What Happened in the Killing Joke?

The Killing Joke, by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, is a critical piece in the lives of Batman, the Joker (Reading Order), and Batgirl (Reading Order). Though this comic was a simple one-shot, it has grown a massive legacy of its own and has had a large impact on DC continuity going forward. It has also been a subject of debate and discussion among comic fans for years.

But what happened in The Killing Joke? Today, we’re going to take a look at a summary of the comic’s events. After this Killing Joke summary, we’ll take a quick look at the comic’s impact on future comics.

Warning: the description of this comic includes descriptions of murder, sexual assault, and torture.

Joker’s Origin

The Killing Joke features an extended flashback scene that plays out alongside the main storyline. This flashback essentially explains how the Joker went from being a normal guy to being Batman’s most deadly villain.

In this flashback, Joker is introduced as a normal person. He is married, has his first child on the way, but is struggling at his new job. He is already behind on rent and is unsure how he will get the money to provide for them going forward.

Then, Joker is offered a job. Mobsters ask him to let them into the chemical lab he used to work at so they can rob the building next door. They say they’ll pay him handsomely for his help. Knowing this may be the only way he’ll be able to provide for his family, Joker agrees.

This sequence of events is what sets up Joker’s “one bad day”.

One Bad Day

On the day the robbery is supposed to take place, Joker is visited by a police officer. He is informed that his wife and unborn child were both killed in a freak household accident.

Shattered by this news, Joker tries to back out of the robbery. However, the gang members refuse to let him. They threaten him and he agrees to go through with everything. 

At the chemical lab, they immediately run into problems. Security quickly spots them and the alarm is raised. Shooting starts shortly after. Joker is disoriented by the disguise that was given to him and is clearly distressed by the violence. To make things worse, the other gang members try to pin the blame on him. As the only person wearing a disguise, they claim he is the leader of the operation and, thus, the man the police want.

Because of this, Joker tries to run. However, at this same time, Batman arrives. He immediately heads after the man he believes is the gang’s leader.

As Batman approaches, Joker looks for an escape. He jumps into a stream taking the lab’s chemicals outside. This allows him to escape. However, it also coats him in chemicals. He emerges from the stream with green hair and pale skin, laughing maniacally.

The purpose of this flashback helps explain Joker’s philosophy. His “one bad day” gave him an entirely new outlook on the world. He believes the universe is a tragic and chaotic mess of meaninglessness. He also believes that the human mind isn’t conditioned to deal with this and, thus, can only respond to it by going insane. He claims that “in a world as psychotic as this… any other response would be crazy!”

From this point onward, Joker believes he knows the “truth” about the world and is desperate to recruit others to his point of view. He believes “one bad day” is all it takes to make this argument.

The Joker’s Attack

The rest of The Killing Joke takes place in the present. Here, Joker has recently escaped from Arkham Asylum and is ready to make his case for insanity. He plans to make this case to Batman through Commissioner James Gordon.

He arrives at the Gordon household with a few of his henchmen. Barbara Gordon (who just recently retired as Batgirl) answers the door. She is immediately shot by the Joker, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Jim Gordon is in the room when this happens and witnesses it all take place.

Before he can react, Joker’s henchmen kidnap him and take him away. Once they leave, Joker takes off Barbara’s clothes and takes pictures of her as she lies on the floor.

Commissioner Gordon then is taken to a carnival. There, he is stripped naked and forced onto a bizarre carnival ride. The ride shows the pictures of his daughter that Joker just took.

The Joker’s Argument

At this point, Batman arrives. He immediately attacks Joker and Joker temporarily retreats. Batman takes this time to free the Commissioner, who encourages him to bring Joker in by the book, despite everything he did.

As Batman begins to pursue Joker again, Joker explains everything. He elaborates on his twisted view of the world and how he believes it all to be a joke. He claims he tortured Commissioner Gordon in order to show this. He believes by giving the Commissioner “one bad day” he has driven him to insanity and, thus, proven to Batman that humanity simply cannot handle the world’s chaos.

However, Batman rejects this idea. He states that the Commissioner is still sane and that Joker’s view of humanity is wrong. He suggests that humanity isn’t broken at its core but that the Joker may be.

Batman’s Argument

At this point, Batman has Joker beaten. However, he tries to reason with him for once, rather than simply beat him up again.

He explains that he understands the Joker is troubled. He admits that he is troubled too. However, he still has hope that Joker can be rehabilitated. He even offers to help with this, to have them approach the problem together.

Joker takes a moment and then laughs. He believes it is “too late for that, far too late.” Then, he tells Batman a joke about “two guys in a lunatic asylum”. The Joker laughs, Batman laughs, and Batman begins to strangle Joker as the police cars roll up.

The comic ends on this ambiguous note. For an explanation into this ending, check our exploration here.

After The Killing Joke

Barbara Gordon was the character most radically impacted by the events of the book. She retained the wounds suffered in this book and remained paralyzed for some time. At this point, she began appearing within the pages of the Suicide Squad under a new heroic identity: Oracle. Eventually though, she was able to have her paralysis healed thanks to a cybernetic implant and intense physical therapy. Her recovery and the lingering trauma she still deals with is addressed in the New 52 Batgirl series.

The Joker’s origin is revisited in Scott Snyder’s Batman (Reading Order), during the “Zero Year – Secret City” storyline. Here, an alternate version of the Joker’s association with the Red Hood Gang and the chemical lab are presented.

In many ways, Batman: Three Jokers is designed to be a spiritual sequel to The Killing Joke. The storyline touches on Joker’s evolution over the years. It also directly references the Joker’s origin story and reveals something that was previously unrevealed about it.

Recommended Reading

• Batman: The Killing Joke
  • Collected in Batman: The Killing Joke Deluxe.
  • This volume contains the entire, original comic. This should obviously be at the top of the list for any fan of this story. Plus, the Deluxe Edition includes some bonus content that
• Batman #21-24
  • Collected in Batman: Zero Year. This is part of Scott Snyder’s run on Batman (Reading Order).
  • This storyline presents an alternative take on the Joker’s origin story in the more modern New 52 era.
• Batman: Three Jokers full Miniseries
  • Collected in Batman: Three Jokers (Review).
  • This miniseries has many elements that directly connect it to The Killing Joke. It specifically reveals something about Joker’s past and Batman’s connection to it that goes unrevealed elsewhere.
• Batgirl (Reading Order)
  • Suicide Squad #23-38
    • Collected in Suicide Squad Vol. 3: Rogues, Suicide Squad Vol. 4: The Janus Directive, and Suicide Squad Vol. 5: Apokolips Now.
    • Oracle makes her first appearance within Suicide Squad #23. She remains a part of this team for some time and her true identity is eventually revealed in Suicide Squad #38.
  • Batgirl #1 and Batgirl #7-8
    • Collected in Batgirl Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection (Review) and Batgirl Vol. 2: Knightfall Descends (Review).
    • These comics explore Batgirl’s life after she recovers from her paralysis.

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