Batman: The Dark Knight #23.4 - Atop the Fourth Wall

[@theflashthefastreviewerali8319]

Linkara can really connect every bad dc story to countdown

[@ForrestFox626]

At first it seemed like a one of joke, but I've come to realize it has credence

[@PoisonClaw4]

It's like an infinitely expanding web of awful, with Countdown at its centre.

[@cameronheaton9900]

I feel like the DC editors should be like does this connect to countdown in anyway other than the DC major hitters if yes then get rid of it

[@autobotstarscream765]

@@PoisonClaw4 And Dan Dodo at its head.

[@jameshowlett5106]

I once dared him on Twitter to connect One More Day to Countdown. By Odin's beard he did it...

[@mightyfilm]

Two-Face: I have become ONE FACE! The Joker: I can beat that. I have NO face!

[@anthonyrodriguez8788]

Duela Dent: foolish fathers! I have now become Two-Face!

[@LetruneInedil]

Now I am waiting for minus-one-face...

[@mightyfilm]

But technically wasn't Two-Face always one face? Only half his face was screwed up, and two halves make a whole.

[@eon1014]

Clayface: Bitches please! I’m a shapeshifter, so I can have literally ALL the faces.

[@thepixelman4776]

I eagerly await the introduction to the deadly negative face.

[@jinxtheunluckypony]

Charon isn’t a meta-human. He just got jacked by walking around everywhere wearing that heavy ass jacket.

[@colinvandenberg3446]

"Virtue signaling" is a term that's often misused or misunderstood, but this comic definitely applies. It brings up gender issues without expressing any coherent points about them nor any understanding of them beyond the most basic and clichéd broadstrokes.

[@GIANLUCANABBO]

Hit the point. Linkara explains it well in the Battle for Bludhaven # 3-4 review from minute 7:30 to 9:30 what the problem is.

[@colinvandenberg3446]

@@GIANLUCANABBO As he points there, political undertones can enhance comics like Watchmen or Kingdom Come or even some more overtly political Cap books. The difference is those books put the story and characters first, and the message if it exists is coherent and relevant.

[@GIANLUCANABBO]

@@colinvandenberg3446 I don't think this is the only reason. If you want to insert a political context you have to do it well, it must have something to say, it must put the reader in a position to be able to draw his own conclusions or to be able to think about the message being given. In many of these comics of the last ten years, the political message as well as being a priority to the story itself is redundant, crude and pretentious, in practice it is propaganda.

[@colinvandenberg3446]

@@GIANLUCANABBO I think a story can challenge the reader's/viewers' perception of an issue without devolveing getting into propaganda, but it's a fine needle to thread. Marvel has much better success threading the needle than DC in the past decade, but they've also dropped the ball spectacularly like Secret Empire.

[@GIANLUCANABBO]

@@colinvandenberg3446 Unfortunately, a lot of writers have decided to use comics as tools to "educate". Unfortunately, as much as we can try to explain how not to forcibly insert certain rhetoric, comics are a form of escapism, a form of entertainment.

[@DarkKnightofAnime]

"So how to describe this book well you see the script says...Ow! the Edge" Yep pretty much sums up this book and a large chunk if not the entire New 52 in a nutshell

[@ForrestFox626]

Reminds me the first of New 52 Action Comics

[@Levitz9]

There's a reason I call it the New 52Edgy4U.

[@battlion507]

Might as well play... "CrAWLinG In My SkIIIIIIN!!!"

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

@@battlion507 If only Linkara was still doing music intros, I'm sure it'd have been blaring.

[@DwarfDaddy]

Would that include the Death Metal event or is that part of Rebirth?

[@gorlomimargheriti8870]

16:25 You laugh, but there really was a silver-age Batman villain who themed himself after pennies. The Penny Plunderer. He’s the source of the giant penny in the Batcave.

[@robo-nidai4236]

And then after Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was retconned so that the giant penny came from Two-Face.

[@gorlomimargheriti8870]

@@robo-nidai4236 Understandable.

[@watchm4ker]

Wasn't even silver age. 1937. Unfortunately, Coyne just had a green suit. Also notable that he was explicitly *executed* for his crimes at the end of his one appearance.

[@watchm4ker]

@@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917 Given the most common complaint I hear about Batman is "Why doesn't he just kill the Joker?"... Yeah, point to Finger.

[@ammagon4519]

@@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917 Mf really be named Finger

[@danielbrant6740]

*Linkara:* You may begin making Face/Off jokes at your leisure. *Bay Movies Optimus Prime:* _GIVE ME YOUR FACE!!!_

[@Bismuth83X]

Eddy: Johnny, you dropped your face! I'll get you a new one!

[@GatorRay]

Leatherface: GRR! MUMBLE MUMBLE MUMBLE (HEY! THAT'S MY THING)

[@richardgadberry8398]

20:02 "Just go to hell, comic." THAT should've been the entire review, followed by nearly a half hour of the cats being cats.

[@Crazyivan777]

Completely agreed.

[@daelen.cclark]

Well put.

[@GatorRay]

And then have the end of the video be a mashup of Nyan Cat & Keyboard Cat footage. WHY? Because Warner Bros didn't get permission to use them in Scibblenauts.

