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

3. Tormenting Gordon

The Killing Joke Joker
DC Comics

Bringing the action back to the present day, one of the most twisted moment of The Killing Joke sees Mr. J well and truly putting the screws to Jim Gordon.

With Gordon having been kidnapped following The Joker’s crippling of Barbara Gordon, the tale takes a truly dark turn as we’re shown a stripped, shackled Gordon forced to look at blown-up pictures of his naked, pained daughter as she lay helpless after the Harlequin of Hate’s life-changing shot through her spine.

And whilst Gordon is forced to view these horrific images, The Joker spends the whole time mockingly spouting a rhyme to Jim as he begs him to join him in his world of insanity, urging him not to get even but to get mad.

In a story full of somewhat taboo moments, The Joker making a stripped-down Jim Gordon view pictures of his naked, crippled daughter is one of the most extreme and unsettling actions that The Joker has ever carried out during his comic book history. Seeing this come to life in an animated feature should prove to be one of the most unsettling moments of a movie filled with heinous acts... and much like the initial crippling of Barbara, this is something that comic book fans have eagerly wanted to see brought to life over the years.

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.