Batman #17 by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artists: Greg Capullo
Publisher: DC
Release Date: February 13, 2013
Mild Spoilers
After Scott Snyder showed that there was still room to expand Batman’s universe with freaky new villains in his stories “The Black Mirror” and “Court of Owls”, it was only a matter of time before DC’s most talented writer addressed the Caped Crusader’s iconic foils. Snyder returns with the 4-chapter “Death of the Family” event, a harrowing look at The Joker that concludes today in Batman #17. DC marketed this story as a spiritual successor to “A Death in the Family,” the 1989 event that featured the Joker beating Robin to death with a crow bar, a fatality voted on by readers. But this arc delivers something far more intelligent than another bloody publicity stunt; Snyder deconstructs one of the greatest villains in the history of modern fiction, creating a chilling classic.
The plot asks what would happen if the Joker learned the secret identities of Batman and his crime fighter family, including Bruce Wayne’s biological son Robin, Red Robin, Red Hood, Nightwing, and Batgirl. The clown prince wiping a Bat pawn off the board is a sensational hook, but the far more compelling element is the villain’s motivation. And that focus is what makes this story so deliciously insidious. As Snyder explained to Paste, his Joker occupies a special role in the world of Batman: the court jester. He presents the worst news of Gotham to his Bat King in the most humorous way possible. In this case, Joker informs Batman that his grown family has made him weak, preventing him from cleansing his city of its innate evil. Taking his analogy literally, the Joker warps Arkham Asylum into a horrific medieval castle where the Batman attends his last family reunion before his archenemy threatens to burn his lieutenants alive.