[@SteveElOtaku]

The writing in this reminds me so much of bad creepypastas, of the "superpowered school shooter" variety, like Jane the Killer or Onion Boy's "This is Why I Hate You." Were this not written by alleged professionals, I would genuinely think this was the work of a teenager in need of help.

[@autobotstarscream765]

Nope, it's the work of professionals in need of help!

[@BreadHart]

You nailed it!

[@eon1014]

The level of edge in this comic reminds me of “My Immortal”.

[@christopherthibeault7502]

@@eon1014 Sort of makes me wish for Thirty H's. At least that thing has balls.

[@eon1014]

@@christopherthibeault7502 Ah, I see you’re a man of culture as well.

[@linbatspiderprime6202]

14:57 "Were the artist and writer not communicating at all?" The New 52 summed up in a Question.

[@daelen.cclark]

It's one of those answers must be phrased in the form of a question.

[@austinleach1307]

I'm so early, Miller Time still has its music.

[@sarasamaletdin4574]

Why it would not? I am watching the episodes out of order.

[@flmbyz]

This wasn’t a Frank Miller issue?

[@Greener221]

Because Linkara is a coward who wants money.

[@Ashurman666]

@@Greener221 Because people can survive without money right?

[@Greener221]

@@Ashurman666 He has Patreon. He doesn't need KZbin bux.

[@tyrant-den884]

"How about "Harlequin"? We don't have any female Joker related villains based on that!"

[@tyrant-den884]

@@painvillegaming4119 thank you.

[@jordanhunter3375]

Theres always Punchli- *Shotgun rings out*

[@SiRenfield]

Actually that’s another thing: is her existence redundant with Harley Quinn existing (although granted she’s arguably a send off to her in the first place)? My best guess is that because Harley’s liberation arc in the New 52, but they wanted to have a similar vibe to pre-break up Harley...I think...I have no idea, making sense of stuff in the New 52 especially the first half of its run is a bit of a fool’s errand

[@Rabbitlord108]

More like "Okay, we're splittin up Harley from the Joker. So who's a female character we can retcon into having some sort of connection to him?"

[@Mochitachi70]

"We live in a society" - Duella, Duella, Daughter of the Joker

[@rustyshackleford2633]

Charon is the brother of the guy who made the peanut gun.

[@LetruneInedil]

Every sociologist sighs. "Yes. The moment there are three people doing stuff together, we got a society. Good we cleared that. Want to say anything?"...

[@Vesperitis]

why did you have to remind us of Doug Walker's greatest of all his failures?

[@TheHeroOfTomorrow]

@@Vesperitis "Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?"

[@rustyshackleford2633]

@@Vesperitis That has nothing to do with The Wall.

[@katsand92]

Oh my poor Duela. I remember when I was assisting in a DC Comics Women Appreciation Blog, and I did a whole thing about Duela. I remember yellling to please PLEASE not read this. She may be cheesy and silly, but she was a Titan, dang it! I always wanted to do a thing of like, a retooling of Deathstroke's Titans East where Duela and Cass lead a team of teen-ish villians like Inertia and Match to assist them in learning how to love and earn redemption.

[@eon1014]

Agreed. Me, personally, I’ve taken to calling this specific version of her as “DINO”. As in, “Duela In Name Only”. Also, your idea of Duela and Cass teaming up with teen-ish villains or anti-heroes to try to help them get better has merit. You could even throw in Rose Wilson/Ravager too.

[@repulser93]

@@eon1014 Like a (presumably) good version of the Ravagers.

[@SiRenfield]

Also that one time they lowkey indicated that Emily Nygma wasn’t from an alternate universe like Duels but Edward’s actual daughter….but the New 52 so they both killed that idea off and literally killed her (for no reason in-universe really) off to hastily put it aside

[@jedihistorian8660]

I would read your version of Duela a million times over before I ever would ever pick up this New52 version of Duela. I can’t believe it’s been over forty years since DC gave her any actual character development and not some edgelord nonsense. You know it’s bad when Countdown treats Duela better than her own comic-at least there, you had Donna attending her funeral and memorializing her as a Titan.

[@nonspiderweb]

“OW! the edge!” Linkara I Think you just created a new running gag. That was hilarious, and the review hasn’t even started yet!

[@aconstantstateofbladerunne5251]

Not gonna lie, making armor out of repurposed coins in the post apocalypse is actually kind of a neat idea. Or it could be in a better story.

[@Agamemnon2]

And his name is Charon, who in the original myth was paid in coins to ferry damned souls, so there's even a thematic link there, but this story doesn't do anything with it

[@morganyoung3557]

It would have been an interesting concept to have a character named Charon wearing a coat made out of coins in a better story. In fact I could see Rick Riordan thinking of having Charon wearing articles of clothing made out of different coins from around the world, but at least he is a good author.

[@bthsr7113]

@@morganyoung3557 As Charon's armor, that would be very neat.

[@MTdaBlacking]

The Hades rogue-like game has a version of Charon that's absolutely ladden in coins, with a gold-trimmed oar, and he looks pretty cool!

