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The Joker’s final plot in the alternate future of Catwoman: Lonely City is his ultimate salvo against the effect the Dark Knight has on Gotham City.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Catwoman: Lonely City #2, now on sale
The Joker’s long-standing war with the heroes of the DC Universe has taken some grisly turns in the past, but it’s usually in an attempt to break Batman himself. But it turns out his most dangerous (and final) scheme in one timeline tried to corrupt the Batman’s impact on the world.
More details of the Joker’s infamous Fool’s Night have been teased in Catwoman: Lonely City #2 by Cliff Chiang — and it was truly a dark perversion of Batman’s greatest triumph in his war on crime and corruption in Gotham City.
Fool’s Night takes place ten years before the events of Catwoman: Lonely City and seems to have been designed by the Clown Prince of Crime as his final act of cruelty. Seemingly posting multiple “episodes” to the internet to indoctrinate various people into his cause, the Joker successfully spread his message to numerous people. Donning a police uniform in his final stream, it turns out Joker successfully convinced enough people to download the Jokstr App — connecting like-minded people across Gotham City in their pursuit of chaos. As the final message went out, numerous people across the city donned Joker Masks and attacked the police, beat civilians, and slaughtered innocents all over Gotham.
Locating the Joker at Gotham Central, Batman and Catwoman raced to face the Joker one last time — which the previous issue already revealed would be a doomed encounter for the Dark Knight, James Gordon, and likely the Joker as well. Fool’s Night is a horrifying epitome of the Joker’s attempt to bring his brand of madness and chaos to the world, and to inspire legions of killers and criminals to follow in his footsteps. Taking the city by surprise and sowing discord across the entirety of Gotham, it’s clear that Joker’s final plan includes twisting Batman’s ultimate mission for his own chaotic goals. One of the most important parts of Batman’s mission has always been the influence it has on the world around him.
While his war on crime might have started from a place of personal vengeance, his commitment to making the world a better place has impacted the lives of countless others and inspired them to fight for a brighter future as well. And in a single night, the Joker has managed to do the opposite — sowing pure chaos into the streets of Gotham and spreading his own brand of anarchy into the hearts and minds of a generation of young people. In effect, “Fool’s Night” takes the dream of Batman and uses it for chaos, bringing down many of the Joker’s deadliest foes in the process. Poison Ivy hints that the events of Fool’s Night also cost the life of this world’s Harley Quinn, further cementing the apparent idea that the Joker’s final act of vengeance on the world killed many of his greatest enemies — one last “killing joke” against the world.
The fact that Joker’s antics seemed to be coming to an end with the events of Fool’s Night suggests this truly was his final play for the heart and soul of Gotham City (and by extension, the world). It is also a strong hint that the Joker likely didn’t expect to survive the events of Fool’s Night — with the Gotham City of Catwoman: Lonely City having seemingly moved on in a way it likely would not have if the Joker was still at large.
While the legacy of Batman has been twisted in the years since his death, the Joker’s final salvo against the Dark Knight and his attempt to corrupt the Bat-Family’s greatest enduring strength makes it one of the perfect final strategies for the Clown Prince of Crime — a successful version of what he wanted with the Joker War.
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