#joker 2019 fandom

[jokeringcutio]

Arthur Fleck/Joker x Reader : Savior Fill (2)

Remember this prompt? Could u please do reader x joker 2019?

Reader protects Arthur (before he turned into joker) from when his sign was taken and she beat the kids up and he won’t ever forget that moment. But now,Arthur turned into the joker, he returns the favour by saving her from bad guys?

And when he saves her, he walks elegantly towards her 😫✨ and says “I missed you, doll” 🫣🫣🫣😭✨

AN: LOOK, it's a second fill to the same prompt 8D I’ve written it in such a way it can also be seen as a modern-day au.

Title: Savior Fandom: Joker 2019 Pairing: Arthur Fleck (Joker)  x Reader Rating: Mature for safety. Warnings: Violence, (attempted) sexual assault, Crude Language, Clown beating, Sweet Arthur, Sweet Reader, Blood. ~ Savior Fill : I Need You ~

1.

When you turned the corner down the busy shopping street and into the alley, you were surprised to see a group of five teenage boys hunched over something.

Or rather, someone.

Between the dirt from torn open bins and mud from the fallen rain earlier, lay a man. You squinted to see what was happening but quickly caught on. The boys weren’t trying to help the man up. By the movements they made, your first thought was that they might be dancing. But they weren’t. Not if the only music was the sound of shouts and curses from the boys and the soft whimpers from below their feet.

The man in question lay in the ditch, face shielded from you. But you had caught sight of the oddly colorful curls, a wig, and the oversized shoes. A cardboard sign lay several feet away, folded and covered in dirt and mud. He must be one of those hired promoters, you mused. You disliked guerrilla marketing as much as any other, but beating the man up was going way too far.

These boys were bullying the man, kicking down at his shins and using their feet to bruise him, and perhaps even worse. Behind you, the main street was crowded, and people were shuffling on the sidewalks, but hardly anyone seemed to so much as glance at the sight in front of you. This is the busiest shopping street in the city, why does no one stop? you thought in a panic.

“Hey,” you shouted while sweat formed on your head. Your heart was beating wildly in your chest. Why does no one stop? You thought again. But once they heard your shout, some bystanders turned around and seemed to notice the youths at the side of the road.

Thank God, you tried to calm your wildly beating heart. Your cry made the boys stop their terror and turn towards you. For a moment, you feared they would attack you next, but once they noticed that other people had stopped to look at them, they quickly turned around and fled into one of the alleyways.

Pussies, you thought angrily, but you decided not to chase after them. Instead, you walked over to the crumpled form of the man who lay in the ditch. His arms shielded his chest and face from the brutal attack. But by the sight of him, it hadn’t worked that much. Fresh bruises covered his cheek and his arms, and when he noticed the attackers had stopped and finally dared to look up at you, you saw his lip had been split and blood was running down his nose and into his mouth. He looked horrible. There was no other way to describe this poor man.

“I am so sorry,” you said while kneeling beside him. You brought a careful hand to the man’s shoulder. Your eyes widened slightly when the man smiled up at you. A true bloodied smile. How? you wondered. How can someone who has been hurt this badly still smile? You watched the trail of blood from his nose all the way to his teeth. And then he seemed to lean into your touch.

“What are you apologizing for, love?” the man asked, voice smooth like silk. There was a certain hoarseness to it, a lowness that was reminiscent of smokers. And indeed, a faint scent of cigarettes reached your nose.

What had you been apologizing for, you wondered. And your frown made way for a more innocent expression. “I should have been here sooner,” you whispered.

The stranger in front of you let out an embittered laugh and you waited quietly for him to calm down. His chest convulsed and he brought a first up to his lips. It almost seemed like he coughed, as if he choked on his own laughter, but you kept your hand on his shoulder through it all, trying to give him a little bit of comfort. It seemed to work, and after a full minute or two of painful laughter, the man quieted down.

Once he fell silent, he looked up at you again. Bright green eyes met yours, and you saw the confusion within them. You gently squeezed, mindful not to squeeze too hard in case he’d been bruised there too before you removed your hand from his shoulder.

Swallowing seemed hard as you watched him, but your mouth felt dry and you wanted to ask him how he was doing. You saw his eyes dart down to your lips before they slid up to your eyes again. He observed you as if he’d never seen anyone like you before.

“Should I bring you to a doctor? Do you want to report this to the police?” you asked, hand on your chest to calm your own racing heart.

The man’s eyes slid to your hand and darkened. Then he shook his head. The blood was still streaming from his nose. But he pushed himself up, his oversized coat fell with the motion like water cascading down a waterfall. He was dressed as a clown all right. A tiny hat on top of his wig and a plastic flower pinned to the breast pocket of his coat. He brushed his thin hands past his pants, unknowingly wiping traces of blood all over the brightly colored fabric.