[@TF2Fan101]

'A mugger's paradise!' So... No Gangster's Paradise joke? Something like... 'Don't ask about that freaky hedgehog-human fusion with realistic teeth!'

[@GatorRay]

Here's a Sonic Gangster's Paradise thing that sums up my thoughts on the blue blur nowadays in a nutshell "That hedgehog's franchise has been mostly blunder after blunder. To the point where I now want him buried six feet under"

[@chaoticjusticezero]

That title card is horrifying. Someone get Mac a flamethrower! (In all seriousness, good work Viga. Also yikes. That's gonna have a starring role in my nightmares tonight.)

[@ctdaniels7049]

My brain: ...booba

[@LupineShadowOmega]

Agreed, its freaking terrifying. Kudos to Viga.

[@GatorRay]

BURN! BURN TO THE GROUND (Sorry. Couldn't resist)

[@mollypiper9832]

As someone who's favorite character in all of comics is Duela Dent...this hurts me. Both that it exists and that it's the first time Linkara's talked about her in depth.

[@HBHaga]

You and me both. Duela's time with the Teen Titans was what got me hooked into mainstream comics lo those many years ago. Sure she was niche and pretty much a C-list character but every time she appeared put a smile on my face ... until the New 52 version.

[@animasuperfreakgirl]

I’m a bit curious how would you want Duela to be revamped? I’m just wondering since I’ve only seen the character in passing.

[@mollypiper9832]

@@animasuperfreakgirl ​ @kelsey conder Hmm...I can think of two ways to go about it. The first option would be to continue on with the way the current run's been handling her. Jason Todd's protégé, transitioning from villain to anti-hero. Have her running around Gotham, interacting with Jason, Dick, Harley, maybe Damian and Stephanie Brown, trying to figure out how to be a healthy and good person. Alternatively, bring back the original version of the character. Have the chaos caused by the Batman Who Laughs bring her back, since Countdown made her a blip in the fabric of reality itself, able to bounce between Earth 3 and the main Earth at random. With the whole multiverse in flux, have it result in something that shifted her back into being alive and dumped into the current universe. Potentially bring the Ame-Comi and Bombshells versions in too as a consequence, with the current, old, and Ame-Comi having to fight the Nazi version from Bombshells.

[@animasuperfreakgirl]

@@mollypiper9832 great now I really want the ame comic to fight the bombshell one. I hope you’re happy 😜

[@mollypiper9832]

@@animasuperfreakgirl Sorry not sorry! XP

[@Suika_Ibuki_The_Drunk_Oni]

It's kinda amazing how comics have began to take on more and more adult material, yet are considered even more childish than they used to be these days.

[@somethingclever4297]

That happens all the time. It's one of those things where when try so hard it does the exact opposite effect. It's like that "how do you do fellow kids" meme.

[@elizabethsmith7224]

Court of owls was good.

[@TF2Fan101]

And then you have those comics that try WAY too hard to be progressive instead of telling a good story. *Cough* America Chavez *Cough* Iceman *Cough* Snowflake and Safespace *Cough*

[@ammagon4519]

TBWL in a snutshell

[@BionicleGio22210]

Oh poor duela. I've seen fanfics do her better justice, no joke

[@red-havic9123]

Link pls

[@austinleach1307]

That's a low bar.

[@SiRenfield]

I myself am working on a reimagining her in a way that’s more interesting and less ow the edge

[@randallflagg3700]

@@SiRenfield - have you read *Joker War* , in which Duela made her last appearance? It was in the *Red Hood/RHATO* issues... Turns out that the time Duela spent with Jason in "New52 Red Hood/Arsenal" is still canon! And she ditched her New52 shitty costume, and rocks the one she wore the one time she made an appearance post-rebirth, in some *Nightwing* issues. Her new look suits her much better; the worst use of Duela might have been in New52 *Suicide Squad* ; the way Harley handled Punchline in "Joker War" was very similar to how she dealt with Duela Dent. She also sucked in *Batwoman* (she had her own episode, "Grinning for Ear to Ear"), but not as much as most other Gotham-rogues used in this show... so far the only ones they managed to make awesome were Victor Zsasz and Black Mask. And I guess Cluemaster was pretty cool last week...

[@daelen.cclark]

Any specifics? Those sound interesting.

[@BenjaminHayden]

The tag line for this comic should have been "Made by Edge Lords, For Edge Lords".

[@GatorRay]

Or possibly just a line from Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (I mean. Would it be plagiarism if the line was copied from something made by the same company?)

[@Bobsheaux]

GOD, _Death of The Family_ pissed me off... Not only is Joker allegedly 10 steps ahead of Batman, but apparently he can make duplicates of himself since he's somehow capable of taking down all of Batman's allies from various points all over Gotham at exactly the same time. "Were the artist and writer NOT communicating at all??" Throw the editors into that question and that's pretty much the New 52 in a nutshell, yes. "You know, the New 52 in a nutshell." Okay, I swear to God that I didn't watch this review in its entirety before starting this comment. You say something, I pause the video and give my reaction, that's how I comment. That "New-52-nutshell" thing is SPOOKY!!! lol

[@G0ATFAC3]

When coated with zinc and sufficiently heated, pennies become a shimmering gold colour, so the chief's penny coat being golden isn't too much of a stretch. This is the only part of the comic I feel comfortable commenting on.

