For years, Batman fans have wished for an adaptation of the famous graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke, perhaps the most famous Joker story in the Clown Prince of Crime’s history. DC just announced that next year fans will finally get what they want with an animated adaptation of the renowned story.
Written by the legendary Alan Moore, The Killing Joke sees Joker escape Arkham Asylum once again, but instead of targeting Batman himself or plotting to destroy Gotham City, Joker’s plot is on a much smaller scale. He intends to prove a simple point to Batman and the rest of the world: all it takes is one bad day for any sane person to snap. To achieve this goal, The Joker sets out to torment Commissioner Gordon through his daughter, Barbara, who also happens to be Batgirl. In one of his most deplorable and infamous acts, Joker shoots Barbara through the spine, rendering her paraplegic, and strips her naked to drive Gordon mad with photographs of his helpless daughter. While no one is in mortal danger, Batman and Joker’s battle is a more philosophical one about the nature of insanity, one that questions how crazy both of them really are.
The Killing Joke is also famous for offering a somewhat definitive origin for The Joker, though it also introduced the idea that he doesn’t really know much about past either as he admits it keeps changing whenever he thinks about his life before falling into a vat of acid. As he states to Batman, “If I’m going to have a past, I’d prefer it to be multiple choice.” This idea was loosely utilized in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight as Joker told conflicting stories of how he got those scars.
While The Killing Joke is a rather divisive story, some calling it the definitive Joker tale and others calling it overrated and downright controversial for what it does to Batgirl, its status cannot be denied. Given that DC’s original animated movie line has lately been loose adaptations rather than a strict page-by-page depiction, its most likely The Killing Joke will receive some changes to the story here and there. Regardless, it is an exciting announcement. What strengthens the potential for this feature is Mark Hamill’s long-held desire to voice The Joker for this story. Even though he’s semi-retired from the role of Joker, Hamill has always stated he’d come back for The Killing Joke. With any luck, Kevin Conroy can also come back to voice Batman and deliver a truly epic animated film.
In addition to Batman: The Killing Joke, DC also announced two other animated films for 2016 in Batman: Bad Blood, which will introduce Batwoman to the new line of DC animated movies, and Justice League vs Titans, featuring the Teen Titans.
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Originally published July 11, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