“No, thank you, love. I’m fine,” the man said, and you couldn’t believe your ears. He was fine? Had he looked at himself yet? You frowned up at him, all the skepticism visible in your expression. Now that he stood, you could tell that the man in front of you was far from well. There was something frail about him, perhaps that was why the boys had decided to go after him? He seemed skinny, a certain sadness visible in his eyes. The makeup hid most of his true features, but you thought he must be older than you by at least a decade. Perhaps you were wrong though. Most of these jobs were done by young students such as yourself.

He was clearly bruised, his sign destroyed and his skin tattered. His blood had ruined his costume. He looked like he had stepped out of a horror show. “You can’t go back to work like this,” you gently said, and finally rose from your knees.

Standing in front of him, you could see the stubbornness in his eyes. But there was something else in there. As if he was lost and uncertain. As if he didn’t know what to do with himself now.

You carefully reached for his hand, not caring if anyone was still watching. “Come on,” you whispered while you waited for his fingers to slide into your own. “Let me get you home.”

For a moment, his green gaze lay upon you, intensely. You saw his jaw twitch and knew he considered your offer, but you feared he would reject it and walk away.

Then his fingers were in yours and you smiled.

2. You learned the clown’s name was Arthur Fleck when you walked him home to his apartment that day. It was thanks to you that his boss was informed of his absence from the job and the reason behind it. You had gone to the nearest apothecary to get the right band-aids and disinfectant to help him clean his wounds – as apparently his entire medicine cabinet was off limits and he wasn’t going to allow you to look in there. You ended up home at such a late time that evening, that your parents were on the verge of calling the police.

You explained to them what had happened. How you had saved a clown from being attacked and how you had helped the poor man home. Despite being proud of you, your parents were also extremely worried that you’d gone home with the stranger without notifying them. You had to admit you’d forgotten. You’d been too focused on helping the man. This Arthur.

When at his house, you had helped him clean his face. And when the makeup had been taken off, you’d finally seen him for the very first time. He looked handsome, you had to admit. Definitely older than you, but appealing despite it all.

He’d kept your mind busy for months to come and became your secret little crush. You’d daydream about seeing him again, of accidentally bumping into him in the subway or watching one of his performances as a clown. But despite returning to the main shopping street in the weeks after meeting him, you didn’t catch a glimpse of him again. He just wasn’t there. The shop owner had no need for him and wouldn’t tell you where he had hired the man. Though you had spoken to Arthur’s boss, you couldn’t remember what the company he was working for was called.

You knew where Arthur lived but, the exact route to get there was a blur. You’d been too caught up in chatting with him to actually pay attention to your surroundings. So you made an attempt to find his apartment, but the streets all looked the same to you, and you got no closer to finding his house.

It’s better this way, you thought wryly. Don’t want to come off like a stalker. Then a nice boy from your class caught your attention and he managed to distract you from your secret crush.

He was attending the same courses as you. An attractive young man, closer to your own age, and with similar interests. You allowed yourself to get closer to him because it helped you forget about the unreachable Arthur Fleck.

You hoped this new boy liked you. He seemed to give hints that he did. But the two of you danced around each other, both too shy to ask the other out. Instead, you formed a friendship that made you feel all warm inside. And you forgot the clown you had helped scrambling from the pavement. You forgot about him and thought this might be the end of it all.

Just that one faithful meeting.

A memory of a crush that would never come to fruition. It would be all you ever have of him.

3.

It was broad daylight when it happened. It was summer and you enjoyed your free time by going into the city. You’d nearly forgotten about Arthur. Not fully – he was still in the back of your mind, but the ache from longing for him had become dull and easier to ignore.

You had promised to get your mom some cash from the bank and stood in line, awaiting your appointment, when a group of men rushed into the building, guns drawn. Your heart nearly stopped and frightened, you obeyed their shouts to hold up your hands and then lie down on the floor.

The cool air circulated by the air-conditioning sent goosebumps down your skin as you lay on the cold tiled floor. You were dressed for summer, after all. Shivering, you saw how the group of men made their way to the counter, ordering the staff to hand them all the money they had. While one kept his gun aimed at the woman behind the counter, the others scattered among the visitors, emptying their pockets and taking anything they deemed expensive enough with them.

One of these men came to stand next to you and pushed his foot against your side, the toes of his shoes poked between your ribs painfully and you winced before you rolled to your side. The man looked down at you properly now and a smirk spread on his lips. “I think I’m gonna need more than just your money, pretty little lady.”

You looked up at him in dread. You didn’t know where it came from, but your reply was a thoughtless stammer. “It wasn’t my turn yet,” you whispered, meaning to say that you had not had the chance to collect your money yet. You were broke. Well nearly. But the man didn’t catch on.

