The Joker Intertextual Relationship

How has the process of detecting intertextual relationships between texts also enriched your understanding of a significant cultural issue or idea?
‘Sometimes backstories are more complicated than falling into a vat of toxic chemicals or being bitten by a spider. Like they say, nobody creates themselves out of whole cloth, whether it’s Elvis Presley, or you name it - Jesus. There’s a tradition in forbears and ancestors of those characters that went into creating them.’ - Bruno Heller, Producer of Gotham

The TV show Gotham, an American drama series produced by Bruno Heller and developed by Danny Cannon, transforms the ideas in the DC comic books to produce a New Age show which scrutinises the history and development of the characters portrayed in the graphic novel. The process of detecting the intertextual relationship between the two texts, allows me as a reader to enrich my

understanding of the justification of peoples actions.

In the graphic novel, ‘Batman #1’, written by Bill Finger, through the use of situational irony, we are shown how the Joker is desensitised to causing grievance to society.
‘A man smiles a smile without mirth -- rather a smile of death! The awesome, Ghastly grin of… The Joker.’
The Joker is the predominant antagonist portrayed in the DC comics, who debuted in ‘Batman #1’ in 1940. From the beginning, the Joker was a seditious killer with a theatrical flair [1] and has caused apprehension and consternation amongst the people of Gotham. Through his signature ghastly laugh and inappropriate jocoseness attitude, we are shown how he is aloof to others emotions and wellbeing. This is also complemented through the method of which The Joker kills his victims:
‘Slowly the facial muscles pull the dead mans mouth into a repellant, ghastly grin the sign of death from the joker.’
The process of detecting intertextual links with Gotham allowed me to gain an understanding of the history of this character and therefore his motives behind his actions.

In the adapted TV show, Gotham, the character of The Joker is transformed into an ideology of a man, what that represents and how it affects others rather than a man itself. [1]
‘We’re doing something that I think is really creative, understanding that the Joker is this identity, is this feeling, is this maniacal revolutionary anarchy that people can harness. Is it a character or is it an attitude? Is it this thing that people can just accept and put on.’ - Cory Michael Smith, actor of Penguin
However, many of the characters which undergo this persona grew up in an inappropriate environment. This is portrayed through the characterisation of Jerome Valeska who adopts this personal and causes disaster to the city. However, though the exploitation of his backstory in the episode ‘The Blind Fortune

Teller’