Meta: The Killing Joke
Title: Meta: The Killing Joke
Author: kowaiyoukai
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Batman
Spoilers: Batman: The Killing Joke
Word Count: 5,547
I just finished reading The Killing Joke, and HOMG, I've got a meta for the ending "joke". This has probably been done before, but I'd just like to state the obvious, in any case. I'm late to the party-so shoot me.
This is most likely overly-wordy and repetitive in some parts. Don't say I didn't warn you! :P
Here's the text of the joke, in case you don't have a copy on hand. The lines are split up by panels and text boxes, and the emphasis was in the original text.
Panel 1: See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum…
Panel 2: …and one night, one night they decide they don't like living in an asylum any more.
They decide they're going to escape!
Panel 3: So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moonlight…
stretching away to freedom.
Panel 4: Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, his friend daredn't make the leap. Y'see…
Y'see, he's afraid of falling.
Panel 5: So then, the first guy has an idea…
He says "Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I'll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!"
Panel 6: B-But the second guy just shakes his head.
He suh-says…
He says "Wh-what do you think I am? CRAZY?"
Panel 7: "You'd turn it off when I was halfway across!"
Now, the clear indication of what this joke is saying, and this seems to be so obvious it's almost not worth mentioning, is that the Joker and the Batman are the two guys in the lunatic asylum. The Batman is able to jump across and the Joker is not. When the Batman offers him help, as he does in the previous page of this comic, the Joker doesn't accept because he knows that Batman would abandon him in the middle.
First, let's look at Batman. This joke states that Batman's in an asylum alongside the Joker. This is a common theme throughout the series, that Batman is just a few wrong moves away from being the Joker, that they're more alike than they'd like to be. And of course, Batman is the one who is able to jump across. He's the hero-he's the one who is able to go against his inner self and any turmoil he might be feeling in order to obtain his goals. Yes, he'll always have that side of him that belongs in the asylum-that side of him that doesn't fit in with normal people, the side of him that he constantly is trying to fight against. Still, he's brave and strong, and heroic in every other way you can think of, and so making that small leap is just matter of course for him.
And, like all heroes, he must offer help to the one left behind. The Joker can't make the jump? Well, Batman has to offer his help. Otherwise, he wouldn't be the hero. He'd be a selfish bastard who only looks out for himself. But interestingly, Batman isn't able to be a hero for the entire scene. At the end of this imaginary scenario, he lets the Joker fall, after the Joker has accepted his help.
Why? The answer is simple: Batman does have that darker side to him, he believes in justice, and in the end, he sees the Joker as a threat. Yes, Batman makes a speech about wanting to help the Joker. In the previous page, he states: "We could work together. I could rehabilitate you. You needn't be out there on the edge any more. You needn't be alone. We don't have to kill each other. What do you say?" It's true that the Joker rejects his offer (with an apology-"No, I'm sorry, but… No. It's too late for that. Far too late."), but why does Batman give up after one rejection? Yes, they have years of fighting against each other, years of bitter hatred and feuding behind them, but if Batman's offer was sincere, why did he attack the Joker two pages later, when the Joker was simply standing there?
So maybe the answer isn't so simple. Batman wants to believe he is a hero. He wants to act like a hero, in every possible situation. So, what does he do? He offers the desperate man a way out. But he doesn't mean it. If he meant it, wouldn't he have simply handed the Joker to the police at the end, instead of assaulting him? Yes, the panel of the Batman's hand outstretched to the Joker is intentionally vague, but every indication points to Batman either choking or otherwise hurting the Joker. Why attack him directly after he offered him help? The offer was clearly what the Joker pointed it out to be: a lie. The Joker realized that Batman was either unwilling or unable to follow through on his offer. Even if Batman had intended to follow through, he most likely wouldn't have been able to. The Joker would have done something bad, would have relapsed somehow, and Batman would be convinced that the Joker was unable to change.
Perhaps even more disturbing is the panel directly after the one where Batman is reaching out to the Joker. In the next panel, the Joker's hand is outstretched, palm upwards, in the universal sign of peace and gesture used to ask for help-which also is the gesture used to state "I mean you no harm". Is Batman, in his righteous anger and conviction that the Joker is unable to be "rehabilitated", ignoring the Joker's plea for help? Was one rejection from the Joker enough to make Batman blind to every other outcome, other than continuing to fight, even when the Joker is clearly not fighting back? And the last three panels after the Joker's outstretched hand are startling in what they suggest. The Joker's laughter, which had been going strong, is suddenly cut off with no warning, and we only see Batman and the Joker's feet. The beam of light is reflected in the puddles on the ground, and the police siren is still there. The second to last panel shows only the light remaining-both of their feet and the siren are gone. Last panel-the light has disappeared as well, letting the reader know that the Joker had it right all along. Batman wasn't willing to help him reach any sort of positive outcome-Batman was only willing to ask in order to appease his own notion of what a hero should do. So, in the end, Batman believes he has done the right thing-offered to help and then stopped the villain. He goes home a hero, and whatever becomes of the Joker is no concern of his.
The fact that the Joker knows Batman even better than Batman knows himself is a side issue that can be addressed. Batman says, earlier on in the graphic novel, "I've been trying to figure out what he intends to do. It's almost impossible. I don't know him, Alfred. All these years and I don't know who he is any more than he knows who I am. How can two people hate so much without knowing each other?" Alfred gives him a side-long look at the end of this, but he makes no response. It's clear that Batman honestly does not know who the Joker is. Assuming the Joker is in the same position is clearly a mistake. The Joker knows who to target to get Batman's attention. He knows what to say to irritate Batman, and he's obviously put a lot of thought into Batman and his character/personality.
