Two members of the Junior Supercriminals join the growing roster of cultishly devoted followers of the Joker.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from Robins #2, on sale now.
Despite his obvious insanity and evil, the Joker has a way of attracting a level of dedication that not even Batman can match. He almost always has an army of thugs at the ready. Some follow because his crimes pay the bills, but others have more personal reasons for falling in stop with the Clown Prince of Crime. These select few believe in the Joker, love him, some of them even want to be him.
In Robins #2 (by Tim Seeley Baldemar Rivas, Romulo Fajardo, Jr., Steve Wands), two of Gotham City’s newest criminals, Giggles and Guffaw, fall into the latter category. Not only are they devoted to the idea of the Joker, they wish to become him. They are the latest in a long line of followers, each showing a level of devotion that brings the city increasing tragedy.
The first most obvious of these followers is now free of the Joker’s madness: Harley Quinn. She is the original true believer in the Joker, propping herself up as his girlfriend and following him out of blind, mad love. Over time, she finally awoke to the reality of the abusive situation and cut ties with the Joker. Alas, others have not been as lucky.
After Harley came Punchline, yet another follower claiming the title of “Joker’s Girlfriend,” albeit for different reasons. Whereas Harley was in love with the man himself, Punchline was obsessed with the idea of him. She thoroughly believed the Joker had some grand plan for the world, to tear down society and expose its corruption. Put another way by Harley, Quinn deluded herself into believing the Joker had a heart; Punchline fooled herself into believing he had a mind capable of dreaming of something beyond simple anarchy.
Giggles and Guffaw seem to fall more on the Harley side of the scale. While they did not desire a romantic relationship with him, per se, they did believe in a Joker capable of making emotional connections. As a result, they put up with whatever abuse he could dish out in the hopes it would make him laugh.
In some ways, their love for the Clown Prince went more profound and more obsessive than either Quinn or Punchline. They not only wanted to be with him, to earn his love, they wanted to BECOME him. They succeed in this desire thanks to the use of holographic technology.
It is startling to see others become so worshipful of a mass murderer, but a pattern emerges when examining each case. All of these followers believe the Joker represents something more than the reality of their icon. Harley thought there was a decent man inside. Punchline trusted he was a genius ahead of his time. Giggles and Guffaw loved that he only ever did things his way. They attributed something special, something they want or need, to the Joker despite all evidence to the contrary.
The Joker loves only the Joker. Everything and everyone else — except maybe Batman — isn’t even a blip on his radar. Despite that reality, he still attracts the broken and discarded, pulling them along in his wake. Sadly, it’s unlikely that Giggles and Guffaw will be the last of these lost souls.
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