WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from "Punchline: Part 4" in The Joker #4 by Sam Johns, James Tynion IV, Mirka Andolfo, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Ariana Maher, on sale now.
The Joker's partner Punchline just proved to be as twisted as her beau in the latest issue of the Clown Prince of Crime's solo series. Her time behind bar seemed to take a downward spiral when the Queen of Spades had Orca imprisoned to bring Punchline to heel. But this powerplay was outmaneuvered when Punchline managed to turn Orca against the Queen of Spades and effectively take control of her entire gang. And this coup revealed how ambitious Punchline is and that she has the willpower and intellect to see her desires come to fruition.
When she was last seen, Punchline was ambushed by Orca, who had been sent back to prison thanks to some strings pulled by the Queen of Spades. From what was seen in the fight, Punchline was severely outmatched by the much more physically imposing Orca. It was then assumed that she was defeated by her foe, considering that she was later seen being carried unconscious out of the bathroom by Orca. However, this was all a clever ruse on Punchline's part. There was a moment where Orca held the sink aloft and Punchline asked her to wait and hear her out. But due to the sentence being cut short it was assumed that she never got a chance to make her pitch.
As it turned out, she did. Punchline was smart enough to recognize that if Orca didn't kill her this time, then the Queen of Spades would find a lackey who would. So the only solution was to take everything her rival had here and now. Punchline must have appealed to Orca's fury at being placed in prison again despite being on parole. Using that anger, she convinced Orca to turn on the woman who truly imprisoned her.
But that isn't even the most brilliant part of the plan. Punchline knew that the Queen of Spades loves to flaunt her power, so there was a solid chance that she would visit Punchline in the prison infirmary to gloat or outright kill her, which would give Punchline the perfect opportunity for an ambush.
And sure enough, the Queen of Spades did exactly that, thinking she had broken Punchline physically and emotionally. She didn't understand that anyone who could survive holding the title of the Joker's girlfriend is not someone to underestimate. Taking advantage of that, Punchline had Orca knock out the Queen of Spades.
While Orca was unwilling to kill her, the Queen of Spades' minions had no qualms about that as they pulled out some weapons to finish off their former leader. Punchline gleefully watched, now in full control of the Queen of Spades' resources.
This carefully thought out and brilliantly executed plan demonstrates why the Joker chose Punchline to be Harley Quinn's replacement. She isn't just some mindless follower who delights in the Joker's chaos, she is a calculating, independent creature. With just five minutes to reexamine her situation, Punchline managed to improvise a plan to seize control of the Queen of Spades' gangs based solely on the fact that she had hired muscle to attack her.
Punchline now has her own army to call upon, effectively replacing what the Joker lost following the end of his latest attack on Gotham City. And while those resources will inevitably go back to her boyfriend, Punchline has demonstrated an independent streak that could one day evolve into her becoming a criminal mastermind all on her own. There could come a day where she tries to strike out independently of the Joker and she now has the means to do so.