Batman: The Killing Joke- about as no win as it gets

Oh fanboys. We really are the greatest example of people who don’t know what we really want. We want something, but we only want it a certain way. If that certain way is not met in even the tiniest degree, then the rest is garbage. We have really yet to grasp the idea that beggars can’t be choosers.

A classic example of this is the animated adaptation of the Alan Moore comic Batman: The Killing Joke. With the recent surge of popularity that comic book heroes, particularly Batman, have been getting, as well as a renewed interest in seeing animated movies about these beloved characters, we all knew it was only a matter of time before The Killing Joke was at least mentioned, if not produced. With various stories revolving around the Red Hood, the Suicide Squad and even the New 52’s Court of Owls storyline, many people were wondering if we were ever going to get a movie based on The Killing Joke. Well, before long, our questions were answered. Not only were we getting a full movie, not only was it going to be animated by the same team as the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, but it was also going to feature the voices of who many of us see as the OG Batman and Joker, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. In addition, it was also confirmed that the movie would be rated R, which at the very least meant that they wouldn’t subtract anything from the dark, violent, graphic and downright bleak source material.

Here’s the problem, the graphic novel is actually not that long. If you wanted just an adaptation of the book and nothing more, you’re essentially looking at an episode of the television series mixed with Hannibal. In an effort to be fair, let’s play a little devil’s advocate with the studio. Keep in mind, this is a graphic novel everybody has an opinion on, so naturally they are going to have some strong things to say about the movie.

-So we make it longer, we expand the story, flesh out the characters, add a few twists and turns to make the mystery more intriguing and-

-Yeah, I’m gonna stop right there. See, while that may seem like the logical route, and probably would have been the best choice, you have to consider that you are talking about comic geeks. Ones that are pining over a novel that is 30 years old. You saw how intense my hatred was over Batfleck being a trigger happy cold blooded killer in BvS. Imagine how a less reasonable person would feel if you suggested that to them in regards to The Killing Joke.

-Okay, so what do we do? We can’t touch the actual novel itself, and we sure as crap aren’t going to spend this much money on making essentially a standalone episode of the show. How about we tack on a prologue at the beginning?

-Okay, we could do something involving the Joker, I mean this is afterall his story, we could get a history of his and Batman’s relationship through his eyes, maybe we can gain some sympathy for him.

-OR… Or we could add a whole subplot involving Batgirl and her relationship with Batman. Keep in mind, Robin is not around in this story.

-Wait why are we doing that? Barbara has little to do in this story. Her one scene is her getting shot.

- True but if that’s all we give her to do in our movie, then people will get pissed off at us and call us sexist. And there are the Batgirl fans to think about.

-First of all, feminists hated the graphic novel as it is, so you are walking into a no-win already. Second, why would a batgirl fan want anything to do with The Killing Joke? It’s not gonna end well for them either.

-Well we need to remind people of who she is as Batgirl and why this is such a tragic moment.

-True, it is a tragic moment, but we don’t need reminding. How many comics, movies and even the video games exist that show us how badass she is and the relationship she has with the Bat family? Hundreds? Maybe thousands? We don’t need reminding that she is an important aspect of the Bat canon. Hell, the show did a pretty good job of cementing her relationship with Batman and Robin.

-Exactly. We are going to draw from her character in the Animated Series.

-Well, I’ve heard of worse options

-Remember how she had a thing for Bruce Wayne in the Animated Series?

-….. Vaguely. It wasn’t really explored THAT much. Keep in mind, most of the time, their relationship is seen more as being paternal than anything else. Sure, she has a functioning and close relationship with her father, Jim, but Batman is also something of a surrogate father.

- So how about we have them hook up in the prologue?

- You’re losing me.

- Well, you said that you remembered her having a thing for Bruce in the animated series. We can expand on that to say that at one point, they did have a relationship but it went south because of who they are as people and therefore she can have a stronger effect on Batman after she gets crippled by the Joker. We’ll write the scene so it’s more of a built up release, a heated moment of passion. Like when 2 normal people have a one night stand, or when a couple takes things too far too soon in the relationship. The effect will be less about the act itself and more about the fall out. It’ll be as much Batman’s fault as it is Batgirl’s fault. And then afterward one of them will want to talk about it, while the other doesn’t want to. Both are clearly kicking themselves over it, and are not really sure how they are going to get past it. Since things were left on a sour note las time they saw each other, that’s what will add depth to the tragedy of her shooting.

-First of all, I said I vaguely remembered it. How well do you think the other fanboys are going to handle it? Secondly, I think everybody shipped her with one of the Robins, usually Dick Grayson or Tim Drake. I mean, I see what you’re going for, and I can appreciate the effort, but that’s not the way I’d do it. And I think you are going to piss off some die-hard fans with that. Keep in mind, people always see them as being more father/daughter, so there is some serious Oedipus complex vibes going with this approach.

-But what’s the point of adapting something if we aren’t allowed to put our own spin on it? Like you said, we can’t add anything to the original story itself, we can’t make a thirty-minute movie, and if we aren’t going to put some kind of creative stamp on it, then we might as well not make the movie and just let people stick to the graphic novel, if that’s all they really want.

-I guess what we can take from this is that you’re screwed no matter what you do. Either you keep things the way they are, and get criticized for just sticking to your guns, or you try to add something, and you get criticized for butchering the lore.

Sidenote: It should be noted that audiences reacted differently to this addition. When the crowd saw it at comic-con, they were calling for the heads of all involved. When we saw it the other night at a fathom events screening, people had more time to digest and wrap their heads around the news. That being said, while we still weren’t on board with the Batman/Batgirl scene, we could at least appreciate what they were trying to do, even if it wasn’t the most ideal way.

As far as the actual story of The Killing Joke itself, it’s about as faithful an adaptation as you can get. The script is almost word-for-word from the book, some of the shots are ripped straight from the panels of the comic, combined with beautiful animation and the voice work of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. However, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t without room for improvement. There are moments that could have used more time, the two greatest examples being when the joker first emerges from the chemicals and sees his new reflection in the water and finally cracks. Keep in mind, this is the joker at the end of his “one bad day” that finally made him who he is. He has gone through loss and failure and in his desperation has gone off the deep end before he actually goes off the deep end. So the moment when he rises from the chemical waste, only to see the drastic transformation that he has undertaken, there could have been a few beats between him seeing his reflection and that first laugh as the joker. The other moment is when Commissioner Gordon tells Batman that he wants things done “by the book!” This is a man who just went through torture, both physical and mental, and humiliation. He has every right to want the joker beaten to a pulp and shot, but he never waivers in his convictions, and is mentally sound as ever, always grounded in his faith in the system, in humanity and that “our way will work”. So when he says the line “I want it done by the book!” it could have used some more dramatic weight in its delivery.

With all that said, the movie does deliver in some ways while coming up short in others. The animation, like I said, is beautiful and if I was going to hear anybody voice Batman and The Joker, for this adaptation, I wouldn’t have wanted to hear anybody but Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. To many of us, they are the definitive voices. It doesn’t matter which comic I’m reading, if I’m looking at Batman and the Joker, those are the voices I always hear when they are talking. If you liked The Killing Joke when you read it, then this should live up to your expectations. If you didn’t like the book, then this won’t do much to sway you.