BW Media Spotlight

The Joker. The Clown Prince Of Crime. That playing card that seems to get little attention outside of building a game show around it, but the villain styled on it gets all the attention. Some would even say too much, but we’ll get into that. The Joker is arguably Batman’s most popular arch enemy, though the Ridder is still my favorite. He’s really popular with the writers and the higher-ups at DC Comics. So you wouldn’t think they’d screw up such an important character.

You really don’t understand the corporate mindset.

They never look to see WHY a character is popular. They just see that he is and want to capitalize on him. That makes the Joker more exciting to writers, who see doing a Joker story as some kind of right of passage even if they aren’t doing a Batman story. Superman’s dealt with him solo. So has Wonder Woman, the Flash, Spider-Man even though he’s not IN the DC universe, and I’m pretty sure that this point Sugar and Spike have run into him, though I could be wrong on that point. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Gemworld or some Sonic Disruptors story. I didn’t have to look that last one up. I saw the ad so often I’m surprised I never read it.

The problem is that the main DC Comics have so screwed up the idea of the Joker that fans are calling for him to die…or at least for Batman to do so, because heaven forbid a judge, a cop in the paddy wagon willing to deal with punishment, someone at Arkham, or an army of Gothamites don’t try to do it. Nope, has to be Batman, or at least have Batman allow Red Hood to finish him off. In truth, fans would hate that because at some point want a Joker story. It’s the idea that Batman hasn’t killed the Joker yet to save Gotham, thus violating Batman’s “no kill” policy like he needs to be the Punisher now (though the DC universe has at least two would-be Punishers in Vigilante and Wild Dog), that has actually damaged Batman as a character in some of these fans’ perspective.

However, let’s focus on how the Joker has been depicted in recent years, how DC comic writers (and some movie writers) have damaged the character, and how DC editorial let it happen if not called for it with trade writing and Eventitis.

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