Batman: White Knight's Joker Is A Crazy Ex-Boyfriend

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman: White Knight #1 by Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth, on sale now.

We've all seen that one couple – that couple who seemingly hate each other, are constantly fighting, maybe even hurling objects at one another as easily as they lob insults. Yet at the end of the day, the two combatants are oddly as inseparable as peanut butter and jelly, if just as messy, embracing the drama in a coldly comfortable embrace, while in the distant recesses of their minds fearing the tentative unknowns of a separated and drama-free life.

Devoted, that is, until they're not, when the day finally and inevitably comes where one decides that they've had enough insanity for one life, and decide to take that plunge into unknown waters, free of that familiar toxicity. But with that plunge often comes the launch of a new attack – free from the bonds of a relationship, a new salvo of warfare is no longer motivated, or limited, by contempt-bred familiarity. Instead, comes a new war with higher stakes – stakes that often go as high as the former partner's figurative, or literal, destruction.

Batman and The Joker: The Ultimate Dysfunctional Couple

Yes, we've all seen that one couple, if not in real life then in the pages of some of our favorite DC Comics stories over the past seven-odd decades. Batman and The Joker have long embodied the relationship of that mismatched twosome, a pair of opposites seemingly attracted by their outward disparities – Batman's dark, grim, but ultimately heroic nature has always been perfectly countered by The Joker's comedic but sinister villainy. The Dark Knight has plenty of other villains in his rogues gallery, and The Joker has gone up against other heroes from time to time, but like a pair of married couples switching partners for a single night out, it never really gels. Batman versus The Joker has always been the main draw – the attraction that readers want to see the most, in all its violent and dysfunctional glory, with Batarangs and Joker smoke bombs flying.

Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth deliver just such a superhero vs. supervillain pseudo-lovers' quarrel in Batman: White Knight #1, but it's not just any quarrel – it's the final battle between two unhappy partners in a domestic relationship that's long been broken. It's a game-changing confrontation that heralds the inevitable and dreaded conclusion that no one wants to face – as one side goes too far, it forces the other to make permanent and lasting move. However, despite what you might have expected, here it's The Joker making the first pivotal move – an attempt to cure himself of his insanity, to essentially try and light a spark in their dynamic – but it's met with resistance by Batman. Like half of a couple taking it upon themselves to unilaterally change in an attempt to better a relationship, Joker's actions inadvertently only worsen it, ultimately leading to what can fairly be described as a superhero/supervillain divorce.

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It's Not Me, It's You

The analogy isn't simply one the reader is expected to extrapolated from Murphy's story -- it's expounded upon by The Joker himself, and at great length, while he's getting himself pummeled by Batman. While Murphy and Hollingsworth's art show Joker taking a beating physically, the script makes it clear that he's taking one emotionally, as well, as he calls out Gotham's Dark Knight on his own shortcomings during the course of their "argument" – a common ploy in many a relationship spat. The Joker even cites Batman's unwillingness to start a family – a misguided and uncalled for low blow that sounds like an uncomfortable dialogue blaring through the wall from the apartment next door.

The Joker and Batman's discourse – or more accurately, The Joker's tirade while Batman takes a breath and rears back in between punches – covers anecdotes from troubled relationships that read like the transcript from an episode of Dr. Phil. The Joker speaks of holding back his true desires for fear of ruining the static "relationship" he and Batman have long "maintained." The Joker's attempt to cure himself is akin to one half of a couple turning to drugs to change the dynamic of a relationship, only to predictably make things much, much worse. And The Joker insanely equates Batman's hatred for him as love, dressed up as the notion of hate or love being irrelevant, as long as one party feels extreme emotion for the other. Such arguments have been lobbed across dinner tables for generations, and like the disinterested half of the union who's trying to watch Sunday's football game, Batman largely shrugs it all off.

I Never Really Knew You At All

It takes two to argue, though, and when a desperate argument falls on deaf bat ears, then last-resort action needs to be taken. With The Joker forever changed and defeated, both physically and emotionally, and their final battle as "Gotham's power couple" now over, The Joker has no choice but to move on. And as anyone who's ever suffered through a broken relationship and survived its demise knows, there are essentially two ways to do so – one of them is to dust oneself off, recover from the emotional scars, and reclaim one's life as best one can.

The other way, though, is far more devious, vengeful, and makes for a much more entertaining soap opera – or comic book miniseries – that focuses on the revenge of a rejected partner. Now cured of his insanity, the resulting clarity allows The Joker to plot his vengeance – that is, his vengeance on Batman. Like any jilted lover, whatever unspoken love he might have felt has transformed, admittedly or not, into nothing more than obsession, wrapped in the guise of serving as Gotham City's savior, but motivated by anger and denial. Don't be surprised if, along the way, Joker ends up torching the Batmobile, burning all the photos of Batman he clipped from the Gotham Gazette, and incessantly disparaging his foe on social media.

The Joker's new "relationship" with Gotham itself, serving as its protector, and attempting to poison Batman's own relationship with his friends – the G.C.P.D. – are all rooted in one very troubling motive: The Joker's newfound wish to destroy the person who cast him out.

Face it – Batman: White Knight's Joker stands to be become everyone's ultimate and most-feared villain: That crazy ex who now lives solely to ruin your life. Beware, Batman – once you get out of jail, that is.