Batman: The Enemy Within Will Let You Shape Joker's Origin and Purpose

Telltale's Batman is about to let players shape the origin story of Batman's most infamous [...]

By Matthew Hayes

Telltale's Batman is about to let players shape the origin story of Batman's most infamous adversary: Joker.

You've never been this in control of the Batman canon before. We love Telltale Games because their narratives give us a unique opportunity to reach out and shape the stories of some of our most beloved characters and worlds. Batman: The Enemy Within, the first episode of Telltale's second season Batman narrative, is launching next Tuesday. You can scoop it up on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Steam right now.

In the first season of Batman: The Telltale Series, we got to decide whether or not Batman and Catwoman become acquaintances or something much more among other decisions. The imminent second season promises even more Joker.

In the first season we saw Bruce Wayne and the Joker form an interesting relationship. Without spoiling absolutely everything, we'll just say that a mysterious crazed man with a smile on his face helped Bruce Wayne in a huge way, and Bruce owes him big time. What will that mean when episode one, The Enemy Within, drops on Tuesday? Lead writer James Windeler, in an interview with the PlayStation Blog, lets us all in on the significant impact that players' choices will have in this pivotal season. Season One spoilers ahead:

Joker's Impending Origin

joker

"Beyond Riddler," Windeler says, "there's another major impending threat in play this season, something that we seeded in Batman: The Telltale Series with a character by the name of 'John Doe.' Internally, we refer to John as our 'Proto-Joker' — a man on the brink of madness who helped Bruce escape Arkham Asylum, only to come back this season with reason to believe that his 'friend' Bruce not only likes him but also owes him a favor."

"We want fans to know that their relationship with John Doe (and eventually, the Joker) is something they'll be affecting with the decisions they make throughout the season. As Batman and Bruce attempt to stop the immediate threat to Gotham, John will be watching your every move and learning from your choices. By the end of the story, you will have created your own version of Batman's classic nemesis through your interactions."

Now that's a fascinating prospect. Just how far can we go, and how big of an impact can we have on Joker? Does he have to become an enemy at all? Could he potentially even become an ally, and if so, does that mean that Batman has to become a villain?

Chime in below and let us know whether you would ever side with Joker. Could this be the biggest shakeup in Batman's narrative history?

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