The New DC Slate Needs a One Operation Joker Anime

James Gunn and Peter Safran recently revealed the first slate of movies and television series that will populate their DC Cinematic Universe titled “Gods and Monsters”, with tried and true heroes such as Superman and Batman set to receive films and oddballs including Creature Commandos and Booster Gold. With projects such as The Batman Part II and Joker 2 listed as part of the “Elseworlds” umbrella, there’s a perfect manga series that deserves an anime adaptation that paints the Clown Prince of Crime in a whole new light.

One Operation Joker is about as strange as a story could be when it comes to the arch-rival of the Dark Knight who became so popular that he was able to receive his own stand-alone film starring Joaquin Phoenix, and considering we recently had a comic featuring Joker having a “mud baby” thanks to a spell placed on him by Zatanna, that’s saying something. In this new manga series that debuted in 2021, Batman finds himself being transformed into a baby thanks to a freak accident wherein the Joker of all people has decided to raise him as his own, rather than immediately taking the opportunity to kill Gotham’s Dark Knight. Needless to say, the story is a bizarre one but could work well as a limited anime series.

The Joker: Anime Star

Unfortunately, this hilarious manga series is set to come to an end later this year, as the Joker’s run with parenthood will presumably end and see Batman return to his adult status as the protector of Gotham City. Of course, we doubt that should this be made into an anime series at some point, it would be the official version of the Clown Prince of Crime for Gunn’s new universe, but the “Elseworlds” banner allows for stories that take place outside of what Gunn and Safran have in store.

This wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve seen the Joker in an anime format as the animated film, Batman Ninja, saw animators from Japan transporting the Dark Knight and his major villains transported to feudal Japan and sporting new aesthetics to match their surroundings. 

Would you love to see this wild Joker take transformed into an anime? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of DC Comics.