It seems like almost every week the Clown is returned to Arkham Asylum by Batman or the police, and yet he always runs away. Fans often wonder how the Clown Prince of Crime keeps escaping Arkham so easily, but DC gave the reason decades ago, and it just goes to show how the Joker really is Batman’s perfect equal.
The Joker’s brilliant strategy to escape Arkham Asylum was revealed decades ago, in 1976 The Joker #7 by Elliot S. Maggin and Irv Novick. In this story, it is revealed that the Joker has a mini-Ha-Hacienda hideout under his cell at Arkham Asylum, which he can access at any time.. Although Batman and the police think the Joker is locked up safe in his cell, he actually has the option to leave whenever he wants.
It’s long been known that the Joker often treats Arkham Asylum as a vacation to Gotham City, but no one has understood how true this is. Thanks to your base hidden under your cellThe Joker can enter and leave Arkham Asylum as many times as he wants with complete ease. It’s a level of planning that even Batman might envy.
The Joker can leave Arkham whenever he wants thanks to the secret lair under his cell
The Joker #7 by Elliot S. Maggin, Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin
Batman refuses to kill his enemy no matter what. This no-killing rule means he needs another way to deal with them, often having to place them in Arkham Asylum and simply hope they can be rehabilitated. His methods resulted in Batman desperately returning the Joker to Arkham Asylum over and over again, only for him to escape, sometimes hours after being dropped off. This pattern became so famous that the Joker referred to Arkham Asylum as a revolving door. Every time Batman puts it on, it just comes off. While most people thought Joker’s claim was an exaggeration, it’s actually completely true.
Using his vast wealth and ingenuity, the Joker manages to build a mini-Ha-Hacienda under his Arkham cellwhich evidently has access to the outside world. While the Joker can simply walk out of his cell whenever he wants, there is also another use for his lair. The Joker equipped this mini-base with a functional TV and a whole stock of luxuries. Many times, when the Joker escapes and “disappears,” he doesn’t actually leave at all. Instead of escaping to the outside world, the Joker just stays in his mini-base and enjoys the silence by watching TV. When he decides to make another appearance, he returns to his cell or escapes.
Arkham Asylum was always just a vacation for the Joker
He can come and go as he pleases
Arkham Asylum is a terrible and inappropriate place to hold the Joker for dozens of reasons. Not only does Arkham Asylum create more villains than it cures, but the institution can’t hold anyone back from trying to cure them. Somehow, the security at Arkham Asylum is so dire that the Joker manages to build an entire secret base under his cell without anyone noticing. Although the Joker’s ability to escape Arkham Asylum has long been a mystery that Batman failed to resolve over the years, fans know that the Clown he can leave whenever he wants, because he literally built a door at the back of his cell.
The Joker #7 is now available from DC Comics!