After much teasing DC Comics have announced that the unimpeachable Sean Gordon Murphy of Tokyo Ghost and Punk Rock Jesus fame is to write and illustrate Batman: White Knight. The seven-part series will see The Joker’s rise to political stardom having been cured of his psychopathic impulses. Using his inherent charm and wit, the re-newly christened “Jack” strives to make Gotham great again the only way he knows how: getting rid of Batman. The ex-lunatics are about to run the asylum in a series that dares to ask if vigilantism has a place in society. Does the world need Batman or will the former clown prince of crime have the last laugh?
“We know Joker’s a genius, we know he’s relentless, and we know he can play the crowd, so why not make him a politician?” said Murphy. “Why not strip away the psychosis (the thing that’s holding him back) and let him challenge
Batman unimpeded? And to make it even scarier, what if he did it legally and without breaking any rules, so that Batman couldn’t stop him?”
Set in a world where the Joker is cured of his insanity and homicidal tendencies, The Joker, now known as “Jack,” sets about trying to right his wrongs. First by reconciling with Harley Quinn and then by trying to save Gotham city from the one person who he thinks is truly Gotham’s greatest villain—the Batman.
“Seeing Gotham for the first time with clear eyes, his psychosis now cured, he starts to understand the absurdity of vigilantism and how Batman’s actions are only contributing to Gotham’s endless crime cycle,” said Murphy. “Joker sets out to beat Batman by becoming the White Knight that Gotham really needs.”
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT #1, written and illustrated by Sean Murphy, arrives on October 4. Cover artwork by Murphy with color by Matt Hollingsworth.
