Noteworthy Issues: Knight Terrors: Joker #2 (August, 2023)

Alright, on to the second (and generally final) issues for these Knight Terrors specials.  Last time around, the Joker found his life turned into corporate drudgery because he finally killed Batman, and he wasn’t even really trying.

Can his life get much worse, and by worse, I mean boring?

Issue:  Knight Terrors: Joker #2, August 2023

Writer:  Matthew Rosenberg

Artist:  Stefano Raffaele

The Plot:  Without a Batman, the Joker is directionless.  So, he’ll just have to find a new one.

Commentary:  The initial idea in the first part was the Joker finds himself unsure what to do with himself when Batman accidentally dies.  Joker has Batman’s corpse hanging in his closet, but aside from his gang, no one seems to know Batman is dead.  So, he takes a corporate job despite the fact he is obviously the Joker and doesn’t really know what to do with himself.

Part 2 gets a little crazier.  Joker is getting ahead at his job, even murdering people on the job and hiring other Bat-villains to work there.  He’s got a wife and a kid who look a lot like him.  He’s hobnobbing with his boss, Bruce Wayne.  Oh, and he knows there needs to be a Batman and decides to do it himself.

After a fairly amusing first part, I found the second more unfocused.  The narrative, such as it is, felt a lot choppier.  Granted, it’s supposed to be like a dream, and it’s also the Joker who probably doesn’t have the coherent of minds anyway, but that didn’t mean the choppiness didn’t bother me as much.  Anyway, this is actually the end of the Joker’s story as far Knight Terrors goes, so was it worth it?  Yeah, it was largely amusing, and there’s something to be said for the idea that the Joker would find being an office drone his worst nightmare.  Anyway, good stuff here overall.

Grade:  B+