#so the joker staying alive as a pissing contest between him and the righteous bat is a weak story

[vikingpoteto]

you mentioned it'd been awhile since you read that arc with babs talking about killing the joker (last laugh) and the max humor in the situation is that's in issue #3 and Dick is like where does it end Babs we can't kill. And then in issue #6 Dick thinks the Joker killed Tim and Dick beats the Joker to death. like idr Helena or somebody gives the Joker cpr as if somehow starting his heart will uncave in his diaphragm lmao

god, that's frustrating. See, I wouldn't mind that as a plot point if it was intentional or at least addressed. It makes sense that it's easy for Dick (or Bruce, or Tim, or anyone really) to say that they have to be better than that and then not follow through when emotions are high.

I don't mind suspending my disbelief and accepting characters surviving impossible situations if it meant a more interesting story, but the Joker surviving means that Dick doesn't have to examine his actions - and that WOULD make for an interesting arc since Dick is a really passionate and sometimes impulsive person.

I know comics are obsessed with keeping the status quo because changing it would mean they can't keep publishing the same character forever but the Joker went stale about 50 years ago and he brings nothing interesting to the story. The only reason he's alive is plot armor otherwise a random person with a gun would have killed him already. Hell, one of his goons would've, if not for being pushed too far, they would do it for self-defense.