Is It True? - The Joker Dies at the End of The Killing Joke

Hey guys. So originally you would have gotten a Look Back at review for 1998's Mulan, what with the 2020 film of the same name that was going to be release this weekend. But with the Coronavirus and everything it was clear that wasn't going to happen, so instead you get this Is It True? post. And today's fan theory is did Joker actually die at the end of the shocking story Batman: The Killing Joke?

What is The Killing Joke?


Batman: The Killing Joke (or simply The Killing Joke) is a 1988 DC Comics one-shot graphic novel, written by Alan Moore (famous for stories such as Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?) and illustrated by Brian Bolland (famous for drawing Judge Dredd). It tells not only what seems to be the origin story of The Joker but how he also wants to drive Commissioner Gordon insane to prove to Batman all it takes is one bad day to make an ordinary man go crazy just like he did.





The Theory

The theory goes like this, when Batman and Joker are sharing a laugh he kills him. The reason being in the very last panel of the comic the laughter seems to stop, and it also looks like Batman is strangling the Joker or about to snap his neck. And if you watched the 2016 film abdaption, this scene is almost the same, only with the scene of Batman laughing just a lot longer than the Joker. Even famous comic book writer Grant Morrison (writer for All-Star Superman, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, New X-Men, and etc.) believes this theory, stating: "No one gets the end, because Batman killed the Joker. [...] That's why it's called The Killing Joke. The Joker tells the 'Killing Joke' at the end, Batman reaches out and breaks his neck, and that's why the laughter stops and the lights go out, 'cause that was the last chance at crossing that bridge. And Alan Moore wrote the ultimate Batman/Joker story [because] he finished it."

Is The Theory Believable?

Well folks it turns out this theory isn't true. During a Q&A with GoodReads, Alan Moore would finally clear the air about the last panels of The Killing Joke by saying "And David, for the record, my intention at the end of the book was to have two characters simply experiencing a breif moment of lucidity in their ongoing very wierd and fatal relationship with each other, reaching a moment where they both perceive the hell that they are in, and can only laugh at their preposterous situtation."

So that's going to do it for me. Come back on Thursday, April 2nd for a Look Back at review of season 1 of Harley Quinn. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.