#sorry if some stuff is inaccurate i didnt research dates

[sparrowsknife]

batjokes and the killing joke

before/during the bronze age of dc joker and batman were often written as fun rivals, nothing really insane happened until the killing joke was released just a few years after the bronze age

the killing joke was so popular it was basically used as canon for future comics to come even though it's not canon. it provided a backstory for joker (even today joker has no canon backstory since he also said in kj "if I were to have a past I prefer it to be multiple choice..." so he makes up his past on the spot to make the victim feel sympathy for him) and a relationship between Bruce and joker of "I don't want us to end." that relationship is now applied to every comic ever that involves them.

the killing joke only revealed the tip of how manipulative joker can be and it's scary. death in the family was released after the killing joke which went more into jokers and batman's obsessions with each other. joker killed Jason because he felt like Jason was taking batman's attention from him, that he would disturb their never ending game

batman himself doesn't even realize his own mental state and how messed up his head is too and how he refuses to let joker die— he constantly saves joker for no reason other than the "I don't want us to end" thing. scott snyder does a rlly good job w that in his comics by making their relationship dependable and unhealthily obsessive. in the Batman who laughs, joker and batman have a similar conversation to the one in the killing joke. batman admits his feelings, but in bwl joker admits he doesn't want batman to die and only does things that he knows batman can get out of, saying that one of them can't be left standing; if they die, they die together.

in injustice Superman saw through Bruce's feelings to joker dying even though joker doesn't deserve that grief. superman straight up told batman "you loved him didn't you" which shocks the reader the most and again shows how messed up bruces mentality is with this attachment

in another comic, joker talks to catwoman (after learning about selinas and bruces wedding) about the end of the killing joke where bruce and joker laughed together under the rain and held each other, again showing obsession. he also tells Selina how she can't marry him because Bruce's attention will leave him. joker needs batman to hurt him, he needs Bruce's undivided attention.

there's also a comic where each year joker would give batman presents in hopes of guessing his birthday. and one year he decided to give himself up as a present. he said they're going to play the game forever until they die. there's no escaping each other and Bruce sadly realizes that what joker said was true. but in catwoman lonely city #4, joker stops their game to tell Bruce he feels tired, he wants them to stop. and Bruce wants the same, but they end up dying together at that moment where joker showed that transparency. both comics show joker calling batman "Bruce" telling the reader that he knows who batman is under the mask. joker only calls him Bruce when he wants to stop their game, when he feels vulnerable. both comics are also centered around a decision of either joker or civilians, and Bruce chose joker. this again goes back to the killing jokes and vaguely connects to it— that they'll be the death of each other, or when they choose to stop, they don't want to lose each other.

in new 52 joker finally loses his grip on his obsession w batman that he goes the farthest he can in showing batman that they need each other. he takes each of Bruce's kids and captures them doing a whole performance or whatever and at the end of death of the family, Bruce tells his kids about jokers intelligence, revealing joker knew who batman and his robins are under their masks basically their entire history (which is also shown in other comics where joker knows Bruce is disguising himself for a case) but joker doesn't mentally accept their identities because it would ruin their game

batman endgame goes even further into that, adding a lot more romantic subtext into their relationship than death of the family did. making them fall in a heart shaped pool of blood, a cover where they posed together as the molds of two lovers found from the remains Pompeii, but still following the killing jokes set relationship of "I don't want us to end"

batman and joker have so much history into them and even in stand alone comics there are still elements of the killing joke, joker reading through batman, Bruce saving joker even though he could've left him and more

also in the joker war Bruce is left with the decision of leaving joker behind or saving him from the explosion and since he knows just how smart joker is he tells him "if you were smart enough to rob the batsuit u can escape easily" and leaves him because he knows he's going to survive similar to how joker leaves Bruce to survive his own games