#I Am A Gun and TMWSL tie in thematically TOO WELL

[distort-opia]

Alright excuse my compulsion to situate everything within a timeline, but. I love that now there's more than one story taking place before The Killing Joke that establishes Bruce empathizing and relating to Joker, and that Zdarsky clearly took inspiration from the one before his own for this aspect of Bruce and Joker's relationship.

The events of Zdarsky's I Am A Gun take place while Dick is a boy and still Robin, early in Batman's career... and so does Darwyn Cooke's amazing-showstopping-spectacular Batman: Ego. In Ego, we get another instance of Bruce's mind being split in two; there being a separation between Bruce and Batman, with the embodiment of Batman arguing for Joker's murder:

-- Batman: Ego

But Bruce says no. He says he isn't a killer:

Forever obsessed with how Darwyn Cooke so efficiently conveys how Bruce understands Joker, and relates to him. He knows Joker chose madness to deal with tragedy, that he was faced with the same choice Bruce was, and that Bruce could've become him. Because that's what Bruce lapsing into laughter and acting like Joker shows.

But the story is centred around Bruce in Batman: Ego, while in I Am A Gun... perhaps the best line to summarize it is Bruce thinking to himself, "Is the Joker broken too?" in Batman (2016) #128. It's not just the two facets of Bruce vs. Batman in this story, it's also the two facets of Joker: a human being, and a monster.

The conflict in Bruce is mirrored in Joker, and I am kissing Zdarsky on the mouth for acknowledging it and portraying it so beautifully. There's a monster in Bruce made out of hollow anger, and there's a human being crying for help buried inside Joker:

-- Batman (2016) #130 -- I Am A Gun

"He'll fix you." And Martha being the one to say this, the one who becomes Joker herself in a different world, a different Universe... perhaps it's not intentional, but it feels so relevant. In Flashpoint, Thomas Wayne is a Batman who kills. In New 52's Earth 2, he's a Batman who killed Joker himself. And in Bruce's head, it's Thomas Wayne arguing for Joker's death.

But I just love that keeping both I Am A Gun and Ego in mind, knowing that these thoughts and emotions were there for Bruce for years, makes The Killing Joke... even more poignant.

Bruce has been thinking about this for a long time. And all of it coming to a head with the iconic offer for help, with the one time Bruce offered Joker his hand despite what Joker had just done...

-- Batman: The Killing Joke

[clenches fist] It's beautiful.

#long post #and this not even mentioning Bruce going up to Joker's cell and showing him the playing card as revealed in DotF #which takes place chronologically around Year 2 as well #or freaking Going Sane which takes place before Dick came along #fascinating how all these stories shape the early years of Bruce's relationship with Joker. BEFORE Jason's murder #because that changed so much for Bruce. for both of them #I'm also going [WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN] about Batman 130 itself and Bruce thinking of Joker before ''dying'' #I Am A Gun and TMWSL tie in thematically TOO WELL #identity crises! identity crises everywhere #hnng. anyway. I'm sorry I had to exorcise the Thoughts #batman #batman meta #bruce wayne #bruce wayne meta #joker #batjokes #batjokes meta #my meta #batman: i am a gun #batman: ego