Reelworm Speaks!- Batman: The Killing Joke

Reelworm Speaks!

Batman: The Killing Joke

Directed by Sam Liu, written by Brian Azzarello and stars the voices of Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Tara Strong and Ray Wise.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. 

The Story: As Batman hunts for the escaped Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime attacks the Gordon family to prove a diabolical point mirroring his own fall into madness (From IMDB).

The Review: Batman and the Joker have had countless confrontations over the decades. Some silly, some famous. One of the most legendary duels between the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime is the Killing Joke.

Lets get the first part of the way. This movie starts off quite poorly. It shows the newly minted Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, investigating a up and coming mobster who has an infatuation with with her. She gets in over her head and when Batman tries to prevent her from going over the edge, she ends up having angry sex with him. Uh…what!?

That is a common reaction to that development. What is tragic about it, is that this was designed to make Barbara a better character.

In popular media, there is a phenomenon called ‘Women in Refrigerators’ or ‘fridging’ a character. It got its name from comic books but it encompasses almost all media. It occurs when a female character is tortured/raped/killed/put on the bus by the story for no other purpose than to motivate the usually male lead. This is exactly what happens in original story, Barbara Gordon is shot and paralyzed by the Joker in order to make her stop being Batgirl and to motivate Batman. Even Alan Moore himself states that he regrets treated Barbara Gordon in such a manner.

The thing is…this actually led to one of DC’s most important character developments. Barbara…now deprived of walking, was forced to turn her mind toward crime-fighting, becoming the hacker hero Oracle. That was a good idea, not to mention the positive portrayal of the disabled alongside and intelligent women

This movie tries and fails with Barbara Gordon. For the first half-hour or so of the movie, it was watching a whole other movie about Batgirl. Reelworm kept asking himself, Where’s Joker? This supposed to be ‘the’ Joker story for many fans. 

The worst part is that Barbara is not a main character in the original source material. While receiving criticisms for its now dated portrayal of women, the Killing Joke remains a classic of the comic book and one of the quintessential texts of the Batman Canon. Why?

Not for the portrayal of Barbara but the relationship between Batman and the Joker. 

Fiction is full of rivalries and one of the most famous pairings is the Batman and the Joker. It stands to reason that if taking a random survey, most people would remember the Joker being the arch-nemesis of Batman, and would not know who Superman’s or Wonder Woman’s were. (Lex Luthor and Cheetah, respectively). That’s because the dynamic between the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime is so perfect. Many have said that the Joker is the perfect foil to a character like Batman. Its true…they are linked, two sides of the same coin. Order vs Chaos, Logic vs Madness, Comedy and Tragedy. That is what defines Joker and the Batman

While Batman is currently befuddled at his relationships,(That’s why they expanded Batgirl’s part!) he goes on the topic of his most intimate relationship…Joker. Batman is pondering how this will all play out, the endgame of the twisted bond they share. It has often been remarked that Batman was the closest thing Joker had to a friend. 

How the two are alike yet different. Both suffered tragedy and lost their loved ones and it really was a coin flip at the moment. It’s not to much of a stretch to thing Bruce Wayne could have gone down the same path as the unnamed comedian that became the Joker. 

But as he says…his past is preferred as multiple choice. 

This even extends to beyond the 4th wall as well. In Real-World, the most iconic portrayals of Batman and Joker of a generations are Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. There are certainly Reelworm’s default versions of the character. It no doubt delighted many, to hear that the dynamic duo were together again. Unfortunately, as dynamic as this duo is, the interpretation falls flat. Unlike earlier projects…this one seems to lack heart. A mere cash grab. 

Final Verdict: Its a bit tricky to assign and rating to this one because there are simultaneous good six sections mixed in with pretty bad ones. While the second half is much better, even Reelworm felt some parts were lacking compared to the original text and other projects, such as Joker’s Monologue. If one is a fan of Batman and/or animated superheroes, they should definitely give it a watch but it is unlikely this interpretation will be as famous as the graphic novel. 

Three Bats out of Five.

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