Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman #142!Superman’s iconic prison has nothing on the torturous holding facility Batgirl is one day going to design for the Joker. The Phantom Zone is infamous for holding the criminals too much for even Superman to handle. But when Barbara Gordon begins calling the shots at GCPD, she designs an unsettling prison meant for the Clown Prince of Crime.
In Batman #142 by Chip Zdarsky, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Andrea Sorrentino, a glimpse into the future reveals a Gotham that’s only gotten worse as time has gone on. The Joker is still the most problematic force facing Gotham, forcing future Commissioner Barbara Gordon to take extreme measures.
Rather than throwing Joker in Arkham, the former Batgirl devised a machine that would keep Joker trapped in a virtual world where he always fought, and lost to Batman. While the device was successful, an Arkham doctor accidentally helped Joker escape from one of his most secure prisons ever.
Batgirl Almost Made a Joker-Proof Prison
On the surface, Joker seems to be no different from many of Batman’s other villains like Riddler or Two-Face. However, Joker has gone above and beyond what the other Gotham rogues have done. He’s survived who knows how many near-death experiences and escaped from the most secure of facilities. Some have entertained killing the Joker and putting an end to him for good. However, Batman and most of his allies refuse to cross that line and operate within the system as it exists. It’s not a perfect system, but Batman refuses to go down to his worst enemy’s level.
Batgirl, on the other hand, has all the reason in the world to want to make Joker suffer. She’d never break Bruce’s rule against taking a life, but she’s more than happy to trap Joker in a false reality where he loses over and over again. Superman is often criticized for his last resort, the Phantom Zone, but his harsh prison is at least real-life and not a false reality Superman is trapping his worst enemies in. Of course, one could argue that if anyone deserves to be trapped forever in a virtual system, it’s the Joker.
Is Batgirl’s Joker Prison the Right Answer?
Batgirl has come the closest the Bat-Family’s come to defeating the Joker. Is it right to lock up someone and distort their image of reality? If that someone is the Joker, many would probably say yes. There’s very little Gotham’s heroes can do to stop the Joker for good, but this almost did it (and it would have worked had it not been for the misguided doctor who helped Joker escape). While it’s a dark line Bat-Family would be treading, Batgirl’s anti-Joker prison might be the only way to stop his reign of terror for good.
Batman #142 is available now from DC Comics.
Batman #142 (2024) | |
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