the other villains have always been pretty straight forward, the Joker’s true desire for Batman is pretty twisted.

Batman: Last Knight on Earth #2 is available now from DC Comics!