Joker Is Dying, Settling Once and for All If His Existence Is Batman’s Fault

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Warning! This article contains a PREVIEW for Batman #159

Joker is dying in the DC Comics, putting Batman in an extremely challenging position. Kicking off the major Batman comics event Hush 2, the first chapter saw Batman discovering the broken and tortured body of his nemesis, who was near death. Now, the upcoming Batman #159 continues the story, revealing what Batman has chosen to do with his arch-foe going forward.

In Hush 2 by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, Tommy Elliot’s Hush has seemingly begun an all-new revenge quest against Batman, beginning with The Caped Crusader’s biggest and most dangerous villain. With Hush having violently tortured and lethally wounded the Clown Prince of Crime with surgical precision in Batman #158, the issue ends with Batman being reminded of some of Joker’s worst deeds against his loved ones via video recordings as he discovers Joker himself near death, having been left for dead by Hush for Batman to find. Now, the new preview pages for Batman #159 show The Dark Knight’s controversial decision:

In the new preview, it’s revealed that Batman has secretly taken Joker to be saved by Doctor Leslie Thompkins, a friend of the Bat Family and the same doctor who helped Bruce Wayne with the trauma of losing his parents as a child. However, it’s not hard to guess that Batman’s decision to save such a horrible and monstrous human being will have some major consequences.

Joker Being Tortured Was Meant To Torment Batman

Forcing Him To Make A Hard Choice

With Hush putting Joker in such a dire, life-or-death situation, it’s clear that the purpose was to challenge Batman’s code as Gotham’s protector. He wanted Batman to question whether or not he should leave Joker to die. After all, The Clown Prince has done some pretty heinous things to Batman’s loved ones across the decades, most notably when the Joker paralyzed Barbara Gordon and killed Jason Todd’s Robin, leading to his eventual resurrection as Red Hood and his adoption of more aggressive, sometimes lethal tactics.

It’s a pretty heavy moment in Batman #158 to see The Dark Knight himself almost relieved at the prospect of Joker’s demise: “Finally. He lies dying.“ However, it’s not all that surprising to see in this new preview that Batman will be doing everything he can to save Joker’s life, unwilling to simply let him die from the wounds he inflicted at the hands of Hush. While Leslie Thompkins will surely do her best to save Joker’s life, one can imagine other Gotham protectors might not be so supportive of Batman’s decision ( like Jason, for instance).

If Batman Saves Joker, Will His Future Crimes Be The Dark Knight’s Fault?

Red Hood Is NOT Going To Be Happy…

The big question one might ask about this scenario is whether Batman will be responsible for any of the inevitable atrocities Joker will undoubtedly commit in the future, assuming Leslie saves his life at The Dark Knight’s request. It’s a good question, one Jason Todd will likely be asking without much subtlety if this new issue’s cover offers any indication. After all, one could easily see Batman forced to fight Jason’s Red Hood to keep him away from Joker, buying Leslie time to get the major Gotham villain stable. At any rate, it’ll be fascinating to see how this new chapter of Hush 2 continues.

Batman #159 is on sale April 23rd from DC Comics.

“}]] Joker’s dying…what’s a Batman to do?  Read More