The Joker has gone through many iterations–a comically diabolical goofball, a sadistic expert of mind games, an anarchist with mental health issues…Now, he’s a daddy, as the Joker is shown as being pregnant and giving birth in a recent issue of his latest comic book series.
In issue #4 of The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing, a storyline titled “Knocked Upside Down!” sees the Joker as a pregnant soon-to-be papa, complete with the actual birth of his little baby boy. According to CBR, in the story, the Joker wonders what a baby of his and magician Zatanna would look like, prompting Zatanna to cast a spell on him. From there, Joker gives birth via vomiting, which sounds like a panel worth framing.
This has apparently caused some backlash from certain communities–who likely haven’t even read the comic to get any context. The outrage primarily stems from the assumption that DC is pushing an agenda for the trans community. It should be noted that no such terms are mentioned once throughout the issue. In other words, the biggest clowns may be those getting bent over a comic book.
However, many are coming to the defense of the comic, which comes from writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Carmine Di Giandomenico:
Look at it this way. Was Universal pushing a “woke” agenda when they knocked up Arnold Schwarzenegger for Junior? Of course not. Sometimes ideas are played for laughs–in fairness, there weren’t many laughs in Junior, but you get the point! And that’s basically what the pregnant Joker storyline is played for: laughs. And no, it’s extremely unlikely that Joaquin Phoenix will be giving birth to a baby Joker in the upcoming sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux–he is clearly far too skinny for that. But that doesn’t count out Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn…
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing’s plot, as per DC: “The world once again holds its breath as The Joker strikes again! But how far is he willing to go this time? From the twisted minds of Matthew Rosenberg and Carmine Di Giandomenico comes a violent, mind-bending new series that picks up from the cataclysmic end of The Joker and follows the mayhem across the United States.”
What do you think of a pregnant Joker? Is DC too “woke” or are “fans” outraged for no reason at all? Give us your take in the comments section below.
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