“Aww,” he cooed mockingly, “I think it is your turn,” and he leaned forward to grab your arm in a painfully tight grip. You knew it would bruise but were left with no choice but to follow his movements. He forced you up to your feet.

The man pressed you tight against his chest while he held your arm twisted behind your back. He held a painful grip, too tight for comfort. A clear sign that you were not to get away from him.

“Please,” you begged him. No way you were going to let this man get away with whatever plans he had for you.

It was at that moment, that someone’s voice could be heard echoing throughout the bank. “Hey,” it wasn’t a shout, but it had been forceful enough for the men to shut up. An eerie silence fell in which the men turned their heads to greet the newcomer.

In the doorway stood a man, a red suit on, face painted and hair dyed an unnatural tint. You had heard about this man. The Clown Prince Of Crime. Gotham’s latest and most successful criminal.

He stood hunched, a cigarette between his lips while he held a lighter in his left hand. His right hand was in the pocket of his pants, while his left moved slightly, lazily throwing the lighter up before catching it a few times.

Then he tilted his head to look at the men.

“Boss,” the one nearest to the counter began, but their boss shut them up merely by removing his right hand from his pocket and raising his index finger.

“The Joker,” one of the women behind the counter said, breathlessly. Most of the hostages looked at the newcomer in fear. The Joker had rapidly gained a reputation for being one of the most unpredictable and cruelest criminals Gotham had to offer. It was a given that anyone who was aware of who he was, was fearing for their life at this point. Would he set fire to the bank? Would he take a gun and shoot everyone dead? It wouldn’t be the first time he would do such a thing.

You felt a rapid rise in your heart rate, your chest rising and falling rapidly while you tried to breathe. The man’s fingers were still curled around your arm, digging into your skin. But you hardly felt it now that you came face to face with Gotham’s most dangerous and most wanted man in the whole of history.

Joker’s eyes met yours and it felt like lightning struck you. An ice-cold sword pierced through your spine, keeping you pinned to the spot. Those green eyes, you had seen them before. You remembered them. You thought you would never see them again.

Arthur? But that couldn’t be, could it? He was no criminal.

You stood frozen and hardly registered how the Joker shook his head and tusked. His hair, it was his hair. A different color, but you recognized it anywhere. You had dreamed of running your hands through it so often.

“I think you have something of mine there,” was all Joker needed to say for the man to let go of your arm. The man stumbled backward as if scared all of a sudden. So this Joker, this semblance of Arthur, was truly their leader? And they revered him? They did as they were told by him? This cowering frail man that you had saved from teenage boys was now the most wanted man in the whole of Gotham?

And then another scary thought. Had it been his orders to rob the bank then as well?

But your thoughts came to a sudden stop when you saw Arthur’s hand move. It was him, wasn’t it? It truly was Arthur?

The Clown Prince of Crime. He walked elegantly towards you, taking his time, a cigarette in his hand, still burning. Then he brought it to his lips and took a long drag before he exhaled slowly. Little clouds of white swirled up from his lips to disappear into the summer sky.

“I missed you, doll.” ~_~

AN: I take suggestions for a follow up ;D (perhaps smut?)

[prokopetz]

Insisting that there's only one good MCU film can be a much more effective way of winding up MCU fans than insisting that they all suck, but you've gotta pick the right one. If you claim Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the only good MCU film, they'll probably just be like "I disagree, but I can understand how you'd feel that way"; if you insist with a straight face that Thor: The Dark World is the only good MCU film you can get them to write entire essays about how wrong you are.

[chowchulo]

“What do you get when you outlaw Coca Cola from a society—!”

Joker edd hehe

Put this man on a podcast

[bluecandynemo]

[darkshadow90]

An Update

Hey guys. I know it’s been forever since I posted anything. I’m sorry. Since I moved to my own place, changes at my job happened. I can’t work from home anymore and the commute is making my workdays almost 12 hours. So I’m basically working 60 hours a week. It’s been really exhausting, and I just haven’t had the energy or time to write. It’s taking up so much of my time and it really sucks. I want you all to know I haven’t abandoned this blog. I have one shots I plan on writing for Arthur Fleck/Joker again. I know a lot has happened since Joker 2 came out, but I’m not gonna let it stop me from writing for the persona at the end of the first Joker movie. He’s so much fun to write. I’m really glad and thankful to see more people appreciating my one shots. It helps keep me motivated. Thank you so much ❤️ So yeah, I’m still around. Maybe I’ll eventually get another job and have more time for writing and other hobbies. I’ll post one shots. Just bear with me 🥺

[johannabarkerstan]

//SPOILERS FOR JOKER FOLIE A DEUX//

This is an incredibly personal post and I might delete it later. But here you go.

