100 Greatest Superhero Stories Ever
By Steve Lam
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
#13. Batman: The Killing Joke
Medium
Comic Book
Release Date
March 1988
Credits
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Brian Bolland
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: John Higgins
Creators: Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, John Higgins
Editor: Dennis O’Neill
The Reason It’s Great
Forget about the film adaptation. This is a classic case where the cliched statement “the book was better” cannot be argued. Batman: The Killing Joke is among the most influential Joker stories to-date. The one-shot gave Joker an origin story rooted in tragedy and sympathy.
An unnamed engineer quits his job at a chemical plant to pursue his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian. To support his pregnant wife, the engineer turns to helping two criminals in their heist. Little does he know, they want him to act as a patsy—making him wear a red hood.
The robbery goes awry when Batman shows up. The engineer falls into a vat of chemicals, which permanently changes his appearance, driving him to insanity—marking the birth of the Joker. In the present, the Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum and critically injures Barbara Gordon, making her a parapalegic. The Joker also kidnaps Gordon, and taunts him in an abandoned amusement park.
The story had huge ramifications across the DC universe. One of them was Barbara Gordon. Because of her injuries, Barbara was no longer Batgirl and became Oracle (although she’s back to being Batgirl again with retconning). Batman: The Killing Joke went on to win the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album, and Alan Moore won Best Writer. The story’s themes are still debated to this day.