The Killing Joke
The 1988 arc Batman: The Killing Joke is arguably the greatest Batman and Joker story that has ever been told and, in that respect, it would be absolutely fantastic to finally see it adapted on the big screen.
The only issue would be that it depicts Joker’s origins, so it would have to be a prequel of sorts, but that would hardly lessen its appeal. It sees the villain starting off as a family man and comedian who is driven mad and becomes The Joker after a single bad day.
It’s Joker at his most despicable, as he kidnaps Barbara Gordon, shoots her, paralyses her, kidnaps her father Jim Gordon, puts him in a circus cage and makes him watch her laying helpless and naked – all with the intent of proving that even the most sane men can go crazy if they’re given the right push.
Batman is pushed to the brink of his moral limits and, at the end of the story – when he and Joker actually share a laugh together – it’s ambiguous as to whether he actually tries to kill him or not. It all makes for a very interesting story.
