what if DC Comics tried to copy Marvel Comics Loki Redemption By Doing A Joker Redemption Story Arc?

[batnbreakfast]

GOING SANE, anyone? Again? Hmmmm.... maybe Zack Snyder will make it happen (sorry, will take my pills now)

[M L A]

What if the Joker stopped showing up for five and a half seconds

[SicariiDC]

Its not a redemption perse, but I thought "going sane" was a dope ass look...Joseph Kerr...lol cmon

[SicariiDC]

Damn u beat me to it. My bad

[Black_Adam]

Definitely don't want a redemption arc.

But I would like to see the Joker stop being Hannibal Lector all the time, Joker is the physical manifestation of chaos, he does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, he can give you a rose or he can shoot you in the face depending on how he's feeling. I remember his own issue in the Joker's Asylum series, where he takes over a game show and exposes the shows producers for doing anything to increase ratings (including letting the camera's roll as Joker threatens several contestants). The writing wasn't the greatest in that issue but I liked the idea Joker was so unpredictable and random that he could do something like that to make a point and show everyone "the joke" of TV.

More of that and less serial killer mastermind who can control the entire Justice League and slaughter everyone in the GCPD in 5minutes, we already know how dangerous he is.

[kcomics]

I have a few thoughts on this.

One, maybe a completely redeemed Joker wouldn't work out, but maybe showcasing an Elseworld Joker--like the Jokester or Jester--would give us a chance to see a "good guy" version of the Joker in action. I think it could work; they would have to tweak it a lot, though, but Jokester seemed to be a pretty likable character, really. Too bad he was no match for Owlman.

Two, maybe a Joker who has some, not enough to take away from his character, but some, human traits wouldn't be that bad. They could play up his insanity and make him a little more sympathetic without detracting from the dangerous aspect of the character maybe? I guess it depends on how you see it. To older comic readers, the Joker and Batman's other foes maybe often make a lot more sense than Batman and the heroes. I personally get tired of seeing Joker cast as the irredeemable bad guy all of the time. The character has class, style, intelligence, sophistication, and a very clear view of the world he occupies (some older comics even have him providing comedy relief by breaking the fourth wall, talking to the audience and the artists; I don't know if the new 52 has these elements or not). Seeing a writer play with those elements without having Joker give up his goal or change his character, would be a welcome break. Yeah, it could all be done in the classic from; Joker doing one thing in hopes of gaining some kind of reward, but I kind of like the idea of a semi-redemption arc coming out of that (maybe Joker could just come to the conclusion that he would meet his end goal more successfully by manipulating people as opposed to killing them?). Sure, it could just turn out to an elaborate scheme, but at least it would give the reader some idea that even the Joker could function as a likable relatable character.

Also, you could redeem Joker in kind of a Wreck-it-Ralph sense, where we find out that Joker's presence in Gotham plays a vital role in it's ecosystem and actually cuts down on crime for Batman (because Joker is a master manipulator and is jealous of other criminals). I also think that Joker, since his character was originally supposed to be insane, could provide a fair amount of (dark) comedy relief. Maybe they could reveal that he, like Deadpool, knows he is in a comic book, so he can afford to have a different moral standard than the rest of the characters?

I think the closest we're going to come to this, though, is in the Lego Batman Movie, where Joker helps Batman save Gotham from plunging into the abyss after unleashing all of the bad guys from the Phantom Zone. Personally, I love these rare team-ups and wish Batman would do more of them with his rogues gallery. I guess it's silly and not very realistic, but I don't get much out of focusing on one-dimensional characters, and the villains do have the most interesting stories. It's sad they push them in the background or relegate them to predictable roles. Joker is a goldmine of ideas. Sure, he's Jack the Ripper in clown face, but he's also Professor Moriaty to Batman's Sherlock Holmes, and it depends on who tells the story whether we see a human being or a monster.

I would love a story arc where Batman has to not only team up with the Joker, though, but trust him and have him defy expectations by actually helping out. If done correctly, that could be a very entertaining story indeed, especially if the Joker pretends he's opposing Batman but is actually helping out.

I would also like to read maybe an Elseworld story where the Joker wins, kills Batman, and then realizes he's made a terrible mistake--that could be the Joker's redemption arc. It could later be revealed that Batman went into hiding instead and didn't really die so that he could keep track of XYZ criminal, like in Batman TAS, leaving room for Mr. J to become his crazy self again.

Personally, I think Joker could be both a bad sadistic clown-meets-Jack-the-Ripper-meets-Professor-Moriaty-type super villain and be an asset to Batman at the same time. We like the Joker because he makes things interesting, but who says he has to make things interesting from the villain's side all of the time? Why can't he use the same insane tactics as an antihero? Why can't he be something like his protege Harley Quinn?

[theoneandonly]

the joker laughs.

[Aioros22]

Loki has always had a goal. He wanted to undermine Thor to make himself look better, or he wanted power, or he wanted acceptance. Sometimes he just wanted a laugh but there was always some agenda. Joker's agenda is to create chaos. There is no underlying goal.

The redeeming storyline has been used a lot in the past, most recently with Leonard Snart (Captain Cold). Lex, Penguin, now the child murdering Harley, have all done it. But there is no way I would ever buy a story where Joker does good. Even if it's in response to Batman going evil and killing innocents it is just not in the character. Or at least any version of the character I want to read.

Yeah Marvel`s Loki follows alot of the traditional trickster pathos. He`s ambiguous evil depending the goal. He will want to undermine the rule of Odin and Thor but will defend Asgard against a common enemy.

Joker just tries to be whatever new chaos theory there is.

[sakuyamons]

What if the Joker stopped showing up for five and a half seconds

Now that would be ideal.

[HandofPrometheus]

They've retconned away his crippling of Barbra, and Harley who is being redeemed has cannonly blown up a bunch of kids.

I would be interested in seeing them starting to play up his insanity to bring out some of his old more benign personality aspects.

Since when did they retcon Killing Joke away? If it was in that ridiculous Burnside run I must of missed it and glad to. That run needs to be retconned!

Anyway this guy will never be redeemed.

[Orujo-man]

That's not gonna happen.

[oasis1313]

Loki is a trickster god. Joker is a mass murderer--he's absolutely incorrigible.

[kcomics]

Well, anything can happen in the world of fiction. Maybe this is because I'm an older reader familiar mostly with the cartoons and a few of the older comics, but I think a story like that is feasible, considering everything Joker has done to Batman in the past--including actually killing him. The Joker in the comics is less a gangster and more a theatrical psychopath who is in a weird hero-villain relationship with Batman (kind of like a child who wants to please his dad but the object of the game is to do everything he can to displease and get Batman to hate him), so, with that in mind, Joker becoming a hero isn't completely out of the realm of possibility, especially if he thinks that's the best way to mess with Batman at the time.