The recent DC publication The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing has drawn the ire of numerous factions of society due to its representation of the comic series’ protagonist, Joker, being pregnant. But despite the subject being expressed within the context of the world of superhero comics where imagination is fodder, the issue has taken on a larger meaning in the modern socio-political context. After an unimpeded rampage of criticism from within the fandom and the world outside, the divisive take on the discursive subject of gender identity has been somewhat put to rest by the issue’s writer, Michael Rosenberg.
Michael Rosenberg Addresses Joker’s Pregnancy in Comics
After witnessing the people tear a new one after his issue of the fourth solo Joker series went public, Michael Rosenberg has ruled in favor of defending his work rather than letting the art speak for itself. And in doing so, the writer delivered a scathing and expansive retort to the public’s backlash and vehement criticism regarding representing a classically established DC comic character as Trans.
“I will say, so this doesn’t come off as some sort of backpedalling, I believe Trans rights are Human rights. With that said, it has nothing to do with this story. This is a story about magical food poisoning.
Now I understand the folks at Fox News and the Post might look up to the Joker and see his an aspirational figure.Yes, he once grew enormous and ate all the people in China [emphasis by Rosenberg] with a giant pair of chopsticks, but I guess they can look the other way on that. And yes, he once cut his own face off for fun and walked around with an exposed skull for a while, but who hasn’t? […] I was in no way trying to damage the pristine legacy of this psychotic serial murder[er] that they hold in such high regard, but I guess to them I did. And for that I apologize…
Or maybe they work on a cycle of feeding outrage and alienation to their audience in order to keep them engaged and angry, and they don’t care if they take things out of context, misrepresent things, or even lie,” he concluded. “But I’m sure that’s not it, right? Either way, thanks for promoting our book. I’ve heard from a lot of retailers that it’s selling out. We appreciate it.”
The author does, however, point out that the pregnancy “isn’t an allegory, a metaphor, or social commentary. It’s a joke.” Rosenberg also states that the basis of the idea was to invoke a “Silver Age style fever dreams of the Joker” from the mid-20th century that explored caricature-like plots involving two-dimensional Batman or Superman transforming into animals.
Also read: Darkest Alternate Reality Versions of the Joker – Ranked
The Pregnant Joker Controversy Explained
Cursed by Zatanna after attempting to steal Gotham’s water supply, the Joker is hexed by the Sorceress Supreme into never being able to have a child of his own. But things take a turn when he wakes up one day and realizes that he is pregnant. The revelation threw a wrench into some people’s plans and the outcry that followed has either been misdirecting, ill-informed, or contentious to the current debate regarding the evolving socio-political ideas surrounding gender identity. It’s safe to say, the subject may not be as cut-and-dry as it was made out to be by most of the partisans taking sides in the discourse.
Rosenberg’s latest issue of The Man Who Stopped Laughing showcases the Clown Prince of Crime reproducing a clone of himself shaped entirely out of clay after he manages to meld with and ingest a large quantity of Clayface. Despite the obvious “child” that is born into the pages of the comic, it is more of a regurgitated mass of mud than an actual Joker Jr. and the blob of clay happens to metamorphose into an identical, although a much smaller, version of the Clown himself.
It is one of the many wonders contained within the candy-glossed world of comics that allows subjects like ingesting another sentient being and vomiting it out to sound like a possibility. It is also plausible for comics to constantly sift through decades of change and address contemporary social issues without making it seem didactic. Whatever the case, the Joker must be laughing hard right about now witnessing the insanity of it all.
Source: Michael Rosenberg
