Batman- The Killing Joke Link

And as the lights of the Gotham Police Department flash over two broken figures—one in purple, one in black—we realize the true horror: The Joker may be insane, but his logic is terrifyingly clear. We all think we’re the first guy, bravely shining the light. But deep down, we all know the terror of being halfway across the beam, waiting for it to be turned off.

The Joker argues yes. Gordon argues no. Batman stands in between, holding a flashlight, unsure if he’s guiding the way or just illuminating the abyss. In the end, the joke is on the reader. We came for a superhero story, but we left with a meditation on the fragility of the human mind. We laughed at the punchline, but the laughter echoes in an empty, rain-slicked alley. Batman- The Killing Joke

Immediately after, the Joker escapes (or is he released? The story is ambiguous). He purchases a decrepit amusement park, then executes his most personal attack yet. He arrives at Commissioner Gordon’s home, shoots Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) through the spine, shattering her vertebrae and leaving her paralyzed. He then strips her, takes photographs of her wounded, naked body, and kidnaps Commissioner Gordon. And as the lights of the Gotham Police

Inside the plant, the heist goes wrong. Batman appears. The terrified Red Hood jumps into a vat of chemical waste to escape, only to be flushed out into a drainage basin. When he pulls off the mask, he looks into a mirror—and sees the Joker for the first time: bleached-white skin, ruby-red lips, green hair. His "one bad day" has physically and mentally unmade him. The Joker argues yes

The Joker’s goal is not to kill Gordon. It’s to break him. He takes Gordon to the "Joker’s Funhouse"—a nightmarish, grotesque carnival—and subjects him to a relentless parade of psychological torture. He shows Gordon the photographs of Barbara. He forces him to walk a tightrope over a pool of alligators. He straps him to a chair and forces him to look at distorted, funhouse-mirror versions of his own trauma.