[@christopherjones8448]

It's a bit of a stretch that he even has that penny coat (Do people just.. flush pennies? Was there a bank that sunk down into the sewers with them?) Let alone that they have Zinc and an oven to cook them all in

[@G0ATFAC3]

@@christopherjones8448 According to the beginning of the comic, this entire area of the sewer used to be homes that were flash flooded to create the Gotham Reservoir, so the pennies probably came from loose change in these houses. As for the heat, I'm sure the pockets of hot coals being used to cook the rats would suffice. Further, wastewater in general contains high levels of zinc, so this guy actually lives in the perfect area to have these golden pennies!

[@364dragonrider]

@@christopherjones8448 to be fair zinc is a very, VERY common metal.

[@benvigus8705]

Please oh please tell me Charon was supposed to be a reimagined "serious" Penny Plunderer, only for other writers to not go with it.

[@Fanatic_Foremem]

I'm thinking the same because it'd be the one funny thing in this comic that's supposed to be about a villain inspired by the joker.

[@tyrant-den884]

Joker: "What can I say? I really liked that one evil son in Repo the Genetic Opera!"

[@kerricaine]

well shit someone else actually remembers Repo!

[@tyrant-den884]

@@kerricaine Who doesn't remember Repo?

[@cjhedrick6418]

@@kerricaine Nobody can forget, however hard they may try.

[@thomasraines1396]

Expect Pavi Largo had something wrong with his face (I think), Joker was just being an edgy weirdo.

[@daltonwilliams1723]

@@thomasraines1396 no, he was just vain. He tried on faces like someone would try on clothes.

[@TheAllSeeingEye2468]

"pain is pleasurer" its like she watch Hellraiser and wanted to try out the cenobite life style. hell she's looks like a cenobite wearing that flesh mask. though i dont think leviathan would want her.

[@XanthinZarda]

I keep forgetting that the New 52 wasn't a "Revamped for the 90s, Edgy & Angry." To remind the viewers: New 52 was in publication from *August 31, 2011 - May 25, 2016.* Though, aside from the detailed printing, you'd be hardpressed to make me think otherwise. Was everyone in the writer's room trapped in a time bubble? Edit: Now I want _Temple Fugate undoes New 52: Repairman of Time!_ An exert from my thought process: "Having perfected several devices to manipulate time to my will, I've decided to make trouble for the whole of reality. But nobody will be any the wiser. I'll be erasing mistakes from the past and rewriting the future-past. The Joker's face shall remain firmly affixed to his body."

[@L1701]

Considering how current DC deals with continuity, Fugate will be dead of alcohol poisoning within a week.

[@XanthinZarda]

@@L1701 From constant executive meddling, or because he was written to drink because that's edgy?

[@shadowldrago]

@@XanthinZarda Both?

[@GatorRay]

Oh great. The new 52 started publication on my 13th birthday.

[@sciencefantastic]

Wait Wait Wait. One Face? ONE FACE?!!!!! ...Who the hell is responsible for that?!!

[@jacobwillis7596]

This sounds like a creepy pasta I would have read in middle school. It’s not just edgy but a specific kind

[@caseygibson7266]

That's exactly what I was thinking! It's like she's a bootleg Jeff the Killer in this

[@MTdaBlacking]

Jenny the Killer? Charon Drowned? The Gotham Beauty Experiment? We'll work on the title later...

[@jacobwillis7596]

@@MTdaBlacking literally all the alt girls I was friends with who were into those were also obsessed with the joker. Probably mental health reasons but it’s all lining up

[@fynnthefox9078]

@@caseygibson7266 And Jeff the Killer is a bootleg Joker.

[@hollyswoods]

yep this definitely reads like DC wanted Jeff the Killer to be in their universe and just decided this was the best approach

[@red-havic9123]

Not so fun fact, this version of Duela Dent was put on the Nu52 Suicide Squad. Because, get this, a new guy in charge of the program wanted to use her as bait for the Joker, so he can be recruited for the team...with his only conclusion to this idea that she wears the dude's face. We'll forget the fact that having someone like the Joker is a HORRIBLE idea, even Amanda Waller would not be stupid enough to attempt, but this also leads to a confrontation with Harley, because of course she'd be pissed at someone wearing her ex's FACE, meaning the mission will get put in peril because of team conflict.

[@TevyaSmolka]

why

[@red-havic9123]

@@TevyaSmolka Because I guess they needed SOMETHING to do with her.

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@red-havic9123 in my opinion I really wished they would've killed her off already also another fun fact she did actually returned recently in red hood outlaw but the good news is she finally got rid of that stupid joker face is now finally gone forever

[@SiRenfield]

I’ll also not get over how said new guy was Vic Sage aka the Question of all people. Like unless he’s playing the long con to expose them or something what the hell was he doing managing the Suicide Squad of all things? Like he has been a lot of things depending on the writer’s philosophy but it is NEXT LEVEL out of character for him since he consistently does not like the government

[@watchm4ker]

@@SiRenfield Damnit, that sounds so hilariously horrible I almost want to read that.

