InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Not happy fun times."

benicio127 (benicio127) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-05-03 23:01:00

Entry tags:

char: harley quinn/harleen quinzel, char: joker, char: mr. mxyzptlk, publisher: dc comics

I always wanted to see my dame in lights...
Sooooooooo since we had two wonderful weeks of Bat/Cat, I was thinking of dedicating some posts this week to the most dysfunctional couple in DC. Love them, hate them, they definitely constitute a fabulous part of the DC world.
WOO!

This is a repost from old S_D, which some of you have probably seen.

It's called Emperor Joker and is collected as a trade paperback now.

The Joker has stolen mr. mxyzptlk's powers and is intent on destroying the universe and everyone in it.

Sure he won't be winning boyfriend of the year any time soon, but it does have a tinge of romance to it...

(Post a new comment)

	You already know I love this benicio but what the hell zhinxy 2009-05-03 10:31 pm UTC (link)
	...Still, still, still... A moment that just stops my cold heart in that fucked up way that's... God I fucking love this bit. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: You already know I love this benicio but what the hell benicio127 2009-05-04 12:11 am UTC (link)
	Seriously? What dame wouldn't like to go out this way? :-P Granted, Harley totally has this look on her face like.. Dis not what I had in mind, Puddin'... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: You already know I love this benicio but what the hell irish-spectre.livejournal.com 2009-05-04 04:06 pm UTC (link)
	Dis not what I had in mind, Puddin'... Haha! (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: You already know I love this benicio but what the hell

benicio127
2009-05-04 12:19 am UTC (link)

The other bit I love about this and it's very subtle is that Joker changes around everyone in this universe he's created, remade in his own image. Two-Face, Lex, Eddie, Ivy, Jimmy Olsen, Wonder Woman, the Flash - are all ironic interpretations of themselves.

But the two that he doesn't change a thing about? Batman and Harley. (Wait, scratch that... he does make Harley's skin all white like his).

It's also interesting how this is a Superman comic, but it strikes at the heart of the Batman/Joker relationship. Even in a world of his own insane creation, Joker cannot live without Batman.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: You already know I love this benicio but what the hell lovedatjoker.livejournal.com 2009-05-04 07:04 am UTC (link)
	Yup yup yup. Very, very significant. And in making her skin white, he's bringing her closer to him. More like him. Which is what she can never really be and why she ends up as a constellation of stars. Still elevated above anyone else, still distinguished... but she's not perfect enough for him to accept her fully, even as he can't help but hold onto her. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Re: You already know I love this benicio but what the hell lovedatjoker.livejournal.com 2009-05-04 03:38 am UTC (link)
	When I first read it, I burst into tears. Just a moment of sheer awesome. (Reply to this) (Parent)

starwolf_oakley
2009-05-03 10:32 pm UTC (link)

They did a good job of hiding that the Emperor in question was the Joker in all the preview. They even called this EMPEROR ???? in the previews.

And even when he's got 99.9% of Mr. Mxyzptlk's powers, the Joker *still* thinks everyone is as crazy as he is.

Still, the funniest reference to this was in SUPERMAN/BATMAN: VENGEANCE when the Joker asks Mr. Mxyzptlik "Why don't they remember the time I had almost all your powers and tried to remake creation in my wacky image?"
Mxy responds: "They don't remember because I don't want them to remember... also, it hasn't been collected in a trade paperback yet."

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	schmevil 2009-05-03 11:06 pm UTC (link)
	"They don't remember because I don't want them to remember... also, it hasn't been collected in a trade paperback yet." AWESOME. (Reply to this) (Parent)

zhinxy
2009-05-03 11:10 pm UTC (link)

Still, the funniest reference to this was in SUPERMAN/BATMAN: VENGEANCE when the Joker asks Mr. Mxyzptlik "Why don't they remember the time I had almost all your powers and tried to remake creation in my wacky image?"
Mxy responds: "They don't remember because I don't want them to remember... also, it hasn't been collected in a trade paperback yet."

MOTTO.