That could be why, at the end, the Joker seems so upset (horrified, afraid, desperate, amused) by the entire offer. The Joker knows Batman, and he knows the offer isn't genuine. At the beginning of the graphic novel, we see Batman talking to fake!Joker in Arkham, and Batman says, "Perhaps you'll kill me. Perhaps I'll kill you. Perhaps sooner. Perhaps later. I just wanted to know that I'd made a genuine attempt to talk things over and avert that outcome. Just once." However, his teeth are gritted and his hands are fisted on the table. Yes, he's annoyed at fake!Joker's lack of response, but is that all? I think what Batman says is what he actually means, and no more than that. He just wants to be able to look back, after he's killed the Joker, and believe that he made an attempt to avert the outcome. Even one time is enough for him, so long as he believes it-and that one time might very well be his offer at the end. Batman just wants to be able to believe that he's a hero, no matter what darker impulses he might have. The Joker knows this, and that's why the Joker didn't take his offer. The offer Batman made to save the Joker wasn't made for the Joker-Batman only said it to feel content with himself. Batman's offer was made for Batman alone.
What interests me the most about their last exchange, the joke, is what it says about the Joker. He's just like Batman in many ways. He doesn't fit in with society, he belongs in the asylum, he wants to get across to freedom. However, he isn't a hero, even in his own mind. He doesn't have that strength and courage to make the jump to freedom, to propel himself towards the life he wants. He's afraid of falling. That first y'see, the pause, and then the continuation of the joke allow the reader to understand that the Joker is truly identifying with the second man at this point, if there had been any doubt until now. It's as if the Joker was saying the joke, and then got to this part and trailed off-just like his thoughts had been side-tracked. Then, he gets back on course. But why the pause, the side-tracked thoughts? The only logical answer is to assume that what the Joker was saying was affecting him, and what he was saying was that the second man wouldn't jump because he was afraid of falling.
"Afraid of falling"-that is truly a great way to summarize the Joker's feelings on this matter. He's afraid of the unknown. He's afraid of what would happen if he made that leap and didn't cross it. It's not the jump that scares him-it's falling. Yes, the Joker is able to yearn for a normal life, for some semblance of a life that he believes he once had. But look at what has happened to him already. His old life was taken away from him and he arguably lost his mind from the damage that caused. What would happen if he allowed himself to try for a new life and that, too, failed? The Joker's afraid of falling because he already has fallen. He knows what it's like, and he knows that he doesn't want to experience it again. Perhaps he even realizes that he's fallen the furthest he can-if he fell any farther, he wouldn't survive it. The Joker's living at the lowest end of his spectrum-there's no further to fall, for him.
One way that I see it is that the Joker is too intelligent for his own good. He over-analyzes the situation and can't look past the possible negative outcomes. The Joker isn't only afraid of falling. The Joker is also afraid of trying and failing, or having his faith and trust being thrown back in his face. He's nervous and unsure because he knows that he can't trust Batman to keep his word. Yes, Batman offered to help. But so what? The Joker has no guarantee that Batman will keep that promise-especially since, as I stated previously, the Joker has good reason to suspect that he won't. The Joker and Batman might be "friends" in the asylum, but when it comes to getting out in the real world, things become muddled.
This is an important point to the Joker's thoughts here. I think what the Joker is getting at is that, even if he does put his trust in Batman, he'll be let down. He's been let down before, horribly, and he was barely able to survive that. He can't live through it again. This is a survival instinct of sorts-he's protecting himself. Yes, the Joker might want to reach that freedom, but not at the cost of being betrayed. He's able to live in the asylum. It's not a great life, but it's one he's used to and is comfortable with. Any other life that he can imagine is one that he's unable to achieve through his own power. And, if the only one offering to help is Batman, those other lives are never going to be realized.
The Joker seems to be on an emotional edge here. He's asking for help in the only way he knows how to-by showing his desperate, precarious situation and hoping that Batman will understand. Batman-the other asylum escapee-is possibly the only person with the potential to understand the Joker. And when Batman claims he knows nothing about the Joker, it only shows the reader (in hindsight) just how false Batman's offer is. The Joker ends up left with the remains of a life he never intended to be separated from-although what that life was is up for debate.
It's interesting, in a very metaphorical sense, to compare the offer Batman gives the Joker to the light of the flashlight in the joke. Of course, that's the connection the Joker makes, but the idea of the offer is also literally a light shining into the Joker's life. As in, this is the one chance he has left to be redeemed. Once this is gone, all that's left will be darkness. And if that light is truly a false hope-fool's gold, so to speak-then there was never any hope at all for the Joker. The only option for him was the darkness, and he knows it. The look on the Joker's face on the panel immediately after Batman's offer shows this beautifully. The Joker is obviously filled with despair and hatred-he knows where he stands, and although he can't stand it, although he wishes it could be different, he knows his fate is already set in stone. The die was cast the moment he became "Joker" and any chance of redemption is as long gone as the last vestiges of his sanity.
Also, about the beam of light, it obviously can't hold up a person, but what's interesting is the inherent idea within the joke that both men believe it can. Even though it's a lie, both Batman and the Joker are willing to believe that Batman's offer could work. The Joker thinks Batman would give up on him, or turn against him, and that's why he can't take the offer. (I also think he might not believe the offer is true at all, which I've already explained, but for the sake of argument…) If the Joker does believe Batman's offer was true, then the only explanation left is that he knows Batman would never be able to follow through. It almost doesn't matter that the offer itself is a figment of their imaginations. What matters is that the Joker knows Batman would intentionally shut the light off and let the Joker fall.
Another important note is the title of the graphic novel. "The Killing Joke". There are a few different definitions and variations of "killing". The most obvious is to actually murder someone. Then, there's the idea of "making a killing," which means to gain a large amount of something, usually money, at very little cost to yourself. There's also the saying "it was a killer," which means something was very profound or had a large impact. Another use is the term "you're killing me," which people use when they're laughing so hard that they can't stop. These are the four ways the word "kill" is used most often, that I can think of. Then, there's the word "joke". The obvious definition is a literal joke-as in, a funny story, usually fictional, meant to amuse other people. Another use is saying someone is "a joke", which means that person is a loser or viewed at as being overly pathetic or impossible to take seriously. There's also the idea of "joking around", which is when someone is saying something that isn't meant to be taken seriously-although, in this usage, most of the time the person was too subtle and what they said actually was taken seriously, and so someone else has to interject to solve an argument. Two other definitions are teasing someone and tricking them-or, a "practical joke". These last definitions are different from the original idea of a joke in a small but important way-a normal joke is meant to be amusing for the person it is told to, but teasing someone or playing a practical joke on them is taken in a more negative way, as if the person is being mocked or looked down upon.
