Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Batman #7For 86 years, Batman and the Joker have had one of the most definitive comic book rivalries. Although the Clown Prince of Crime has been a constant of Gotham City for decades, a major status quo shift has arrived that will shake the very core of the arch-foes’ classic relationship.
In recent issues of Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez’s new Batman series, it’s been revealed that Arkham Tower has seemingly developed a brand-new technology to rehabilitate the criminally insane for good. Now, the preview for this week’s Batman #7suggests this could very well include The Joker himself.
Joker’s “Patient X” Would Like To Meet With Batman
Confirmed in the first few preview pages for the upcoming Batman #7, it’s confirmed that Arkham Tower’s mysterious “Patient X” is indeed The Joker himself. Rather than being held in Arkham Asylum and laughing in a straitjacket like the old days, Arkham Tower is implementing cutting-edge technology to cure the root of what made Joker the iconic supervillain he is today.
Thanks to a device known as the Crown of Storms created by Arkham’s Doctor Zeller, Joker has been undergoing experimental neurological treatments designed to suppress his violent compulsions and literally rewire the darkest impulses in his brain, “calming overstimulated regions and exciting understimulated ones,” seemingly explaining why Joker’s “Patient X” was so uncharacteristically docile in the previous Batman #6.
By all accounts, it looks as though the Joker has been cured of his criminal insanity and is now asking in this new preview to meet with Batman himself, his greatest rival/closest friend.
Has The Joker Been Cured? Will Batman Be Convinced?
There’s no way this conversation will be simple in the upcoming Batman #7. Even if the treatment appears to be effective, Batman has years and years of proof that Joker is the definition of chaos and unpredictability. It would likely take an awful lot to convince Batman that his greatest and most dangerous foe is truly cursed.
Furthermore, it’s quite possible that the Crown of Storm might not work all the way, giving Joker a great level of focus and clarity while maintaining his sadistic nature. Who knows, perhaps this attempt to cure Joker will instead create a new kind of Clown Prince the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
Sure, The Joker’s currently suspended in an isolated float tank connected to various tubes right now…but what if he were to escape?
However it all shakes out, it stands to reason that the full issue will give us a better idea whether this is a legit Joker transformation, or an elaborate manipulation. Furthermore, if the Crown of Storms does work as intended, what does that mean for the rest of Arkham’s patients and all the other criminals that call Gotham home?
There’s also Arkham’s Doctor Zeller to consider, the device’s creator overseeing Joker’s care, who also happens to be a brand-new love interest for Bruce Wayne. All things considered, DC fans should expect Batman’s upcoming conversation with Joker to be one of their most significant and potentially redefining of all time.
Batman #7 releases on March 4th from DC Comics.
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Bob Kane, Bill Finger
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Batman: The Brave and the Bold