LitleWiggle
Since: Feb, 2013
07/12/2015 00:00:00
Persobally, I don't think people said that being crippled took Barb's strength as a person, but that she was crippled to further two male character's story lines. I think THAT is why Alan Moore regrets it so much, myself.
Otherwise, Killing Joke is one of THE best Batman books. I think that if you REALLY want to get Batman and the joker, it's just required reading.
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Perhaps the most strangely human Batman story
I think, despite a lot of Alan Moore 's Creator Backlash, there is a lot of really great, really clever stuff sprinkled through this book. And after years of both controversy and celebration, I figured I should give my take on why this story works.
It's almost wasteful to try and sum up this story, most modern comic fans know it. Joker reflects on his possible backstory, cripples and sexually exploits Barbara Gordon, tries to drive Jim mad and he and Batman may or may not do this forever. Or just until one kills the other.
The quiet nuance I think this story has is the way all the characters really are people more than they are the characters we've been reading for years. Jim is off duty for the day. Barbara is just a quiet librarian. No one ever calls Batman Batman or Joker Joker. And by some understanding, Joker wasn't always a monster. He was once a man, and part of him still is a man. He doesn't have superpowers, doesn't have the stare of Cthulhu: no matter what he does, he can't force Gordon to go mad. And by the same token, no matter how they both hate the position they're in, Batman can't bring Joker back from madness. That's the real brilliance of The Killing Joke to me, and I think that's a huge part of the appeal.
That same token is why I'm okay with what happened to Barbara. Nothing about what happened to Barbara Gordon takes away from her strength to me. The moment she wakes up she isn't asking about her body or her legs, she asks what happened to her father. She's less concerned with herself and more concerned with a loved one. If that's not strength, I don't know what is. The scene is exploitative, but that's because it's a terrible person trying to hurt someone else. If Disposable Women was a trope at the time, I'd call it a nasty response to it, a statement nothing about it is okay... Moore just has such a huge problem with Misaimed Fandom, unfortunately.
It's sad. It's merciless. It's a hell of a ride. But it really does work for me. Like a lot of Moore's work, it's a great look at the darkest and most hopeful places life and experiences can take us. Killing Joke is about realizing these gods and evils are just very extreme people. And it's brilliant at that.