"The final chapter of the most terrifying and personal Batman mystery is here!
Still reeling from their last encounter with the three Jokers, Batman, Batgirl, and Red Hood discover the terrible truth about the Three Jokersā plot. Will the caped crusaders have the strength needed to put an end to the maniacal menacesā master plan once and for all, or will it be lights out for good? You wonāt want to miss the stunning conclusion of Batman: Three Jokers as it completes its trajectory as the ultimate examination of The Joker and his never-ending conflict with Batman."
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I just finished the final issue and for all the hype, for all the waiting, Iām left with one questionā¦what was the point?
This isnāt an indictment on the story as I think parts of it were excellent (especially a certain hospital visit) but again, what was the point?
Much like Doomsday Clock, I think the actual story was let down by the enormous hype and the delays. For all the talk of how Barbara was going to confront her issue with the Joker, sheās more a side-character than anything. That bugs me because there were some fantastic opportunities for her in this story that werenāt taken.
I would like to read this again, though; to see it without the filter of the delays and hype. But I feel like my opinion will still be the same.
The more I think about it, the more I donāt like it. I dislike how theyāve basically confirmed Killing Joke as the Jokers origin (or at least the surviving Jokers origin)
Is this Canon? I like the story, but if its considered gospel Iām a bit disappointed in the ending. It completely contradicts what the Joker said earlier: " A defined Joker? One with a name? An identity? Why, that ruins the very definition of me."
Did anyone catch the close up of the grave at the end? It focused on āJOā and āCH.ā The āCHā has two pronunciationsā¦one being a hard āKā sound. Put the two together and we have joke. It makes me wonder who the joke was on with this book? Iāve been a strong fan of Geoff Johns, but I just donāt see the purpose of this book. As I said earlier, it invalidates itself and its purpose in the end. There was NO need for Batman to ask a question on the Mobuis Chair if he already knew the answer.
Geoff Johns canāt resist writing a sequel to a classic. Infinite Crisis after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Thy Kingdom Come after Kingdom Come. Doomsday Clock after Watchmen. Three Jokers after Killing Joke.
My thoughts on it right now are this. Was the story overhyped? A little bit, probably. Does it feel like a second-rate Alan Moore comic? Certainly.
But you know what? A second-rate Alan Moore style comic is still some pretty good comics. Honestly, in terms of the story itself, Iād say this story is about on the same level as The Killing Joke, and I think actually does end up saying some really interesting things about what the original story was trying to do.
So itās no A+ comic, but Iād say itās at least a B-. Hell, Fabokās art alone makes it high on the list.
That saidā¦while Iām glad that nothing was fully cemented there, but DCā¦could yaā¦could ya stop trying to ship Barbara with other Robins? Itās just never going to work.
I enjoyed it overall and thought the art was gorgeous. The ending felt interesting for Bruce/Batman, but Iām not sure what the point of his original question to the chair was. A confirmation of a known answer? Confirmation that NAME was still under there somewhere or if he is just JOKER now?
My favorite parts of the series were the Bat-family character moments. Iāve wanted an exploration of a Babs and Jason friendship/connection for a while. I think an exploration of their trauma by a shared tormentor and how to navigate recovering fro that could be very interesting and inspiringā¦ and I thought we might be getting that here, but instead there was a desperate (whether a cry for help by someone affection starved and latching on or a poor manipulation attempt - I choose to believe the former) note with wimpy tape. Honestly, I wish Babs had seen the note, smacked Jason upside the head, then pulled him in for a hug and invited him to her group therapy or sat him down with some more books to be their own recovery book club buddies. Friendship bonding is totally a thingā¦
I mean, other books hinted at a closeness between Babs and Jason, sometimes romantic and sometimes not, so this didnāt come totally out of the blue for me, but it felt incomplete. Purposefully so, which I found frustrating. I mean, I love Dick/Babs (even though DC has been ridiculously frustrating with both characters for years now), so Iām not pushing a romance here. But if their relationship/dynamic is going to be featured, then why not actually explore the it outside of the āshockā moments? The āwarmerā emotional connection was made in issue 2, when Babs brought Jason home and he saw all her books and recovery efforts. Expand on this connection. Barbara seemed like she wanted to help, so why not explore the two of them reading and talking about those books? I get that Jason could not be there yet, that he might be latching on to something by tying his recovery to a romantic chance (essentially), that heās a dramatic all or nothing character, or that he just doesnāt believe in himself so he wants someone to believe in him completelyā¦ but Iād much rather see a sense of growth from the characters than what basically turns out to be a way to maintain the status quo (i.e. Babs running, Bruce hiding things, Jason continuing as Red Hood, one Joker). I mean, the note even specified that Jason would never mention this again! I read that there seemed to be some debate as to whether this series could be inserted into canon. I assume that idea is what held this sort of growth back? Although, as someone pointed out elsewhere, the cleaning company, Funtime Cleaners with purple jumpsuits and green lettering, was suspect and that Joker may still messing with them, so perhaps that can pop back up somewhere.
I think it would have been a deeper story with a few more issues, but I guess three issues for three Jokers makes sense and had they have made them $10 50+ page books they wouldnāt have sold as many issues. I just think there was a lot here that didnāt get enough attention, especially seeing which Joker wound up as THE Joker.
Iām a HUGE Joker fan! Heās probably one of my favorite characters but even though I LOVED the art and I donāt feel like I wasted any money on getting all the covers up to the 25:100 coverā¦they make for a good collection Iām proud ofā¦ itās not at all my favorite Joker story though.
Iām glad I waited for Batgirl 50 to come out before starting Joker War because even though Iāll go back and read all three of these together they really left me wanting more.
I liked it overall. Great art, including some exciting action scenes. Characterization was good. The story was never dull or boring. Ending was flat, however. If Bruce had always known Jokerās true identity, why did he ask the Mobius chair in the first place? To make sure I guess? How long have the three Jokers existed? Most of all, what was Jokerās motivation in doing all this? To prove that he is the one? Jason sticking the note on Babsā door with a flimsy piece of scotch tape? Like, heās capable enough of being part of a crime fighting hero team, yet he canāt find a better way to get the message through.
Maybe itās the hype that surrounded it. I went in expecting some big Joker/Batman statement piece. This felt like it could have been another pretty good story arc to read through, not the event they made it out to be.
Kudos to both of you @TheTerribleToyman got me thinkingā¦ and while I was doing so, @hashtag-goodtobejo gave two pretty good answers . I can add the reveal that Bruce knows and Alfredās reaction to it.
Again, my only issue with the whole thing is I found myself asking āandā¦?ā. Iām not a very picky reader; a fun story is a fun story. This was no exception for me. I just had higher expectations.
Confession: The Killing Joke is not on the top of my list either. Maybe itās me .
moment
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. I can add the reveal that Bruce knows and Alfredās reaction to it.
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