These can be taken several different ways. You could clearly say that "the killing joke" is the joke at the end, and that the literal definition is a joke that kills someone-if you agree with the idea that Batman killed the Joker at the end of the story. However, the other variations are also interesting to consider. Batman "made a killing," at least when he believed that his actions were heroic. He gained the invaluable reassurance that what he did was right, and he lost nothing in exchange. I believe the final interaction "was a killer" to both Batman and the Joker-it obviously left an impact on each of them, although what that impact deals with is left unsaid. Also, it seems like their interactions throughout this graphic novel, and in fact the parts when they weren't interacting, left a large impact on each of them. Perhaps this is too obvious, but as for the last definition of "kill," the comic ends with both Batman and the Joker laughing. The Batman laughs and has an almost evil grin on his face when he's attacking the Joker, and the Joker's laughter is cut off. If the Joker was laughing so hard he couldn't stop, then did Batman stop him laughing by killing him, knocking him out, etc.? A relative side note: many people, when they laugh that hard, also cry. That one panel which suggests the Joker might be crying is on the same page as the laughter. Also, this could be a comment about the relative closeness of comedy and tragedy, which seems to be a theme throughout this graphic novel.
As for the definitions of "joke," the loser definition can be applied to both Batman and the Joker. They're both impossible to take seriously, at least when put in the context of the real world. Other people don't know how to handle them. They can only relate well to each other and other people similar to themselves. And the Joker is constantly shown as being pathetic or a victim-at least, in this graphic novel. Yes, he attacks people-but his minions do a lot of the work, and when Batman attacks him, he goes down pretty quickly. Then, there's "joking around," which could refer to Batman's offer. He was taken seriously, by the readers, and the Joker had to come in and let us know, using his joke, that Batman was only "joking around"-that he didn't mean what he said, that he had no intention of following through on his offer. The last definitions, teasing someone or doing a "practical joke," can both be applied to Batman's offer, as well. Batman allowed the Joker to glimpse into the life he wants but is never able to obtain, and that falls pretty clearly into both categories, at least to me. I would also argue that the Joker's other actions throughout the graphic novel-kidnapping Gordon, attacking Barbara-are not meant to be viewed as jokes of any kind. Normally, the Joker attacks in ways that are funny, even though they are cruel. This time, though, the Joker had no intention of making a joke-he was serious about everything, and so it only highlights just how (unintentionally?) cruel Batman was when he made the Joker an offer he wasn't willing to back up. Since the Joker's response is a joke-the only one in the entire graphic novel-it stands out to the reader perhaps more than anything else. Batman teases him, the Joker responds in kind, they both laugh about it-that could sum up the ending pretty well, if you ignored the blatantly threatening overtones.
It would be a large oversight to ignore how the last scene is drawn. The way this scene is drawn is a crucial part of understanding it. The colors are very dark, very understated. It's raining, it's night, and they're in an abandoned amusement park that looks condemned. There's a full moon and the skyline is clear in the distance. There's a string of lights above them in only one panel, and it is drawn directly in-between the two of them, splitting them up. Perhaps this was meant to be another version of the "beam" from the joke, along with the more obvious lights from the police cars on the next and last page. There's a sign that's cut off in one panel (the panel with the "He's afraid of falling" text bubble)-it says "Try Your L". The obvious way to finish this is to say Luck-that seems fitting for an amusement park. The message there might also be that he should try to accept Batman's offer-that even if he fails, without trying he'll never know if he could have succeeded. However, "Try Your Life" might also be considered a good way to fill in the blank, especially given the subject matter of this scene. This version would mean that the Joker's life is on pause-he's unable to continue living because he's stuck dealing with whatever tragedy has befallen him. Being unable to move on means he's wasting his life, but even though he might know this, he still can't do anything about it.
Another thing to note is how the characters are drawn. In the only frame where we see both Batman and Joker's shadows, Batman's shadow completely overtakes any shadow the Joker might leave. And in the very first frame, we see the silhouettes of Batman and Joker, both only partially lit up and mostly black. For the entire scene, Batman is standing in the background, unmoving and frowning. He's staring at the Joker, and his tattered cape is flapping in the wind. The rain doesn't affect Batman at all-it doesn't even seem to be hitting him or dripping off of him. The Joker is drawn in a way that is also critical to understanding just how important this joke is to him, just how much he can relate to it. The Joker's eyes are shadowed and his back is to Batman for the entire scene. His gestures are overdramatic-he's waving his arms about, flinging them upwards and outwards as far as they can go. The rain is obviously dripping off of him. However, it's the last panel on this page that is the most striking. For the last line, the punch line, the Joker finally turns and faces Batman, allowing the reader to see his eyes and face clearly for the first time. The Joker's eyes are wide, his eyebrows are close together, and combined it gives him the expression of someone who is desperate and knows there's no hope. His smile is wide, as always, and it seems faker than it ever has in the rest of the graphic novel. His gestures have stilled here, and the only thing he does is hold up one finger to point towards the sky, and that lone finger is literally shaking. (Also of note: in the first panel of the next page, there's a line of moisture coming down from the Joker's eye while Batman is still standing stoically in the background. Is it the rain, or is it the Joker crying? And: the only time we see rain dripping off of Batman is in the panel on the last page when he begins to laugh, right before he attacks the Joker. Is the rain meant to be a sign of madness, of being in the asylum? As in, Batman is fine being on the rooftop of the opposite building for all this time, but at the end he jumps back over only long enough to lose all of his morals/sanity?)
