Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #200

[cyberghostface]

 

Comments

[informationgeek]

...I don't get it.

This feels so stupid.

[lego_joker]

Never realized 'til now this was done by the From Hell guy...

[an_idol_mind]

How many stories have put Batman in a situation where he needs to save the Joker, either to prevent others from dying or because of his moral code?

[lego_joker]

I actually made a photo-gallery of such scenes in my youth. Off the top of my head...

1.) Joker's debut technically counts, but this being OG Bruce it's implicitly because he's a bigger ego boost if captured alive.
2.) After that, though, we need to skip allllllllll the way ahead to DKR and TKJ - Miller and Moore, despite being the vanguards of grimdark!Batman, were also kinda the guys who cemented the no-kill code (prior to that it didn't really come up too often, and Bronze Age Bruce was actually kind of blase about leaving villains to fend for themselves in collapsing/exploding lairs).
3. Detective Comics Annual #5 has a fairly textbook scene, with Bruce saving Joker from an Eclipso-demon personifying Jim Gordon's hatred.
4. Ditto "Going Sane", though that might be mitigated by it being a younger Bruce, who had just seen Joker display a rare bit of human vulnerability.
5. The second Batman-Punisher crossover had, I think, Bruce stalling Frank while telling the Joker to run for his life.
7. Devil's Advocate infamously had him going through hell and highwater to get Joker (framed for one specific murder) off death row.
8. Action Comics #519 had Bruce desperately trying to keep Superman from doing the deed. The details are way too long and frankly convoluted to lay down here, but it basically ended with Clark going "Gee, Lois would totally be fine with dying as long as I didn't murder the Joker" and her dumping his ass for the better part of a year.
9. "The Demon Laughs" had Bruce reviving Joker via Lazarus Pit, since he was the only one who knew where Ra's was going to drop his latest super-plague.
10. Last Laugh (Dixon reeeallly loves this one) had Bruce giving Joker CPR to spare Dick from a guilty conscience.
11. The finale of "Under the Hood" (more accurately, "All They Do Is Watch Us Kill"), I think, speaks for itself.

Again, this is just off the top of my head... anyone who remembers more, feel free to chime in...

[cyberghostface]

[smileriot]

I have a ton to add here, but not off the top of my head! It depends on the writer and story arc / verse, but it’s usually deeper than ‘Batman refuses to kill’ that unfortunately has taken the spotlight as the easier route. It’s unfortunate that its lost the original explanation and has been replaced with a shallow one.

[smileriot]

This was one of my ultimate favourite Joker/Batman comics. It was a great trip down memory lane, it drew on older comics that explored the depth of their relationship and misled the reader (and cast) with red herrings. Most new comics are flat, unoriginal, out of character takes; this one was a surprising find at the time. I think it was one of the last good issues before the batverse went down in flames, at least from my POV.