Batman: White Knight – Batman Day 2018 #1

1.5 stars

The plot itself was okay for what it set out to be, but it's the characterization of Batman and the Joker that made me lower my rating. I don't think the Joker is supposed to act the way he was shown in this comic. He already has a very defined personality and has character traits that he's identifiable with, so straying away from that and doing a complete 180 just felt... wrong. The Joker isn't the type of character to just one day have some sort of revelation and decide to be good. Yes, we can try and understand him and his decisions, but a redemption arc just doesn't suit him.

Also, what was up with Batman at the beginning? Batman has a code, and because of that code, he does not kill. So why would he barbarically beat up the Joker to the point of near-death, when—multiple times in the past—we have seen him hesitate to make an exception to his code even for someone like the Joker, someone who has continuously tormented him? Allowing such already well-defined characters to do acts that go way beyond who they are, and who they have been groomed to become throughout their entire timeline, was just not necessary.

It was a bold choice for the author to have pursued such a hit-or-miss story like this, but unfortunately, for me, it was a miss :(