As a real life example of a type of situation I believe this joke is referring to, let's look at those "Extreme Make-Over" shows. You know, the ones where volunteers go and build a gorgeous house for very poor people. You've probably heard of those instances where some of the people the houses were built for end up having to give the house up. Either the bills are too much and they can't pay them, or they end up being unable to handle suddenly having money, or else some other unforeseen event occurs, and the poor people are left in an even worse spot than they were in before. It's easy to compare that situation to this joke. People in a better position were willing to help the poor people, but only up to a point. Once the job is done, everyone leaves, which means the people who had been destitute suddenly have to learn how to handle money. What if they've never been taught financial planning? What if they just don't understand all of the terms involved with their house-for instance, that their electric bill is probably going to be sky-high if they keep all their lights on? Offering these people a hand, and then abandoning them after the first step is completed, is almost an invitation to failure. And, I bet most of the people who give up their homes are in an even worse position afterwards than they were before the volunteers came and re-built their house.
I'm not saying that they were wronged or that they should be viewed as victims. Rather, not everyone has the know-how and ability to continue down a path that requires courage and intelligence. Things like the circumstances a person is born into and their own personalities and histories all affect how a person behaves. So, it's easy for someone not involved to say that a person can just stop how they're acting and change for the better. It's also easy for someone, after lending a helping hand, to feel good about the volunteer work he or she has done and continue on with daily life, unaffected by other needs the people might have. The most difficult thing, and the one you hardly ever see, is for someone to reach out a hand to another person in need, and keep on holding that person's hand until both of them are securely in a good situation. In fact, most people would rightfully argue that they have their own lives to worry about, that they can't be bothered with helping people who aren't able or willing to try and help themselves.
Which is how this comes full circle. There are people who just don't have the ability to change themselves or their circumstances. A lot of that, I believe, is due to mental limitations. I'm not talking about intelligence, although sometimes that's a factor. It's more along the lines of over-thinking, worrying, being nervous, having been betrayed before, not being able to trust other people, not being able to get over your past… that sort of thing. If someone has a mental blockade up, then they're afraid of falling. Then they can't leap over that narrow gap in-between the asylum they've locked themselves in, and the freedom that's staring in the face, that they want but are unable to muster up the courage, confidence, and commitment to take.
As I said before, that's the Joker-trapped by a past he doesn't remember and his own inability to act. He's shown as being diametrically opposed to Batman, who is portrayed as being haunted by his past and spurred onward to act. Yet they both share that common beginning-the asylum. So, maybe the final theme of this story is that you are what you make of yourself, that you have to act or else be pushed aside, and that you can only rely on your own abilities. It's a bleak message, but then again, Gotham is a bleak place.
Somewhat random and unrelated thought: The Joker is shown as being a sympathetic character in the end, although throughout the rest of the graphic novel he was viewed as being very threatening and really quite horrible in every possible way. I won't try and sugar-coat the Joker's attacks against Gordon and Barbara-they're truly horrifying. Yes, we get a past that explains some of his psychosis, but I don't believe that the Joker's true past, since he himself states that he doesn't remember what happened to him, and he has several pasts in his mind. Still, in the final few pages the reader's sympathy seems to swing from Batman's side to the Joker's. Before that, the reader had been right there with Batman, agreeing that the Joker needed to be stopped. We saw what the Joker did to Gordon and Barbara, saw Barbara's plea to Batman to save her father, and of course we agreed on sheer principle that the Joker had gone too far, that Batman had reason aplenty to stop him by whatever means necessary. So, why the change in who the writer wants the reader to sympathize with? Is this another example of how Batman works? He's the hero for those who he chooses to be the hero for-he can be the hero for Barbara and Gordon because they're innocent and firmly on the side of what's good and right (they've never been in the asylum). But saving people who truly need to be saved, who have problems that are actually causing them and other people pain and suffering? Batman won't do that. If the Joker was actually rehabilitated, wouldn't that solve a whole lot of Batman's and the people of Gotham's problems? But the only victims Batman saves are the clear ones-the ones who are blameless. Batman is unable to see the Joker as a victim because he is so far into his role of being the hero that, to him, there is only one right answer. The Joker is the villain, and will always be the villain, in Batman's mind. So, although Batman chooses who he's willing to save, he still sees himself as a hero. Not only does he fool himself into believing he is the hero, but he also tricks the readers into believing it as well? Perhaps this is the real killing joke.
Another random thought: The Joker invites Batman to the carnival, using that little ticket. Why does he invite Batman? Simple-he wants Batman to understand where he's coming from. When Batman gets there, the Joker gives him a speech. A bit of it is as follows: "You had a bad day, and it drove you as crazy as everybody else… Only you won't admit it! You have to keep pretending that life makes sense, that there's some point to all this struggling!" The Joker is trying to bridge the gap between Batman and himself-the gap between the rooftops, if you will. The Joker realizes that they're the same, and he understands Batman, but Batman's lack of similar understanding forces them to be separated, always looking at each other from a distance, never able to cross that gap. After all, Batman won't go back to the asylum and the Joker won't move forward to freedom.
Random thought #3: When the Joker says "I'm sorry," as he's rejecting Batman's offer of help, I can't help but think that he really means it. It seems like the Joker is apologizing not only because he's rejecting the offer, but because the entire situation is awful. As in, he's sorry they can't see eye to eye, he's sorry the offer isn't genuine, and he's sorry he's so far gone that there's no going back. This just adds to the overwhelming sympathy I had for the Joker at the end.
Last random thought: In the introduction of the deluxe edition (which is the one I have), Time Sale calls the joke at the end "Priceless, funny, and perfect for the characters of Batman and The Joker." I'll agree with priceless and perfect for Batman and the Joker, but funny? Yes, the joke would have been funny if I had heard it in another context, but told here it comes across as being tragic. Am I just being too emo-tastic in my analysis of the joke? That is a strong possibility. :P
I'll edit this post if necessary, although I think I was rather thorough this time around. Feel free to comment, critique, and shout as much as you'd like to. ^_^*
Author: kowaiyoukai
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Batman
Spoilers: Batman: The Killing Joke
Word Count: 5,547
I just finished reading The Killing Joke, and HOMG, I've got a meta for the ending "joke". This has probably been done before, but I'd just like to state the obvious, in any case. I'm late to the party-so shoot me.
