The Joker #10

Every so often, the team of The Joker takes a break from the main plot to explore an untold episode from the past – specifically one that explores a facet of Jim Gordon’s relationship with the Joker, or at least the idea of the Joker. The first time around, in issue 5, looked at the consequences of the Joker having been declared legally insane.

The Joker #10’s “Broken Home, Broken Heart” is the second such tale and takes on the fallout from The Killing Joke with a focus on Jim and Barbara. It also draws the later (re)created character of Jim’s son James Jr. into the story, examining the impact of those events on him… and if you know anything about James Jr. you can pretty much guess that the impact was unnerving.

Not that the other characters involved are having an easy time with it either.

Barbara, for example, is not in the best place. The story covers the early days of Barbara’s days in a wheelchair, which are I think understandably somewhat difficult for her. Emotionally, she finds herself frustrated and frayed, chafing under Jim’s overprotective watch while still struggling with anger and self-doubt. Physically, she is forced to relearn where her limits are and how to navigate the world differently.

Jim is having some difficulties as well, as being put on psychiatric leave leaves him with little outlet for his restlessness and quietly simmering anger at the hand his family has… not so much been dealt as had flung at them at high speeds. Possibly with razors taped to the deck of every card.

That brings us to James Jr.

While not as famous as his father and sister, James has nonetheless made quite an impact on the Gotham sector since his first appearance in Black Mirror just before the 2011 New 52 reboot. Introduced by Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla as Jim Gordon’s sociopathic serial killer son, he has since gone on to work with the Suicide Squad (if that still counts? New 52 problems…), end the lives of numerous redheaded women, and then commit suicide.

In recent issues of The Joker, however, exactly how dead he actually is has been called into question as DNA gathered from a Talon during a recent attack turned up as a positive match for James… thus his relevance here.

All of that background aside, James arrives at the Gordon house with his mother, Jim’s ex-wife Barbara, who wants to leave him there for a while as his recent obsession with the Joker has become too much for her and her new husband Martin. Of course, Jim accepts, but soon James’ fixation on the Joker becomes increasingly dangerous until…

Well, anyway.

Truth be told, I’m always up for a good James Gordon Jr. story – he’s truly one of my favorite recent additions to the Batman mythos and, while dying in a comic book is rarely actually fatal, I’ll admit to being a little disappointed at his recent death. When his return was recently implied I was excited, but also a little concerned – James as a talon is a little bit of an odd move to me, as I’ve always felt he was at his best as a more grounded genius serial killer type rather than throwing punches and kicks. Still, I was, and am, open to seeing where this goes.

All this is just to say I couldn’t be more pleased to see him here, especially portrayed by Francavilla, whose work was so perfect on the original Black Mirror story. Truly, he is no less of a wonder here. Francavilla’s work is always beautifully unique and equal parts vibrant and moody like a magnificent technicolor noir.

Of course, this isn’t just the James Jr. and Francavilla issue. Writers Tynion and Rosenberg come together to deliver a strong character piece, focused on the human impact of the Killing Joke’s events…. including a look at its effect on Jim’s most famous relationship – his alliance and friendship with Batman. There’s also a really lovely exchange between an early career Renee Montoya and Jim that foreshadows her importance in later years. Most importantly, however, it serves as almost a miniaturized version of the series as a whole – the damage caused by the Joker that lingers and corrupts even when he, himself, remains in absentia.

In the Punchline backup, we continue along a similar path, albeit from another angle as Kelly Ness, formerly Alex Kaye clique member and currently a target for death by Punchline, relays her past relationship with Alexis to Harper Row, Leslie Thompkins, and the Gotham District Attorney’s office. For me, the Punchline backup is at its most compelling when it focuses on the titular character, so I found this chapter effective. Artist Belen Ortega and color artist Alejandro Sanchez do a fantastic job of setting the mood as Kelly narrates her paranoid flight from Alexis Kaye’s shadow even as Punchline’s star begins to rise in the worst possible way.

I think the most disturbing thing about this story – specifically Kelly’s falling out with Punchline – is how arbitrary it is. There doesn’t seem to have been any particular reason that Alexis suddenly turned on her former friend, and when she turned, she turned hard, killing everyone around her and targeting Kelly herself for death. If we ever do find out specifically what did it, it’s just as likely as not to be something trivial, and that’s really the point. It’s easy to assume that the Joker made her what she is, but long before Alexis became Punchline, she was already a murderer and an antisocial personality. Despite this, she’s intelligent enough to weaponize the benefit of the doubt given to people who are perceived as the Joker’s victims. And that is what makes her so dangerous.