The following contains major spoilers for Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1, available now from DC Comics.
Batman & The Joker – Deadly Duo #1 reveals that Batman is far from familiar with certain members of the Gotham City Police Department, as he even goes so far as to purposely mess with their heads from time to time.
After consulting Detective Harvey Bullock at the crime scene and pondering how Bullock and James Gordon are two of Gotham’s few good cops, Batman jumps off a towering building and glides over a group of not-so-good cops. Chief among them is a wig-wearing detective named Blix who argues with his comrades over how they should lead the investigation instead of Batman. βThere are still good cops in this town,β Batman mused as he descended downstairs, looking like he was about to fall right on Blix. “…Detective Blix and his cronies aren’t that cop. I pulled myself a few feet lower than necessary. Dick often shows that I don’t have a sense of humor…”
Batman’s dry humor becomes abundantly clear in the two-page spread as he sweeps dangerously close to Blix, knocking the detective’s wig off his head. As well as causing humiliation, Batman’s antics sent an important message that the Dark Knight later revealed in this issue: “The dirty cops are afraid of me because they know one day I’ll come for them.”
Batman Mind Games With Police
This is far from the first time Batman has been shown engaging in mind games to put the police in their place. Even James Gordon is no exception to this, as depicted recently Batman: Audio Adventure #1, which reveals why Batman always sneaks up on Gordon from the shadows and disappears when the Commissioner least expects it. βThis is the panopticon principle,β Batman told Gordon in the issue, referring to a prison design set in the 1700s where prisoners were always under the watchful eye of security guards, causing them to behave the best they could. “You know I can’t always watch, but you’re never sure I can’t.”
Batman & The Joker – Deadly Duo #1 was written and illustrated by Image Comics and CEO of Top Cow Productions Marc Silvestri. The Black Label series sees Batman and the Joker form an unlikely team of “police buddies” to hunt down a group of killer doppelgangers who possess the Joker’s DNA and appearance, but possess superhuman strength, reflexes, and a penchant for tearing heads from bodies.
Batman & The Joker – Deadly Duo #1 features story and art by Silvestri, colors by Arif Prianto, letters by Troy Peteri and variant covers by Francesco Mattina, Greg Capullo, Kyle Hotz and Jorge Fornes. Batman & The Joker – Deadly Duo #1 is on sale now from DC Comics.
Source: DC