Tom King’s run on Batman is easily one of the Dark Knight’s most contentious runs. Even to this day, a lot of people are still very vocal about how much they hated this run, which is perfectly understandable in some ways. This run had the betrayal that was the fakeout wedding after months of DC convincing us it was going to happen, the pacing really fell apart in the later half, and Alfred died. However, for as many problems as this run has, it also had a lot of good moments that get overlooked because it’s attached to the worst part. Specifically, “The War of Jokes and Riddles” storyline from issues #25 to #32 is one of Batman’s best arcs, and here’s why.
The War Between Gotham’s Worst
The story began with Batman and Catwoman lying on a bed. He had asked her to marry him, but before she could give an answer, he had to tell her about the War and how it broke him. Back when Batman was in his second year the Joker forgot how to laugh and didn’t find anything funny anymore. He killed and tortured countless innocents, but nothing was funny to him. He left a trail of clues about his whereabouts whenever he abducted a comedian, who he forced to recite their acts to fruitless effects, but before Batman could solve the case, the Riddler did. Riddler went to Joker, and said that the reason Joker couldn’t laugh was the same as why he felt no passion for riddles anymore; fighting Batman always ended the same way, and that made things boring. Riddler proposed they team up and kill Batman together, free themselves from him, but Joker instead shot Riddler and walked away. This was the start of the war.
Joker and Riddler gathered Gotham’s worst supervillains to each of their sides. Under each of their leaderships, one insanely unpredictable and the other impossibly methodical, they turned Gotham City into their personal warzone. Batman did everything he could to stop them, but there were too many of them, too dedicated and dangerous. Gotham was divided between the two sides, and the only person who both sides worked with was the man who would become Kite Man. This is the story that gave us the iconic Kite Man origin where he was a petty thief and informant, pressured by Batman into helping the GCPD, only for one of the criminals to poison his son with a kite. The grief-stricken father became Kite Man, and made ‘hell yeah’ his catchphrase, the thing his young son said that he worried would send him to hell.
One of the coolest aspects of this war was how Batman fought it on all fronts. Not only did he fight his personal crusade and work with the GCPD, but Bruce Wayne stepped up to fight for Gotham. He brought Joker and Riddler together and told them he would give whoever could convince him one billion dollars to bribe the other side’s people and win. In the end, Bruce supported Riddler, and Batman helped the master of riddles dismantle Joker’s army until only Kite Man was left.
The Ending That Broke Batman
Eventually, Kite Man was captured and turned on Joker, leading Batman and Riddler straight to him. Riddler obviously tried to kill both of them, but as he always does, Batman took both villains down. Riddler broke down when the Joker still looked despondent, screaming that all of this had his plan to make the Joker laugh. Riddler had killed Kite Man’s son and manipulated him into becoming the gag of a villain that would be Joker’s last supporter. Riddler orchestrated Gotham’s bloodiest war that was ended by Kite Man of all people, and demanded that the absurdity of it all make Joker laugh. After realizing that all of this pain and death was for a stupid joke, Batman snapped. He grabbed a knife and tried to kill the Riddler, only for the Joker to stop it. Batman tried to go against everything he stood for for the first and only time, and that made Joker laugh. The story ended with present-day Bruce saying that he wasn’t any different from the villains he fought, but Selina said that he still was, and if he was manipulated like that it didn’t matter. He chose to be Batman, to be better, and he kept making that choice and nothing else mattered. Bruce proposed again, and she said yes.
What makes this story so great is the psychological aspects it dives into. Even beyond the incredible Kite Man rework that took him from a nothingburger villain to a beloved character with his own TV show, the set up of a Joker who forgot how to laugh is easily the most original thing done with the Clown Prince of Crime in the last two decades. This story had endless potential, but there are still some problems with it, as with all stories. We don’t see as much of the War itself as I feel we should, mostly just the impact of it in moments of peace. This is also a very dialogue-dense story in line with Tom King’s style, so if you don’t like his writing you probably won’t like this one. Still, it brings so much to the table. This is a dive into Batman’s darkest moment, how he considers himself the ultimate failure, but shows how passionately he fights and how, despite what he says, he is a hero.
Again, this story is not perfect, but that’s part of the point. This is not the objective retelling of these events, it’s Batman telling the woman he loves about one of his biggest regrets. It doesn’t focus on the action because, to Batman, the most important parts of this story were the quiet moments, when he failed to save the city. He’s fought hundreds of fights, but this war overall stood in his mind. It shows how Batman broke in a way that is terrible to see and makes you want to shout how Batman wouldn’t do that, but then immediatley fires back by saying he is still a hero. He almost made a terrible mistake, but he didn’t, and ever since he’s proven a hundred times he will never do that again. This story calls itself a war, really it’s Bruce baring his soul, and being accepted despite how he expected to be ridiculed. It’s not a war story, it’s a love story. Joker laughs because he thinks he’s finally gotten something over Batman, something new, but Catwoman reminds him that the only thing that matters is that Batman will always be a hero. It’s a fantastic read that has a phenomenal premise and a great exposition into how Batman views himself, ending in a beautifully heartwarming proposal. Even if the wedding itself was never allowed to work out, this moment in isolation is still magnificent.
“The War of Jokes and Riddles” is a great but underrated story, but which Batman story do you love and think deserves way more praise than it gets? Let us know in the comments below!
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