[@rustyshackleford2633]

WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY, YOU PAY FOR THE WHOLE ISSUE, BUT YOU ONLY NEED THE EEEEEEDGE!!!!!!

[@kaicreech7336]

5:04 In a different world, Nick Cage was the Joker

[@tskmaster3837]

I'd like to see that world. That would be, not interesting, not good. Weird, that would be weird.

[@repulser93]

…all in favor of having him take over from Leto, say “aye”.

[@gonzaloegonzalez8106]

I personally would love Nic Cage being TWO FACE

[@morganyoung3557]

I would honestly watch a Batman movie with Nick Cage as the Joker.

[@dragonstormx]

Anybody remember when a big part of Joker's appeal came from him being funny? Because writers on the New 52 didn't seem to.

[@autobotstarscream765]

This _was_ their idea of "funny".

[@kyleshea384]

Yeah I miss funny Joker

[@paulbutkovich6103]

@@lutherheggs451 A classic example of people not realizing what actually made the thing work.

[@thoomolong]

@@lutherheggs451 The Joker in TDK was exactly what the Joker is supposed to be: darkly funny and scary.

[@randallflagg3700]

IMHO, the Joker was far from the worst part of the New52. The 2014/2015 storyline *Batman: Endgame* had one of my favorite Joker, Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo did something amazing with him in that one. I do agree that it seemed a bit too much like a rehashed 2012 "Death of the Family", but it's still my ultimate Batman vs Joker storyline. Snyder described "Endgame" as horror, and a sequel to "Death of the Family" , which was more of a comedy. He has a point, Joker had never seemed so deadly and determined to end things for good. Plus this arc gave us Duke Thomas, aka The Signal, one of my favorite "recent" additions to the Batfam. *Endgame* would have been a great way to kill off the Joker for good, or at least a few years...

[@TLAF923]

Clearly Charon is the New 52 version of the Penny Plunderer, the guy who made the Giant Penny in the Batcave.

[@linbatspiderprime6202]

9:54 basically how DC butchers actual serious disorders so that they can say that they're 'Mature'

[@eon1014]

And I’ve noticed that both in the present and in the flashbacks, “Duela” didn’t even look skinny or anorexic, despite the comic telling us that she does. If anything, considering what we see her do in this book, she seems actually rather athletic.

[@runeanonymous9760]

@@eon1014 I mean. Her face looks malnourished?

[@eon1014]

@@runeanonymous9760 Her face does, but not the rest of her body.

[@chasemaddigan9810]

Anyone else curious why Duela Dent is dumping out C-3PO's head from her bag in the first panel? More specifically, why it's AOTC-era C-3PO? Did she make a stop on Geonosis before the start of this comic?

[@daltonwilliams1723]

I think they're old Halloween costumes. There's a yoda mask there too

[@Amitlu]

New 52. The gift that keeps on taking.

[@melainakiss]

As soon as I heard "New 52", I knew we were in trouble.

[@Ice-Climber]

16:25 I believe his name was the Penny Pincher. Fun fact: the giant coin in the Batcave was his before it was retconned to Two Face.

[@seekerstheshy3842]

Also at one point retconned to be the Joker's fault

[@Darkmage1293]

"A bad message sullies the original."

[@Jim4815162342]

So here's an ironic twist with the Greek: You got Lysistrata right, but not Charon. It's pronounced with a K sound, like Karen.

[@fireair100]

Oh come on, how bad can be Edge be- *hears explanation for the mask on the cover* oh...oh this is gonna hurt. A lot.

[@thetealake533]

New comic book store just opened near me so I finally start actually reading comic books instead of solely relying on youtube

[@prestonfontana8416]

Good to see people supporting LCSs!

[@SnakeRoadComicsOfficial3677]

I just bought several trades of Invincible at the comic shop near me so im doing my part ^-^

[@kamenrideraquarius]

Digital

[@cryptocrew6456]

yay what are you reading

[@theruoc147]

Yay. Welcome to the club

[@MsMaydayGoingDown]

My little brother has a book going over every Batman villain, having to include every origin they have. It was pretty horrifying that in this lighthearted book made for children, I had to read to him that there was a woman who wore the Joker's cut-off face. Thanks New 52.

[@eon1014]

He must’ve been all like: “What the hell? Really? That’s a thing? Are you making this up?”

[@battlion507]

@@eon1014 "Nah, DC is making this up... worth of crap and ashes..."

[@YourUncleBenis]

I feel like most people don't understand what makes "edgy" work. Sure, stories with darker elements CAN exist separately from that label, but there is a point where it crosses that line into edgy. The Dark Knight trilogy is dark, for example, but its darkness is natural. It's not the point of those stories. While something like, say, Shadow the Hedgehog, takes the darker elements of previous entries, and makes them the focus, dialing them up a notch to the point where you can't disconnect them from the overall identity of the product, and edgy becomes part of its identity(even though the edgiest thing in that game is the intro). Good edgy is stuff like Shadow saying damn, the Piraka posing in a realistic prison enviroment while a bad rap plays in the background, and most people trying to make skateboarding look as cool and mature as possible during the 2000's. It's, at the end of the day, fun and quite harmless. BAD edgy is stuff like this where you just make terrible implications that could possibly trigger people sensitive to those issues, and just rubs the readers nose in it while not understanding ANYTHING about the topic. All that does is show that the writer has no taste, and gives ALL forms of edgy a bad name on principle, which can be a problem in its own right, but I've gone on long enough.

