Why doesn't Batman kill Joker? Because this.

Joker-Devil's Advocate story personifies how Bats can hold your life in his hand and end it whenever he pleases

Anyone agree?

Oh, look, it's THAT THREAD... AGAIN.

...so, I actually read that.

Batman delivers a moral platitude on how everyone pays for their crimes eventually, even though the state of the DC universe proves that to be completely untrue. The big shock at the end is likely to only bother the Joker for about five minutes until his next breakout. And the actual plot resolution hinges on the idea that a guilty man would willingly turn himself into the police and confess all of his crimes just because Batman told him to.

Not sure what the point of this was or how it contributes to Batman not killing the Joker.

edited 6th Jun '13 11:37:14 AM by TobiasDrake

Let me get this straight. The Joker was arrested for killing a bunch of people and given the death penalty. At the last minute, he was proven innocent, and so doesn't get the chair. Fair enough, not even the Joker should be punished for a crime he didn't commit.

...except what about all those other times he was convicted of mass murder? The fact that he was sentenced to death here proves he should have been executed long ago.

All this discussion of Batman makes me want to share a panel from one of my recent acquisitions◊. (Taken out of context, but the sentiment is there).

edited 6th Jun '13 2:52:04 PM by VampireBuddha

The Joker had somewhat of a hand in padding the evidence to make it look like he was completely sane.

Also Joker dying would be ensuring he receives infamy seeing as how the media (being a mix of useless and reliable) promised to do a movie on him and his death would be broadcasted.

edited 6th Jun '13 5:28:46 PM by Couchpotato20

...that's not what a martyrdom is. It would make him achieve a new level of infamy, but he wouldn't be a martyr.

@Tobias Drake

Ah, my bad. Got me terms mixed up.

EDIT:

@Your first post in this thread

My interpretation is that if Batman really wanted the Joker dead he could let it go if he wanted to. And if a similar event had occurred he could callously ignore it and watch the clown prince of crime get his just deserts.

edited 6th Jun '13 5:31:49 PM by Couchpotato20

Infamy's not a bad thing. They're planning to make a movie about the execution of the Joker, because a lot of people want to watch him die. That's not a Win for the Joker.

@Tobias Drake

Ah.

Well dude IMO story points in that direction that he would become infamous rather than get a negative portrayal. If he had gotten that movie it most likely could serve as a morale booster for other criminals in Gotham.

edited 6th Jun '13 6:30:41 PM by Couchpotato20

Depending on the Writer, the Joker is sometimes off his rocker enough to think dying as the most hated and despised man on Earth would actually be a 'cool testament' to his infamy. He can be very Card-Carrying Villain like that.

The Joker certainly seemed to believe that, but he's an idiot who completely fails to understand human psychology. His narcissistic opinion shouldn't be assumed to be accurate.

edited 6th Jun '13 6:53:10 PM by TobiasDrake

Joker seems to be very smart when it comes to assuming things about morally flawed people, but rather myopic when addressing the better emotions and reactions of people. He's a textbook example of Evil Cannot Comprehend Good.

edited 6th Jun '13 7:05:45 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

@Tobias Drake

True. But sometimes he does succeed at getting a person angry enough to kill him (like how he got Nightwing to kill him Joker The Last Laugh crossover event).

Also I don't think it would be just as Napoleon De Cheese put it: "The most hated and despised man on Earth",it would also leave a stain on the law system. Since on paper Joker is officially listed as "insane" and in this instance he is technically "innocent" (although past crimes say otherwise) someone who hadn't done anything would have been killed and in Joker's place the actual killer would have gotten off the hook.

edited 6th Jun '13 7:08:46 PM by Couchpotato20

Since it's still a man with an offense sheet the lenght of a train track, I don't think the common citizen would have been terribly angered at the legal system, other than it allowing the other killer walk free.

@Napoleon De Cheese

True, Joker being killed wouldn't but the other killer walking free would be a bit of a bitch for people. Especially, if some remnants of the crime remained.

Why was Joker screaming "NOOOOOO" at the end. Wouldn't he love knowing that it was Batman's devotion to the rules that kept him alive, and wouldn't he use that against Bats in the future? "You could have ended this long ago, Batsy, and now all my murders since then are on your head, etc"

Well the real reason Batman doesn't just kill the Joker is "better the evil you know" He knows how to deal with him and is worried if he dies he will come back worse, or something else will fill the void that is worse.

@Red M

I guess Batman is implying if he wanted to he could replicate a similar event which would get Joker placed in the same situation. Batman being Batman he has the resources to make it happen.

He probably would have if Bats didn't beat him to it.

You know, I just remembered hearing about a story that makes this one look like Sunshine and Rainbow's by comparison. I think it was a crossover event done around '00, where Joker infected a bunch of Supervillain's with Joker Venom. I never read the whole thing, but I remember reading in the DC encyclopedia that Nightwing beat the Joker to death, only for Batman to bring the Joker back to life by cloning him. If someone can confirm (or better yet, defirm,) what would be a complete and horrible travesty of a storyline... I wouldn't know whether to thank you, or beat you to death with a shovel. (And then clone you back to life for good measure.)

edited 6th Jun '13 9:14:20 PM by kkhohoho

No he just gave Joker CPR so Dick wouldn't have that weighing him down.

Ah. Okay-dokey. Still though; that kind of just proves the point. Batman has issues; Joker was practically already dead. All Bat's had to do was wait 30 seconds, not lift a finger, and the world would be rid of one of the worst menaces it ever saw. And yet, he saved him anyway. I think even Dick would have been willing to give up his self-reputation if it meant getting rid of the Joker once and for all.

Well again it might have been a better the devil you know deal. It certainly is in the new 52.

But anyone who's Genre Savvy should know the Joker won't stay dead, and when a villain comes Back from the Dead it's standard procedure to get revenge on the person who killed them. If Batman had let the Joker die, odds are in a few years he'd be back and ready to kill whoever Dick was dating at the time. By saving the Joker, Batman saved Dick a whole lotta Angst down the road.

edited 6th Jun '13 11:08:31 PM by RavenWilder

Actually, in a very recent story, Batman decided "fuck it" and tried to kill the Joker but he wiggled away.