Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman #139!The Joker is redefining the biggest tragedy in Batman’s life. Isolated from his family, the Dark Knight has had enough and is out to stop the Clown Prince of Crime once and for all. But the Joker has a lot to say about the many deaths of Bruce Wayne’s closest loved ones.
In Batman #139 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jiménez, the Caped Crusader tracks his most bitter enemy down to the home of a toy magnate. The Harlequin of Hate is ready for his nemesis and has a gruesome collection of dummies waiting for Batman, arranged to look like the deaths of Bruce’s parents.
Joker calls Batman’s origin the happiest day of Bruce’s life, saying it allowed him to become the costumed vigilante he wanted to be. Joker has set up other macabre tableaus of other deaths such as Jason Todd, Alfred Pennyworth, and Catwoman, suggesting that the people who get too close to Batman are destined to share the same fate.
Joker Thinks Batman Secretly Likes the Tragedies That Take His Loved Ones Away
While Bruce has lost a number of his loved ones to violence, he’s intentionally decided to isolate himself from the people who care about him. “Gotham War” saw the Bat-Family face a huge schism when Catwoman introduced a plan to curb crime in the city by retraining criminals to target Gotham’s wealthiest. Most of the team was on board with at least studying the idea, causing Batman to become furious with his allies. Spurred on by his violent alter ego, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, Bruce fought his family before stepping down and handing the reins of the team over to Nightwing and Oracle.
Batman loves the Bat-Family, but the Joker has a point, at least when it comes to the hero’s recent behavior. The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh has been driving Bruce further and further into isolation, reinforcing the idea that the people in Bruce’s life are holding him back. This echoes the Joker’s thesis about that awful night in Crime Alley. When Bruce lost his parents, he became the greatest crime-fighter in the entire DC Universe. Batman, or at least his dark Zur-En-Arrh persona, agrees with the idea that losing people is a good thing for Bruce because it makes him much more unrestrained and efficient when it comes to fighting evil.
Batman’s Worst Side Wants to Be Alone to Become A Better Hero
One of Batman’s worst flaws is that he continually pushes people away, but he only keeps people at arm’s length because it tears him up whenever he sees the people he loves die. However, according to the Joker, the darkest part of Bruce’s psyche likes these kinds of tragedies because it makes him alone, and thus, free to indulge in his never-ending quest to destroy crime. Joker may have hit the nail on the head when it comes to pointing out that Batman’s horrifically dark origin was incredibly freeing to the worst side of himself.
Batman #139 is on sale now from DC Comics.