Does anyone ever experience character grief? I’ll explain

I saw the new Joker movie last weekend, and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker/Arthur Fleck has been such a major comfort character for me since I first saw Joker(2019). I know it’s a really odd character to find comfort in, but I do and it’s been that way for me for a few years. Especially with my dodgy mental health history but we don’t need to get into that. But watching him completely fall apart after his life was finally looking up and then witnessing him die in such an awful and tragic way really hit me. Like hit me to the point where I started full on sobbing crying after walking out of the theatre to my car. Just watching a character you love and root for so much end that way is such a hard and painful thing, especially for me since I have adhd and get EXTREMELY fixated on certain characters for long periods of time it just really hurt. As if I was watching someone that I knew personally die like that.

Idk if this makes sense. But I felt like I had to get that out. I loved the movie tho, very very fun time.

[mcudc616]

The Joker (2019)

[theyre-gay-because-i-say-so]

Today's LGBT+ Headcanon is;

The Joker from Harley Quinn (2019)-Transmasculine Bisexual

Species: Human

Requested by @muse-the-multi

Status; Alive

[jokeroutsubs]

ENG SUB Bojan's interview before his half-time performance at sold out Stožice charity match.

[jacklesraised]

I've been the man of the house for as long as I can remember.

[harleenfleck]

The Smallest Woman Who Ever Lived - Arthur Fleck and Harleen Quinzel

...

IT'S ME, HI!

Since I walked out of the cinema I realized how this Taylor Swift song fits them perfectly, adding the “Wo” in “Man” of course. This song makes me brings back painful memories and the fact that Arthur also experienced this “love bombing” and was gaslighted like me… Ouch….

The song is one of my most personal. I hope my choice of music doesn't offend anyone. I was also thinking about posting it on TikTok. So, I hope you like this ugly edit I made! Reuploaded 'cause this time I decided to put the song's lyrics, and I think looks prettier!

Film: Joker: Folie à Deux

Song: "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" - Taylor Swift - TTPD

[gyllenhaal-darko-bloom-vibes]

Name two characters you ship together 🍭

Mine are the joker & Louis Bloom. Now them two boys could make the perfect disaster

[braindead-birdy]

Hey all!

I'm in search of a beta reader (or multiple readers) to read over some fics I'm currently working on.

My main problem is I get so caught up in making sure the wording is right that I get myself stuck and I can't find anyone there to help me out when I need it whenever I change something but have second thoughts.

I currently have fics in progress for Better Call Saul, Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Joker (2019), Chicago P.D. , and House M.D. So preferably I could have someone who would be willing to read over each of these whenever I need it? Right now I'm bouncing back and forth on the Chicago P.D. and House M.D. .

I'm linking what I've already posted for my Doc Ock fic so you can get an idea of my writing style :3

Must be comfortable with:

-Smutt/nsfw

-Talk about mental illness

-Small hints to ED

-Body Dysphoria

-Mentions of

-SA and R@pe

-PTSD

-Anxiety

I know it's a lot of heavy stuff but I hope I can find someone who would be able help me out anyway or at least point me to someone/somewhere that can :,)

thanks in advance <3

The Brown Bear and His Field Mouse (5738 words) by DrOttoSimplify Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man (Movies - Raimi) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Haley Samuels, Otto Octavius, Kat (pet cat), Eliza "Liz/Lizzie" McKinley Additional Tags: Fluff and Smut, Humor, Dark Comedy, Triggers, Mental Health Issues, Body Image, Body Dysphoria, Phobias, plus size Summary: After losing her university's financial aid, Liz is now faced with the obstacle of getting a job. But this is New York City, nothing is ever that simple. ===== SAMPLE: ===== I’ve never felt so small in my life while standing before the intimidating Oscorp center tower. Looking back at the hastily scribbled directions hoping for a miracle that would send me somewhere less…overbearing. No luck. This was the right place. Letting out a slight shaky sigh in hopes of releasing some of this building anxiety I shoved the note into a small pocket in my skirt. “You need the money. You need the money. You need the money.” I took one last look at the very top of the sprawling building. “Let’s do this.”

[schlock-luster-video]

On February 17, 2020 Joker was re-released in Vietnam.

[darkshadow90]

Arthur Fleck (Arkham Joker) x reader A Visit in Arkham

Summary: You visit Arthur in Arkham after he was taken to Arkham for killing Murray Franklin and the Wall Street employees. It’s been several months since you last saw him. He seems to have become a completely different person, and unfortunately for the worse.

A/N: Hey guys. I’m finally getting around to posting my one shot! Finally! I’m so sorry about the wait. With work being crazy and having a lot of trouble coming up with ideas, I was really having a hard time writing this. This might not be very different from my other one shots featuring this version of Arthur as it’s yet another one shot where reader visits him sometime after he’s completed his transition to Joker. However, it’s a little different this time. It’s the first time reader sees him in his Joker makeup. It’s gonna have all the tension and darkness you’ve all loved. At least I hope it does. Arkham Joker is back, my darlings! I hope you enjoy ❤️ Warnings: Arthur is dark, not very nice. He makes the reader very uncomfortable. Arthur is excited by the readers scent from her body wash, (not in a sexual way, but I suppose you could read that way if you want to) minor violence towards reader.

