History ComicBook / TheKillingJoke

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: The Joker's joke, which is an analogy of how hopeless it is for one insane man to try saving another insane man. It's so sadly relevant, Batman can't help but join the MonsterClown in bitter laughter.

* AnAesop: For all of the Joker's talk about how "one bad day" can drive the sanest man to lunacy, that ultimately isn't true, and the story proves it. In fact, that sort of nihilistic detachment is actually kind of pathetic. As Batman points out, all of Joker's grandiose {{Motive Rant}}s are just delusions of grandeur; in the end, Joker's just a {{Jerkass}} who hurts people because he wants to. As such, the ultimate message of the story is that [[SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers nihilism and cynicism are fooolish mentalities]].

* AnAesop: For all of the Joker's talk about how "one bad day" can drive the sanest man to lunacy, that ultimately isn't true, and the story proves it. In fact, that sort of nihilistic detachment is actually kind of pathetic. As Batman points out, all of Joker's grandiose {{Motive Rant}}s are just delusions of grandeur; in the end, Joker's just a {{Jerkass}} who hurts people because he wants to. As such, the ultimate message of the story is that [[SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers nihilism and cynicism are loser mentalities]].

* AnAesop: For all of the Joker's talk about how "one bad day" can drive the sanest man to lunacy, that ultimately isn't true. In fact, that sort of nihilistic detachment mentality is actually kind of pathetic]]. As Batman points out, all of Joker's grandiose {{Motive Rant}}s are just delusions of grandeur; in the end, Joker's just a {{Jerkass}} who hurts people because he wants to. As such, the ultimate message of the story is that [[SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers nihilism and cynicism are loser mentalities]].

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: The Joker's joke, which is an analogy of how hopeless it is for one insane man to try saving another insane man. [[spoiler:It's so sadly relevant, Batman can't help but join the MonsterClown in bitter laughter.]]

* LastSecondChance: [[spoiler:Batman offers Joker a sincere chance at redemption at the end.]]

* NoPreggerSex: PlayedWith. While the Joker's [[spoiler: possibly nonexistent]] pregnant wife assures him that everything will be okay, she mentions that he is "[[SexGod good in the sack]]", but it isn't made clear whether or not they had sex while she was pregnant.

* NotSoStoic: [[spoiler:Batman laughs at Joker's joke at the end.]]

* PsychologicalHorror: The Joker uses the most disturbing images possible to break Gordon. [[spoiler:He fails; Gordon remains sane.]]

* SlasherSmile: The Joker's vicious smile is one of the clearest indicators of his mental instability and prominently displayed throughout the comic, highlighting his relish upon wounding or torturing his victims. One of the few moments when the Joker is not shown smiling is near the end of the story, when [[spoiler:Batman's speech causes him to regain some of his sanity, at which point his expression changes to convey his sorrow]].

** This is what Joker went [[spoiler:(or might have gone)]] through during his "one bad day." [[spoiler:He throws away a stable career working at a chemical factory to pursue his dream of becoming a comedian, but fails miserably at it. After falling into serious financial trouble, he agrees to lead a couple of mafia thugs through the factory in order to provide for his wife and unborn child. On the day when he's supposed to do the job, his wife dies in an accident, rendering the job meaningless. The thugs fake sympathy for him, but force him to go through with the job - and tell him to use the money for a funeral for his family. He leads the thugs through the chemical plant, but they're soon spotted by security and shot to death. Batman shows up, believing the man who would be Joker to be Red Hood (since he's wearing the Red Hood costume). He proceeds to jump into the polluted water and swims to safety, then realizes that his skin is burning. When he takes off the hood, the first thing he sees is his reflection in a puddle: green hair, pale skin, yellow teeth, and bloodshot eyes. At this point, he [[GoMadFromTheRevelation just starts laughing]].]]

* UncertainDoom: Brian Bolland discusses this in the Deluxe Edition, complete with TheUnreveal as he "runs out of words" just as he's supposedly about to explain it. [[spoiler:Batman and the Joker are both laughing at the Joker's last joke, and Batman reaches out to place his hands on the Joker's shoulders. That's the last we see of of what they're doing, but the laughter cuts off abruptly, seemingly insinuating that Batman finally killed him. Alan Moore did eventually confirm that this isn't the case, which makes more sense considering the comic is canon.]]

* VillainousBreakdown:
** ''Killing Joke'' features a clever little inversion: the breakdown itself is ''how'' Joker became the villain.
** The end of the comic: when Joker learns his attempt to break Gordon failed, he seriously considers Batman's offer of a possible redemption before declining. The Joker actually becomes ''sane'' for a few brief moments.