This is most likely overly-wordy and repetitive in some parts. Don't say I didn't warn you! :P
Here's the text of the joke, in case you don't have a copy on hand. The lines are split up by panels and text boxes, and the emphasis was in the original text.
Panel 1: See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum…
Panel 2: …and one night, one night they decide they don't like living in an asylum any more.
They decide they're going to escape!
Panel 3: So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moonlight…
stretching away to freedom.
Panel 4: Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, his friend daredn't make the leap. Y'see…
Y'see, he's afraid of falling.
Panel 5: So then, the first guy has an idea…
He says "Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I'll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!"
Panel 6: B-But the second guy just shakes his head.
He suh-says…
He says "Wh-what do you think I am? CRAZY?"
Panel 7: "You'd turn it off when I was halfway across!"
Now, the clear indication of what this joke is saying, and this seems to be so obvious it's almost not worth mentioning, is that the Joker and the Batman are the two guys in the lunatic asylum. The Batman is able to jump across and the Joker is not. When the Batman offers him help, as he does in the previous page of this comic, the Joker doesn't accept because he knows that Batman would abandon him in the middle.
First, let's look at Batman. This joke states that Batman's in an asylum alongside the Joker. This is a common theme throughout the series, that Batman is just a few wrong moves away from being the Joker, that they're more alike than they'd like to be. And of course, Batman is the one who is able to jump across. He's the hero-he's the one who is able to go against his inner self and any turmoil he might be feeling in order to obtain his goals. Yes, he'll always have that side of him that belongs in the asylum-that side of him that doesn't fit in with normal people, the side of him that he constantly is trying to fight against. Still, he's brave and strong, and heroic in every other way you can think of, and so making that small leap is just matter of course for him.
And, like all heroes, he must offer help to the one left behind. The Joker can't make the jump? Well, Batman has to offer his help. Otherwise, he wouldn't be the hero. He'd be a selfish bastard who only looks out for himself. But interestingly, Batman isn't able to be a hero for the entire scene. At the end of this imaginary scenario, he lets the Joker fall, after the Joker has accepted his help.
Why? The answer is simple: Batman does have that darker side to him, he believes in justice, and in the end, he sees the Joker as a threat. Yes, Batman makes a speech about wanting to help the Joker. In the previous page, he states: "We could work together. I could rehabilitate you. You needn't be out there on the edge any more. You needn't be alone. We don't have to kill each other. What do you say?" It's true that the Joker rejects his offer (with an apology-"No, I'm sorry, but… No. It's too late for that. Far too late."), but why does Batman give up after one rejection? Yes, they have years of fighting against each other, years of bitter hatred and feuding behind them, but if Batman's offer was sincere, why did he attack the Joker two pages later, when the Joker was simply standing there?
So maybe the answer isn't so simple. Batman wants to believe he is a hero. He wants to act like a hero, in every possible situation. So, what does he do? He offers the desperate man a way out. But he doesn't mean it. If he meant it, wouldn't he have simply handed the Joker to the police at the end, instead of assaulting him? Yes, the panel of the Batman's hand outstretched to the Joker is intentionally vague, but every indication points to Batman either choking or otherwise hurting the Joker. Why attack him directly after he offered him help? The offer was clearly what the Joker pointed it out to be: a lie. The Joker realized that Batman was either unwilling or unable to follow through on his offer. Even if Batman had intended to follow through, he most likely wouldn't have been able to. The Joker would have done something bad, would have relapsed somehow, and Batman would be convinced that the Joker was unable to change.
Perhaps even more disturbing is the panel directly after the one where Batman is reaching out to the Joker. In the next panel, the Joker's hand is outstretched, palm upwards, in the universal sign of peace and gesture used to ask for help-which also is the gesture used to state "I mean you no harm". Is Batman, in his righteous anger and conviction that the Joker is unable to be "rehabilitated", ignoring the Joker's plea for help? Was one rejection from the Joker enough to make Batman blind to every other outcome, other than continuing to fight, even when the Joker is clearly not fighting back? And the last three panels after the Joker's outstretched hand are startling in what they suggest. The Joker's laughter, which had been going strong, is suddenly cut off with no warning, and we only see Batman and the Joker's feet. The beam of light is reflected in the puddles on the ground, and the police siren is still there. The second to last panel shows only the light remaining-both of their feet and the siren are gone. Last panel-the light has disappeared as well, letting the reader know that the Joker had it right all along. Batman wasn't willing to help him reach any sort of positive outcome-Batman was only willing to ask in order to appease his own notion of what a hero should do. So, in the end, Batman believes he has done the right thing-offered to help and then stopped the villain. He goes home a hero, and whatever becomes of the Joker is no concern of his.
The fact that the Joker knows Batman even better than Batman knows himself is a side issue that can be addressed. Batman says, earlier on in the graphic novel, "I've been trying to figure out what he intends to do. It's almost impossible. I don't know him, Alfred. All these years and I don't know who he is any more than he knows who I am. How can two people hate so much without knowing each other?" Alfred gives him a side-long look at the end of this, but he makes no response. It's clear that Batman honestly does not know who the Joker is. Assuming the Joker is in the same position is clearly a mistake. The Joker knows who to target to get Batman's attention. He knows what to say to irritate Batman, and he's obviously put a lot of thought into Batman and his character/personality.
