{"id":329714,"date":"2026-03-09T11:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T11:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/329714\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T11:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T11:02:10","slug":"86-years-later-dc-unveils-the-jokers-scariest-form-of-all-time-and-batman-isnt-prepared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/329714\/","title":{"rendered":"86 Years Later, DC Unveils The Joker\u2019s Scariest Form of All Time, and Batman isn\u2019t Prepared"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez\u2019s ongoing Batman<\/a> run has teased a fascinating exploration of super-villain psyches, and it wouldn\u2019t be possible without the addition of an endearing new character, Dr. Annika Zeller, and her Crown of Storms device. More than that, though, is her empathy, and it\u2019s this level of empathy that the book is proposing some of Batman\u2019s rogues\u2019 gallery characters<\/a> need most.<\/p>\n

The Joker recently made his first appearance in this mainline run since its numbered relaunch, and he\u2019s quite a bit different from what readers may have anticipated. It may have been easier to comprehend characters empathizing with the likes of Killer Croc or Riddler<\/a> as they did earlier in the run, but seeing a version of Joker whose emotions have been supposedly regulated and is on the path to rehabilitation is worthy of skepticism, let alone fear as to what kind of monster he could become.<\/p>\n

Batman #7 Reveals a Saner Side of Joker<\/p>\n

\"batman<\/p>\n

Batman #7 is phenomenal. It is gorgeous, for instance, with vivid color and an astonishing foldout, but it\u2019s also basically one intimate, beautifully written conversation between Batman and Joker (with Dr. Annika Zeller listening in on most of it).<\/p>\n

This issue convincingly suggests that Joker is miraculously sane\u2014a testament to how profoundly paramount Dr. Annika Zeller\u2019s treatment<\/a> is, perhaps. The question is, will this Joker\u2014if he truly is sane now\u2014be an unfathomably more sinister villain with a greater clarity of mind, as even he wishes to stay \u201ccontained\u201d? It\u2019s been an intriguing and unprecedented exploration of the Clown Prince of Crime, anyhow.<\/p>\n

Either It\u2019s a Ruse, or Joker is Rehabilitated<\/p>\n

\"batman<\/p>\n

Batman doesn\u2019t seem to buy it, and why would he? It\u2019s hard enough for readers to be persuaded, and it will probably take much more than the words of a character suspended in a fluid tank to demonstrate that he\u2019s actually sane, even if him recollecting Batman\u2019s true identity as Bruce Wayne<\/a> and reconciling with it (not to mention every heinous act of villainy he\u2019s committed) in Batman #7\u2019s last page is fairly compelling.<\/p>\n

Either way, Dr. Annika Zeller\u2019s research and care for Arkham Towers patients have undoubtedly paved the way for some tremendously thrilling story beats. It\u2019s frightening to imagine a Joker who could be sane and still find the motivation to be a murderous psychopath, but it will be exciting to see what Batman does with this character reinvention regardless, especially as Gotham City Police Commissioner Vandal Savage and the Minotaur are seemingly still the run\u2019s main antagonists.<\/p>\n

\"Batman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tCreated By \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBob Kane, Bill Finger<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tAlias \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBruce Wayne<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tAlliance \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJustice League, Outsiders, Batman Family<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tRace \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHuman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tFranchise \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tD.C.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez\u2019s ongoing Batman run has teased a fascinating exploration of super-villain psyches, and it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[146,85,46,397],"class_list":["post-329714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}