Joker Comic Makes Jason Todd’s Murder Even More Twisted

WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Batman: White Knight #7

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The latest issue of Batman: White Knight reveals the greatest trick Joker ever pulled on Batman – the “murder” of Jason Todd. Not only the cruelest, ultimate joke the Dark Knight has ever faced, but one that kept his arch-nemesis laughing for all the years since.

Batman: White Knight may be changing the story of Jason Todd, but not or the mainstream DC continuity. For those who don’t know. White Knight is set in a reality where miracle drugs cured The Joker’s insanity and set the newly reformed Jack Napier on a crusade to rid Gotham City of its corrupt cops and government. Standing in his way is Marian Drews, the second Harley Quinn, who wants her crazed lover back.

Related: White Knight Comic Makes Batman & Robin’s Movie Plot Actually WORK

Helping him make a new life is the original Harley. The one who finally left Joker when he murdered Jason Todd as part of his obsession with Batman. Or so we thought…

One question that has lurked in the background of Batman: White Knight has been the final fate of Jason Todd – the second Robin, who disappeared mysteriously after being abducted by The Joker several years earlier. Having agreed to a truce in order to deal with Harley Quinn’s new identity, Neo-Joker, Batman asks Jack Napier to look into The Joker’s memories and tell him what happened to Jason Todd.

Napier agrees – and discovers that The Joker tortured Jason in a bid to learn Batman’s secret identity.

The twist comes when Napier realizes once Joker accomplished his mission, he let Jason Todd go. When Batman asks why Jason never returned to him if he really was alive, Jack claims Jason was broken by Bruce Wayne long before Joker kidnapped him. The Joker decided that letting Jason Todd go free, knowing Batman would never believe his chosen protege had faked his own death just to get away from him, was much funnier than simply killing the second Robin.

As has been the case with most of Batman: White Knight‘s twists, this one paid tribute to another classic Batman story – the animated movie Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker. A flashback in the movie reveals the final fate of the Batman: The Animated Series version of The Joker, who had abducted the Tim Drake Robin and brainwashed him into becoming Joker Junior after forcing him to reveal Batman’s secret identity. (The joke would be on The Joker, however, as his adopted son winds up turning on him instead of killing Batman, which had been Joker’s ultimate plan.)

Strangely enough, Batman and The Joker’s teaming-up in this issue mirrors the events of the conclusion of Dark Knights: Metal – a DC Comics event book which concluded last week. The finale saw Batman and The Joker teaming up to save the Multiverse, which may be every bit as surprising as this revelation of Jason Todd’s survival.

But since Jason Todd is now alive and well in the current DC continuity… is it so shocking a twist? Is it one you hope DC carries over to its regular universe, or is this a plot thread left hanging in a possible White Knight sequel series?

More: Harley Quinn’s New Origin Story Embraces Mental Illness

Batman: White Knight #7 is now available from DC Comics.

About The Author

Matt Morrison
(1839 Articles Published)

Matt Morrison has been writing about comics since before the word
“blogging” was coined. He got his start writing for the
legendary DC Comics digital fanzine Fanzing,
before receiving his own column, The Mount. Since then he has gone on
to write for over a dozen websites, including 411
Mania, Comics
Nexus and The Cult of Nobody. He holds both an MS in Information
Science from the University of North Texas and a BFA from the
University of Texas at Arlington. Known as a font of comic book
history trivia, he has delivered lectures on the history of American
Comic Books, Japanese Manga, Doctor Who, and Cosplay at over a dozen conventions
and served as an Expert In-Residence for a course on Graphic Novels
for Librarians at the University of North Texas. In addition to his
work for Screen Rant, Matt is currently the Editor In Chief of
Kabooooom.com and writes reviews for No
Flying, No Tights – a graphic literature and anime review site
aimed at teachers and librarians. He also maintains a personal blog –
My Geeky Geeky Ways –
which hosts his extensive episode guide for the television series
making up The Arrowverse as well as his
comedic Let’s Play videos. What little spare time he has is
devoted towards acting, role-playing, movie-riffing and sarcasm. You
can follow his adventures on Twitter, @GeekyGeekyWays.

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