[@thegoblin4948]

This comic makes me miss Batman Odyssey. I wanna see Bruce making seal noises and lecturing a crook about explosive chemicals.

[@L1701]

Yeah. That comic seemed like it was nuts, but it was a FUN nuts. This is a depressing nuts.

[@professionalhimbo]

I'd just like to remind you that Jack Skellington has been voted as one of the sexiest fictional character a few times. So bones are pretty sexy, apparently.

[@undertakernumberone1]

1:05 "That just raises the question, why they needed to revise the origins at all?" Because otherwise we couldn't take the beloved Backstory that BTAS gave to Mr. Freeze, the story of a husband desperate to save his wife and turn it into some grimdark bullshit that turns a sympathetic Mr. Freeze into a creep stalker with a crush and an ice fetish! 05:45 "Point is: The NEw 52 loved its over the top edgy violence..." From what I've heard, it could go up to WH40k at it's worst in that department... and that's saying something... *coughcoughGreyKnightsslaughteringSistersofBattletousetheirbloodinwardsthattheyshouldhaveanywaycoughcough*

[@Caernath]

I don't know why Linkara voices Charon as some preppy college jerk, but I like it.

[@AT4W]

I decided to go for boring douchebag for his voice - soft, unemotional (since his expression never changes), but still being pompous and superior.

[@tht1person523]

10:46 i remember back when creepy pasta was popular kids would make stories of characters that were bullied and/or had shitty parents which lead to them mutilating some part of their body, killing their bullies and/or parents, and running off into the woods to meet up with slender man or jeff the killer. your comic book written by professional comic book writers for one of the biggest comic book companies of the current era shouldn’t be reminding me of stories written by 10-13 year olds in the early 2010s.

[@XXsirstrawhatXX]

It's pronounced CAR-ON. And as for the penny suit, it's a reference to greek mythology about how people would pay Charon two coins to ferry them across the River Styx when they died.

[@Fanatic_Foremem]

car-on in modern terms sounds like a GPS drive assistance app.

[@meowistforlife]

@@Fanatic_Foremem correct!

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

Note the first part would be breathy/aspirated in the Greek.

[@bittersweetpastel475]

I feel that Joker's Daughter took the song "Crawling" from Linkin Park way too seriously At least its satisfaction when she gets beaten up by Harley Quinn (New Suicide Squad)

[@uncannyrman]

Haha. 'Ow, the edge' was my first thought when I saw you were doing this video too.

[@ric8594]

Oh man, I remember all the hype with this issue! DC hyped this issue so much, they really wanted JD to be the next big thing. The prices for variant covers, and particularly for the 3D cover, where high in the days leading to the release. The 3D cover was pricing at $200 at least. Then the actual comic came out and everyone realized how garbage it was. JD just made a few appearances later on and has since fall into limbo. Quickly checking, you can get a 3D cover for less than $20.

[@noir-214]

5:51 Duela appears to have found the head of C3PO

[@arklestudios]

My Best Friend had issues with cutting when she was younger. If she saw this comic it'd send her into a rage, and rightly so.

[@GatorRay]

This is giving me painful deja vu to Peter in the episode Brian's A Bad Father talking about cutting himself. AFTER he previously broke the fourth wall by referencing the show's age rating. The exact line being "Oh you don't know who Joe Pashi is because your 14" (If you wanna know why. In the episode he shot Quagmire who ended his friendship as a result)

[@leviadragon99]

how... utterly bewildering this story is.

[@Fanatic_Foremem]

16:20 funny enough I'm pretty sure before it got retconed to be twofaces, the penny in the batcave belonged to a one off batman villain named the penny plunderer. Was... was this what happened to him?

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

Knowing the New 52, he became a cretin who used penny guns and Matrix quotes.

[@GatorRay]

@@gratuitouslurking8610 And had a pet crab named Eugene (Sorry. Had to edit this because I explained the joke. And as Joker himself said in the New Batman Adventures Episode Mad Love. If you have to explain the joke. There is no joke)

[@linbatspiderprime6202]

Jokers daughter in the new 52, it has Didio written all over it

[@TevyaSmolka]

indeed this does have dan didio Witten all over

[@daelen.cclark]

Perhaps it was for the best he got fired.

[@Otterino]

16:30 You mean the Penny Pincher, the Batman villain who got caught when he didn't have a dime for a phone call?

[@bthsr7113]

Was the artist trying to make a jab at Aquaman? Blond, copper-ish outfit, and a trident. What the hey?

[@TheFrugalVideoGamer]

Wait, *One-Face* ?! My god, it's like they watched the College Humor version to get ideas! And her father is obsessed with balance? Is her dad Death The Kid from Soul Eater?

[@Emplordxiii]

Two Face, what have you done to One Face?!

