The creative team behind this new Batman run is unstoppable, and I will scream this at the top of my lungs to anybody who will listen. Six issues in, and fans have been given one brilliant issue after another. You’re getting classic Dark Knight characters, but some new heroes and villains, too. Among them is Dr. Annika Zeller, who, so far, is working on a way to cure super criminals like Killer Croc and Riddler.
There are plenty of antagonists in Gotham City that could use a treatment to fix their crazy. However, if you had to guess, who is the one Batman villain that needs this treatment more than anyone? You probably guessed correctly, and he appeared at the end of the recent issue.
After a long night of assassination attempts, Dr. Annika Zeller heads back to her job to check in on a patient, Patient Ten. Whoever they are, they're important enough for Dr. Zeller to go back to the lab after a traumatic evening. And since they seem to have a friendly relationship, you can assume it’s someone who she’s worked with for a while and trusts. Well, the last page reveals that Patient Ten is Joker. And I wouldn’t call him trustworthy, even though it seems like the experiment to mellow him out is working.
At first, I was unclear on whether or not Joker was the one in the glass tube. But it made the most sense. We’ve already seen Riddler (Batman No. 3) looking for the treatment. The only other villains who’d have a shocking reveal are Two-Face and Joker. Since the body wasn’t half charred, the Clown Prince of Crime was the only option. Plus, it helps that artist Jorge Jiménez posted an image of Batman No. 7, and it says, “The Joker is Back.”
Joker is one of the three most deplorable villains in comic book history. He’s done things that would make Bullseye look at himself and say, “Well, at least I’m not that bad.” Despite everything he’s done, the Dark Knight refuses to kill his nemesis or let him die (except that one time in Batman: Joker War). Some readers may think that Batman would be opposed to Joker’s mind being “fixed,” but I think his response will surprise readers.
People say that Batman doesn’t kill Joker because he loves him or that their relationship defines each other. The latter may be true from a writer’s standpoint. But it doesn’t make sense otherwise. The reason Bruce keeps sending Joker to Arkham Asylum is in hopes that he’ll be rehabilitated, and not because he enjoys chasing after the Clown Prince of Crime.
Lastly, Tim Drake (Robin) went to Bruce about taking a break from being Robin. Bruce wasn't just receptive; he was happy. He said the point of being vigilantes is in the hope that Gotham won’t need them. This is further proof that Bruce would want Dr. Zeller’s experiment to work. Sadly, we all know that something will happen for her to fail.
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