It had been several months since Murray Franklin was killed, almost a year. Arthur was locked away in Arkham. You remembered that awful night. Arthur’s demeanor was so different. It scared you. You had felt like Arthur would never hurt or kill anyone. Arthur seemed so excited to be on his favorite show. To meet his hero, Murray Franklin. He told you all about it. You had to work that day, but you promised him you would watch it when you got home that night. And watch it, you did. You never thought you would see him confess to murdering the Wall Street guys and kill Murray. You were terrified. Seeing this side of him. The way he was laughing and dancing after killing Murray. All you could do was sink back into your couch in shock. Someone later police apprehended him and he was taken to Arkham.

You were relieved that he was in a place where he couldn’t hurt anyone else. It had been months since you last saw him. Time got away from you. You didn’t want to see him, but at the same time, you felt bad that you disappeared from his life. You decided you would go check on him to see how he was doing. The weekend was coming up so you decided you would visit him the next day. You were apprehensive about it. You tossed and turned throughout the night.

The days were getting shorter and the nights longer. When you woke up, the temperature dropped considerably. You knew not to expect anything less, but the cold weather and snow still sucked. You made sure to bundle up before heading out. You took the train to Arkham. The city was unusually quiet. You made your way to Arkham, it seemed to take awhile to get there. Maybe it was just your anxiety kicking in. You made your way inside and told the receptionist you came to see Arthur. She called security to have an orderly to escort you to the maximum security floor.

The maximum security floor was cleaner than the first floor it was very white…and bright. It almost hurt your eyes. The orderly led you to the room where Arthur was. He told you to press the panic button under the table if things got out of hand. You thanked him and went inside. You saw Arthur sitting in a chair smoking a cigarette. He was wearing white scrubs and he had stubble on his face. He probably hadn’t saved in a few days. He was staring off into space. “Hi, Arthur.” He immediately looked up at you when he heard you call his name.

“Y/N? Is it really you? I knew you’d come back to me, sweetheart.” Something about the way he said that didn’t seem quite right. You cleared your dry throat. “How are you feeling, Arthur?” “I’m feeling just fine. Better than ever now that you’re here. It’s been so long since I saw you. Almost a year. Time sure does fly, doesn’t it. I was beginning to think you abandoned me.” You began to feel unsettled. There was something in the air that felt dangerous.

“Arthur, listen I—‘’ He held up his hand. “You don’t need to explain, sweetheart. I get it.” “Y…you do?” “Sure. Life got busy. Time got away from you, and you completely forgot about me. But that’s okay. Things happen.”

Something was very wrong. “No, Arthur. That’s not—“ “Ah, ah, sweetheart. I said you didn’t need to explain anything. All that matters is you’re here now. So you saw me on the Murray Franklin show, right? What did you think? Wasn’t I great? I told my best Joke yet. It blew Murray’s mind.” He began to laugh, but unlike his laughing fits he was in full control. He was laughing because he found it funny. “Arthur—“ “You know, all I could think about was you all this time, wondering where you were. All this time, no visits, no phone calls.” Your heart began to race. Arthur suddenly stood up from his chair and leaned forward.

You felt him sniff your neck, practically nuzzling it. You felt like a lamb cornered by a wolf. You were terrified he would bite your jugular. You were too afraid to pull away. You heard your heartbeat in your ears. “So sweet. God, you always smell so good.” You were doing everything you could to avoid shaking like a leaf. You felt like you were going to vomit then and there. “I have missed this, Y/N.” For a brief moment, you thought there was a trace of the man you once knew…until he suddenly licked the side of your neck, making you cry out from fear and jolt away.

Arthur giggled at your reaction. “Why are you so jumpy, sweetheart? It’s me. You don’t have to be afraid of me.” It sounded like he was mocking you. “I know! How about I put on my makeup? Lucky for you, I have some. I couldn’t let them take away everything, now could I? Although I’ve worn my makeup in here before, just not in therapy sessions. I’ve done this so many times, I don’t even need a mirror watch.” He took out the brush and face paints from his pocket and you watched in awe as he applied it perfectly. “Ta-da!” And there it was, the awful face of the clown you saw that night on the Murray Franklin Show. Joker. It looked even more unsettling without his green hair.

