Batman: The Killing Joke - 10 Disturbing Moments We Can't Wait To See

6. Crippling Barbara Gordon

The Killing Joke Joker
DC Comics

Whilst The Killing Joke saw Jim Gordon at the centre of The Joker’s demented plan, it’s poor Barbara Gordon who ultimately suffers the most from the whole ordeal.

As Babs, who at this point was operating as Batgirl, answers the door to what she believes to be one of her friends, she’s greeted by a crazed face that she knows all too well: The Joker.

Without even saying a word, the Clown Prince of Crime mercilessly shoots Barbara from point blank range, shooting her through her spine and paralyzing her as a result. It goes down as one of the most despicable acts that The Joker has ever committed since making his comic book debut back in 1940.

To many, The Killing Joke is the book that turned The Joker from a petty, jovial criminal to a cold-blooded, callous maniac as it took the villain’s actions to a whole new level. Key to this was the crippling of Barbara Gordon.

For years, many have wanted to see whether this moment would ever make it into a movie, and now we're getting it - even if it's in animated form. Many thought that Barbara getting crippled would be just a step too far for any film to do justice to. Given the R-rating of the film, it looks like we may finally get to see this horrible act play out in all of its clinical glory.

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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.