Warning! Spoilers for The Joker #1!
The Joker has left Gotham City, but that won’t stop returning Bat-Family member, Bluebird, from taking down his girlfriend while he’s away. Stepping back into the spotlight to help bring Punchline to justice, Bluebird has been taking a break from the crime-fighting game as of late, and her return couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment.
Seen in the second story of The Joker #1, “Punchline: Chapter 1” by James Tynion IV and Mirka Andolfo shows the consequences of Punchline’s evil actions during the recent Joker War storyline as she’s been put on trial for crimes committed during that devastating event. Yet even with the obvious answer hanging over everyone’s heads that Punchline was indeed guilty for all she had done, it’s clear that the criminals of Gotham can still find ways to beat the system, a fact made wildly apparent when Leslie Thompkins, a Bat-Family confidant and organizer of a local clinic, realizes that the prosecuting team might not have the means to put Punchline away for good.
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Enter Harper Row aka Bluebird, a relatively new addition to the Bat-Family legacy who had proven herself a valuable addition to the team before deciding to take a step back from vigilantism to pursue her personal interests as an electrical engineer. Having grown close to Leslie via her volunteer work at Leslie’s clinic, Harper gets the green light to slip back into her alter ego’s spandex to dig up dirt on a budding villain that Leslie hopes to cut off at the knees through a much-needed win in the case against Punchline, one that Leslie just so happens to be acting as an expert witness on as well.
Well versed in all things Batman including who the man under the cowl is (along with everyone else in the Bat-Family), Leslie has been a constant and consistent force of good in a city that seems to look down on such things, going so far as to use her clinic as a safe space for injured heroes to lay their head down when the streets get too tough. But what’s most interesting about Leslie asking Bluebird to make a return appearance is the fact that she usually isn’t too keen on the tactics used by the vigilante crowd, so when her first thought in this situation is to call on one, it speaks volumes as to how important this mission is to her.
Having a personal reason of her own to delve back into her second identity, Harper readily accepts the invitation to don her costume once again not just because of her close relationship with Leslie and her own knack for bringing criminals to justice, but because her brother, Cullen, has begun to succumb to the dangerous rhetoric the Joker War has given rise to across Gotham. With citizens all of a sudden championing Bane as a hero and the fact that people are donning more and more clown-related getups to commit atrocities around the city stemming from the growing unrest surrounding Gotham’s heroes, normal Gothamites such as Harper’s brother is beginning to fall for a fad that is turning into something much, much worse.
So with Bluebird finally returning to the ranks of The Dark Knight’s extended Bat-Family, Punchline’s days as a sadistic criminal are hopefully numbered. But as anyone associated with the twisted brand that The Joker is known for, it might be a task easier said than done. Let’s just hope Bluebird isn’t rusty at this whole crime-fighting thing, or else this is going to be one rude awakening.
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