Truth be told you were scared of this side of him, more now than ever before. “How do I look?” That feeling of dread was getting stronger. “Well, I…I don’t know what to say Arthur.” “I didn’t ruin my makeup, did I?” You swallowed thickly. “No, of course not. You’re too good at it.” “Oh, Y/N. You’ve always been so nice to me. And so…so beautiful.” He leaned in close again. He cupped the sides of your face almost tenderly. He sniffed your hair as if trying to imprint your scent into his memory. He trailed his hands down your hair smoothing it out.

You felt like you were prey being trapped by a predator again. “I often wondered how you would react when we saw each other again. And you being you, well just like always you’re full of surprises. You’re too good.” You felt his hot breath in your ear and it made you nauseated again. “Arthur, I don’t think you should—“ “You abandoned me, but I love you too much to think too much about it. But never mind that. I’ve been thinking about getting out of here. Now that you’re here, this place isn’t ideal.” You felt your blood run cold. “Why are you so quiet, my love?”

Your internal alarms were now blaring. “You know I don’t like seeing you upset. I know! How about a joke?” You couldn’t speak. “Knock, knock.” He gestured for you to answer. “Who’s there?” “Joker.” Your heart felt like it was about to burst out of your chest. “Arthur,” you croaked. You waited for something to happen, but nothing did. Arthur was laughing. “You scared me.” “Oh, Y/N. You’re just too cute for words.” He finally calmed down and took a breath. He leaned in again and cupped your face in both hands like before. “I’m sorry sweetheart, but…I’m gonna need you to sleep for a little while.” Before you could fully process what he said, his hands were around your neck. “S-stop…” Shh, shh, shh. It’s almost over, sweetheart.”Eventually you lost consciousness. Arthur laid you on the table, kissed your forehead and left.

[maxwell-grant]

Didn't realize you've read Riddler: Year One, any thoughts on it ? Also, in a more general way, what are your thoughts on the Riddler ?

Someone sent me an ask the past week or so saying that The Penguin is everything that the Joker movies should have been, and I don't think I agree on that in regards to The Penguin specifically. But if we're talking about a "Batman-less Batman villain origin story about a lonely suicidal man struggling with poverty and mental illness exacerbated by child abuse, who is pushed down through the cracks of society deep into the pits of his own mind until he can only save himself by becoming a horrible force of social upheaval and political terrorism, finally discovering joy and a reason to live at the expense of everyone around him, and now he will be Batman's problem someday", well this just completely embarasses Joker (2019) on every level. Impressively drawn, impressively written, impressive on it's own and as a prequel to the movie, WAY better than a movie actor's comic book tie-in has any right to be, and one of the greatest Batman comics ever made. Issue #5 in particular is one of the best and most harrowing comic issues and format breaks I've ever seen in the medium, and even if it's entirely self-contained, it very much belongs in the exact same conversation and should be considered inseparable from The Batman and The Penguin.

We spens 4 issues boiling the frog over every painful corner of Edward's childhood and humanity and misery, taking us through painfully intimate views and perspectives inside his headspace, seeing how and why he justifies his worldview and how easy it even is to do so, feeling truly sorry for this hopeless wretch even though we know he's losing it bad bad baddy bad bad and is going to step off the deep end forever. And then Issue 5 happens and suddenly you are one of the people in Gotham City tasked with sifting through this serial killer's personal diary and you can hear that creep shouting with that distorted voice, you can feel the final death rattle of Edward Nashton's soul ending where The Riddler begins to scream in your head 'I NEVER KNEW I HAD A REASON TO BREATHE", and by Issue 6 you fully understand why and how nobody was prepared for him, and why what he is and does and embodies is going to drag the city into an abyss it may never recover from, and why this was never going to stop even after his arrest, even after his defeat and humiliation in the movie. Everything here adds layers of sympathy and tragedy and heartbreak to the character, while simultaneously making everything he is and does in the movie so much more harrowing and disturbing, holy shit he really staked EVERYTHING, everyone's lives included, on being noticed by his savior.

I was already very much on board with Dano Riddler in the movie, whose execution absolutely sold what should have been, on paper, a storm of unadvisable fandom pitches and uninspired trends and straight-up bad ideas ("What if The Ridder was the Zodiac Killer", "What if The Riddler was a 4chan mass-shooter type", "What if The Riddler was a political terrorist with legitimate grievances but whose final goal was to kill off scores of people for little reason", "What if The Riddler was a creepy fascist responsible for a QAnon cult that ends the movie by metaphorically storming the capitol", "What if The Riddler was really, really, really obsessed with Batman", "What if The Riddler was another Dark Opposite Batman", fucking "What if The Riddler was Hush" even) worked into just this miracle magic bullet of a new take on the guy, fully capturing a lot of the essential bullet points of what makes The Riddler tick as a character while spinning them into new and significant ways befitting this increased role he has in the movie. Rereading the story now, so much of the movie even feels like it's specifically referencing the first Riddler story - The Mayor of Gotham City as a target, Riddler misdirecting Batman with a big target while his real plan involved a flood, Edward putting on a costume and naming himself The Riddler specifically because he wants to get Batman's attention, the glass maze, the written letters to police headquarters, The Eagle's Nest that is a nightclub and also the home of a millionaire with a bird last name (Falcone), a driverless vehicle careening wildly into a public place, even how the very first thing we learn about this fucker is that he cheats to win.