[@SteveCrafts2k]

Death the Kid would be a better father than this guy.

[@GatorRay]

No. He's actually Equinox.

[@PaperVivianTTYD]

This more Bonkers Betty's origin than Joker Daughters.

[@battlion507]

Ah, ASBAR elements in The Dark Knight comics... good grief, they just can't let that go to waste huh...

[@GatorRay]

And to think that watching this review makes me wish I was watching Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

[@viraltang]

OH MY GOD DC Just rip off the bandaid and have a good guy version of the Joker in the main universe already. You LOVE cramming him and his imagery in everything anymore!

[@elizabethsmith7224]

Please I've always wanted to see more of Jokester, every since I saw him in the DCAU!

[@GatorRay]

They could do what Marvel did with Miles Morales and bring Jokester into the main continuity.

[@PK-MegaLolCaT]

7:18 as a fellow cat owner i can empathize with that feeling

[@MaxMercuryAnonymous]

The leader of the underground society looks like pre-Ragnarok MCU Thor.

[@regularshowman3208]

It's honestly a little uncanny how similar this character is to most Jeff the Killer OC's from the early 2010's. Comically abusive parents, horrendous insensitivity to mental health issues that only a teenager who doesn't know any better is allowed to get away with, a dumb outfit to make her look "cool" and "edgy" and "unique", and her simultaneously being a sadistic psychopath while also being somebody who's supposed to be super cool and who you're supposed to root for.

[@BronzeBoy520]

Jokers daughter may be one of the most try hard characters in all of comics. I mean this is an industry that looked at Kid Miracleman wiping out and torturing all people in London and going ‘Okay Moore.. let’s one up you!’ The character is just... she wears the Joker’s cut off face. That’s not even all of her character that makes her disgusting but come on, after that who cares about her personality. Duela Dent old canon has always been a weird ass character but hell at least I liked the idea from Countdown that she’s the daughter of a heroic Joker. Could be really fun to see that kind of character around. Also fun fact, the new one was erased from history and the old Duela is back. For how long before she’s killed for a pointless story that bashes the Teen Titans, who knows?

[@battlion507]

Eh, they probably killed her... and the Teen Titans... and Lian... AGAIN... ad pregnant woman... SERIOUSLY DC, what the hell is it with trying to be as horrifyingly gorey, violent and depressing akin to an Avatar Press CROSSED comic book mixed with Cenobite ideologies, some Jhonen Vasquez (without the humor and self awareness or good shit) and every dark/edgy creepypasta maxed out into a UGLYBOLOGNESE!

[@SerenityM16]

13:15 suddenly thinking about the quote, “it’s better to be first in hell than second in heaven”, some people just wanna be ontop even if it’s on literal feces

[@battlion507]

"Some mofos always be iceskating uphill..."

[@VerdantRange]

Note, that moving your neck after an injury like what The Joker got in The Dark Knight Returns can kill a person. This is why paramedics tell injury victims not to move, because this actually could make things worse, if not kill them. Also, I may be wrong, but I think based on the cover, Duela's father didn't treat her well because her eyes were different colors. I'm guess since the other pages seemed to have missed that. The cover shows her with a green eye and a blue eye. Also also, there is in fact a Golden Age Batman villain themed around pennies called The Penny Plunderer. Remember the giant penny in the Batcave? That was originally from one of the Penny Plunderer's crimes. His real name was Joe Coyn and I could totally see him trying to steal Charon's penny coat.

[@JomasterTheSecond]

"Wanna know how I got these scars? ...please ask me how I got these scars, *PLEASE, I NEED ATTENTION--"*

[@TheMamaluigi300]

20:46 Oh clearly they were trying to reference Two-Face. Wasn’t it obvious by her “son of Jokester” backstory?

[@daelen.cclark]

It wasn’t.

[@93MANIAC]

Jesus Duella makes freaking Alice from the Batwoman TV series look sane

[@ZC-Infinity]

I DESPISE the term "mansplaining". ...But that's what Charon is doing this entire comic! Even the non-violent men have to be condescending pricks who think that women are just acting out like it's their "time of the month" and they just need a mate and sex like this is a 19th century mental institution. ...Which, considering these are escapees from Arkham Asylum, I can understand, but WOW, how many people they had to make look bad just so we could sympathize with our terrible main character! Reminds me of Santa Inc. ...That's NOT a good thing!

[@TheGrayMysterious]

The more of these stories I hear about, the more I get the impression that comics flipped from being stories written by adults and intended for adolescents, to stories written by adolescents and intended for adults.

[@katherinealvarez9216]

5:47 “Edgy and over the top violence”- christ, I thought they got over that in the 90s (and the early 2000s when Marvel had the Ultimate line).

[@stevenstice6683]

I thought Joe Kelly gave the last word for edgy 90s comics.

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

Honestly most people got it out of their system during the 2000s but it does seem like DC clung to it far longer than anyone else has.

[@athroughzdude]

I kinda wonder how the other versions of the Joker would react to hearing about a version that cut off his own face.

[@isenokami7810]

6:35 Wh...why is there a C-3PO head? I'm betting that's supposed to just be some guy's head, but I can't be the only one who sees C-3PO.

