"The Joker's Five Way Revenge" Ending: The Upside of Oil Spills

[jlroberson]

This sequence just crossed my mind in light of the BP apocalyptic release of Pandora's Well. Oil does kill birds, destroy wetlands, all that. True. But.



An aside--I really miss this loose, energetic style of lettering Gaspar Saladino used.

Also: ads from the comic. Ah, guns, pirates, and false hope. Notice the DeVry scam is nothing new, as well.

Suggested tags: char: batman, creator: denny o'neil, creator: neal adams, creator: dick giordano, publisher: dc comics, industry: oil

Comments

[autolychus2]

Well, since I consider "The Killing Joke" to be the second best Batman story, after DKR, I have no idea what you mean by "ill-considered ending".

[jlroberson]

Batman and the Joker sharing a laugh at the end of a story in which he crippled Barbara and tortured Gordon. Even Moore thinks that was a misstep and--apart from Bolland's art--doesn't think it's very good overall himself. I wouldn't go that far, I like it, but I have always thought the ending was flawed at best and it's a pretty common opinion.

[psychopathicus_rex]

What I've always gotten from that is that this is the encounter that Bats really NEEDED to have with Joker from the beginning of the story. Sure, he's pissed off at him, but as the story starts, he's going to the asylum to try and find some way - ANY way - of ending the obsessive feud between them without getting one of them killed. The events of the story give him ample reason to be mad at him, of course, but they also underscore the reason why he wanted to talk to him in the first place - for whatever reason, he genuinely wants Joker to turn his life around and become sane, so that this madness can STOP, once and for all. The laughter is a rather grim recognition that not only CAN'T it stop, but that the two of them are more alike than either of them would like to admit.

[autolychus2]

Viewed in the context of the whole book, I agree with you. But, that was in the moment. People, even people as tightly wound as Bats say things like that in real life all the time.

I could tell you stories ...

To me, it was always gallows humor and was intended as such.

However, to hear that Moore regrets it saddens me.