The guy in the movie is a version that fully works on it's own, but it clicks SO much more strongly and cohesively when you read this comic and what it establishes for him. It's the scene in the movie where the section of his diary reads "I must become something more" while Bruce finds the panicked desperate bat rattling against a cage, the thematic parallel between them that is the scariest thing he finds in the entire movie, but developed across six issues. This even begins with Eddie living through his version of the Wayne murders, with the first time he's felt anything other than crushing despair and misery, in part because he's seen the first hint of the puzzle he needs to solve, and where he needs to go. The moment the world stopped making sense for Bruce is the moment that the world started to make sense for Edward.

We understand, around the same time he understands, the childish nightmare that must become the pattern of his entire life from that moment onwards, how Edward Nashton would have killed himself, and no one would have cared, had he not become The Riddler, and how the only alternative to "Hey Edward why don't you crawl into the black hole inside yourself" is to, in fact, find this black hole inside of you and shaped like you and push other people into it instead. Become the creature of the night who can punch crime forever, become the avenging force too great for the Falcones to handle, become the kingpin whose name alone will live forever, become someone that the entire city will never again ignore or forget.

We see how it's less that he's been planning for this for so long, and more that his entire life has been broken and hammered into a Riddler shaped hole, and then when Batman dropped into it, he could start to understand what it is and put a name in it, in the fact that he's been training his entire life for this without knowing. Getting comfortable with flushing rats and making bombs at the orphanage, getting intimately and painfully familiar with self-loathing and alienation and misanthropic contempt for this city and it's people who sit by and allow all of this to happen, surviving his suicide attempts without being able to explain why, searching for answers as to why it hurts so much to live broken and unfulfilled and miserable and why he even bothers to keep on doing so, having nothing to love in his life but numbers and puzzles, spending his entire life invisible while trying to get Thomas Wayne and then his boss to notice and praise him, and then being the wrong man at the right place to begin his campaign, a little nobody accountant who noticed an inconsistency in the numbers, put the pieces together, and then decided he was gonna do something about it because he knew it could be done, because there was someone out there who showed it could be done, and if Eddie joined in, maybe this someone would notice him, let him be his friend.

Batman and R, forever.

(People don't talk nearly enough about how this Riddler's entire life ambition was to recreate Tim Drake's origin story, and they should, it's pretty funny)

And to be honest, I think this is the first Riddler origin story I've ever really liked. Some of the others, particularly the first, have their charms, and this one certainly wouldn't fit most takes on the character, even most of the ones I like, but I've never really been fully sold on the idea of a Riddler origin story until this one, he's always been a very backstory-proof guy to me. This doesn't have any particularly obvious shorthand moment as to why Edward became The Riddler, so much as an entire life twisted and torn and abandoned and rotten in ways big and small until this is what came out of him. No immediately abusive fathers or test cheating scandals or major company backstabbings as defining tragedies, just life for a poor orphan in Gotham City who can't figure out the answer to what's missing from his life until he does.

Still a horrible nerd hopelessly trapped in a life of trying to intellectually one-up everyone as the only thing he lives for and, like every horrible nerd, knowing that one day he will be recognized for what he is and then they'll all see how wrong and stupid and savage these stupid savage idiots all were to look down on him. Still a man driven to impose order on the world the way he believes it has to be. Still a cheater who loves puzzles and answers and the thrill of intellectual stimulation and victory more than anything else (and in this case, having had absolutely nothing else to even love about his life), and still very much this guy at the end:

I do have a lot of thoughts on The Riddler, and I think part of why I might not talk about him as much is because he's not a character I tend to have really exclusive or particular preferences for. There are a LOT of Riddlers out there, maybe more so than there are Jokers out there, and there's not really with him the definitive must-be-like-this that the other Batman rogues have. Everybody approaches the puzzle differently if they do so at all, and I like a lot of these Riddlers! They connect with each other surprisingly well even, in spite of being incompatible as the same person.

He's gone through some real ups and downs over the decades: given stardom in the Adam West show that made him a definitive Batman villain and spread his modus operandi across all the others, sacrificed in the altar of camp insecurity along with fellow snooty oddball Penguin, defanged and turned into a parody of himself, refitted for joke status, re-refitted for surprise baddie status, given a whole new lease on life and his own gimmicks with the arrival of computer puzzles and the internet and given his fangs back and then amplified, pushed back to the big leagues more horrible and topical than ever before and exponentially increasing as such until his next big movie showing, torn in multitudes across multiverses of takes and ideas, almost too many to even consolidate them all.

