The Secret Origin of the Joker

[cyberghostface]

This is from Batman #686.

Comments

[sherkahn]

First time I saw that page I said "Fuck me" in a crowded comic book store.
People were peering over my shoulder to see and I got so many "oh !@#". That last panel is always terrifying.

Well done.

[tsunamiwombat]

Only in that one timeline unfortunatly.

A freind of mine actually came up with the CRAZIEST theory/possibility that made us all crap our pants when he explained it, the 'Darth Vader' Scenario.

What if The Joker is Thomas Wayne, secretly surviving the assasination attempt on him and his wife, and going completly insane as a result of the murder of his wife despite all his philanthropy.

[theanswer]

I still don't quite get that story. Was it like different universes converging on to a single point or something?

[yaseen101]

To put it as simply as possible; it was Batman experiencing a near-death experience.

[neuhallidae]

Oh, God, I had the same reaction. This page is amazing.

[thokstar]

I can't decide if that would be better or worse than "The Joker is Bruce Wayne, brought back in time and stuck in a time paradox that forces him to commit the Joker's crimes for the sake of preserving the time stream."

(Things get strange when you start consider how this would affect The Killing Joke or the Death in a Family/Under the Hood sequence of events.)

[grazzt]

Was Death experiencing a near-Batman experience, too?

[sistermagpie]

Death hopes so!

[ladydouji]

I can never quite get over how pretty Alfred looks until that last terrifying panel. I love when he's styling the wig and looks like he's pouting(no idea why)

Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

[coolghoul]

I really liked that story. I read it in the Deluxe HC edition and besides it's gorgeous artwork, I think it had a cool story.

I don't think of it as alternate universes at all. More of a meta-story. The basic point is that the Batman will always be there. He might have a different origin, different villains, the specifics might change, but the Batman story will always happen. In other words, the Comic Gods abhor a "Bat-vacuum". As his "mother" tells him, he doesn't get to rest after his labors/efforts end as a result of his death. He only gets a period of rest. Before being born again and continuing to be the Caped Crusader against Crime/Evil/etc.

[yaseen101]

Dude, it's Batman. Do you have to even ask?

[comicoz]

I'm so glad I have this issue. This story and one other in there were pretty good. The rest...well they weren't bad, but some were waaaaay out there!

[jcbaggee]

Heh. It just now occurred to me that Alfred is putting on the Joker make-up over his mustache. I had a little fanboy giggle over that.

[schmevil]

I was so underwhelmed by that story.

[arcath]

that next to last panel looks like Cesar Romero a bit.

Re: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

[cf105]

I agree with Busiek in the fact that the DCU needs Batman. He has to exist to be the one man capable of making the 1 in a million shots, hard enough to drive an army of clones crazy, capable of out thinking the crazies. In a world without Batman everything dies.

[lysythe]

O.o WHAT.

[magnetic_regina]

Alfred looks hot in that second panel.

[psychopathicus_rex]

So, wait - this is an alternate universe sorta thing, right?

[salamangkiero]

I remember a friend telling me that the Killing Joke Joker origin had to be the most disturbing...simple because all it would take would be...One Bad Day. And then, everything after that would be a flip of the coin: Batman or the Joker. One who is the Fallen but serving the Light, and One who is both Human and Demonic, and serves none.