Jason Fabok discussed how Batman: Three Jokers’ surprise ending paves the way for Batman to have a completely different outlook on crimefighting.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman: Three Jokers #3, by Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok, Brad Anderson and Rob Leigh, on sale now.
The DC Black Label miniseries Batman: Three Jokers led the Dark Knight to use his Bat-Family against the trio of Clown Princes of Crime, fighting for the fate of Gotham City.
After rescuing Joe Chill, the man who killed his parents in Crime Alley years ago, from the Jokers, Bruce Wayne forgave Chill before the criminal succumbed to terminal cancer. According to co-creator and artist Jason Fabok, the emotional moment paved the way for a brighter, more hopeful future for Batman, valuing rehabilitation over vengeance.
“Just think about the impact that has on Batman. If Batman sees that there’s hope, that the man who destroyed his life can change his life and Bruce Wayne can come to forgive that man and have peace with him, what does that do to Bruce Wayne as a character going forward?” Fabok told CBR. “How does that change the way that he fights crime? Now there’s hope!”
For Fabok, the themes of forgiveness and compassion served as his primary motivation for reuniting with writer Geoff Johns on the three-issue miniseries. Batman’s forgiveness not only ended the three-issue arc in a new, fulfilling way but changed the character’s future path. He noted that the more defeatist iterations of the superhero’s possible future in stories like The Dark Knight Returns and Batman Beyond don’t necessarily have to happen, and he can become optimistic instead.
“This isn’t a man that kills his enemies,” Fabok said. “He tries to rehabilitate them and, guess what, he won. Joe Chill was rehabilitated and what does that do to Bruce Wayne going forward? It’s so powerful… I’m sure someone’s explored this before with Batman, but, for me, this takes Batman from the cliched Bruce Wayne we’ve seen so many times when he gets in his old age, and he’s a grumpy old man and there’s so much more crime rampant. This could actually have an impact on Bruce Wayne’s life where he finds peace, happiness and… Maybe even wins the war on crime because now he has hope.”