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Off My Mind: Why it’s Time for the Joker to Return

As Batman’s greatest villain, he’s been missing for close to two years.

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Where has the Joker been? When the New 52 started, he appeared in DETECTIVE COMICS #1. After a confrontation with Dollmaker, he allowed his face to be removed and it wasn’t until Death of the Family that he made his return to Gotham City. The Joker is Batman’s most dangerous enemy. Part of this is because you never know which version of the Joker will pop up next. When Joker started targeting those around Batman, it was something we hadn’t really seen at this level.

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With Joker’s fractured psyche, he felt a bond with Batman. They had a special sort of relationship. Joker felt Batman had strayed from true self by having so many allies in his inner circle. At the end, Batman rejected Joker’s ideal version of how they should interact. Batman tried tricking Joker that he figured out who he really was. Joker didn’t want to hear that as it would remove the masks they both created for themselves and change their relationship. It appeared Joker fell to his death with only his cut off face turning up later.

Obviously Joker isn’t dead. There’s no way that could happen. The big questions are, where is he and what has he been up to?

It’s hard to believe it’s been close to two years since we’ve last seen him in BATMAN #17. This is great because one of the worst thing readers can see happen to a character is overuse. Seeing the same villain pop up over and over and be defeated over and over can almost ruin the character in our eyes. Joker can be a scary and formidable villain. He’s one that should be used sparingly. But after the events of Death of the Family, there are some issues that should be addressed.

Being rejected by Batman should be a big factor. Everything Joker did was out of his twisted love for Batman. One could only imagine what a bitter and angry Joker might do. The potential for a more focused and determined Joker is intriguing.

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Joker isn’t the only one that’s suffered hurt since their last encounter. As a result of how he decided to handle Joker in the past, his family became a little distant with him. There’s also the loss of his son, Damian, he’s been dealing with. Now, Commissioner Gordon, one of Batman's only friends, has been locked up and Selina Kyle is headed down a dark path. They’re both in different places so another confrontation could play out in a different way than we’ve seen before.

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When Joker fell to his “doom,” he lost his face. The person calling herself “Joker’s Daughter” is now using it on her face. She even had it grafted to her skin. That means Joker can’t come to town and reclaim it so easily. What does his face look like now? Is it all crusted and scabbed over? Maybe he spent some time at a fancy plastic surgeon clinic and got some work done. Maybe (and I’m totally kidding here), he’ll come back as the New 52 version of Hush, all wrapped up in bandages. (We are currently seeing Hush in BATMAN ETERNAL).

Joker’s always been a loose canon. An angry and hurt Joker would only mean bad things. There’s usually not too much of a focus to his madness and schemes. When he does return, assuming he can process and recalls what happened, he’s going to be scarier than ever. Once again, he’s had a lot of time to cook up another scheme. That’s another scary thing. Batman’s been extremely busy with everything going on while Joker’s simply had to recover from his fall, emotionally and possibly physically. Surely with all this time he would plan something lavish and even deadlier than before.

Joker isn’t someone you’d won’t to upset. DC has been wise to not bring him back for another story immediately after Death of the Family. Provided he doesn’t make too many appearances like he did in that crossover arc, seeing his return in a shorter story would be excellent. Let’s find out what he’s been up to. More importantly, let’s see him channel his rage and madness against Batman to push him to his limits once again. We always joke how Batman can defeat everyone. Let’s see him have to face Joker on a scale he might not be fully prepared for.

It's time for Joker to completely unleash his anger and insane genius upon Batman.