The Joker is one of Batman’s deadliest villains, but the Authority‘s Midnighter just might be his most dangerous enemy of all. Now that the Authority will be getting a film adaptation in James Gunn’s new DCU, perhaps fans will get to see this rivalry on the big screen. As the dark vigilante of the Authority, Midnighter could easily be seen as little more than a Batman rip-off. However, there’s more to the black leather-clad superhero than being a mere copy. For one thing, Midnighter has enhanced abilities thanks to generic alterations and neural implants. These not only increase his strength and speed, but also turn his brain into a tactical supercomputer, allowing Midnighter to play out every conceivable moment during the heat of battle and effectively predict his opponent’s moves before they make them.
Yet while these powers give him the edge in almost every confrontation, they didn’t do much when Midnighter found himself facing off against the Joker. The fight occurred in the pages of DC/Wildstorm: DreamWar. Written by Keith Giffen and with art by Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott, the 2008 crossover sees the DC heroes invading the Wildstorm Universe at the behest of someone known only as Chimera. Things turn brutal rather quickly as Wildstorm teams like the Authority, the Wildcats, Gen13 and Stormwatch are besieged by the Justice League, the Teen Titans, the Justice Society and the Legion of Superheroes. As heroes begin dying left and right, the DC characters start to question the motives of Chimera, who is ultimately revealed to be a young teen living through an abusive situation. Gifted with great powers that have yet to fully blossom, Chimera was able to get a hold of a book from the Athenaeum, a dream library. While still asleep, the young teen conjures up fake versions of the DC heroes to take out the Wildstorm heroes, whom he blames for the death of his mother.
Joker’s Most Dangerous Enemy Isn’t Batman, It’s Midnighter
Even though they aren’t truly “real,” the DC heroes’ better nature ultimately shines through, and they team up with the Wildstorm characters to locate the young teen calling himself Chimera. In an attempt to hold on to his tenuous grasp, Chimera then conjures the DC villains to finish what the heroes started. Just as Midnighter discovers the trailer where Chimera lives, he’s beset by the Joker, and the Authority’s dark Batman winds up getting more than he bargained for in the ensuing fight. “Couldn’t get a read on that one,” Midnighter says of the Joker. “Every time I fought it out in my head… nada.”
The standoff is brief, but fascinating. The Joker’s unstable nature makes it hard for Midnighter to calculate his next move in his head. This leaves the Authority’s master strategist at something of a loss, as he suddenly finds himself facing off against a foe he can’t get the better of. Even though the Joker is a weak physical combatant, the Midnighter still has trouble gaining the upper hand even with all of his superior physical enhancements. The Clown Prince of Crime’s sheer unpredictability is his greatest asset in his battle against Midnighter, fighting the hero to a stalemate that the superior tactician can’t calculate his way out of.
Ultimately, the heroes find Chimera and wake him up, causing the false DC heroes and villains to disappear and reverting everything back to normal in the Wildstorm Universe. Even though it was all essentially just a “dream,” the story floats the interesting possibility that the Joker’s ultimate nemesis isn’t Batman, but rather the Authority’s Midnighter.
