Who is Punchline? Joker replaced Harley Quinn with a higher education agitator

When DC Comics went on pause this spring, the company’s huge character expose went on pause, also. But now she’s listed here: Punchline, a new villain established by writer James Tynion IV and artists Guillem March and Carlo Pagulayan.

Punchline is the Joker’s new second in command — dark and scary where by Harley Quinn was cheerful and loud — and she’d only been teased with temporary appearances in a number of Gotham Town books. But this week we finally bought a a person-two Punchline punch, with her origin tale in The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Web page Super Stunning, and her 1st experience with Harley Quinn in Batman #92.

So what I’m stating is, that’s a extended time to wait for the Punchline. HEYOOOOOO.

Punchline is aiding the Joker with his most up-to-date strategy

The Joker appears to be reviving an outdated scheme from the Designer, a mysterious mastermind who a long time back brought many of Gotham’s largest supervillains alongside one another with a assure of serving to them up their video game. Everyone imagined the Joker killed the Designer, but the truth may possibly be incredibly unique — and now it seems like the Designer’s strategies are getting executed anyway.

But we now know that in advance of Punchline donned her makeup and gained the Joker’s self esteem, she was a university pupil named Alexis. In the Joker Anniversary unique, we see her in her college dorm, as her dean gives her a heart to heart. Precisely, he would like to know why, on a “Dress Like a Hero Day” made to lift spirits following a fatal Joker fuel attack, she decided to use a Joker t-shirt. She’s, unsurprisingly, not receptive.

“You arrived because this scares the $#@% out of you, and you know it’s perilous,” she states, but he needs to feel that she’s just lashing out, currently being ironically destructive. He does not want “to acknowledge that I may essentially consider a thing hazardous. That I may well not be the only one particular. That it may well have been expanding right under your nose all this time.”

Like any excellent supervillain, she outlines her ideological manifesto as she poisons him with Joker gasoline, the recipe for which she acquired off the web. Just after he dies, she reveals the Joker was observing the full scene. It was a check, to see if she was “serious” more than enough to join his firm, and she handed with traveling shades.

So that was the first time she satisfied the Joker, but how about the very first time she achieved Harley Quinn? That happened in this week’s Batman #92, when Catwoman and Harley ran into Punchline as they all confirmed up to rob the identical underground supervillain financial institution.

Graphic: James Tynion IV, Guillem March/DC Comics

Are the Joker and Punchline relationship, like Joker and Harley when did? Properly, they haven’t smushed faces on panel or professed their appreciate nevertheless — so there are a number of approaches to just take Punchline’s declaration that they are partners, right here. But thinking of that she’s college or university age, I hope not. I know the Joker’s a terrible guy, but Harley had at the very least gotten her PhD-MD.

Both way, Harley appreciates all about creating oneself believe that you issue to a maniacal narcissist.

Impression: James Tynion IV, Guillem March/DC Comics

Which is to say, she’s sympathetic, but not to the position the place she’s gonna reduce a battle. I suggest, occur on. This is Gotham Town.

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