The following article contains spoilers from Batman/Superman: World's Finest #8, on sale now from DC Comics.

Superman's new sidekick managed to prove himself today by saving the lives of several miners during an attack by the Key. He played such an important role that the Key returned to his partner, the Joker, and informed him about the new hero towards the end of Batman/Superman: World's Finest #8 (by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain, and Steve Wands). This piqued the Clown Prince of Crime's interest and seemingly set him on the path to torture, and possibly kill, Boy Thunder.

While this isn't unexpected behavior for the Joker, the timing of it is fascinating. This was well before Jason Todd became a part of Batman's life. As such, Boy Thunder would be the first sidekick the Joker ever targeted specifically. This could even explain why he developed such a dangerous relationship with the Robins. However, there are potential consequences for this considering the unstable nature of David's powers, perhaps having something to do with why no one mentioned him before now.

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At the mention of Boy Thunder's existence, the Joker seemed really excited by the prospect of going after him. Maybe after so many defeats at the hands of Batman, the idea of going for an easy win by targeting an inexperienced hero was too tempting to pass up, and this seems to be the beginning of a pattern of behavior. The Joker could have targeted Boy Thunder, and then, enjoying how much easier it was to break him down, decided to repeat the process with the Robins.

Considering how emotionally fragile David is at this point, it might have even been too easy for someone as twisted as the Joker to destroy him. That could lead to why he went after the Robins next, preferring an easier challenge, but still wanting some resistance. If so though, then Jason Todd can partially attribute his deadly interaction with the Joker to Boy Thunder.

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Joker Plans to Attack Boy Thunder

Unfortunately, this issue heavily implied an early demise for Boy Thunder. There has to be a reason why no one has brought him up in the present day, and he's clearly no longer active in the superhero community. This could mean that the Joker did succeed in killing David -- maybe even in a horrifying way. It would explain why Superman and Batman haven't spoken about him -- it's too painful to remember how badly they failed him.

Or, a more concerning possibility is that the Joker's psychological attacks broke David emotionally. The exact limits of his powers are still uncertain and emotional reactions can cause them to go wildly out of control. David might have been pushed over the edge and killed himself and countless other people in the process. There are already a lot of hints to suggest that there is a darkness to him that others are overlooking due to the nature of his trauma. If the Joker succeeded in destroying David, then he might have triggered one of the Earth's biggest disasters.