This latest issue of
BRAVE AND THE BOLD was a different kind of pairing. Traditionally, the book has been about pairing two unlikely characters in pursuit of a common goal. This time, doctors at Arkham Asylum call on The Atom to save the life of one of their patients: The Joker.
J. Michael Straczynski crafts a story in which the Atom reluctantly takes it upon himself to be the Joker's savior, and even allows the opportunity for his death in a couple of places. The story picks up steam when The Atom is in the middle of the lightning storm of synaptic activity in The Joker's brain, and The Harlequin of Hate has his thoughts projected into the mind of Ray Palmer.
What we see is an interesting bit of pathos from tThe Joker as a child. It seems that many of the DCU writers are moving away from KILLING JOKE as the best example of The Joker before he went perma-white, and we see a truly sadistic and troubled child, a murderous young man, and an irredeemable supervillain. Straczynski injects some humanity in The Joker by showing us some of his long-held beliefs about himself and the world around him, and his place in it. JMS' Joker sounds remarkably like Heath Ledger's, and even manages to recreate one of the best scenes from THE DARK KNIGHT in the pages of this issue in a completely appropriate fashion. There's a new penciller in this issue filling in for Jesus Saiz, and while his work isn't as timeless as that of Saiz, it still stands up and renders this story clearly.
As an issue spotlighting The Joker, it's a very strong work. There haven't been a whole lot of comics showcasing the Joker as a child, so the take is interesting and makes sense with how that child ended up using his adulthood. I wouldn't mind a little more clarity about The Joker's continuity, though. THE KILLING JOKE is still in continuity since Barbara Gordon is still paralyzed, and that story depicted the pre-Joker as an all around good man. Then there was the BATMAN: CONFIDENTIAL story showing a crazy pre-Joker, and now this story spends a small portion showing him as a young man with homicidal tendencies. A bit more clarity on the issue, while not important, could serve the narrative a bit better.
However, my strong recommendation for this issue still stands. If you're at all a fan of the Joker, than chances are you will love this issue. The other interesting thing about it is that The Atom may have been affected by The Joker's state of mind even more than he lets on, by "agreeing" with him in the end.