That could be why, at the end, the Joker seems so upset (horrified, afraid, desperate, amused) by the entire offer. The Joker knows Batman, and he knows the offer isn't genuine. At the beginning of the graphic novel, we see Batman talking to fake!Joker in Arkham, and Batman says, "Perhaps you'll kill me. Perhaps I'll kill you. Perhaps sooner. Perhaps later. I just wanted to know that I'd made a genuine attempt to talk things over and avert that outcome. Just once." However, his teeth are gritted and his hands are fisted on the table. Yes, he's annoyed at fake!Joker's lack of response, but is that all? I think what Batman says is what he actually means, and no more than that. He just wants to be able to look back, after he's killed the Joker, and believe that he made an attempt to avert the outcome. Even one time is enough for him, so long as he believes it-and that one time might very well be his offer at the end. Batman just wants to be able to believe that he's a hero, no matter what darker impulses he might have. The Joker knows this, and that's why the Joker didn't take his offer. The offer Batman made to save the Joker wasn't made for the Joker-Batman only said it to feel content with himself. Batman's offer was made for Batman alone.
What interests me the most about their last exchange, the joke, is what it says about the Joker. He's just like Batman in many ways. He doesn't fit in with society, he belongs in the asylum, he wants to get across to freedom. However, he isn't a hero, even in his own mind. He doesn't have that strength and courage to make the jump to freedom, to propel himself towards the life he wants. He's afraid of falling. That first y'see, the pause, and then the continuation of the joke allow the reader to understand that the Joker is truly identifying with the second man at this point, if there had been any doubt until now. It's as if the Joker was saying the joke, and then got to this part and trailed off-just like his thoughts had been side-tracked. Then, he gets back on course. But why the pause, the side-tracked thoughts? The only logical answer is to assume that what the Joker was saying was affecting him, and what he was saying was that the second man wouldn't jump because he was afraid of falling.
"Afraid of falling"-that is truly a great way to summarize the Joker's feelings on this matter. He's afraid of the unknown. He's afraid of what would happen if he made that leap and didn't cross it. It's not the jump that scares him-it's falling. Yes, the Joker is able to yearn for a normal life, for some semblance of a life that he believes he once had. But look at what has happened to him already. His old life was taken away from him and he arguably lost his mind from the damage that caused. What would happen if he allowed himself to try for a new life and that, too, failed? The Joker's afraid of falling because he already has fallen. He knows what it's like, and he knows that he doesn't want to experience it again. Perhaps he even realizes that he's fallen the furthest he can-if he fell any farther, he wouldn't survive it. The Joker's living at the lowest end of his spectrum-there's no further to fall, for him.
One way that I see it is that the Joker is too intelligent for his own good. He over-analyzes the situation and can't look past the possible negative outcomes. The Joker isn't only afraid of falling. The Joker is also afraid of trying and failing, or having his faith and trust being thrown back in his face. He's nervous and unsure because he knows that he can't trust Batman to keep his word. Yes, Batman offered to help. But so what? The Joker has no guarantee that Batman will keep that promise-especially since, as I stated previously, the Joker has good reason to suspect that he won't. The Joker and Batman might be "friends" in the asylum, but when it comes to getting out in the real world, things become muddled.
This is an important point to the Joker's thoughts here. I think what the Joker is getting at is that, even if he does put his trust in Batman, he'll be let down. He's been let down before, horribly, and he was barely able to survive that. He can't live through it again. This is a survival instinct of sorts-he's protecting himself. Yes, the Joker might want to reach that freedom, but not at the cost of being betrayed. He's able to live in the asylum. It's not a great life, but it's one he's used to and is comfortable with. Any other life that he can imagine is one that he's unable to achieve through his own power. And, if the only one offering to help is Batman, those other lives are never going to be realized.
The Joker seems to be on an emotional edge here. He's asking for help in the only way he knows how to-by showing his desperate, precarious situation and hoping that Batman will understand. Batman-the other asylum escapee-is possibly the only person with the potential to understand the Joker. And when Batman claims he knows nothing about the Joker, it only shows the reader (in hindsight) just how false Batman's offer is. The Joker ends up left with the remains of a life he never intended to be separated from-although what that life was is up for debate.
It's interesting, in a very metaphorical sense, to compare the offer Batman gives the Joker to the light of the flashlight in the joke. Of course, that's the connection the Joker makes, but the idea of the offer is also literally a light shining into the Joker's life. As in, this is the one chance he has left to be redeemed. Once this is gone, all that's left will be darkness. And if that light is truly a false hope-fool's gold, so to speak-then there was never any hope at all for the Joker. The only option for him was the darkness, and he knows it. The look on the Joker's face on the panel immediately after Batman's offer shows this beautifully. The Joker is obviously filled with despair and hatred-he knows where he stands, and although he can't stand it, although he wishes it could be different, he knows his fate is already set in stone. The die was cast the moment he became "Joker" and any chance of redemption is as long gone as the last vestiges of his sanity.
Also, about the beam of light, it obviously can't hold up a person, but what's interesting is the inherent idea within the joke that both men believe it can. Even though it's a lie, both Batman and the Joker are willing to believe that Batman's offer could work. The Joker thinks Batman would give up on him, or turn against him, and that's why he can't take the offer. (I also think he might not believe the offer is true at all, which I've already explained, but for the sake of argument…) If the Joker does believe Batman's offer was true, then the only explanation left is that he knows Batman would never be able to follow through. It almost doesn't matter that the offer itself is a figment of their imaginations. What matters is that the Joker knows Batman would intentionally shut the light off and let the Joker fall.
Another important note is the title of the graphic novel. "The Killing Joke". There are a few different definitions and variations of "killing". The most obvious is to actually murder someone. Then, there's the idea of "making a killing," which means to gain a large amount of something, usually money, at very little cost to yourself. There's also the saying "it was a killer," which means something was very profound or had a large impact. Another use is the term "you're killing me," which people use when they're laughing so hard that they can't stop. These are the four ways the word "kill" is used most often, that I can think of. Then, there's the word "joke". The obvious definition is a literal joke-as in, a funny story, usually fictional, meant to amuse other people. Another use is saying someone is "a joke", which means that person is a loser or viewed at as being overly pathetic or impossible to take seriously. There's also the idea of "joking around", which is when someone is saying something that isn't meant to be taken seriously-although, in this usage, most of the time the person was too subtle and what they said actually was taken seriously, and so someone else has to interject to solve an argument. Two other definitions are teasing someone and tricking them-or, a "practical joke". These last definitions are different from the original idea of a joke in a small but important way-a normal joke is meant to be amusing for the person it is told to, but teasing someone or playing a practical joke on them is taken in a more negative way, as if the person is being mocked or looked down upon.
