*BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE SPOILERS AHEAD*
I’m not sure why I feel the need to notify for spoilers since the graphic novel has been out since 1988, but there it is. If you don’t want me to spoil nearly 30-year-old content for you, then don’t continue reading.
Last Monday and Tuesday saw the highly anticipated limited theatrical release of Batman: The Killing Joke, and of course I had to go see it. With the exception of paying much too high of a price for a DC (the city not the company) movie ticket, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience.
The thing that always brings me back to comics is their thematic ability to transcend the direct story on the page. Superman can fly into the sun and use his body cells as mini-batteries to ensure that it continues working properly (All-Star Superman). Robin can be brutally murdered at the hands of the Joker (Batman: A Death in the Family). Hell, Batman can fight Superman (most recently, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) and Captain America can fight Iron Man (Civil War).
But behind the images and words on the page, there are themes that speak to the world and the human condition no differently than any other form of literature. Yes, I just called comic books literature.
All-Star Superman, at its core, is about the existence and consequences of mortality. Batman: A Death in the Family shows us grief and loss through the eyes of one of our most beloved characters. Batman v Superman asks us which of the presented systems of justice is best for all. Civil War shows us what happens when Captain America (Traditional America) is challenged by Iron Man (Technological America).
Comic books teach us about ourselves with characters we love, and The Killing Joke is no different.
One of the most iconic Batman stories of all time, The Killing Joke presents us with the origin of the Joker. Side note, I’m not a huge fan of the story itself, but its themes are interesting so I’ll survive. Readers are shown that he was a failed comedian attempting to support his wife. Needing money, he agrees to help some guys who need help breaking into a chemical plant. During the break-in, the plan falls apart and he falls into a vat of chemicals (typical comic book origin cop-out, I know) which bleaches his skin and drives him mad. The rest, as they say, is history.
We learn this information through flashbacks scattered throughout the main storyline. I’ll sum that up as quickly as I can. The Joker breaks out of Arkham Asylum and buys a run carnival/amusement park. He then goes to the Gordons’ house, shoots Barbara in the stomach, makes some extremely punny and disgusting librarian jokes about damaged spines (Barbara becomes paralyzed in the incident), kidnaps Commissioner Gordon, and finally strips Barbara down naked to take pictures of her. He then takes Commissioner Gordon to the amusement park and attempts to drive him crazy, not the least brutal of which is projecting the images of naked and beaten Barbara to her father as he’s being tortured.
As Batman arrives, Joker gives him the foundational monologue of the entire story:
“I did so want you to be here. You see it doesn't matter if you catch me and send me back to the asylum... Gordon's been driven mad. I've proved my point. I've demonstrated there's no difference between me and everyone else! All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day. You had a bad day once, am I right? I know I am. I can tell. You had a bad day and everything changed.”
Though Gordon actually wasn’t driven mad, the Joker believes he has won and gives a glimpse into the inner workings of his mind. One bad day. Joker’s bad day was falling into the vat of chemicals. Batman’s bad day was the night his parents were killed. Gordon’s bad day was meant to break him so Joker could finally prove to Batman that he isn’t so different from everyone else.
And the scariest thing here is that Joker is right. One bad day is all it takes to drive someone mad. Obviously, Joker and Batman handle their madness in opposite ways. But, they’re both still mad.
Traumatic events affect everyone differently, but how someone handles those events will inevitably shape rest of their life.
We can choose to let our trials consume us, like Joker. Or, we can use our challenges as motivation to keep moving forward.
The choice is purely individual, but I know who I’d rather be.