I like the first Riddler of Bill Finger's original story in Tec #140, this curious satisfaction-seeking master cheater growing exponentially more dangerous and more varied and more assured the more he fades into his endless barrage of traps and toys and puzzles,. I love Frank Gorshin's Riddler, and everybody loves Frank Gorshin's Riddler, he is the reason The Riddler became an iconic Batman villain overnight. I like John Glover in TAS, and I like Robert Englund's cold ghostly showman in The Batman (2002) much more. I love the Arkham games version of Riddler, probably because I never actually played the games and had to collect his dumb trophies. I love Paul Dini's Detective Riddler, and I especially love Brent Spiner's take on the guy for Justice League Action. I LOVE the more classic take on Riddler as played by John Leguizamo in The Batman Audio Adventures, and I LOVE Paul Dano's Riddler in The Batman, and they couldn't be more incompatible with each other.

I love the Riddlers who continuously undermine themselves in the name of criminal artistry and who look down on the profit-seeking rubes who think any of this is about money, and I love the Riddlers who are ultimately con-men doing money heists because they want to be the only crooks in town smart enough to have something to show for all their work at the end of the day. I like Riddlers who are widely despised and regarded with annoyance and disdain by the city and their fellow rogues, and I like the Riddlers who have good professional relationships with the other rogues, and the Riddlers who managed to become darkly inspiring figures in their own right. I love the Riddlers who've subsumed themselves into the mysteries and horror they embody, and I love the pathological pattern-finders trying to find a way out of this weird pathetic life, even if their efforts will be doomed to failure - The Riddler couldn't out-think his way out of Batman's toybox no matter how much he tried, and he has no desire to - where would it leave him? Down there with all the troglodytes? Please.

I can get on board with very human, conversational Eddies, the Eddies that did stints as sideshow carnies, that can tell on some level that they should be doing better things than this, who'll do bored stick-em-ups to fund the attention-seeking tantrums they're actually passionate about, and I can get on board with Eddies who are truly uniquely vile and scary even compared to the other Rogues in the room, who uphold this terrifyingly cold perversion of fairness, imposing a stark and utilitarian worldview on the city by which the penalty for falling short of his games is murder, that sheer calculated murderous menace that Frank Gorshin brought when he ended his first episode leering on a helpless Robin strapped to an operating table. And if I ever thought I couldn't get on board with the Riddler as a major serious scary existential threat to life on Gotham, well, The Batman sure proved me wrong. I may not love him as passionately as I do The Penguin or Hugo Strange, but I love too many versions of this guy to ever be able to narrow them all down, and there are even more still to be discovered.

Endlessly adaptable, able to change and mutate with the times on the same kinds of grand orchestral shifts and minute beats that Batman does, a greater variety of personalities than the Joker if not quite the same versatility (and where would we be without these two always pissing each other off or making out or both, living in each other's respective negative spaces), always an enduring and entertaining opponent regardless of whether he's the most pathetic man alive or a malevolent genius beyond understanding who routinely puppeteers an entire city and it's greatest hero into putting on their greatest performances for him. Always an adapting puzzle box, always leading into the next version of himself, always beguiling, and always becoming the most frustrating thing that Batman has to deal with, whether he's systematically destroying Batman's rationale and will and ability to be Batman or just being naturally the worst guy to deal with at the most unfortunate possible moment, in itself another key to his endurance. The Joker can murder sidekicks and torch the city and routinely try and drive Batman to breaking points of rage and indignity and despair - but sometimes The Riddler can get Batman there just by being himself, as anyone who's had to deal with this asshole in the Arkham games can attest.

It is imperative to believe in and understand Batman's worldview that his villains can be saved because everyone can and must be saved, just as it is to understand that, out of everyone in his Rogues Gallery, if The Riddler was drowning, Bruce would be inclined to throw him a cinderblock, and The Riddler would be glad to receive it, so long as his last gasps of breath could be spent laughing at Batman's inability to match wits with him.

For a villain who is meant to be fixated on knowing the one correct answer to every riddle, he’s uniquely able to be reinterpreted in endless new ways. He’s gone from being a camp and colorful performance artist to one of the most sadistic and sinister villains Batman can ever go up against. There is no one way to write a Riddler. There’s no single solution! And writers will always like the challenge that presents.

Just when readers think they’ve seen everything the Riddler has left to offer us, and the character is finally exhausted… a new lime-green envelope pops through the door of Wayne Manor to challenge us all once again. It seems we’ll never get tired of trying to unravel the Riddler, and writers will never give up on unraveling the character’s fullest potential. It unites readers, writers, and caped crusaders alike: this time, surely, we’ll crack him. - Batman's Greatest Enemy is...The Riddler, by Steve Morris