Batman’s “final” confrontation with the Joker will have consequences that will effect the Batman family this year. (Artwork by Greg Capullo & FCO Plascencia; Property of DC Comics)
By: Jacob Elyachar
Warning! Spoilers are ahead!
Over the years, several villains have been successful in straining the relationships within the Batman family.
Bane in Knightfall, Ra’s Al Ghul in JLA: Tower of Babel, Black Mask in War Games and Dr. Simon Hurt and the Club of Villains in Batman: R.I.P. are among the villains that have successfully made a dent in the Caped Crusader’s superhero family.
However, the Dark Knight’s number one foe: the Joker, may have broken the Batman family forever.
In the final chapter of Death of the Family, Batman faced the Clown Prince of Crime for potentially the last time. The issue started when the Joker showed off his handiwork where he revealed that he drove Alfred insane and personally “cut off” the faces of the Batman Family.
All of this turned out to be a ruse as Batman took off Robin’s bandages and revealed that the Joker did not cut off their faces. While the Bat Family tried to recover from the Clown Prince of Crime were recovering from the attack, Joker left them a little surprise as they were exposed to a high level of the Harlequin of Hate’s laughing gas and drove them insane.
While Batman’s allies were having their own edition of Super Smash Brothers, the archrivals squared off for the final time and just as the Dark Knight was about to deduce the Joker’s identity, the Clown of Crime fell to his “death” with his rotten face completely ripped off.
Unfortunately, while the Joker’s rampage was over, Batman’s closest allies began to drift apart from him.
This issue was an amazing reading experience as Snyder’s script perfectly delivered several memorable lines from the Clown of Crime while Capullo’s artwork was scarier than ever before. Some of the best scenes include the first appearance of the Jokerized Alfred and the Batman family’ faces. It would probably shock a lot of readers.
Final thoughts and Grade: Overall, Batman #17 was one of the greatest issues in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on the title. It perfectly wrapped up the saga and created a new status quo that will change the Dark Knight’s life forever. A+
