The Killing Joke Ending (Comic Dub) · 4:17am Jun 24th, 2021
I found this on YouTube, while looking at various Batman-related videos. A reading of the finale of The Killing Joke.
This performer has some good talent, considering that he voices both Batman and the Joker throughout this. I particularly like that he doesn't just try to do impressions of Mark Hamill or Kevin Conroy, but his reading still manages to somewhat evoke them without coming off as blatant. It's a tricky balance to strike but I think it works pretty well here.
It's been many a year since I've revisited the comic, but I must say, that it really does still have some spark in some of the words. Batman's speech to the Joker - whether it's him rebutting the clown's iconic "One bad day" speech, or else his attempt to reach out to Joker and maybe, just maybe see if they can change the course that they're locked into - hit pretty close to home for me, considering just how many years have passed since this comic and how many stories have shown the grim, downward spiral of the feud between these two characters.
Imagine, just for a moment, a story, or a world in the DC Multiverse, where the Joker actually took Batman up on his offer. What a thing that might have been, eh?
It's funny, so many people quote the Joker's One Bad Day speech, but it's easy to forget, he's wrong.
And they so often forget Batman's rebuttal which is perfect.
"Because I've heard it before. And it wasn't funny the first time."
5540438
Misaimed Fandom is like that. And the Joker seems to be a very popular target of it, considering that people idolize his "One bad day" speech here, or his actions from the Nolan movies... or the Joaquim Phoenix movie. (Alan Moore seems to be a common victim of this too - there's The Killing Joke, Watchmen, V for Vendetta... no wonder he's disavowed comics.)
But I definitely agree, that Batman's rebuttal to the Joker's nihilism is perfect. I think the other best comeback from Batman in regard to is from that one animated movie with the Crime Syndicate. When he takes on Owlman. Something like--
"We both stared into the abyss. But when it looked back... you blinked."
5540512
Yep. Did Joker break after One Bad Day? Yes. Well, maybe.
But, while it's easy to attribute this happening to others, see various other supervillains, or even Darth Vader, (seriously, the events of Revenge of the Sith happen over what, a week at most?) it wasn't just that ONE day that broke him. That One Bad Day was just the straw that broke the camel's back.
Besides, Batman is living proof. He had One Bad Day. He lost his parents as a child. No human being on this Earth is emotionally equipped to deal with grief. Losing your loved ones is agony. So losing his parents at what, age 10 or so? That broke him. But that's the thing. He broke. But he rebuilt himself. And while part of him will always be in Crime Alley, crying over the death of his parents, which I don't begrudge him, he's been able to DO something with that.
Joker is like Sisko. He never moved on. He's been stuck in that One Bad Day (assuming that actually happened, again, multiple choice past,) and has never been able to move on.
5540514
Nicely said. It's not that "one bad day," by itself, was what drove any of those characters over the edge. It was typically the culmination of a series of bad events - or in the case of Anakin, a near *lifetime* of bad events. (Really, someone who went completely and violently insane just because of the events of a single day would be someone who should not, by any means, ever have been allowed into normal society anyway.)
And yeah, as characters like Batman show, just because you have been through Hell in the past, doesn't mean that you are lost forever. He rebuilt himself. He devoted himself to going forward from that, with the intent of making things in Gotham so that people would never have to suffer what happened to him. (Similarly, look at Spider-Man as well. Uncle Ben was murdered because he let that robber get away. He's dealt with all sorts of slings and arrows from life: supervillains, Jameson's smear campaign, home problems, job woes, relationship woes... still keeps swinging. My dad put it well one time - Spidey's a coper. He takes what crap people give him, calls himself "The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man," and keeps going anyway.)
5540519
Spidey is a great example of why he's wrong. Consider the amount of shit the universe puts him through. Much as Batman's not allowed to move past his parents' death, he's not allowed to move past Gwen Stacy. The guy is a cosmic plaything, but he still has time to smile, laugh, take care of Aunt May and enjoy life. Plus, considering how strong and fast he ACTUALLY is, most of his rogues gallery is only alive because he doesn't want to be a killer. If he truly wanted them dead, barring a handful, he probably COULD kill them. But he doesn't. He is put through pain, misery, shame and ENDLESS reminders of his failures, but he sticks to his code. He remains a good person. Joker wasn't right. He was weak.
Hell, GORDON from that VERY SAME STORY, whom he tried to One Bad Day, remained sane. Traumatized, naturally, but he didn't become a violent super criminal.
5540520
Nicely said about Spider-Man. Very nicely said indeed!
I'm gonna have to remember that one for later.
And also, perfect proof in regard to Commissioner Gordon as well. (Heck, just as much in some regards, considering all the subsequent crap that's happened to him since The Killing Joke.
)
5540524
Exactly my point. So yeah, Joker's full of shit. What else is new?
5540525
Nothing much, except that we're finally at the point now where even Harley Quinn is able to call him on it.
5540529
Which is glorious. Yes, the story of her being corrupted by Joker is a classic and her harlequin aesthetic is great, but, if her entire character is solely defined by the Joker, then that's not a sign of good writing. So, she evolved and changed with the times. I still wouldn't call her a GOOD person, but, she's more a very violent Chaotic Neutral than Evil now.
5540531
Agreed. Harley's not a "good" person, by almost any means, but she's definitely a lot better than the way she used to be. And she's changed and grown too, from the days when she was just a more colorful Joker mook. That's progress, no matter how you slice it.
5540536
Agreed.