Mr Freeze internal artwork pages courtesy of the
extremely talented South African artists Jason Masters.
We thrive off of watching our favourite
heroes battle and prevail over their enemies.
We cheer them on, feel their punches and
then experience the catharsis of a hardfought victory. But what about the villains?
This is where DC comics comes in, they
declared September Villains Month. This
pioneering treatment sees the publisher
paying homage to the villains that make
their heroes great, with each issue of the
"New 52" sporting a gorgeous 3D cover
of a villain from that particular title's
history. Batman #23.1: Joker is by far one
of our favourite of the series (with Justice
League #23.1: Darkseid coming in at a
close second) with a gorgeous cover by
artist Nathan Fairburn.
DC’s statement on Villains Month
explains, “The Justice League is presumed
dead and the Crime Syndicate has
arrived following the tragic events of
this summer’s blockbuster “Trinity War”.
With the heroes gone, everything is up
for grabs. Bizarro, Relic, Reverse-Flash,
General Zod and all the villains you love to
hate have unleashed a wave of evil sure to
dominate the fall! They’ve commandeered
their comic books. They’ve even
vandalized their once-heroic logos.”
The month commenced with the launch
of the new title Forever Evil, which focuses
on the Crime Syndicate, a team comprised
totally of the evil doers of the DC universe.
The premise is based on the demise of the
Justice League after a massive battle ensues
between the superheroes following a rather
tragic misunderstanding, leaving the league
disbanded, several heroes either missing or
injured and the rest disillusioned and angry.
The Crime Syndicate, lead by Superman's
136
arch-nemesis Lex Luthor, capitalises on the devastation and
sets forth to cause chaos and anarchy anywhere and in any way
they can.
Have you ever noticed how Villains are often wildly more
powerful than their heroic counterparts, requiring teams of
heroes to bring them down? People often criticise comics for
this, but if you think about it, would a hero's victory be worth
as much if they were able to beat their foe with a single punch
or eye beam? Nope. In fact, it would more than likely lessen
the overall impact of the entire story and leave you going:
"Well... Uh... That kinda sucked."
Roger Rollin, author of Beowulf to Batman: The Epic
Hero and Pop Culture explains the constant conflict
between hero and villain, “For an easy victory not only lacks
dramatic force but paradoxically cheapens the value system
the victory is to affirm by making it almost irrelevant.” Heroes
need to struggle in their battles against seemingly omnipotent
foes, it's why Batman can never truly beat the Joker, because
deep down, they need each other to exist.
"For the past few years I've danced with the caped crusader.
And every time we tussle, it gives me even more respect
and admiration for him, perhaps too much!", says Joker to
Jackanapes, his kidnapped Gorilla minion. " I don't think I could
exist without him!"
The Joker necessitates Batman - he represents everything
that Batman stands against, a perfectly juxtaposed metaphor
to Batman's moral code. The Joker is an ordinary man, a
psychopathic man in a green and purple suit, but still un-powered by
anything other than his thirst for outright anarchy. Each character
is as violent as the other, their methodologies almost identical, but
Batman fights for justice and balance, whereas Joker strives for
chaos and destruction. Neither can ever truly win, because they
actually require one another to validate their own communal
existence in a kind of twisted, parasitic relationship. Batman
will never kill Joker because of his moral code (well, except
for those times he did...) and Joker wouldn't actually be able
to gain satisfaction from his nefarious deeds, knowing that
nobody could stop him.
The two seek the challenge presented by each other
and as Rollin argues, “We know, deep down in our
feature / comics / DC Goes Bad!