We follow the life of Joker — semi-retired supervillain and family man — who decides to run for Mayor. This is complicated by Jim Gordon and his partner Two-Face.
Tropes:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Granted, the Joker has been called a psychopathic narcissist in the past, but his attentiveness towards his new family momentarily takes a hit due to him achieving unexpected success as a mayoral candidate. However, he chooses to abandon his campaign when Two-Face holds Benicio hostage and apologizes to his stepson for letting the campaign get to his head.
- Actor Allusion: When Gordon sees that Two-Face has kidnapped and is threatening to murder a child, he quotes the intro to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Gordon is voiced by SVU star Christopher Meloni.Gordon: Two-Face, crimes like these are considered especially heinous!
- Bait-and-Switch: Joker claims that he is "cooking up something extra special for Debbie" before giving his trademark Evil Laugh... and in the next scene he tries giving her arroz-con-pollo to bribe her.
- Big Eater: Even though she insults the tray of arroz-con-pollo the Joker brought for her, Debbie still eats it during their short conversation. He is aghast afterward to find that she polished the whole thing off, despite it being enough for an entire family, more so that there were bones in the dish she didn't pick out that aren't there anymore.
- Brick Joke: Debbie pulls some strings to get her kids into the Dual-Immersion Program because she wants to know what the maids are saying about her. Later on, she ignorantly repeats a Spanish phrase she heard from her maid — "Escupo en tu Comida," which means "I spit in your food." — showing that the maids really are talking crap about her.
- Bullying a Dragon: Debbie must have a death wish to exercise her Obnoxious Entitled Housewife schtick to antagonize The Joker. She should count herself lucky that he doesn't just kill her, the Joker having done so to other people for less.
- Continuity Nod: At the end of the episode Harley and Ivy come back from their New Orleans trip.
- Cutting the Knot: Joker decides to cut out the middleman and just steal money to directly bribe constituents, rather than looking for donors to fund his campaign. It helps that his policies are also genuinely popular and that he gives the money out in the open instead of "under the table".The Joker: Some mayoral candidates take bribes from big money. I'm skipping the bribe part and just taking the money!
- A Day in the Limelight: It's here we get a full episode demonstrating the domestic life Joker now lives with his memories back. Harley and Ivy don't even show up until the very end of the episode.
- Didn't See That Coming: At the end of the episode, Harley and Ivy return to Gotham after their trip to Louisiana only to find out that, while they were gone, Joker was elected Mayor of Gotham, officially and legally.Ivy: [incredulous] We were gone for four days!
- Disqualification-Induced Victory: Almost. Jim Gordon declares an early victory because his wildly more popular opponent died in the hospital in the middle of the debate. Then Joker shows up and ruins it by running himself. Then Gordon drops out of the race by the end after realizing what he had allowed Two-Face to get away with just to win, leaving Joker the winner.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Gordon's incompetence as a candidate, plus his dependence on Two-Face, so disillusions Barbara that she abandons her own dad's candidacy and switches to carrying a placard cheering for Joker's.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The Joker still loves his family. He even stops his winning campaign to rush over and save Benicio when Two-Face kidnaps him.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- The Joker may be Laughing Mad, but even he finds Debbie's casual racism annoying.Joker: It's arroz con pollo from mi casa to su casa.
Debbie: Mmm-hmm. And is that an ethnic dish, or...
Joker: It sure is "ethnic." Speaking of racist... - Joker was also genuinely disgusted by Two-Face's willingness to murder children.
- The Joker may be Laughing Mad, but even he finds Debbie's casual racism annoying.
- Everyone Has Standards: As corrupt as Gordon can be, he draws the line when Two-Face kidnaps and threatens to kill Joker's step-kid. He's also clearly disgusted when he finds out that he only won (the first time around) because Two-Face poisoned the former mayor.
- The Farmer and the Viper: Gordon's faith in Two-Face as a campaign manager goes beyond all rationality and common sense. As quoted under Too Dumb to Live below, Two-Face explicitly tells Gordo that being a treacherous supervillain is his entire persona and he will betray anyone who trusts him.
- Food as Bribe: Joker cooks arroz con pollo for Debbie to bribe her into helping get his kids into the Dual-Immersion Program. Debbie doesn't help but does indicate that he'll have to talk to the mayor, giving Joker the idea to run for the position himself.
- Freudian Trio: Jim, Barbara, and Two-Face end up becoming this. While Jim Gordon runs for mayor, Two-Face tries making him into a Sleazy Politician who runs entirely on superficiality, while Barbara tries encouraging him to run on policies that he genuinely believes in. Since this version of Jim is a loser, he almost always defaults to Two-Face's advice.
- Heel Realization: It's only when Two-Face admits to poisoning the former mayor and kidnapping Joker's stepson does Gordon realize that he isn't the good guy this time.
- Karma Houdini: Despite literally everything the Joker has ever done, he instantly becomes the more popular mayoral candidate. Both because the policies he gives are popular and because he looks way better compared to Jim Gordon...
- Karmic Jackpot: ...And then when the Joker has to abandon his campaign to save his step-son from Two-Face, Gordon backs out in disgust at Two-Face's actions before the Joker can do it, leaving the Joker as the Mayor of Gotham by default.
- Mama Bear: Bethany gets mad enough at Debbie's nonsense to consider killing her, and later hits Two-Face with her minivan before threatening to go to town on him with a socket wrench.
