WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from "Punchline: Chapter 3" in The Joker #3 by Sam Jones, James Tynion IV, Mirka Andolfo, Romulo Fajardo Jr. Ariana Maher, on sale now.
Anyone who survives being around the Joker as an ally has to be tough. It's the only way they can survive being near someone so dangerous. Since her debut, Punchline has certainly demonstrated that she has the grit to tough it out in the worst of conditions. But at the end of the day, she's still a human being.
And in Joker #3, this very human villain went up against one of the strangest metahumans in Batman's rogues' gallery, the whale-woman Orca.
After being imprisoned following the Joker War, Punchline was summoned by the Queen of Spades, the de facto leader of her section of the prison and the Royal Flush Gang. But she vastly underestimated what kind of a person Punchline is. She's not some random crook; she's a young woman fanatically devoted to the idea of the Joker. And it was not recognizing this that led to Punchline decking the Queen of Spades in her own cell, injuring and humiliating her.
However, mistakes were made on both sides. Punchline thought that would be the end of it, underestimating the pull her opponent has both inside and outside of the prison. Knowing she couldn't handle Punchline in a fight, she arranged for Orca to be brought into their cellblock to act as the Queen of Spades' muscle. She then loosed Orca on Punchline and the results were brutal.
In moments, Orca not only threw Punchline through a bathroom stall but then proceeded to slam her into the floor before knocking her out by hitting her over the head with a sink. It was quick and brutal, but it certainly reminded readers that even though Orca, from a glance, is one of Gotham's sillier villains, she is still a major threat to any person unfortunate enough to cross her path.
Orca first debuted in 2000's Batman #579 by Larry Hama, Scott McDaniel and John Costanza. Born as Grace Balin, she was a gifted marine biologist who was injured in a tragic accident. When her experiments to repair her spine began yielding results, she injected herself with her formula. But it transformed her into a walking talking Orca, with the added benefit of granting her the physical traits that come along with such a dangerous animal. She has enhanced strength and stamina and can easily able to kill an average human being if given the opportunity. The reason she's never struck out so big is that, in comparison to someone like Batman who is at the peak of human physicality and a trained fighter, Orca really doesn't stand a chance in terms of skill.
This is why she was able to so easily handle Punchline. As dangerous as she is, Punchline isn't on the level of people with more experience than her. Batman can handle Orca as an equal, but Punchline can't handle either of them on an equal playing field. She needs to game the system to win, which is why she poisoned Batman during their first encounter and why she'll most likely need some other, more inventive way to deal with her latest enemy.
But Orca's powers are a reminder that sometimes, no matter how ridiculous a villain's gimmick may be, they are still extremely dangerous.
Even though Orca is not someone most people take seriously, the fact that the Queen of Spades turned to her when she needed muscle indicates that some people do recognize the value of her abilities over her appearance. It was a value Punchline failed to recognize when she first caught a glimpse of Orca in the mirror and made a fish joke immediately. Now, the only one laughing is Orca.