Written by: Alan Moore
Illustrated by: Brian Bolland
Here’s a psycho that knows how to have a good time! In all
fairness, he’s the only one in my reading this semester that fell into a
chemical waste runoff pond (likely) after losing his wife that morning to a
freak baby bottle heater accident (maybe). In this classic graphic novel we get
a glimpse into the Joker’s background, though it’s revealed near the end that
it’s probably not wholly accurate.
“Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another.”
We get that line after seeing the creation of Batman’s
nemesis through a series of flashbacks. It’s a revelation that was without
controversy, as the Joker’s origin has been famously vague since his inception.
And while getting the real skinny on his creation is never likely to happen,
many I’ve talked to or read about believe this to be the closest to reality.
But, in the end, it’s just a story not unlike the ones Heath Ledger told during
his turn as the Clown Prince in The Dark
Knight.
And I think that’s the point of this book. We’ve read a lot
books with psychos this semester, and seen a couple movies, but this one points
out a what those glazed over: We never know what will drive somebody over the
edge. Is it nature? Nurture? Is the Joker a born psycho or did he just snap one
day like Michael Douglass in Falling Down
(a movie I saw as a kid but makes way more sense as an adult)?
The Killing Joke
isn’t your kid’s comic book. There are serious themes explored, and a vital
turning point in the Batman universe
(the rise of Oracle when Barbara Gordon is paralyzed). We see a nude
Commissioner Gordon paraded by circus folk to a rollercoaster of insanity, led
by Joker. During the ride he’s exposed to graphic imagery of his just-shot
daughter, bleeding and naked in his living room. All of this to prove a point:
one bad day is all it takes to trigger a psychotic break.
But why? I think it’s the Joker’s way of justifying his
existence. It’s his way to show the world that he wasn’t a bad guy, just a guy
who had a really, really bad day. If
it could happen to him, it can happen to us all. It’s not a plea to Gotham to
accept him or to absolve him of acts, but a warning. It’s been said that all
Joker wants is to watch the world burn. As long as the rational people
outnumber the psychos, it’s not going to be easy for him to set it ablaze. If
he can show the people of Gotham that their beloved police commissioner can
crack, what does that do for their tenuous grip on reality?
I don’t think this book is groundbreaking or amazing or even
excellent, but it is a good, if not great, addition to the Batman universe. It
gives a level of depth to the Batman mythos that takes it beyond the comic book
and into a cultural icon. Yes, it was one before this, but this book is the Batman
book that reminds us that his world is dark and filled with monsters as dark as
any that exist in ours.
I used the exact same line about the Joker's unreliability. His unknown origin, and gift for making up backstory that may or may not be true, are a stock part of the Joker storyline.
ReplyDeleteIf the Joker can prove that someone as good and noble as Commissioner Gordon can snap and become bad, then he doesn't have to take responsibility for his own actions. He can set the world on fire, even if it is just his corner of Gotham, and know that other people will snap and join him.
I really like this version of events. It's dark and twisted.
I like origin stories, even ones that may or may not be true. And I agree with you that the Joker is trying to provide a reason for his deeds, not an apology. I think he wants/needs to feel like he is no different than anyone else. He wants to prove the old adage "There but for the grace of God go I"
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that I didn't care for was the end. It almost made it seem to me at least that this may have all been some dream in the Joker's head while sitting in the Asylum.
I suppose it's a lot easier for me to accept some of the things the Joker says about his past when I compare him to Heath Ledger's version. He gives us backstory, and some of it may be true, but there's no way to know for certain because the psycho is telling it. For all we know, the Joker could've had a hand in his family's deaths and not remember it that way. But it still makes him more multidimensional as a character, so in that, I think this story did a pretty good job.
ReplyDeleteChad, I liked your take on this story -- the Joker is trying to both explain, and maybe just a little, justify why he is the way he is. I got the impression that he wanted to feel like he was no different than any other "normal" person in Gotham, too. He'd just had a really, really bad day, like you said.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that he picked Gordon, and not Batman, as the symbol of goodness, and justice for his little experiment, though.
I think Gordon and Barbara were just more accessible than Batman. Gordon was Batman's mouthpiece, so in a way the target WAS Batman.
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