Batgirl and the Joker have a complicated history, to put it mildly. But, the Clown Prince of Crime makes life hard for the hero again in this week’s issue of Batman The Curse of the White Knight. Jim Gordon is running for mayor in the title, and the Joker can’t help himself but throw a wrench in the commissioner’s plans. During a press conference, the villain decides to drop in and alert the public to some information.
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Joker proceeds to tell the whole world that Barbra Gordon is Batgirl. If that wasn’t bad enough, he also made some rather pointed remarks about the candidate’s infidelity and handling of crimefighting. Gordon then tackled the jokester before the situation could get any more out of hand. The villain had on a fake mustache and glasses to mimic Gordon’s own and a funny little cardboard box with a toy microphone strapped to the front.
Before that little intrusion, the commissioner was doing an adequate job of trying to rally the people behind his message. James Gordon has always been an everyman type of character because of his proximity to Batman and other superpowered beings. Batman doesn’t have any powers and relies on his training and equipment to save the day. Gordon doesn’t even have that to help clean the streets of Gotham.
Even more heartbreaking is the family’s talk about the events of the day. A father betrayed in the idea that his daughter couldn’t come to him for help when she needed it. Barbra upset because she just wanted to protect her dad from any supervillains that might have wanted to hurt her by getting to him. Batman swooping in and trying to disarm the situation and falling a bit short.
The trust between Batman and Gordon is baked into the character. Some versions play that trust up a bit to have the two as friends. Others decide to have the two merely tolerate each other. One constant between almost every version of the Dark Knight is the moment Gordon finds out that his daughter is a vigilante. This time the creative team really captured the rage and betrayal from all sides. The entire exchange is a tough scene and wounds like that don’t heal easily.
Next issue promises to bring some more punches as some of Gotham’s elite don’t want Batman to come forward and reveal his identity. Joker will be around again because he’s never out of the game too long. Azrael is back and ready to cause some havoc. To top all of that off, the pesky Napier Initiative still looms over all the proceedings. Batgirl might have been unmasked in front of the press, but Batman has so many things to handle in the meantime.