These can be taken several different ways. You could clearly say that "the killing joke" is the joke at the end, and that the literal definition is a joke that kills someone-if you agree with the idea that Batman killed the Joker at the end of the story. However, the other variations are also interesting to consider. Batman "made a killing," at least when he believed that his actions were heroic. He gained the invaluable reassurance that what he did was right, and he lost nothing in exchange. I believe the final interaction "was a killer" to both Batman and the Joker-it obviously left an impact on each of them, although what that impact deals with is left unsaid. Also, it seems like their interactions throughout this graphic novel, and in fact the parts when they weren't interacting, left a large impact on each of them. Perhaps this is too obvious, but as for the last definition of "kill," the comic ends with both Batman and the Joker laughing. The Batman laughs and has an almost evil grin on his face when he's attacking the Joker, and the Joker's laughter is cut off. If the Joker was laughing so hard he couldn't stop, then did Batman stop him laughing by killing him, knocking him out, etc.? A relative side note: many people, when they laugh that hard, also cry. That one panel which suggests the Joker might be crying is on the same page as the laughter. Also, this could be a comment about the relative closeness of comedy and tragedy, which seems to be a theme throughout this graphic novel.
As for the definitions of "joke," the loser definition can be applied to both Batman and the Joker. They're both impossible to take seriously, at least when put in the context of the real world. Other people don't know how to handle them. They can only relate well to each other and other people similar to themselves. And the Joker is constantly shown as being pathetic or a victim-at least, in this graphic novel. Yes, he attacks people-but his minions do a lot of the work, and when Batman attacks him, he goes down pretty quickly. Then, there's "joking around," which could refer to Batman's offer. He was taken seriously, by the readers, and the Joker had to come in and let us know, using his joke, that Batman was only "joking around"-that he didn't mean what he said, that he had no intention of following through on his offer. The last definitions, teasing someone or doing a "practical joke," can both be applied to Batman's offer, as well. Batman allowed the Joker to glimpse into the life he wants but is never able to obtain, and that falls pretty clearly into both categories, at least to me. I would also argue that the Joker's other actions throughout the graphic novel-kidnapping Gordon, attacking Barbara-are not meant to be viewed as jokes of any kind. Normally, the Joker attacks in ways that are funny, even though they are cruel. This time, though, the Joker had no intention of making a joke-he was serious about everything, and so it only highlights just how (unintentionally?) cruel Batman was when he made the Joker an offer he wasn't willing to back up. Since the Joker's response is a joke-the only one in the entire graphic novel-it stands out to the reader perhaps more than anything else. Batman teases him, the Joker responds in kind, they both laugh about it-that could sum up the ending pretty well, if you ignored the blatantly threatening overtones.
It would be a large oversight to ignore how the last scene is drawn. The way this scene is drawn is a crucial part of understanding it. The colors are very dark, very understated. It's raining, it's night, and they're in an abandoned amusement park that looks condemned. There's a full moon and the skyline is clear in the distance. There's a string of lights above them in only one panel, and it is drawn directly in-between the two of them, splitting them up. Perhaps this was meant to be another version of the "beam" from the joke, along with the more obvious lights from the police cars on the next and last page. There's a sign that's cut off in one panel (the panel with the "He's afraid of falling" text bubble)-it says "Try Your L". The obvious way to finish this is to say Luck-that seems fitting for an amusement park. The message there might also be that he should try to accept Batman's offer-that even if he fails, without trying he'll never know if he could have succeeded. However, "Try Your Life" might also be considered a good way to fill in the blank, especially given the subject matter of this scene. This version would mean that the Joker's life is on pause-he's unable to continue living because he's stuck dealing with whatever tragedy has befallen him. Being unable to move on means he's wasting his life, but even though he might know this, he still can't do anything about it.
Another thing to note is how the characters are drawn. In the only frame where we see both Batman and Joker's shadows, Batman's shadow completely overtakes any shadow the Joker might leave. And in the very first frame, we see the silhouettes of Batman and Joker, both only partially lit up and mostly black. For the entire scene, Batman is standing in the background, unmoving and frowning. He's staring at the Joker, and his tattered cape is flapping in the wind. The rain doesn't affect Batman at all-it doesn't even seem to be hitting him or dripping off of him. The Joker is drawn in a way that is also critical to understanding just how important this joke is to him, just how much he can relate to it. The Joker's eyes are shadowed and his back is to Batman for the entire scene. His gestures are overdramatic-he's waving his arms about, flinging them upwards and outwards as far as they can go. The rain is obviously dripping off of him. However, it's the last panel on this page that is the most striking. For the last line, the punch line, the Joker finally turns and faces Batman, allowing the reader to see his eyes and face clearly for the first time. The Joker's eyes are wide, his eyebrows are close together, and combined it gives him the expression of someone who is desperate and knows there's no hope. His smile is wide, as always, and it seems faker than it ever has in the rest of the graphic novel. His gestures have stilled here, and the only thing he does is hold up one finger to point towards the sky, and that lone finger is literally shaking. (Also of note: in the first panel of the next page, there's a line of moisture coming down from the Joker's eye while Batman is still standing stoically in the background. Is it the rain, or is it the Joker crying? And: the only time we see rain dripping off of Batman is in the panel on the last page when he begins to laugh, right before he attacks the Joker. Is the rain meant to be a sign of madness, of being in the asylum? As in, Batman is fine being on the rooftop of the opposite building for all this time, but at the end he jumps back over only long enough to lose all of his morals/sanity?)
