Top 5 Batman and Joker interactions of all time

Batman: The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Image Via DC Comics/Warner Bros.)
Batman: The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Image Via DC Comics/Warner Bros.)

Batman and Joker have had the most iconic rivalry in the comics. Both have consistently duked it out in comics for the last 80 years and have become quite the iconic hero and villain. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the Batman and Joker have had one of the most interesting relationships in the realm of comics.

Both the years have had some really interesting encounters. The Joker is great at breaking the Dark Knight to his most basic psychological level. These five moments in particular capture their relationship quite well and do a great job at fully portraying these characters.


Top 5 Batman and Joker interactions include The Dark Knight Rises, The Killing Joke, and more

5) Profiling the Riddler (The Batman)

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Joker is great at getting into the people's heads, and this is exactly what he does over here. In a deleted scene from The Batman, this scene showcases the Caped Crusader going to the Joker to get help in profiling the Riddler. What follows is Joker doing exactly that, while getting into the superhero's head and making him uncomfortable.

The Joker makes great comparisons about how the Dark Knight sees himself in the Riddler as both are doing the same thing, but the methods are different. This, of course, makes Bruce mad. What's great is that this one scene establishes that these two characters had already had a long history by that point. They both had been doing this for a while, and somewhere around his first year, Bruce captured the Joker and put him in Arkham.

Fans instantly loved Barry Keoghan's laughter and the great maniacal psyche he brought to the role. Not to mention the great Hannibal/Clarice dynamic that was present here, which put a really fresh perspective on these characters.


4) Joker's death (Batman: Arkham City)

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This scene in particular highlights the interesting relationship between these characters as Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy give a pitch perfect performance. After the Joker attacks the Caped Crusader, which leads him to drop the cure, he lies down and gives up. The most interesting part about this scene, though, are Bruce's final words to him.

"Even after everything you have done, i would have still saved you," says Gotham's savious as Joker lies dying right in front of him. That one line instantly sends chills down the spine of any fan as it showcases just how far the Dark Knight would go not to break his one rule.


3) One final banter (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns)

Batman injured over Joker's Dead Body (Image via DC Comics)
Batman injured over Joker's Dead Body (Image via DC Comics)

While the previous two entries on the list saw the characters not throw hands at each other, this one is an all-out war. In Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, fans see the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Gotham's final battle.

The fight sees the Joker push the Caped Crusader to his absolute limit as he kills a few innocents, and gravely injures the Dark Knight too.

What's interesting here is that fans see the Caped Crusader himself fed up with the Joker as he says, "All the people i have murdered... by letting you live!" This line really says a lot about the mindset Bruce himself is in right as he gets close to murdering the Joker.

Thankfully, he doesn't break his rule, rather Joker snaps his own neck and sets the Dark Knight up. It also sets up a great showdown between Batman and Superman later in the comic.


2) Interrogating the Joker (The Dark Knight)

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After Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes go missing, the Joker gets interrogated by the Dark Knight to give up their location. The scene is an all-time great for fans as the Joker gets into his head and starts talking about morals.

There are a lot of great moments here, but the best is when the Dark Knight loses it and starts the beatdown on the Joker. What the scene does is explain the psyche of Bruce very well, and how the Joker compares him to the cops, because well, he isn't one. This particular scene does great at questioning Bruce's moral code and how many people have died because of it. And yet, the main question remains: Should he cross the line and give in?

Both Heath Ledger and Christian Bale gave it their all in this scene. From Ledger's maniacal laughter to Bale's unfiltered rage, this scene is perhaps the best characterisation of these characters.


1) The ending (Batman: The Killing Joke)

One final laugh (Image via DC Comics)
One final laugh (Image via DC Comics)

Alan Moore's legendary comic, The Killing Joke, is one of the best characterisations of these iconic characters that fans will ever see. After a great fist fight, both have a conversation in which Batman says that he will provide the Joker with help. But sadly, it is too late.

The entire comic features some really jaw-dropping sequences where Barbara Gordon gets crippled and the Joker tortures James Gordon. But the most iconic moment has to be the Joker's final joke. It's about two lunatics in an Asylum, and it is funny to be honest, but it explains the mindsets of both Bruce and the Joker very well. It ends with both of them laughing away in the rain, and that's all there is to it.

To this day, fans have been trying to decide what happens at the end? Did Bruce finally lose his mind? Did he kill the Joker? No one knows and it has been left up for interpretation.

Ultimately, the one thing that fans love the most though is the deconstruction of these characters. That's one thing that Moore excels at.

Edited by Abu Amjad Khan
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