* TragicVillain: By the end of the story, Joker knows he's been prove completely and utterly wrong...but he feels he done too much damage to come back.

** The end of the comic: [[spoiler:when Joker learns his attempt to break Gordon failed, he seriously considers Batman's offer of a possible redemption before declining. The Joker actually becomes ''sane'' for a few brief moments.]]

* HeinousnessRetcon: In a possible backstory before becoming the Joker, he was shown to be a loving and caring husband and one of the key things that caused him to snap was the loss of his wife and unborn son and Creator/AlanMoore's [[https://joker-ka.tumblr.com/post/633177488181379072/pre-joker-wasnt-the-domestic-abuser notes ]] state he didn't think of the man Pre-Joker as abusive.

* BlackComedy: The Joker describing Barbara after shooting her in the stomach and sending her flying onto a glass coffee table.

* TraumaCongaLine: This is what Joker went [[spoiler:(or might have gone)]] through during his "one bad day." [[spoiler:He throws away a stable career working at a chemical factory to pursue his dream of becoming a comedian, but fails miserably at it. After falling into serious financial trouble, he agrees to lead a couple of mafia thugs through the factory in order to provide for his wife and unborn child. On the day when he's supposed to do the job, his wife dies in an accident, rendering the job meaningless. The thugs fake sympathy for him, but force him to go through with the job - and tell him to use the money for a funeral for his family. He leads the thugs through the chemical plant, but they're soon spotted by security and shot to death. Batman shows up, believing the man who would be Joker to be Red Hood (since he's wearing the Red Hood costume). He proceeds to jump into the polluted water and swims to safety, then realizes that his skin is burning. When he takes off the hood, the first thing he sees is his reflection in a puddle: green hair, pale skin, yellow teeth, and bloodshot eyes. At this point, he [[GoMadFromTheRevelation just starts laughing]].]]

* AmbiguousEnding: Brian Bolland discusses this in the Deluxe Edition, complete with TheUnreveal as he "runs out of words" just as he's supposedly about to explain it. [[spoiler:Batman and the Joker are both laughing at the Joker's last joke, and Batman reaches out to place his hands on the Joker's shoulders. That's the last we see of of what they're doing, but the laughter cuts off abruptly, seemingly insinuating that Batman finally killed him. Alan Moore did eventually confirm that this isn't the case, which makes more sense considering the comic is canon.]]

'''''{{T|ropeCodifier}}he''''' [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker Joker]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare origin story.]] [[MultipleChoicePast Well, supposedly...]]

'''''[[TropeCodifier The]]''''' [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker Joker]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare origin story.]] [[MultipleChoicePast Well, supposedly...]]

** Barbara. She didn't die, but she was crippled to cause angst for the male characters, and [[http://i.imgur.com/wuWvb3E.jpg this trauma became her defining trait.]]

* InterrogationMontage: Batman goes through a silent one as he turns Gotham upside-down searching for the Joker and Gordon, hitting everyone from the highest Mafia dons to streetwalkers to [[AndZoidberg The Penguin]]. It's especially chilling as it's intercut with scenes of Gordon's torture at the circus.

* StealthPun: Joker's cell in Arkham Asylum is the 0801. If we use letters of the alphabet, you get the eight and first ones: [[EvilLaugh Ha]]. This one got lampshaded in [[ComicBook/BatmanEndgame issue 36, vol 2 of Batman]].

* TraumaCongaLine: This is what Joker went [[spoiler:(or might have gone)]] through during his "one bad day." [[spoiler:He throws away a stable career working at a chemical factory to pursue his dream of becoming a comedian, but fails miserably at it. After falling into serious financial trouble, he agrees to lead a couple of mafia thugs through the factory in order to provide for his wife and unborn child. On the day when he's supposed to do the job, his wife dies in an accident, rendering the job meaningless. The thugs fake sympathy for him, but force him to go through with the job - and tell him to use the money for a funeral for his family. He leads the thugs through the chemical plant, but they're soon spotted by security and shot to death. Batman shows up, believing the man who would be Joker to be Red Hood (since he's wearing the Red Hood costume). He proceeds to jump into the polluted water and swims to safety, then realizes that his skin is burning. When he takes off the hood, the first thing he sees is his reflection in a puddle: green hair, pale skin, yellow teeth, and bloodshot eyes. At this point, he [[GoMadFromTheRevelation just starts laughing.]]]]

