While he is still a psychopathic and maniacal killer who’s committed some of the most heinous and twisted crimes, the Joker‘s origin story from Batman: The Killing Joke is so utterly tragic that the suffering he experiences as a regular man almost makes up for every messed up thing he’s ever done. Okay, not really. Regardless, Batman: White Knight’s alternate version of Joker’s origin story possibly surpasses all others in terms of sheer heart-wrenching sadness as Harley Quinn, a woman who had fallen in love with the man who becomes Joker, witnesses his horrific transformation firsthand. Just think of what it would have been like if the Joker’s wife in The Killing Joke had seen her husband fall into the vat of chemicals?
But his wife wasn’t there, because she had just died. The agonizing nature of The Killing Joke originates from a moment of desperation for her nameless husband, where shame and fear compel him to venture into the terrifying world of crime to remedy the financial burden he’d put upon his pregnant wife. But all of that tension unceremoniously ends when he discovers on the day he is to commit the crime that she and his unborn child have died. His rebirth therefore contributed nothing to his tragedy because the Joker’s identity as a husband and father had already been destroyed. But that isn’t the case in Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn #4 by Katana Collins and Sean Murphy with art by Matteo Scalera.
In White Knight, Jack Napier is the man who will become Joker. He isn’t married, but he’s in a relationship with Harleen Quinzel, who is still very much alive on the night of his rebirth and witnesses the tragedy firsthand. Compounding things further, the two had gone through a rough falling out sometime before, she having driven Jack away for writing a paper on his condition and he embracing a life of crime supposedly as a result of her exploiting said condition. And yet, the two stumble upon each other while Jack is partaking in criminal activity. Somehow, the two make amends in record-breaking time, an incredible development that almost seems too good to be true, and soon turns out to be just that. Batman suddenly enters the scene, and in seconds, Jack falls into the chemicals.
Harley doesn’t just witness him falling. In fact, she experiences a slew of utterly painful events that transpire in such rapid succession that it’s miraculous that she doesn’t lose her mind right then and there. After seeing the chemicals submerge her beloved Jack, she beholds the gruesome sight of his hand emerging from the deadly liquid as he gasps out her name. But on account of Batman’s presence, she cannot go to the aid of her loved one and is forced to stay huddled in the shadows as she endures the agonizing cries of Jack as he pleads for her to stay away because he’s beyond saving.
If it’s even possible, her suffering is exacerbated further by the fact that Harley later stays with Jack after he becomes Joker. As she reveals earlier on, she not only viewed Joker as a different entity than Jack, but she never loved the insane monster he became. She only loved Jack. As such, this new version of Joker’s origin story is a truly welcome addition to his rather staggeringly extensive and ever-growing history. Although White Knight is not canon, fans undoubtedly hope that aspects of this tragedy become more than just mere legend, as the pain Harley Quinn endures as a result undoubtedly shapes her into a more compelling character and, more importantly, a stronger woman and nurturing yet tough mother.