- Mythology Gag:
- Aside from the title, this episode also references The Killing Joke near the end, only with Joker (in the role of Batman) trying to stop Gordon from killing Two-Face (in the role of Joker).
- The opening theme song uses several quotes from other Jokers
. note - During the sitcom parody opening, Joker does the stair-dance from Joker (2019).
- The Joker takes his stepchildren to "Sherrill Robinson Elementary", taken from the birth name of Jerry Robinson, the Joker's co-creator and the first artist to ever draw the character.note
- During a bank-robbery/campaign interview, one of Joker's minions shoots another like in the opening of The Dark Knight, only for Joker to tell him that they aren't doing the "Reservoir Dogs thing."
- Another from The Dark Knight, Jim is being held at gunpoint by Two-Face, while the life of a young boy is on the line.
- Joker's campaign parade is very similar to the one in Batman (1989), it includes one of the same giant balloons, Joker is wearing a similar hat to the one he wore in that movie, and there's a legally-distinct version of "Trust" from that movie's soundtrack playing in the background. In this case, they throw actual money into the audience instead of the fake kind with his face on it.
- Penguin also ran for mayor of Gotham in Batman Returns and nearly won, except Batman prevented it. Joker wins here, and Batman doesn't do anything whatsoever.
- This isn't the first time Commissioner Gordon ran for mayor. The only difference is that he lost.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Gordon risks his life to save Joker and Benicio from Two-Face's death trap (a situation he is partially responsible for, admittedly). Joker repays this kindness by disbanding the police department, leaving Gordon out of a job.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Debbie is an Obnoxious Entitled Housewife with a stranglehold on the PTA at Sofia and Benicio's school who uses her power and influence to bully the Joker and his family, with all of the clues pointing to her doing it because they're Hispanic. It's also implied that she's a Bad Boss to her maids.Debbie: Better luck next year, or as my maid says, "Escupo en tu Comida."note
- Refuge in Audacity: The only explanation for the Joker being permitted to run for mayor without getting immediately arrested, but also getting away with campaigning by robbing a bank to redistribute the money to Gothamites on a socialist platform. Justin Halpern has even commented that Joker could really only gain traction as a candidate this way; because Gotham is a decaying cesspool dominated by the wealthy, an outright anti-capitalist message would probably appeal to the average voter.
- Shout-Out:
- The introductory opening of Joker and his family parodies the opening sequences of many family sitcoms — Full House in particular.
- Joker wonders whether one of the interviewed Gothamites compared him to David Spade or David Tennant. Eventually, he decides that it was probably David Boreanaz.
- As described above, Joker has to remind a minion that they aren't doing "the Reservoir Dogs thing".
- Two-Face responds to the above with Sum 41 lyrics.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Debbie plays this role.
- So Unfunny, It's Funny: Joker's kitchen apron reads "hi hungry, I'm Dad."
- Stab the Salad:
- While at home, Joker appears to be maniacally butchering someone as his face is splattered with blood, only for the camera to zoom out, revealing that he's bludgeoning a steak with a meat hammer.
- Joker's public rampage ends with him holding a gun at a hostage point-blank, only to reveal it's actually a promotional "Joker for Mayor" flag gun which doesn't hurt them. The Joker then cheerfully announces he's running for mayor.
- Take That!:
- Joker admits that out of all the things he's tried, meditation was one of the most effective things he's tried "before the app started charging."
- Sophie's history teacher apparently blamed the extinction of the dinosaurs on the fact that they didn't have religion.
- A subtle one. The theme song includes a reference to every live-action portrayal of The Joker, except for DC Extended Universe and The Batman (2022), but more likely due to him barely having a role in the latter.
- Tempting Fate: During his debate with the previous mayor, Gordon boasts that if he's lying, God should strike the mayor down. That's exactly what happens, later revealed to be a result of Two-Face poisoning him.
- Too Dumb to Live:
- Debbie seems to get a kick out of using her power and influence to keep Bethany and her kids beneath her in any way she can, keeping them out of the same Dual-Immersion Program she is putting her own kids through. Keep in mind that she knows that Bethany is dating Gotham's #1 psychopath and will even rub her victories directly in his face.
- Even Two-Face finds Gordon's trust in him ridiculous.Jim Gordon: I trusted you.
Two-Face: Why? Why do you keep trusting me? My name is Two-Face. I almost feel like you're trolling me. Being Two-Faced is what I do. It's pretty straightforward. I kidnap kids. I poison mayors.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: The Joker becomes the mayor of Gotham in the end. Granted, he's motivated by giving his family the support they need (and to spite Debbie), but he's still a lunatic with a body count. Hell, the first decision he makes after Gordon forfeits but before he's even sworn into office is to dismantle Gotham's entire police department. Though, considering just how corrupt and incompetent Gordon and the Gotham police can be, he may have a point.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Debbie tells Joker that the only person who has the authority to expand the Dual-Immersion Program is the Mayor of Gotham City. Since he had just died and it was still election season, it's here Joker gets the idea to run for Mayor.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Two-Face says the trope name when confronting Gordon about how he spent the money on his ad campaign.Two-Face: You've got to be kidding me. You wasted $400 million on ads! And another million on custom Pez?
Gordon: People love Pez.
Two-Face: No one loves Pez. - You Said You Would Let Them Go: Two-Face threatens to kill Benicio unless Joker drops out, then tries to kill both of them anyway after Joker agrees with no hesitation, deeming Joker a continuing threat. He even lampshades that Gordon shouldn't be surprised since he's literally called "Two-Face".