As a real life example of a type of situation I believe this joke is referring to, let's look at those "Extreme Make-Over" shows. You know, the ones where volunteers go and build a gorgeous house for very poor people. You've probably heard of those instances where some of the people the houses were built for end up having to give the house up. Either the bills are too much and they can't pay them, or they end up being unable to handle suddenly having money, or else some other unforeseen event occurs, and the poor people are left in an even worse spot than they were in before. It's easy to compare that situation to this joke. People in a better position were willing to help the poor people, but only up to a point. Once the job is done, everyone leaves, which means the people who had been destitute suddenly have to learn how to handle money. What if they've never been taught financial planning? What if they just don't understand all of the terms involved with their house-for instance, that their electric bill is probably going to be sky-high if they keep all their lights on? Offering these people a hand, and then abandoning them after the first step is completed, is almost an invitation to failure. And, I bet most of the people who give up their homes are in an even worse position afterwards than they were before the volunteers came and re-built their house.
I'm not saying that they were wronged or that they should be viewed as victims. Rather, not everyone has the know-how and ability to continue down a path that requires courage and intelligence. Things like the circumstances a person is born into and their own personalities and histories all affect how a person behaves. So, it's easy for someone not involved to say that a person can just stop how they're acting and change for the better. It's also easy for someone, after lending a helping hand, to feel good about the volunteer work he or she has done and continue on with daily life, unaffected by other needs the people might have. The most difficult thing, and the one you hardly ever see, is for someone to reach out a hand to another person in need, and keep on holding that person's hand until both of them are securely in a good situation. In fact, most people would rightfully argue that they have their own lives to worry about, that they can't be bothered with helping people who aren't able or willing to try and help themselves.
Which is how this comes full circle. There are people who just don't have the ability to change themselves or their circumstances. A lot of that, I believe, is due to mental limitations. I'm not talking about intelligence, although sometimes that's a factor. It's more along the lines of over-thinking, worrying, being nervous, having been betrayed before, not being able to trust other people, not being able to get over your past… that sort of thing. If someone has a mental blockade up, then they're afraid of falling. Then they can't leap over that narrow gap in-between the asylum they've locked themselves in, and the freedom that's staring in the face, that they want but are unable to muster up the courage, confidence, and commitment to take.
As I said before, that's the Joker-trapped by a past he doesn't remember and his own inability to act. He's shown as being diametrically opposed to Batman, who is portrayed as being haunted by his past and spurred onward to act. Yet they both share that common beginning-the asylum. So, maybe the final theme of this story is that you are what you make of yourself, that you have to act or else be pushed aside, and that you can only rely on your own abilities. It's a bleak message, but then again, Gotham is a bleak place.
Somewhat random and unrelated thought: The Joker is shown as being a sympathetic character in the end, although throughout the rest of the graphic novel he was viewed as being very threatening and really quite horrible in every possible way. I won't try and sugar-coat the Joker's attacks against Gordon and Barbara-they're truly horrifying. Yes, we get a past that explains some of his psychosis, but I don't believe that the Joker's true past, since he himself states that he doesn't remember what happened to him, and he has several pasts in his mind. Still, in the final few pages the reader's sympathy seems to swing from Batman's side to the Joker's. Before that, the reader had been right there with Batman, agreeing that the Joker needed to be stopped. We saw what the Joker did to Gordon and Barbara, saw Barbara's plea to Batman to save her father, and of course we agreed on sheer principle that the Joker had gone too far, that Batman had reason aplenty to stop him by whatever means necessary. So, why the change in who the writer wants the reader to sympathize with? Is this another example of how Batman works? He's the hero for those who he chooses to be the hero for-he can be the hero for Barbara and Gordon because they're innocent and firmly on the side of what's good and right (they've never been in the asylum). But saving people who truly need to be saved, who have problems that are actually causing them and other people pain and suffering? Batman won't do that. If the Joker was actually rehabilitated, wouldn't that solve a whole lot of Batman's and the people of Gotham's problems? But the only victims Batman saves are the clear ones-the ones who are blameless. Batman is unable to see the Joker as a victim because he is so far into his role of being the hero that, to him, there is only one right answer. The Joker is the villain, and will always be the villain, in Batman's mind. So, although Batman chooses who he's willing to save, he still sees himself as a hero. Not only does he fool himself into believing he is the hero, but he also tricks the readers into believing it as well? Perhaps this is the real killing joke.
Another random thought: The Joker invites Batman to the carnival, using that little ticket. Why does he invite Batman? Simple-he wants Batman to understand where he's coming from. When Batman gets there, the Joker gives him a speech. A bit of it is as follows: "You had a bad day, and it drove you as crazy as everybody else… Only you won't admit it! You have to keep pretending that life makes sense, that there's some point to all this struggling!" The Joker is trying to bridge the gap between Batman and himself-the gap between the rooftops, if you will. The Joker realizes that they're the same, and he understands Batman, but Batman's lack of similar understanding forces them to be separated, always looking at each other from a distance, never able to cross that gap. After all, Batman won't go back to the asylum and the Joker won't move forward to freedom.
Random thought #3: When the Joker says "I'm sorry," as he's rejecting Batman's offer of help, I can't help but think that he really means it. It seems like the Joker is apologizing not only because he's rejecting the offer, but because the entire situation is awful. As in, he's sorry they can't see eye to eye, he's sorry the offer isn't genuine, and he's sorry he's so far gone that there's no going back. This just adds to the overwhelming sympathy I had for the Joker at the end.
Last random thought: In the introduction of the deluxe edition (which is the one I have), Time Sale calls the joke at the end "Priceless, funny, and perfect for the characters of Batman and The Joker." I'll agree with priceless and perfect for Batman and the Joker, but funny? Yes, the joke would have been funny if I had heard it in another context, but told here it comes across as being tragic. Am I just being too emo-tastic in my analysis of the joke? That is a strong possibility. :P
I'll edit this post if necessary, although I think I was rather thorough this time around. Feel free to comment, critique, and shout as much as you'd like to. ^_^*