Warning: Contains spoilers forFrom the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives! #3!TheJokeris a permanent fixture in Jason Todd’s life. He’s the voice constantly in the formerRobin’shead, haunting him and driving him forward, sometimes in the most reckless ways. Jason is not freed from his influence or terror in life or death, and the clown warping the second Boy Wonder into his own sidekick proves that he can tap into his nightmares like no other.
From theDC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives#3 by J.M. DeMatteis and Rick Leonardi continues to chronicle Jason Todd’s experience in a timeline wherehe survives the Joker’s assaultin Ethiopia and eventually murders the grinning clown. Though Jason didn’t succumb to his injuries, he’s still fighting for his life in a different way - by throwing himself into an unending battle against his own fear.
In his quest to prove himself, both to his mentor and to himself, he goes on his own to confront the Joker, who is prepared for the encounter. The Jokertransforms Jason from Robin into the clown-inspired “Jokey the Boy Lackey.”
From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives!#3 by J.M. DeMatteis, Rick Leonardi, Rico Renzi, and Taylor Esposito
Jason’s intended confrontation with Joker begins well enough, with the young vigilante dispatching animatronic guards, but the instant he reaches his true target he’s paralyzed with fear. It’s the perfect chance for the Joker to definitively strip away the thing Jason is trying to prove he deserves -his role as Robin.By adorning him with a red, green, and yellow clown suit and naming him Jokey the Boy Lackey,he makes a mockery of the child he’s terrorizing. Jason was already struggling to regain control of himself in the face of stacking trauma, and instead, the Joker has taken that control for himself.
Jason ends up more akin to a puppet on a string rather than a capable vigilante, and the Joker is a wicked puppeteer.
While Gotham’s worst clown didn’t manage to kill Batman’s sidekick in this timeline, he left him mentally and emotionally scarred. As Jason often does, he opts to jump headlong into confronting his fear at the source. He intended to defeat the Joker and simultaneouslyprove that he’s worthy of retaining the Robin titleand is stronger than the things that terrify him. When it comes to Gotham’s resident green-haired terror, that’s rarely been the case. Jason ends up more akin to a puppet on a string rather than a capable vigilante, and theJoker is a wicked puppeteer.
Joker Takes Control By Transforming Jason Todd Into His Unwilling Sidekick
Robin’s Worst Fears Are Made Into Reality
This timeline’sJoker is more unhinged than calculated, and yet he still seems perfectly prepared for this moment with Batman’s protégé. His claim that he left breadcrumbs around Gotham for Robin to follow highlights the idea that he’s plenty in tune with what will impact the boy most. Unfortunately for Jason Todd, that’s frequently the case, andthe Joker manages to get under his skin like no other- sometimes without trying. He’s an inescapable force in his life, even during the moments he’s not physically present. Knowing that the story ultimately ends with the Joker’s death is unlikely to change that, either.
By transforming Jason into this deranged “Jokey” character, the Joker is staking his claim on Jason’s psyche. All of his fighting and lashing out hasn’t purged the laughing monster that lurks in his mind yet, and the image of himself as in the clown suit will likely persist, in some way, for the rest of his life. He tries to escape his fears by going after the Joker, only for them to be given a name and a physical form. It is the rotten cherry on top of an unwanted cake. In creating Jokey the Boy Lackey, theJokerharnessedRobin’sdeepest fear.
From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives!#3is available now from DC Comics.
The Joker
The Joker is a psychopathic criminal mastermind with a warped sense of humor. Initially introduced as a remorseless serial killer, the character evolved over time, often oscillating between a prankster and a homicidal maniac. His relationship with Batman is one of the most complex in comic book history, defined by their mutual obsession. Over the decades, the Joker has become an enduring icon of chaos and madness, embodying the antithesis of Batman’s order and justice.
