The Bat-Cat Romance
Considering Bruce is narrating this story to Selina, it would only make sense to also look back at where she’d fit into this tragic tale. Logically, King and JanÃn conjure up a romantic flashback between the pair – with Catwoman dressed in her classic Jim Balent attire. Meow!
In the heat of the war, the Bat finds the Cat digging in a safe, and asks her why she hasn’t taken sides yet. She responds by saying she isn’t a criminal like them. Obviously, it’s a bit of a ha-ha moment, but it explains her reasoning quite well. She’s a thief; not a murderer.
Concurrently, it also shows us how deeply Bruce cares (and has cared) for her and that’s he’s worried about her safety in all of this. While we still don’t know if Selina has said yes or no to Bruce’s proposal, it gives us a clear understanding of how long he’s had these feelings for her. And it also proves that the two of them having been bumping uglies for a long time now, even doing it in an apartment owned by Maroni. Kinky!
The Joker Isn’t Laughing, But He’s Still Hilarious
One of the main plot points of “The War of Jokes and Riddles” is how the Joker has lost his sense of humor. King has made him lose his smile – much like “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels did when he refused to lose to Bret “The Hitman” Hart in 1997 – and it’s been bad news for everyone around him.
That said, although the clown has been wearing a frown, he’s still proven to be a funny guy. His crowning moment, however, is the joke he tells Gordon when he arrives at the amusement park. He says, “And the Lord said unto John: ‘Come forth and you shall have eternal life.’ But John came fifth and won a toaster.”
Hands down, this is the greatest page of writing that King has ever done. It deserves a new category at the Eisner Awards purely for comedic genius. If you ever had any doubts of how he’d write the Joker, this is all the necessary evidence that the pale-faced psycho is in good hands here.
Batman’s Guilt
At the beginning of the arc, we were promised that Bruce would reveal something major to Selina about his past. While there have been several revelations to date, it’s evident that a major one is the Dark Knight’s guilt over the amount of people who died in this war.
He simply cannot justify why it took him five days to stop Deadshot and Deathstroke’s carnage, and he feels responsible for all the lives lost in the process. At the same time, he’s still reeling with shock from failing to save Kite Man’s son and the hundreds of other casualties.
Bruce holds himself to high standards, and every life lost is one that he feels accountable for and carries in his conscience. His reasoning for becoming Batman was to avenge his parents’ deaths and to stop it from happening to others. In his heart, he has failed his city, parents, and himself. He’s supposed to be Gotham’s protector, after all, and he has too much blood on his hands right now. That’s some pretty deep and dark stuff there.