[@wstine79]

I hope Linkara reviews The Year of the Villain saga for Villain Month.

[@gamestation2690]

“One-Face” always makes me laugh.

[@driveasandwich6734]

Clearly the implication is that the boys who made fun of her *were* each other's mates.

[@JDCate22]

I remember when this was a thing and made people well wild or at least non comic fans would be like "huh that exists??"

[@RichardWatt]

Surgery without some form of anaesthesia? Yeah, no.

[@frozarburst6350]

At this point, you really need to do a full on New 52 Retrospective to highlight the good and bad.

[@SiRenfield]

He did in an April Fools day video

[@cameronheaton9900]

Too big

[@Rabbitlord108]

ComicTropes made a video talking about The New 52 (If you haven't seen it in the 2 years since you posted this comment)

[@HBHaga]

This version of Duela and the 'bleeding out the eyes' villainous Omen really hurt at the time. Most of the time New 52 was just an attempt to dirty up as many characters as possible.

[@WeePortCosplayer]

16:20 please tell me I’m not the only one who thought of the Penny plunderer

[@Fanatic_Foremem]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was reminded of that.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

"You may begin making face-off jokes at your leisure." As much as I like the idea of Nicholas Cage playing the Joker, I'm gonna pass.

[@ArachCobra]

It's like someone decided to combine 90's comic book edge with raw grrl power and a message about mental health, while having absolutely zero clues about anything.

[@EMbrokehp]

Linkara: reviews a new 52 comic Me: "That's rough, buddy."

[@SpeedyEric1]

4:55- Yeah, I pretty much got that fact from this episode's title card. The only time that has ever been adapted outside of the comics that I know of was in Season 3 of Gotham with the show's first Joker, Jerome Valeska. 6:38- Why does she have C-3PO's head in that sack. 11:35- (As the lead crook from Crocodile 2) Thank you for that. 19:37- Ha, and the car's license plate says "DEXSTAR," in reference of that cat character of the Red Lantern Corps. 22:28- Makes me wish you had a physical copy of this comic just so you can give it it's own scars, if you know what I mean.

[@jedihistorian8660]

I really don’t understand why DC can’t just have a heroic version of the Joker in Duela. It’s my understanding that the Jokester character in Countdown was one of the few aspects of the story that readers enjoyed, so like, why not do that again with Duela and just make her a consistently good or anti-heroic character? A Joker-like character who wants to prevent death and destruction instead of create it? Or is that not edgy enough, or something?

[@breawycker]

I can't wait for the medical malpractice suit for her backstory. Like if she kept removing her IV restrain her? Removing an IV when you don't have experience with it can be dangerous. If she's spitting out her meds, there are other ways to give them to her. The surgery messing up and her not being sedated is the big one like that seems like textbook malpractice. This book seems to handle serious issues like self harm, animal abuse, eating disorders, abuse, and disfigurement really offensively. It's really gross and kinda misogynistic

[@GatorRay]

Looking back. This reminds me of Ren Seeks Help. And that's NEVER a good thing.

[@TheSkully343]

Bad as this comic is, the voice Linkara gave to the penny jacket dude needs to make a comeback XD The way he emoted was hilarious.

[@mathieuleader8601]

Jokers Daughter a riddle wrapped in an enigma

[@Mochitachi70]

trapped in a maze, trapped in a fortune cookie...

[@SiRenfield]

Emily Nygma:….dude!

[@ElizaGWR]

Joker's Daughter, Duella Dent is one of my favorite Titans and what they did to her in the New 52 really effing pissed me off. That was the moment I stopped buying DC comics.

[@tannerprice2018]

2:53 Ah, so this book was written by Shadow the Hedgehog.

[@seventhbracken4466]

Oh please, this comic makes that game look like a classic Disney cartoon.

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

He had to find the funds to get that DAMN fourth chaos emerald.

[@donalddaggett593]

the penny plunderer 16:24

[@tpbloomfield]

Okay wow, that moment at 19:50 that you responded to is downright insulting to me, talking about physical pain as substitution. I know you bashed it, but it definitely bears repeating, this is an outright awful comic. I used to self-harm, for over a decade in fact, and that was somewhat my motivation; when faced with emotional pain that I couldn't contexualise or easily understand or manage, I'd induce physical pain that was easier to understand, to treat. I know it was not at all a good way to deal with the things I was going through, and I'm in a MUCH better place now having even got a couple of tattoos to cover old scars. My point is, there IS some degree of basis for that thinking, there are fleeting moments especially in the 'flashback' part that could imply legitimate mental health issues in the character that could've had potential to explore beyond just "i'm edgy and like pain because shut up", and in my humble opinion that just makes so, so much worse. It wasn't handled in any serious way, it was clearly just thrown in as an attempt to be dark and grim. Mishandling of these kinds of topics is such a common, awful thing in society and I sincerely hope the people behind this comic one day come to realise this story was a mistake.

[@PosthumanHeresy]

17:50 You know, although there's a ton of garbage in this comic, I can just accept that Gotham did a project in the 50s that led to an underground mole people civilization in the city. It's Gotham, that's not too unlikely.