Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for… its all a monstrous, demented gag!
Because Ive heard it before, he responds.
And it wasnt funny the first time.
He is at last devoid of needing to philosophize or prove an existential point.
The Birth of the Joker
The Joker died as soon as he was born.
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Its easy to see the appeal of the Joker in these issues.
That said, the Joker was hardly the only bright-colored baddie in Batmans rogues gallery.
Take the most irritating scene in the very irritating movieJoker.
But as a little person, Gary cannot reach the handle.
Like most ofJoker, the scene invites viewers to embrace the viewpoint slowly dawning upon Arthur.
ButJoker, and eventually Arthur, thinks it is funny, and is tired of pretending that its not.
As Batman put it back in 1988, these are tired jokes that werent funny the first time.
The wraith arrives in Gotham and starts offing elderly gangsters.
With all of that drama, the Joker seems unnecessary.
When Batman realizes that Andrea is, in fact, the Phantasm(!
Its also a world that Bruce will never leave.
Whatever the reason for Jokers inclusion, the creative team works him in perfectly.
This isnt to say thatMask of the Phantasmkeeps the Joker from murdering anyone.
However, the suffering is not the point of the Joker.
