Death of the Family (2012) SPOILERS

[Azrael]

True. The guy's returned from the dead more times than Doctor Who. And I don't see that changing any time soon.

And this is how it should be - "destined to do this forever". I don't know what happens in this story arc, maybe it's good and why it shouldn't be, but the visual of Leatherface Joker makes me wish someone does the dreadful "format DC:", and reinstalls everything.

[thecolorsblend]

The problem I've had with Batman's no kill policy is specifically the Joker. Dude paralyzed Barbara, tormented Gordon, murdered Jason, murdered Essen and that's just the 80's. I don't care how principled Batman thinks he is, sooner or later reality has to set in that society truly would be better off without the Joker. Now, of course the Joker can't be killed off, major villain, iconic character, etc, but maybe those are arguments for not having the Joker cross those kinds of lines.

As for a true, universe-wide reboot that erases everything from the past, sign me up. It'll never happen though. Because DC is full of cowards.

[Azrael]

It still bugs me to this day that Alberto Falcone was to receive the death penalty by gas chamber, as it has been mentioned many times in the dialogue of TLH and DV. A criminal that killed a few mobsters or corrupt individuals, and who would receive a prison sentence in any Justice system worth mentioning, was to be executed (and by painful means, not, say, injection), while a mass murdering terrorist complete monster gets a free suite in the Arkham Hotel. Strange, is it not? This is only a guess, but pleading insanity in comics might be hilarious to those that actually work in real life cases.

It really gets ridiculous when Batman goes out of his way to save the Joker, when the blame for his killing does not lay on him (Joker attempts suicide by jumping off a rooftop, has been stabbed by another villain etc), especially in light of the "I don't have to save you" line.

This is when someone has to say... it's called comic book.

[Silver Nemesis]

SPOILERS for Batman #17.

Well, this story arc has finally concluded. And no one died. It was just another 'Joker does something sick, Batman says this time Joker's gone too far, vows to kill him, doesn't kill him, Joker plummets to an ambiguous and obviously impermanent death' storyline. We've seen this many times before. And I found it fairly underwhelming considering how hyped it was.

The most intriguing thing about this latest issue is the epilogue hinting at the arrival of Katana. The story ends with the Bat-family all distancing themselves from Bruce, and now Katana's about to appear on the scene. It looks like maybe the comics are setting us up for the new Beware the Batman TV series.

[Paul (ral)]

I've not had time to read a comic over the past 2 months due to one thing or another, so I was avoiding this thread but someone spoiled #17 for me online so decided to read this

I have all the tie-ins and will get it read over the next 2 weeks.

Disappointed a little in it,  now I've read your thoughts

[The Dark Knight]

I haven't been following this arc heavily. Though I like one part of it a lot.

Joker kidnapping the Bat family and holding them in tunnels near the bat cave. Beforehand a Joker card is found in the cave, leading the reader to think perhaps Joker had been in there. Joker's book of their identities is blank, with Joker saying he doesn't care who they are. Which leads me to think maybe he did find out, but has chosen to repress and ignore his discoveries, simply not interested. It's ambiguous. Holding the Bat-family in tunnels near the cave could have been coincidental. Or it may not have been.

The Joker's face being cut off is very grisly. But, it does provide a great image with it stuck back on, stretched out.
Something different, I guess.

[Silver Nemesis]

Don't let me ruin it for you, ral. For one thing, I'm generally biased against this sort of depiction of the Joker. So I wasn't likely to enjoy the storyline anyway. And for another thing, I didn't bother reading all the tie-in comics. I just read the essential issues. The complete saga is probably much richer in content.

The Dark Knight seems to have enjoyed it, so there's a good chance others will too. And even if they don't, it's still worth reading.

[The Dark Knight]

The comic seems to angle that the Joker loves Batman. Not just in terms of a fun sparring partner, but in terms of love. How do I feel about it? I suppose it's taking an established concept and emphasising it a little more than usual.

[thecolorsblend]

The most intriguing thing about this latest issue is the epilogue hinting at the arrival of Katana. The story ends with the Bat-family all distancing themselves from Bruce, and now Katana's about to appear on the scene. It looks like maybe the comics are setting us up for the new Beware the Batman TV series.

Only just finished reading DOTF but not gone through anything else so I don't know if your theory has played out but it wouldn't surprise me. More and more, comic books are becoming slaves to what other media do. If the Burton films came out today, Batman would be wearing the Keaton outfit, Penguin would have flipper hands, etc. Ticks me off.

Generally, toward the end of the story, it looked like the Joker's face was, um, starting to rot. Did anybody else notice that?

The comic seems to angle that the Joker loves Batman. Not just in terms of a fun sparring partner, but in terms of love. How do I feel about it? I suppose it's taking an established concept and emphasising it a little more than usual.

Not sure how to process it either.

[thecolorsblend]

Oh, one other thing. I'm on the record saying Batman would have and should have killed the Joker ages ago and any rational person in his position certainly would have. "It's the one thing that separates us from them" never worked for me because that statement is an indictment of Batman and his methods.

Anyway. Say what you will about DOTF but it finally presents a logical reason why Batman shouldn't whack the Joker: he believes that if he did, there's a chance that Gotham City would simply raise up someone even worse. That works for me. Batman can claim to reject superstition all he wants but I've never liked a strictly pragmatic, rational, materialistic approach. Of all people, Batman would take a holistic approach to fighting evil, whether it's facts and reason or feelings and intuition.