Knight Terrors: The Joker may be taking the big swing as far as nightmares go, and that’s largely because of how Joker’s mind is so twisted. Matthew Rosenberg and Stefano Raffaele introduced Joker’s nightmare last month, and it’s anything but frightening to anyone who works a 9 to 5 in a cubicle. Or maybe that is your nightmare, but it also took a big swing and killed Batman most comically and shockingly imaginable. With the second issue out today, can Joker figure out he’s in a nightmare, and when he does, will he want to leave?
Knight Terrors: The Joker #2 is excellent comics, with an extra-sized format to maximize the hilarity and weirdness of a Joker nightmare. This issue reveals that a new Batman has come to Gotham, who sure does look like Joker. After he kills a few bad guys, we smash cut to Joker’s bedroom in the early morning. He wakes as if from a nightmare (or is it a dream?) and finds he has a wife and a son. Raffaele draws a great reaction from Joker, whose mouth is agape and in shock. The more ordinary things get, the more Joker falls into a calmer and more alarming state of mind.
There is much to enjoy in this issue, with multiple scenes highlighting Joker either losing it even more or the nightmare itself playing tricks on him in the best ways. One scene has him interviewing Batman’s rogues to work at his job, and in another, he loses his cool on a baseball field. You’d think murdering people would elicit a response, but everyone shrugs and says he’s having a bad day. There’s a complexity here that’s not immediately evident on the page as you ponder why these events are a nightmare. Eventually you realize Joker is not getting a rise out of anyone, and in the night, fighting crime is two of his worst nightmares.
Is Joker’s wife supposed to look a bit like Lex Luthor?
Credit: DC Comics
The crowning climactic moment is a nice statement of utter horror for Joker. That’s the icing on the cake. Throw a cherry on top with the final page when Joker makes a choice literally nobody else will during Knight Terrors, and you have yourself a perfect representation of Joker. Rosenberg totally understands this character and writes him sharply.
My only gripe might be that this two-part story doesn’t factor much into the main event, nor is there much that changes in Joker himself. As a character study, this issue is whip-smart, but a little extra purpose would perfect it. So it goes with Big-Two events.
A lot works visually, like references to Joker stories via costuming or great pacing of scenes. A dinner scene between Joker and Bruce Wayne is fantastic, showcasing the stupidly long table they eat dinner on both sides. Humor is also found in captions, like in one full page splash splendidly drawn by Raffaele and colored by Romulo Fajardo Jr. that has Joker in a Batman costume monologuing like a brooding and nihilistic Batman.
I had so much fun reading Knight Terrors: The Joker #2. It’s a delight and tops the first issue with entertaining scenes and an interesting character study. This proves the event is a great way of exploring various characters in unique ways.
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