Joker Verifies His Love for Batman From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives #1
From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - J. M. DeMatteis, Rick Leonardi, and Rico Renzi's new miniseries explores an other reality of what would have happened should fans have voted for Batman's second Robin, Jason Todd, to survive the events of the A Death in the Family (1988) storyline.
Batman follows Joker as part of his investigation after his savage attack on Jason. This hunt takes place in a thrilling boat chase across sea. Joker says something romantically coded during this fierce encounter, so supporting the hypothesis that Joker has romantic thoughts for Bruce.
As the Dark Knight advances, Joker begins to rant angrily about how the Bat just won't let him alone, abusing Batman's name. Still, he backpedals, blurs, saying, "Oh, who am I kidding? almost simultaneously. If he stopped trying, my heart—as it is—would break! Given such feeling and heartbreak discourse, it's hard to read Joker's statements in a strictly platonic sense. Joker is, as always, the exception while most of Batman's enemies would rejoice if the Dark Knight stopped after them.
Three Jokes Show Batman's Obsession/Love For the Clown Prince of Crime on Full Display
From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives #1 isn't the only comic to have a romantic charged statement from Joker supporting the hypothesis of Joker's love for Batman. Joker delivers a key statement with the intensity of a lunatic in Batman: Three Jokers by Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok, Brad Anderson, and Rob Leigh: "I want you to know why I'm inventing a new Joker, Batman. For I wish to mean more to you. More to you than others. One could read this phrase as additional eerie evidence of Joker's intense fixation on Batman as a romantic one.
The effect of Joker's love for Batman in fan culture
These kinds of remarks have sparked the controversy among the fans over whether The Joker sees Batman as romantic. Such conversations influence fan creations as well, generating many BatJokes pieces—BatJokes is the common ship name for Batman and Joker. For example, a fast Pinterest search using terms like "BatJokes, "Bruce Wayne/Joker," or "Batman/Joker" turns up hundreds of excellent fanart pieces illustrating the relationship. Likewise, searches on sites like Archive of Our Own (Ao3) expose more than 3,200 pieces committed to this couple. These numbers highlight how romanticly many people view interactions between Joker and Batman.
Final Thought
Although Joker is clearly fixated on Batman, a Bat-Family member understands the Clown Prince of Crime actually loves him. Though the degree of Joker's amorous sentiments for Batman is still up for debate, it is indisputable that his love for the Dark Knight is far from platonic. Recent events in From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives #1 as well as earlier published Comics like Three Jokes keep the fire stoked and increase the likelihood that The Joker's fixation with Batman can be seen from a romantic perspective.