And now that it HAS been collected, I'm waiting for an update.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	benicio127 2009-05-04 12:22 am UTC (link)
	"They don't remember because I don't want them to remember... also, it hasn't been collected in a trade paperback yet." HOMG. That is awesome. Also.. how does one pronounce Mr. Mxyzptlk? Phonetic or what? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zhinxy 2009-05-04 12:48 am UTC (link)
	;) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ulf_boehnke 2009-05-04 01:27 am UTC (link)
	Not Mix-Yee-Spit-Lick? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zhinxy 2009-05-04 01:29 am UTC (link)
	You question the little yellow box?! ;) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bluefall 2009-05-04 02:30 am UTC (link)
	Well, the DCAU sure does! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	benicio127 2009-05-04 09:33 am UTC (link)
	I like this version better. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	lovedatjoker.livejournal.com 2009-05-04 03:37 am UTC (link)
	I... I've always said it mix-el-pick. Now I have to retrain myself into a new way!?! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sistermagpie 2009-05-04 09:14 am UTC (link)
	I think that's how they always said it on the cartoons. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zhinxy 2009-05-04 08:32 pm UTC (link)
	Okay, you people gonna believe the little yellow box or your own lying ears!!! ;) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

psychop_rex
2009-05-06 02:05 am UTC (link)

Personally, I've always kinda translated it in my head as either 'Mix-ee-p't-ulk' or 'Mix-tee-plikt' - generally the latter. I know that it CAN'T actually be 'Mix-tee-plikt', but that's how I see it - and considering that the current version is actually a misspelled version of the name Siegel created (he spelled it 'Mxyztplk'; the current version is 'Mxyzptlk'), I think it doesn't really matter HOW it's pronounced.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	killermoth1 2009-05-04 01:54 am UTC (link)
	Oh, that is so romantically screwed in a cute way. The Joker is great here too, I love his "listen...listen...I am in pain!" Is the rest of the story this good? The idea of the Joker with Mxyzptlk's powers could be great in the hands of the correct writer. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	zhinxy 2009-05-04 02:51 am UTC (link)
	Is the rest of the story this good? ...it has its moments. The moments it has are momentous... But... No. It's not. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	lovedatjoker.livejournal.com 2009-05-04 03:40 am UTC (link)
	http://lovedatjoker.livejournal.com/31870.html Review by a very geeky Joker fan. May be helpful, may not. (watch the last paragraph, has spoilers) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	runespoor7 2009-05-04 06:09 am UTC (link)
	The Joker is great here too, I love his "listen...listen...I am in pain!" Motto. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	benicio127 2009-05-04 09:36 am UTC (link)
	I enjoyed it. It's quite a fun story and they do a good job on the Joker, esp. the Batman/Joker relationship and then there's this beautiful scene... (Reply to this) (Parent)

	jesterwitch.livejournal.com 2009-05-04 02:44 am UTC (link)
	Ya know, even though Joker will never admit in words that he loves Harley...I find him turning Harley into a constellation to be an ultimate act of love! <3 (Reply to this)

lovedatjoker.livejournal.com
2009-05-04 03:36 am UTC (link)

A tinge? A TINGE? This moment is like romanticus maximus. It's incredible. It's twisted, sick, broken and wrong but dammnit, it's also EPIC. It's Hellenic. It's a moment that absolutely captures that ugly, selfish, greedy aspect of love that is always there in some way... you know they say if you love something set it free... the Joker will never ever set Harley free, his love for her is all about his own self-gratification. Haven't we all struggled with that at some point in our lives? Even here, he must entrap her in a permanent state for his own admiration and reflection rather than allow her either to be freed through death or included entirely in his life and vision.

Yet there is something very, very tender and even sorrowful in it. He does it because he's a monster, he can't compromise on that. But he loves her too and so he wants her in some fixed aspect for him for always. There's awareness of the pain he's caused her and awareness of the way he's cheated her. He isn't remorseful about it, but there's something of longing and loneliness in his face in those final panels.
In confessing to her something so intimate about why he has chosen to do what he does, he also distinguishes her very significantly.

