Joker Was Once Robin’s Getaway Driver

Anyone who’s used a service like Uber has had a driver who didn’t quite merit five stars, but when Robin (aka Tim Drake) found himself in need of a driver, the Joker gave him way more than he bargained for – and at Christmas, no less!

The ride took place in Detective Comics #826, in Paul Dini and Don Kramer’s “Slayride” storyline, and depicts a surprisingly high body count for the Joker in a story that’s relatively grisly for all its festive dressing. While the Joker is no stranger to lethal adventures, the story is made particularly tense by his history with Batman’s sidekicks. Having killed Jason Todd during his stint as Robin and (at the time) ended Barbara Gordon’s career as Batgirl, it was no laughing matter when the Joker finally got his hands on Tim Drake with Batman nowhere to be seen.

Starting the story in a high-speed chase, Drake reveals that he made an unfortunate error in trying to arrest a gang of arms dealers at the same time they were attacked by a rival faction. With his bike crushed by the attackers and gunfire coming from all sides, Robin notices a car pull up alongside him and someone shout, “Robin! Robin! Over here!” Unable to see the driver, Drake reflects on his options and quickly decides, “Any port in a storm…”

Of course, the driver of the car is the Joker, who immediately gases Robin and proceeds to take him on the ride from hell. Tied with fairy lights and gagged with a bauble, Robin is forced to watch as Joker mows down pedestrians and opens fire on a drive-through worker. Joker explains that he happened across Robin by accident and wants to take the opportunity to “just hang out” – an obvious lie that makes it clear the Boy Wonder doesn’t have long to live. Finding a toy car down the back of his seat, Robin sets to work cutting his ties, but the Joker reveals he planted the toy there to give his prisoner hope, tossing it out of the window before Drake can get free.

Growing dissatisfied, Joker threatens to drive into a crowd of children if Robin won’t plead for his life. Robin knows pleading won’t work, but recalling a discussion with Batman, he uses a Marx Brothers’ quote to gain the Joker’s attention. It’s enough for Joker to want to prolong the encounter, and Robin uses the extra time to get free and, in his own words, “Just go ‘Batman’ on his ass.” Within the confines of the car, Robin’s able to put the hurt on the Joker, eventually spraying him with his own gas. Stumbling out of the car, Joker spots an oncoming truck and welcomes it with open arms, saying, “Oh, what the hell… I can take a joke.”

While the Joker isn’t killed by the encounter, he’s certainly put out of commission for the night, and Robin is able to summon Batman and ultimately survive his encounter with the Clown Prince of Crime. Tim took the absolute worst that the Joker could give and used his insight and expertise to save the victims he’d have continued to claim. It’s not enough to leave Robin feeling very merry, but as Batman point out, sometimes that’s the best a superhero gets.

About The Author

Robert Wood
(399 Articles Published)

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Robert Wood is a comics editor for Screen Rant and the author of ‘The False Elephant (and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories).’ He received his Master’s in English Literature from Lancaster University, and now happily spends his days applying it to Daredevil and the Hulk.

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