38 years ago, Batman maybe broke his most important rule and it became one of his best stories ever

There are many legendary Batman comics, but one story stands out even after 38 years. In it, Batman not only laughs at a joke from the Joker, but the story also explores how far Batman would go.

When looking at which Batman comics are the best, one quickly encounters The Killing Joke (1988), by the legendary author Alan Moore, who has cemented his place in comic history with works like Watchmen or V for Vendetta.

However, the comic isn’t very long and it doesn’t tell a complex story. The Killing Joke does show the probably best Joker you will ever see.

There is also a film based on the comic, but it does not reach the legendary work:

The Focus on the Joker

Warning: Spoilers for The Killing Joke follow. If you want to experience the comic completely fresh, you should read the article later.

On paper, the story is quite simple. The Joker wants to torture Gordon to prove something, and Batman stops him. However, the story is unique to this day because The Killing Joke is almost a character study. The comic consists of two parts that alternate.

On one hand, you see the Joker in the present, on the other hand, a sort of past, showing how he allegedly became what he is. And the comic manages to make you feel sorry for the character. He only wanted to feed his loved ones and pull off a heist because being a comedian wasn’t working. But then his wife dies. While fleeing from Batman, he falls into a chemical and becomes the Joker.

This is also reflected in the Joker film, but The Killing Joke creates a contrast that invokes an emotional conflict.

Brian Bolland, the comic’s artist, manages to depict the Joker tragically in the flashback scenes. Especially his work on the facial features gives the character a sense of humanity. But he can also portray the other side. When the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon in the hip, he looks demonic, devoid of any hint of humanity.

This creates an ambivalence in the reader. You pity the man who became the Joker, but despise the being that the Joker is. Bolland emphasizes this further at the end when Batman confronts the Joker. Almost tearfully, the Joker looks out from the panel directly at the reader and says: It’s all a joke! Everything we fight for, suffer… is nothing more than a sick, monstrous joke! Why don’t you see how funny this is? Why don’t you laugh?

Aside from the Joker himself, his relationship with Batman is an important part of The Killing Joke.

Batman himself realizes that it can’t go on

The Killing Joke begins with Batman wanting to talk to the Joker in prison. It can’t go on, eventually they will kill each other. But the guy in jail is not the Joker, and thus the story begins.

Batman does not kill. That is his most important rule. He stands for redemption, that everyone can be saved. That is why most of his villains have a tragic backstory that shows: they were once different. And The Killing Joke seems to do the same – but ultimately does not.

The Joker himself denies his past here and says: If I have a past, please make it multiple choice. Just as Nolan does in The Dark Knight, Moore also does not confirm how he truly became the Joker. Thus, the Joker is not a villain like the others. Batman himself admits: he has known him for so long but knows hardly anything about him.

Therefore, the question arises whether the Joker might be the only person where Batman’s principle simply cannot work. This also plays into the ending. Batman tries once more to reason with the Joker. He could help him. The Joker, who has fallen out of his role and seems like a different person, tells the hero that it is too late.

He tells a joke, and this time even Batman laughs. He grabs him. You see laughter, but the panels cut away. The laughter fades away, and you only see the rain-soaked ground. Alan Moore leaves it open for the reader whether Batman has broken his rule and killed the Joker. Even though the comics later show him alive, the question remains, even 38 years after The Killing Joke, whether there is no way around his death.

Alan Moore and Brian Bolland have created something special with The Killing Joke, which despite relatively few pages tells more than some gigantic storylines and engages deeply with the Joker and Batman.

But what do you think? Have you read the comic and what are your comic favorites? Feel free to share your recommendations in the comments. The Joker is Batman’s most famous villain, but there are other promising candidates: 7 villains of Batman that should finally get a big appearance in cinema instead of the Joker