WGTC Weekly Throwdown: Battle Batman! Joker Vs. Bane

Matt: Joker

“It’s simple, we kill the Batman!”

Is it that simple though? Numerous masked villains have tried over and over again on-screen, yet the Caped Crusader still lives to fight another day. Most recently, Talia Al Ghul and Bane tried to blow Gotham up with a devastating high-tech bomb, foiled once again by Bruce Wayne’s tenacious ability to climb large walls and seemingly teleport from deserts to cities. But honestly, what a rubbish plan, resulting to a timer and suspense. It’s all well and good, but too many holes were left open, and too much was left riding on the bomb’s execution. If it were up to me, I’d prefer The Joker’s maniacal plan from The Dark Knight over the botched work in The Dark Knight Rises, and don’t worry, here’s why.

Chaos. Unmitigated, unpredictable, uproarious chaos. The Joker wants “the Batman” dead, he wants Harvey Dent to suffer, and he wants Gotham to run red with blood, pretty much for the hell of it. As The Joker said, he’s just a dog chasing a car, but wouldn’t know what to do if he caught it. Honestly, what’s not terrifying yet genius about that? A makeup wearing terrorist with a cult following, access to Gotham’s underworld, and patterns no one can see coming?! Bane and Talia gave Batman an ultimatum – find the bomb, save Gotham. That’s pretty much it. The Joker on the other hand could stir up trouble without warning, and pretty freaking violently as well, with with NO remorse. Those are the people you should fear most – brilliant sociopaths who do wrong out of boredom, spreading havoc like a deadly plague. Bane is evil, but The Joker stood for so much more terror, using the darkest methods of rationale and execution to actually make people morally question the wrongs being committed.

Which brings me to my next point, The Joker is a man to be feared by all. Knowing Gotham’s seedy nature, The Joker strung together all the biggest and meanest ringleaders behind Gotham’s biggest crime syndicates and presented a common goal: killing Batman. Get rid of the Bat and Gotham is theirs for the taking. Sure, Bane unleashes a prison full of inmates amongst the city, but those are unpredictable wild cards you can’t really control. The Joker on the other hand singled out professionals, dirty dealers who knew how to stay off the radar yet still get the undesirable jobs done, and do them well. Sure, no criminal is to be trusted, but wouldn’t you want the business type over a knife wielding drifter? But who would cross The Joker anyway, after performing numerous “magic tricks” which presented his very stern and focused approach. Either you’re on board, or you’re dead. At a psychopathic whim.

The Joker took to the streets of Gotham City as a new hobby, wanting Batman dead for shits and giggles. Why else would he burn all that money? It’s not about the fame and fortune for him, but the sick, twisted desire to bring anarchy and shake the system, by any and every way possible. How do you track a mastermind who doesn’t even know his own next move? All Batman really had to go on was dead body after dead body, Joker card by Joker card. Keep them guessing, right? That was The Joker’s great, and most successful skill of all.

As far as Nolan’s antagonists go, follow the funnyman if you want the best plan of attack against Gotham City.

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