Just about the best moment between them ever...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	zhinxy 2009-05-04 03:42 am UTC (link)
	Tres motto. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lovedatjoker.livejournal.com
2009-05-04 07:00 am UTC (link)

I also love the way he's telling her a story here... and that gorgeous moment "help me, I'm in pain", "that was you!" - you can really hear it playing out and the undertone of affection and playfulness is very clear. He's babying her - it's tinged with meanness, as everything he does is, but it's sincere too. He's entertaining her, playing Daddy. It's beautiful. And it's beautiful because it's this lovely little caring moment that's also really ugly and horrible because of everything it means and is leading to.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	benicio127 2009-05-04 09:41 am UTC (link)
	A tinge? A TINGE? This moment is like romanticus maximus. HAHAHHA!! For him, motto. You know I never got that line about "for all your tears of service..." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lovedatjoker.livejournal.com 2009-05-04 03:30 pm UTC (link)
	Well, he's demonstrating he has some awareness of everything she sacrifices to be with him. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	meatwhichdreams 2009-05-04 11:18 pm UTC (link)
	Goddammit that's a motto. (Reply to this) (Parent)

uadlika
2009-05-04 07:19 am UTC (link)

"But you see Harl? I'm fixing everything. I'm leaving behind a clean, quiet universe. A place where people like me...won't ever come into existence.

This is the type of Joker I like best...the Joker who knows that he is a sick and twisted bastard and wrong. He may be insane, but he's well aware of it. I don't know if that contradicts the definition of insanity or not but interestingly enough, when googling "super-sanity" most of the hits reference the Joker (although my psych major roommate tells me that "super-sanity" doesn't actually exist).

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	benicio127 2009-05-04 09:45 am UTC (link)
	although my psych major roommate tells me that "super-sanity" doesn't actually exist In Morrison's mind, it exists. (Reply to this) (Parent)

psychop_rex
2009-05-06 02:18 am UTC (link)

The interesting about the Joker is, while he is perfectly aware that he's a homicidal maniac, HE ENJOYS IT. That's what makes him the Joker - he sees the world as a sick, twisted, meaningless place, a point of view that would drive anyone else to despair, but he finds it funny, and he can't really understand why no one else does. So, in a sense, him destroying the universe is one of the sanest things he's ever done - he's finally ACKNOWLEDGING the fact that no one else is getting the joke, and the reason is that it's NOT A JOKE, and if it's not a joke, then his whole career has been pointless - there's no punch line, as it were - and if there's no punch line, then why should the world exist at all? If HE'S wrong, then so is the universe that spawned him, and it's better off destroyed, so a new one can arise from the ashes. It's still crazy, but it has a certain melancholy logic to it.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	alschroeder 2009-05-04 08:31 am UTC (link)
	It's odd, but the Joker has a healthier romantic relationship with Harley than Bruce/Bats ever had with---anybody. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	benicio127 2009-05-04 09:22 am UTC (link)
	In some ways... DEFINITELY. The Joker trusts Harley absolutely without question. I don't think Bats' will ever fully trust, say, Selina. But on the other hand , Mr. J has issues with caring for Harley = being human. He cares for her, yet hates that he cares for her. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	sailorlibra 2009-05-04 12:36 pm UTC (link)
	Er... Considering that the relationship between Joker and Harley tends to be abusive, I can't see how. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	lovedatjoker.livejournal.com 2009-05-04 03:31 pm UTC (link)
	Definitely. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	irish-spectre.livejournal.com 2009-05-04 04:08 pm UTC (link)
	As telling as the Harley constellation is, I just don't get why Lois Lane gets to be empress. I know it's supposed to irritate Supes, but why not Harley? It doesn't seem right to me. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	benicio127 2009-05-04 04:21 pm UTC (link)
	That's just it, tho. It IS supposed to irritate Supes. Lois = heart, soul, hope, everything that is wonderful to Supes. If he sees that she loves someone like the Joker, it decreases his hope. (frex how long it took Wonder Woman et al to figure out who they really are and change back into their costumes, etc.) (Reply to this) (Parent)