Introducing Clownhunter

[cyberghostface]

First there was Punchline. Now, entering the Joker War, there is... Clownhunter.



"CLOWNHUNTER is a quiet, weird kid who lives in the Narrows. He mumbles jokes to himself under his breath, but doesn’t speak up in class or while he’s gaming late at night. When he was a kid, he saw his parents killed by the Joker, and his life was saved by Batman. He idolized Batman for years. But when Joker War starts, and Batman can’t stop it out the gate, he picks up a baseball bat, hammers in the Batarang Batman gave him as a kid, and goes out to start killing the Clown gang members terrorizing his neighborhood.

He’s a different sort of vigilante. Vigilantes in Gotham normally come with high tech costumes and gadgets. He’s more lo-fi, and more willing to cross the lines that the usual vigilantes don’t. There’s a dark, young city brewing underneath Batman’s feet in Gotham… On one hand we have Punchline, who represents a new kind of villain, a kind of young person radicalized into believing something deeply dangerous… On the other hand, we have Clownhunter, who sees himself as a hero, but has tossed out the entire moral playbook of Batman, and doesn’t respect his old ways of looking at the world." -- James Tynion IV

Comments

[thanekos]

" I promise, I didn't dig him out of Chuck Dixon's recycling bin. " - James Tynion IV

[jlbarnett]

it's been done and the look sucks

if you're going to wear elbow and knee pads how about not leaving a ton of exposed skin everywhere else

[scorntx]

That much exposed skin in a coastal city like Gotham.
Poor mite's gonna catch a chill if he's not careful.

[cainofdreaming]

Don't use the m-word around Bat-franchise. Shenanigans will ensue.

[zachbeacon]

Bat-Mite could only improve things, given how off the rails the franchise has gone.

[lordultimus]

At least Punchline has a unique design, what the hell does this kid have that three dozen urban vigilante's over the years don't?

[thezmage]

I can’t complain about the costume, it’s not like he’s going to survive the story arc anyways

[beyondthefringe]

I dunno, they might be setting us up for a 6 issue mini... CLOWNHUNTER AND PUNCHLINE: A ROMANCE WITH BATS.

[obsidianwolf]

So as others have said derivative design that's been done before.

I"m just curious what fate awaits. Will it be the standard jumps off the slippery slope and has to be stopped by Batman cause Killing is wrong or will it be the brutally murdered to show unprepared folks shouldn't be doing this or some combination of the two.

He's not original enough to get enlightened by Batman about how killing the Joker is wrong and stick around.

[leahandillyana]

So Red Hood minus gadgets, huh? Come on.

[shakalooloo]

"I hate clowns and idolise Batman. That's why I have a bright red mohawk on the top of my helmet."

[jaxjyls]

Kind of stepping on Jason's toes as the angsty edgelord of Gotham

[tripodeca113]

Visually it leaves something to be desired.

I don't see him lasting long as a vigilante.

[deh_tommy]

Joker War is starting to remind me a bit of Gotham City Impostors. That game was pretty fun.

[zachbeacon]

So did Jason Todd have a scheduling conflict or something?

[reveen]

Maybe save the complaining about zoomers you only make reactionary judgements against and never meaningfully interact with for Facebook and leave it off the comic book you're professionally paid to write?

Oh, who am I kidding. He probably thinks they're millennials.

[cyberghostface]

Huh?

[laughing_tree]

Same reaction. I mean, I'm pretty sure James Tynion literally is a millennial.

[zachbeacon]

I think it was a commentary on how a lot of people (including other millennials) say "millennial" when they mean "young people" and ignore that a lot of us are edging toward 40.

Also James Tynion is apparently five years younger than me so that's a bummer.

[kurenai_tenka]

All of these Jason comparisons are very rude, and I wish I had a good counter-argument for them. xD

[tcampbell1000]

"He'll CROSS the LINE that other vigilantes DON'T! By which we mean he'll TURN HIMSELF IN BECAUSE VIGILANTISM IS ILLEGAL.

