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The Killing Joke (2 Points)

 1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?

Well, there were definitely parts that I did not vibe with, but there were also parts I enjoyed. As a whole, I think it does a really good job of story-telling and creating complex characters, as well as the timing for the story was very spot on. However, I had a problem with the major 'lesson'. I'm not sure that lesson is the right choice of word, but I did not like that despite all that the Joker had done just in that night alone, Batman was still willing to help him in a peaceful manner. He traumatized two people who may not be able to walk the world in the same way that they had before this night, yet Batman wants Joker to have a better life. It almost seems like this is for a selfish reason too, since his driving force in his decision is that he could die if he does not help him.

2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss what elements of the story with which you were able to connect?

I'm not sure people were meant to connect with this story. Certainly, people have gone through trauma, just like the joker has, but to say that you could connect to him because you also have trauma is connecting yourself to a very bad person who took his trauma and used it as a weapon. I also do not think Batman is a very connectable character as well, since he has such a high standard of morals and he is in a position of being very rich and this superhero that people are intimidated by.

3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you choose; what changes would you make?

I think the only other medium that could work well for this story and this set of characters is animation. When brought into realism, it loses its fictional touch, and whatever sense of relatability that some viewers have could easily be thrown out the window upon seeing them in real life. I would probably change the story line however so that his crimes target Batman specifically or people that have wronged Joker, rather than innocent people.

4. In what ways does this story differ from the typical expectations the reader might have for a superhero story?

I think this story does stray away from the 'every-bad-guy-must-be-brought-to-justice' trope that I see more often in Marvel. It gives the bad guys more complexity, and with that, gives the hero more of a reason to believe they can change. Batman, rather than trying to take Joker down by any means necessary, tries to give him the benefit of the doubt and come to an agreement with him. We see Joker in his maniacal self try to consider the possibility even. It is a nice change of pace compared to typical superhero stories. I wish, however, that it was under different circumstances and did not have to involve the violence and degradation of the two innocent people, especially the girl since it seemed more like a reason to draw a naked girl.

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