Of all Batman’s villains, the Joker has always been the most consistently dangerous. Rarely have other Batman villains become world-ending threats like the Joker, and no one else has pushed Batman to the limit. So it is quite surprising that in his Robin years, Nightwing Defeated the Joker so effortlessly that Batman just had to retire.
The surprising defeat of the Joker is revealed by Batman himself in Grant Morrison and Lee Garbett’s Batman #682. While talking to Alfred, Batman admits that after chasing the Joker, Dick challenged him to a laughing contest. This challenge has the surprising conclusion of Dick easily beat the Joker, leaving him so out of breath that he was wheezing and unable to escape.
Unfortunately, this “battle” happens off-screen, so readers can’t see the likely incredible laughing contest that took place. But that Dick Grayson even attempted such a feat proves that Batman may just need to give up on fighting the Clown Prince of Crime – or at least consider alternatives to how to deal with it.
Nightwing took advantage of the Joker’s unpredictability with laughter
Batman #682 by Grant Morrison, Lee Garbett, Trevor Scott, Guy Major and Jared K. Fletcher
Batman is a man of planning, and no matter what situation he finds himself in, he always has an answer. The Joker really puts that reputation to the test By simply being completely unpredictable. One day, the Joker can just be a harmless clown pulling pranks on people, and the next day he can be the worst serial killer the world has ever seen, leading to Batman struggling greatly with defeating the Joker over the years. A person who prides himself on his plans and contingencies suffers the most against someone who does not obey any rules.
Batman’s biggest problem has always been that he tries to work within rules.
While the Joker’s unpredictability seems like a problem at first, Nightwing realizes that it can also be an asset. Sure, the Joker can be a serial killer one day and a harmless prankster the next, but the easiest way to determine which version of the Joker they’re facing is to simply ask. Challenging the Joker to a laughing contest could have failed spectacularly. The Joker could have refused to answer, in which case Dick would have handled him the normal way. But that Dick thought of suggesting it at all meant that he was able to defeat the Joker Without the threat of danger, something that Batman has almost never achieved.
Nightwing makes it easy to take down the Joker
No clown can pass a good laughing contest
Batman’s biggest problem has always been that he tries to work within rules. He makes contingency plans based on how people act and what their powers are. Batman is at his best when he is in control of a situation. The Joker challenges all of this by being remarkably unpredictable and constantly changing how he operates, but Nightwing has perfectly demonstrated how this isn’t always a bad thing. While there’s no denying just how dangerous these are Joker Is, his personality and motives are constantly changing, and Nightwing Once realized a perfect way to exploit that, which Batman has never managed.
Batman #682 Available now from DC Comics!