BATMAN 13: First Impressions

It was past midnight and could not help myself.  Even when I have a few copies of BATMAN #13 reserved and waiting for me at home in Fla.  I had to read it so I bought a digital copy and OMG!!!

You have to start reading this Joker story arc.  I was a little concerned with the characterization after all the radical changes they have made to Joker since his reboot, but after reading BATMAN #13 I guess I can put my fears aside because Joker seems to be in good hands with Snyder and Capullo.

This is definitely no pre-52 Joker but is not a Ledger Joker remake either (thank God for that).  Like Snyder  had promised, this Clown is all Joker at the core but reinvented with a nightmarish twist and so far I am pleased with wha I’ve read in this first issue.

SPOILERS AHEAD…BE WARNED!!             SPOILERS AHEAD…BE WARNED!!

1.  It is a normal day in GCPD until a “Forget Me Not” delivery truck arrives with a very special package…

Truth be told.  Joker’s wa arrival to GCPD  was quite theatrical.  From theirony in the name on the truck to the whole set up, it is all just a big performance for the Clown.  He enters GCPD and delivers his own brand of mayhem and death leaving corpses behind and torturing Gordon along the way.  This Joker is much more personal as he asks “How is Barbara?” and teases Gordon with a hide and seek game.

2. Everything returns to the begining.

And when I say the beginning, I mean the 1940’s beginning, as Joker announces he’s going to take down the mayor in a scene that reminds readers a lot of Ledger’s “Are You the Batman” video scene from TDK.  The Joker has spoken, but that does not mean he has to follow the same old script he did so many years ago. This Joker is improvising, renewing his act andthis time it is not the Mayor, but the Mayor’s protective escort who get snuffed.  Batman is left in the fog, as he himself realizedhis was not what he has expected. The Clown has become really unpredictable.

3.  Harley as the Red Hood…just delightful.

She’s wearing the clothing, but she’s not the heart.  It is the Joker’s voice all through the re-enactment at the ACE Chemical company.  Joker is bringing everything back to the beginning and Harley serves as messenger that things are now very different as she stated…”this is not my Mr. J” anymore.  This scene makes much more sense after reading the backstory which is Joker’s reunion with Harley…and the new chemistry that comes between them.  Now if this is not Joker….where the hell is the Clown?

4.  The ending… totally AWESOME!

Joker makes a visit to the Wayne Manor and finds Alfred Pennyworth an unwilling victim.  Makes you wonder if Joker DOES INDEED know Batman’s identity or he’s simply selecting random victims he knows are somewhat related to the Batman…

5.  The backstory…literally terrifying.

Forget the Harley-Joker chemistry of the BTAS, this is just humilliating and taunting.  Joker plays with Harley in every level possible, beating on her emotionally and mentally…all this without a single punch or push.  Joker reminds Harley HE MADE HER to his image, and that there was no emotion or physical attraction in the process of creation.  Joker is totally detached from any emotion as he focuses on Harley as part of a plan, much like a wheel is part of a car.  I am sorry for those of you who were expecting a…more romantic reunion, but I think this Joker is more attoned to his reality within the comics.  I am not saying they should not be together…is just that this Joker has become much more than one can really handle, even Harley.

I personally think that Snyder and Capullo have been able to bring forth the best of all posible worlds (comicverse, Nolanverse, Arkham City, maybe even more) and mix it in a pot to reinvent a Joker that respond to his surrounding world with such a violence that I don’t know if even Batman knows what he has in his hands.  And it promises to get even more personal.

It is really early to say if this story arc is going to be successful or not since many Joker stories started with so good intentions only to disappoing on the execution and conclusion, but while speaking with Mr. Snyder briefly during a signing today, he promised  that there is much more to come.  That Joker’s revenge has just started and that the Clown’s mind was a “strange and dark place to be”.  From previous interviews and what I have just read in this issue, I think he does have a grasp of the Joker’s psyche, and this might just be one of the most interesting exploration of the most iconic villain of all times, and this might change Batman deeply as he is unable to keep Joker far, but instead…like a cobra, the clown keeps hissing and attacking at the Achilles’s tendon of his enemy.

I am willing to follow Snyder and Capullo on this journey so far.

Can’t wait to read what happens in the next chapter….oh, and don’t forget the tie-ins! Let’s see where all this takes us.