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ITHO'S SPHERE

The Not-So-Funny Killing Joke

ITHO'S SPHEREAlan MooreBatmanBrian BollandDCDC ComicsDC Entertainment
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Batman: The Killing Joke is one of the most celebrated stories of the Dark Knight and his ultimate nemesis. Itā€™s possible weā€™ll see an adaptation from the team behind Batman: The Animated Series. But should there be a ā€œKilling Jokeā€ movie, and if we get one what happens then?Written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland in 1988 , the book was an instant hit considered by many the definitive tale of the Jokerā€™s origin. For all its accolades, its not without problems.

For one thing, Alan Moore has dismissed it as a poor story. ā€ I mean, Brian [Bolland] did a wonderful job on the art but I donā€™t think itā€™s a very good book. Itā€™s not saying anything very interesting.ā€œ

For the second point, this is the book that literally crippled Barbara Gordon. Pre-TKJ, Barbara was balancing her time as Batgirl and a member of the House of Representatives. At the time she was at a status above almost any other female character in mainstream comics. Then Alan Moore had her shot and molested by the Joker, all so he could drive her father, Commissioner Jim Gordon, crazy. Itā€™s in the top three of the Women in Refrigerators tropes, no question.

To make matters worse, editors and writers loved the out-of-continuity story so much they retroactivelyĀ made itĀ in-continuity. This put Barbara Gordon in a dark place that sheā€™s never recovered from, not even when writers tried to refit her as handicapable hacker Oracle.

It may be a fitting allegory for survivors of sexual abuse, in how it mars someoneā€™ life for years. Unfortunately, the comics community has neither the maturity nor time to deal with these implications.

Fast forward to today. Itā€™s 20 years after the critically and fan acclaimed ā€œBatman: The Animated Seriesā€, with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill cementing themselves as the voices for Batman and the Joker respectively. The Rocksteady ā€œArkhamverseā€ games reunited them and gave Hamill his ā€œdrop-the-micā€ exit as the Joker. The only thing that could tempt him back into the role is to play Joker in some adaptation of ā€œThe Killing Jokeā€, which may soon come to fruition.

Not everyone is psyched about this.
Many people have a problem with Alan Mooreā€™s writing, they like it well enough, but its not always kind to female characters. If you donā€™t believe me, think hard and count the number ofĀ times rape comes up in his stories. So where does that leave ā€œThe Killing Jokeā€ movie?

Thereā€™s was a long conversation on Twitter between fans trying to rewrite the story so its ā€œfixedā€. Maybe Harly Quinn tells Batman the story to mess with him, maybe its all a dream sequence, maybe Jason Todd gets shot instead of Barbara. All of these are fine ideas, on their own. They donā€™t convince me though of the merit of rewriting ā€œThe Killing Jokeā€.

If ā€œThe Killing Jokeā€ is such an awful story, if its story is so repulsive, maybe the movie shouldnā€™t be made. With how effective fan campaigns are these days, Iā€™m sure one could stop production on the film. The fact that its adaptation is canceled can be used as a lesson for future generations on why the story is problematic. On the flip side, if ā€œThe Killing Jokeā€ is this brilliant story that needs to be a film, then does it really need to be rewritten? Weā€™ve seen what happens when you try to rewrite Alan Moore, and it almost never works out. Besides ā€œFrom Hellā€ and maybe ā€œV for Vendettaā€, are hisĀ other adaptations successful or even liked? Maybe its better to have a faithful adaptation, since its been so long when it was first released and unlikely to harm Barbaraā€™s existence in the comics.

For my money, Iā€™d rather Batman: The Killing JokeĀ not be adapted as a film. I can think of 20 other Batman stories Iā€™d rather see (Batman: The Long HalloweenĀ for one), and that Iā€™m sure others would as well. Itā€™s something that could make alot of money for the DC Animated Films division temporarily, but I worry about it alienating fans and costing them and DC Comics money in the long term.

Is it worth the pride, the vanity, and the ambition to film Batman: The Killing JokeĀ if it sets back what the comic industry has been trying to do for the last 5-10 years?

Tags:Alan MooreBatmanBrian BollandDCDC ComicsDC Entertainment

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