By: Charles Singh
DC Black Label’s Batman: 3 Jokers storyline addresses the Bat-family’s greatest traumas. In this arc, Batman, Batgirl, and Red Hood join forces to stop 3 different Jokers from terrorizing Gotham. The 3 Jokers make their presence known and commit 3 separate crimes that require the attention of Gotham’s heroes. The trio reveals that multiple Jokers exist and have been responsible for different key moments in the lives of the Bat-family. The 3 versions of The Joker are The Criminal, The Comedian, and The Clown.
The Bat-family’s search for the 3 Jokers leads them to Gotham Aquarium where they encounter The Clown. He is The Joker that claims to have beaten Jason Todd within an inch of his life so many years ago. Batman leaves Batgirl and Red Hood to interrogate The Clown so he can investigate another Joker appearance. Jason ultimately ends up killing The Joker that he believed was responsible for his life’s greatest trauma.
The Joker that appears to be the one that tormented Batgirl in The Killing Joke story arc is The Comedian. Barbara was horrified when Red Hood killed The Clown believing Red Hood had committed a mortal sin and broken the code they both used to abide by. Batgirl shows restraint despite her history with The Joker. Like Jason, Barbara Gordon was physically and mentally broken by The Joker when she was shot and photographed in her apartment. The shooting left her paralyzed until she was eventually able to regain movement after rigorous physical therapy and training. When The Comedian catches Jason Todd off-guard in Monarch Theatre Barbara gets her symbolic recovery panel. Barbara uses the camera Joker has strapped to his body and smashes it in his face, effectively reversing the moment in The Killing Joke where she feels powerless against the madman.
Batman’s greatest trauma has nothing to do with The Joker at all. The Criminal recognizes that Batman’s greatest trauma is losing his parents when they are murdered by Joseph Chill. He understands that nothing he does as The Joker could make him as important to Batman as Joe Chill. Using this information, Joker devises a plot to make Batman save Joe Chill. He kidnaps the elderly and chronically ill old man and dangles him above a vat of chemicals. Bruce saves Joe Chill and learns he is remorseful for killing the Waynes. The Comedian then kills The Criminal and reveals himself as the mastermind behind the insidious plot to become Batman’s biggest source of trauma. He went as far as helping Batman forgive the murderer of his parents to become more important to The Dark Knight.
3 Jokers reveals just how obsessive The Joker is and how important Batman is to him. The members of the Bat-family each got to deal with their biggest personal traumas in this 3 issue story-arc. It dove deep into The Joker’s darkest interactions with Bruce and his sidekicks. But why does Joker want to hurt Batman so bad? Perhaps it is because Batman took his trauma and turned it into a meaningful life where he constantly pursued justice. Joker’s reaction to trauma was to stay as far away from reality as possible. Does Joker really hate The Batman because he threw away the opportunity to salvage his life after the moment that shattered it?