"What, you thought we were talking about killing folks? Look, between the Punisher, Huntress, Azrael, Red Hood, and whoever the hell else we've forgotten, we think the seal's already been broken on that one! I mean, it'd be kind of silly to present THAT aspect of the character as a new idea!"

[I get it, I get it, everyone whom Batman works with doesn't kill right NOW. All will be forgiven if Jason Todd ends up being the one having to talk Clownhunter down from slaughtering some rando.

Jason: "I know how you feel, BELIEVE me I know, but you can't kill him!"
Clownhunter: "Why not?"
Jason: "...I DON'T KNOW."]

[zachbeacon]

Jason: "I know how you feel, BELIEVE me I know, but you can't kill him!"
Clownhunter: "Why not?"
Jason: "...because you need to save your energy for killing the Joker. There are apparently three of them now.

*And then Jason gains a new sidekick. Hopefully he lasts longer than the last one*

(What happened to Scarlet, anyway?)

Edit: And as far as the Gotham Murder Vigilante Squad we also have...
The Creeper
Jason Blood / Etrigan
Ragman
Manhuter
Batwoman
Anarchy
Onyx
Damian
Harvey Bullock
Several Villains that were basically part of the Bat Family at one point or another (Two-Face, Bane, Clayface, the Riddler, the Sirens, ect)

...but I'm sure Insane Clown Posse Lad or whatever his name is is unique and special.

Pretty sure only Alan Scott and about half the Robins and Batgirls qualify as "respectable" heroes. Batman sure doesn't.

[zachbeacon]

Oh, and Hitman. Totally forgot Tommy.

Batman is doing a fantastic job policing the dangerous vigilante population in "his" city.

[scorntx]

... is it weird that all of a sudden, Batman comes across less as a dark and brooding anti-hero of the night, and more that kid who swore blind you never really caught them when playing tag?

[zachbeacon]

I think of him more as that rich kid that invites you over but won't let you play with any of "his" cool stuff.

Stuff that actually belongs to his parents. And Alan Scott. And maybe Jonah Hex. And weird old man Arkham.

But at least he's less of a dick than than those other rich kids that always want to pretend they're owls.

Edit: Then you have Hush...
Bruce: Stop copying me.
Tommy: Stop copying ME.
Bruce: Stop it.
Tommy: Stop it.

[dc2houseofmystery]

My problem is how UN-iconic Punchline and Clownhunter's designs are. They're so BORING. These aren't characters that'll last the test of time!

For Punchline, it's like they decided that the most iconic version of Harley Quinn was her nu52-Rebirth "casual" design(s), and not the harlequin bodysuit. But the thing about the "casual" design(s) is that it had years of being utilised, of being the foundation. That's what makes her "casual" design(s) work. For Punchline, they skipped to casual, when she needed something with a bit more oomph.

And Clownhunter... I mean, look at it. What even is that.

Possibly no future for him.

[sisterofbloomerjunior]

An attempt at retro-('70's) punk, I guess.

Re: Possibly no future for him.

[dc2houseofmystery]

I imagine he'll have a healthy-ish run under Tynion, and if he catches on, cool. Then we'll see him sporadically. But if he doesn't catch on (and that's the direction I'm leaning toward), he'll be Joker-fodder in a couple of years when the Joker does his next big crossover appearance.

[lissa_quon]

His shoes bug me. Those aren't shoes for fighting or tromping around. His asthetic has a lot of punk vibes but his shoes are crap. Someone give that poor kid some Docs or something similar.

Also he could use a heavy jacket or at least sleeves.(His vest looks like it WAS at one point a jacket) The mohawk...is a choice - visiaully I don't hate it but I'm not sure as to why its here. Also the ties or laces or whatever on the gloves - are impractical as hell. Gonna get snagged on something in five minutes. I can see them being great from an art "lets show movement" standpoint but BAD from a living charcter standpoint.

[sisterofbloomerjunior]

Eh, I guess he also hustles at pick up street basketball games on the side. They could be off-brand attempts at Air Jordans.