Joker Mocked Batman’s Failure to Keep Him Locked Up with 1 Humiliating Gift
Summary
- Batman’s futile attempts to permanently capture the Joker are proven as the Joker escapes Arkham Asylum within hours.
- The Joker’s gift of a revolving door symbolizes the never-ending cycle of their conflict, despite Batman’s efforts.
- Despite the Joker’s taunts, Batman finds hope in realizing his impact by saving lives from the Joker’s chaos over the years.
Batman and the Joker’s conflicts seem inevitable, especially because no matter how many times Batman tries to lock the Joker up, he simply returns. In one instance, Batman captures the Joker — only for the Joker to escape within the hour, leaving Batman a humiliating prize.
Wanting to destroy the future of Gotham, the Joker attacks a school, threatening to blow it up, in Legends of the Dark Knight Chapter #7 by Steve Niles and Trevor Hairsine. While he’s quickly defeated by Batman, the Joker doesn’t stay captured for long. Proving just how futile locking the Joker in Arkham Asylum truly is, the Joker escapes just an hour after being delivered.
Not only does the Joker nearly instantly escape Arkham, but he also leaves a gift for Batman. Upon opening the package, the gift is revealed to be a revolving door, a nod to the fact that no matter how many times Batman locks up the Joker, he’ll never actually stay behind bars.
The digital chapter
Legends of the Dark Knight
#7 is collected in 2012’s
Legends of the Dark Knight
#3.
Joker Gets a New Nightmare-Fuel Redesign as Arkham Asylum Burns
In the newest issue of DC/RWBY, the Joker combines with the most powerful Grimm in Remnant, the Nuckelavee, to create an unspeakably horrifying form.
The Joker’s Cruel Gift Speaks to His Slippery Nature
Legends of the Dark Knight Chapter #7 by Steve Niles, Trevor Hairsine, Antonio Fabela, and Saida Temofonte
Arkham Asylum’s inability to hold criminals has always been a major failure of the facility. No matter what security measures the Asylum puts in place, it seems any inmate can easily escape Arkham. Every single Batman rogue has a history of escaping from Arkham Asylum — hence it being referred to as a revolving door. This trope has dated back almost as long as Arkham Asylum has existed. While Batman has tried to increase the funding for Arkham Asylum, the place simply seems fundamentally broken, a belief best proven when the Joker escaped only hours after being admitted.
Arkham Asylum’s failure to keep the Joker contained isn’t a failure of Batman, who does everything he can to mitigate the Joker’s destruction.
Ultimately, Batman and Joker’s relationship is doomed to be an endless cycle. Along with the revolving door, the Joker includes a note that states Batman’s efforts are pointless. Initially, Batman starts to believe this, but after reading through dozens of letters that have been sent to Batman from citizens he’s saved, Batman realizes he does make a difference. While Batman can’t keep the Joker from escaping Arkham Asylum, he does prevent the Joker from blowing up a school. Arkham Asylum’s failure to keep the Joker contained isn’t a failure of Batman, who does everything he can to mitigate the Joker’s destruction.
Batman Will Always Fail to Permanently Capture the Joker
It’s unlikely either Batman or Joker will ever truly triumph over the other. While this narrative truth deeply eats away at Batman, he still makes a difference. Even if he can’t keep the Joker from causing chaos, he has saved hundreds of lives from the Joker’s madness over the years. The Joker can humiliate and taunt Batman with revolving doors and mocking statements all he wants, but Batman has thwarted the Joker more times than not. Even in this humiliating moment, Batman still manages to find hope and realize that preventing the Joker’s crimes is even more important than locking him up.
Legends of the Dark Knight Chapter #7 is available now from DC Comics!