* VillainHasAPoint: Joker at one point accuses Batman of having had "one bad day" that shaped him into who he is. Joker has ''no'' idea just how right he is. [[ShutUpHannibal Batman, however lets him know where he's wrong;]] [[NotSoSimilar He and Gordon handled it differently from how Joker did.]]

* AmbiguousDisorder: Batman theorizes that the Joker was always mentally unwell even before his transformation, hence why Gordon was able to go through similar ordeals and still maintain his reason while the Joker snapped as soon as he caught his own reflection. Pre-transformation, he had poor judgement, was easily intimidated by other people and had a habit of breaking down over any negative outcomes.

* BlackComedy: The Joker describing Barbara after he just shot her in the stomach and sent her flying onto a glass coffee table.

** He strips Barbara right after shooting her and takes several photos of her, naked and bloodied and later shows the pictures to Jim in an effort to break him.

->''"I've proven my point. All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day. [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} You]] had a bad day once. Am I right? I know I am. Why else would you dress up as a flying rat? You had a bad day and it drove you as crazy as everybody else...only you won't admit it! You have to keep pretending that life makes sense, that there is some point to all this struggling! God, you make me want to puke."''

'''[[TropeCodifier THE]]''' [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker Joker]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare origin story.]] [[MultipleChoicePast Well, supposedly...]]

->''"All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day. [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} You]] had a bad day once. Am I right? I know I am. Why else would you dress up as a flying rat? You had a bad day and it drove you as crazy as everybody else...only you won't admit it! You have to keep pretending that life makes sense, that there is some point to all this struggling! God, you make me want to puke."''

-->-- '''[[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]'''

'''[[TropeCodifier THE]]''' [[ComicBook/{{TheJoker}} Joker]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare origin story.]] [[MultipleChoicePast Well, supposedly...]]

'''[[TropeCodifier THE]]''' [[ComicBook/{{TheJoker}} Joker]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare origin story.]] Well, supposedly...

'''[[TropeCodifier THE]]''' [[ComicBook/{{TheJoker}} Joker]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare origin story.]]

'''[[TropeCodifier THE]]''' [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker Joker]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare origin story]].

* CuttingOffTheBranches: In the climax of the comic, the Joker admits that due to how utterly warped his mind is, the backstory we're shown [[MultipleChoicePast may not actually have happened and even he doesn't know]]. ''ComicBook/BatmanThreeJokers'', published ''32 years'' later, [[spoiler: we find out that the origin we were shown was the true one, albeit with some changes made. The man who would become the Joker was actually abusive towards Jeannie and she actually faked her death to escape him.]]

* ForcedToWatch: Imagine being a father [[spoiler:stripped naked]] and forced to look [[spoiler:at naked pictures of your bloody, newly paralyzed daughter.]]

* AdultFear:
** Imagine being a father [[spoiler:stripped naked]] and [[ForcedToWatch forced to look]] [[spoiler:at naked pictures of your bloody, newly paralyzed daughter.]]
** Imagine being informed that [[spoiler:your pregnant wife was just fatally electrocuted]].

** Imagine being a father [[spoiler:stripped naked]] and [[ForcedToWatch forced to look]] [[spoiler:at naked pictures of your bloody newly paralyzed daughter.]]

* AmbiguousDisorder: Batman theorizes that the Joker was always mentally unwell even before his transformation, hence why Gordon was able to go through similar ordeals and still maintain his reason while the Joker snapped as soon as he caught his own reflection. Pre-transformation he had poor judgement, was easily intimidated by other people and he had a habit of breaking down over any negative outcomes.
* AmbiguousEnding: Brian Bolland discusses this in the Deluxe Edition, complete with TheUnreveal as he "runs out of words" just as he's supposedly about to explain it. [[spoiler:Batman and the Joker are both laughing at the Joker's last joke, and Batman reaches out to place his hands on the Joker's shoulders... That's the last we see of of what they're doing, but the laughter cuts off abruptly. So did he finally kill him? Alan Moore did eventually confirm Batman didn't kill Joker which makes more sense considering the comic is canon.]]
* BangFlagGun: Unlike most times, the Joker's gun turns into one when it's EMPTY; and the flag reads ''Click Click Click'', not ''Bang''.

** ComicBook/TwoFace appears briefly at the beginning, as an Arkham inmate.
** ComicBook/ThePenguin briefly appears later, in prison being questioned for the Joker's whereabouts.