Those editorial types at DC have form for being lax when it comes to promises concerning fatalities. Apart from the few inexplicable deaths/returns in the early years, The Joker is one character that nobody in their right mind would consider killing off properly. He's the crown jewel of Batman's rogues gallery, the Clown Prince of Crime, one of the most iconic villains in comic books or otherwise. Killing off The Joker would be a totally idiotic move, and his place as the Dark Knight's arch enemy would be impossible to fill. Which is why DC figured it'd make a great shocking twist to do just that with 2001's Last Laugh story. Having been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, the Joker makes one last ditch effort to destroy the Caped Crusader, brainwashing the other inmates of his prison into conducting a huge, super-powered riot which demands the intervention of the Bat Family. Before the comic had even begun, DC was promising that the series would culminate in The Joker's death, remaining six feet under if not permanently then at least for a good while. Turns out nothing of the sort happened. In fact, the climax of the Last Laugh miniseries had Nightwing seemingly beat the Joker to death in Arkham Asylum after discovering what he thought were the remains of Robin, a stunt orchestrated by the villain to try and force Batman's sidekick to break the family's "no killing" rule. Except you turn the page to discover that he wasn't dead, that the brain tumour had been fake all along, and absolutely nothing changed.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
