Assessment
1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?
This was my second time reading The Killing Joke (my first time being when I was between 14-16) and I definitely got more out of it this time. I found it to be a much more compelling work, catching onto the ideas Moore and Bolland present more than I did 5 or so years ago. It's an interesting take on Batman and Joker's dynamic. I appreciate that Batman goes to talk to Joker in the beginning. It shows that this version of Batman is overall more thoughtful than some of the more brutish takes we've seen, and it provides an insight into how he sees his relationship with the Joker. With all those nice things being said, I do wish Moore didn't do all this at the expense of Barbara Gordon. Of course, after this, we still got great stories with her as Oracle, but this was obviously not something Moore was thinking about. Barbara is a rich character and she absolutely deserved a better fate than getting shot in the stomach and being photographed naked in order to traumatize her father.
2. What connections did you make with the story that you read? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect.
I really connected to the way Moore characterized Batman. Like I said before, I'm a big fan of how the story opens and how it gives us an insight into how Bruce sees his relationship with the Joker. This Batman feels like an almost evergreen Batman, in that he embodies all the different takes that have come before him. He has the darkness of early Golden Age stories and the Dennis O'Neil/Neal Adams run, while not shying away from the sillier elements of the 50s and 60s (although this is more in the background). This is a Batman who has been doing this for a long time and we see that here. There is a finality to his confrontation with Joker that can only come from decades of adventures. He knows that the only option is to kill Joker, but he doesn't want to confront it. In the end, it's up to the reader whether he does or does not whether he ends the Joker's terror for good.
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
If I were to adapt this into another medium, I would make an animated film. The biggest thing I'd change is not fridging Barbara Gordon. It's a harmful trope that isn't really worth using in this story. What I would do instead is combine this story with elements from another famous Batman story of the time: A Death in the Family. Instead of trying to make Gordon lose his sanity, I would have Joker kill Robin (in this case probably Dick Grayson, as his death would have more weight than Jason Todd's) in an attempt to truly break Batman. I would still include flashbacks to Joker's origin, the opening scene (which I've already raved about), and the ending. The idea of the story is that it comes down to Batman and Joker, so I found it somewhat odd that Gordon was dragged into the original story. I understand that the "one bad day" idea works better with an ordinary man like Gordon, but it still feels somewhat out of place and I think steering the focus towards Batman and Joker could streamline the story. Also, I would have Batman definitively not kill the Joker in the ending. An important aspect of The Killing Joke is proving Joker's theory wrong, and if this version focuses on breaking Batman, then he has to prove Joker wrong himself. Although, I do like the idea of maybe having an extra little scene that hints at Batman regretting this decision.
This was my second time reading The Killing Joke (my first time being when I was between 14-16) and I definitely got more out of it this time. I found it to be a much more compelling work, catching onto the ideas Moore and Bolland present more than I did 5 or so years ago. It's an interesting take on Batman and Joker's dynamic. I appreciate that Batman goes to talk to Joker in the beginning. It shows that this version of Batman is overall more thoughtful than some of the more brutish takes we've seen, and it provides an insight into how he sees his relationship with the Joker. With all those nice things being said, I do wish Moore didn't do all this at the expense of Barbara Gordon. Of course, after this, we still got great stories with her as Oracle, but this was obviously not something Moore was thinking about. Barbara is a rich character and she absolutely deserved a better fate than getting shot in the stomach and being photographed naked in order to traumatize her father.
2. What connections did you make with the story that you read? Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect.
I really connected to the way Moore characterized Batman. Like I said before, I'm a big fan of how the story opens and how it gives us an insight into how Bruce sees his relationship with the Joker. This Batman feels like an almost evergreen Batman, in that he embodies all the different takes that have come before him. He has the darkness of early Golden Age stories and the Dennis O'Neil/Neal Adams run, while not shying away from the sillier elements of the 50s and 60s (although this is more in the background). This is a Batman who has been doing this for a long time and we see that here. There is a finality to his confrontation with Joker that can only come from decades of adventures. He knows that the only option is to kill Joker, but he doesn't want to confront it. In the end, it's up to the reader whether he does or does not whether he ends the Joker's terror for good.
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?
If I were to adapt this into another medium, I would make an animated film. The biggest thing I'd change is not fridging Barbara Gordon. It's a harmful trope that isn't really worth using in this story. What I would do instead is combine this story with elements from another famous Batman story of the time: A Death in the Family. Instead of trying to make Gordon lose his sanity, I would have Joker kill Robin (in this case probably Dick Grayson, as his death would have more weight than Jason Todd's) in an attempt to truly break Batman. I would still include flashbacks to Joker's origin, the opening scene (which I've already raved about), and the ending. The idea of the story is that it comes down to Batman and Joker, so I found it somewhat odd that Gordon was dragged into the original story. I understand that the "one bad day" idea works better with an ordinary man like Gordon, but it still feels somewhat out of place and I think steering the focus towards Batman and Joker could streamline the story. Also, I would have Batman definitively not kill the Joker in the ending. An important aspect of The Killing Joke is proving Joker's theory wrong, and if this version focuses on breaking Batman, then he has to prove Joker wrong himself. Although, I do like the idea of maybe having an extra little scene that hints at Batman regretting this decision.
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