10 Best Fakeout Endings In Comics

3. The Joker As Gotham's "Eternal Prince"

Batgirl James Gordon Jr
DC Comics

Having been absent for over two years following the events of 2012's A Death of the Family, the Joker resurfaced in magnificent fashion in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman: Endgame.

When the disguised Clown Prince of Crime comes face to face with Bats, he lets the cat out of the bag that he is an "Eternal Prince" who has tormented Gotham City for centuries. For Jim Gordon and Batman, this bold claim is given further credence when they discover Joker in countless images from Gotham's past.

Despite it sounding impossible, the excellent storytelling of Snyder makes the reader - in addition to Gordon and the Dark Knight - start to believe that the Jester of Genocide's claims of being immortal are actually genuine. This is only further emphasised when the Joker rises up after being 'fatally' shot by Gordon. All of this plays out over a backdrop of Gotham City being infected by a new strain of the Joker Virus, and we're led to believe that Mr. J really has got the better of Batman this time out.

The World's Greatest Detective would eventually deduce that his long-time rival is actually full of bulls**t and that the Joker has merely beefed up his immune system by plying himself with the Dionesium drug. As for the images of Joker from decades past? That was all merely a well constructed ruse.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.