Batman and Joker have had fascinating relationships in every continuity. That said, they may be more alike than ever in the mainline Batman comic book series’ current run, especially following one alarming development.
Batman And Joker Are Two Peas In A Pod
Bruce Wayne’s relationship with Alfred Pennyworth is incredibly interesting in the mainline Batman comic series, considering that Alfred is dead and yet Bruce is now having full conversations with him, while Alfred himself is depicted as if he’s a Star Wars Force Ghost. It’s obvious that this is due to Bruce being unwilling to part ways with his dearest friend and confidant.
Batman #7’s Batman and Joker confrontation convincingly argues that Joker is now sane, or at least able to better regulate his emotions, after being treated by Dr. Annika Zeller and her revelatory Crown of Storms device. Here, a seemingly reformed Joker remarks about how lonely he knows he believes Bruce to be, understanding that he, too, is lonely. However, the latest issue of Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez’s Batman run suggests that Joker may no longer be all that lonely, and maybe in the same way as Bruce having his companion with him at every waking moment.
Who Is Talking to Joker In Batman #12?
At the end of Batman #12, after readers meet the Bat-Family’s new majordomo, the Society of the Midnight Key’s Verity Pennyworth, we see that someone is talking to Joker from the tank he’s suspended in. Whether this is an actual character who’s managed to stay hidden in the room and undetected by Arkham Towers’ advanced security measures, a figment of Joker’s imagination, or a lingering and unkillable fragment of Joker’s psyche from before he was rehabilitated remains to be seen. Moreover, it’s unknown whether this voice that has suddenly begun speaking to Joker harbors malicious intent.
If this voice is only in Joker’s head, it’ll make him and Bruce even more alike than they might’ve been before, with both of them hearing and conversing with people who aren’t truly there—granted, Alfred is a beacon of loving wisdom and guidance, while a voice in Joker’s head is likely to be insidious and attempting to reclaim his mind, not unlike the incorporeal Joker in Batman: Arkham Knight.
Batman will now be entrenched in Poison Ivy-led Batman: Bad Seeds DC crossover event, with the Batman series itself devoting two issues to it—issue #13 and issue #14. Depending on how committed Batman is to the two-part crossover’s story, this suggests that we might not receive any answers regarding who is talking to Joker until issue #15, which wouldn’t be released until at least November.
Nonetheless, there’s arguably no better cliffhanger that Batman could’ve left us dangling on. The solicitation for Batman #13 reads as follows:
A CRUCIAL CHAPTER OF THE BATMAN: BAD SEEDS EVENT!
Somewhere in the headquarters of the Gotham City Police Department, Vandal Savage hides a chemical weapon designed to kill Poison Ivy... but if Ivy dies, there will be no ending the bad night of Bad Seeds, for Gotham City or anywhere else.
No power. No comms. A heavily-armed private militia tasked with bringing him down on orders of the worst person in Gotham. All holed up together within an impenetrable fortress.
This sounds like a job for Batman.
Eisner winner Matt Fraction and superstar artist Matteo Scalera deliver a crucial chapter of the Batman: Bad Seeds event!
Batman #13 is scheduled to be released on September 2, 2026.
Created By
Bob Kane, Bill Finger
Alias
Bruce Wayne
Alliance
Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family
Race
Human
Franchise
D.C.
One of DC's most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world's leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
English (US) ·