Alfred is The Joker

Alfred is the Joker in Batman #686

#comics #explained #explore #new #content #dc #dccomics #batman #superman #joker#robin

[BigPunDude]

Bro Alfred found out the villains were having a funeral and thought “I’m gonna troll them so hard with this story”

[JohnSpicebag]

gaslighting the joker into believing he's the fake one
Alfred is a legend

[imstupid]

"Alfred, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Master Bruce."
"How come every time I punch the Joker in the face, I always come back to find you missing another tooth?"

[Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

Joker: "Identity Theft isn't a joke, Alfred! Millions of families suffer every year!"
Easily one of the most esoteric and metatextual Batman stories I've ever read. Of course it was written by the guy who wrote Sandman, so what do you expect? Fun Fact, the writer told the artist to try and draw like other artists, and the artist Andy Kubert didn't approach it like he was trying to draw like other Batman artists, but like other Batman artists were trying to draw like him.

[xMrBlack]

And the whole time Joker is sitting there listening to the story, figures if Alfred is the Joker, he must be confused turns sane and goes home to live a normal life.

[wehate_sauce_da_kidd]

Imagine being gaslit into becoming Batman 😅

[gigaus]

A point of order here: There are three different Jokers in this comic. Each a different 'era' of Batman. You've got DCAU Joker, Modern Joker, and then classic Joker, with Alfred being golden age/classic joker. Likewise, there's three batmans in the whole sequence. One of the ways it was presented to me by a lit professor is that, besides this being a 'death sequence', is that we're not listening to the death of the same people, but different people who took up the mantle of batman, since remember, Robin made a point of saying 'I carried on'.

[infinity]

“Alfred took him to the Asylum, the real one” That correction hit differently!!

[liammcguire]

Well it’s meant to be unreliable as Joker is literally sitting alongside everybody when Alfred the tells this story

[ForgetableOne]

Well, knowing how this comic was and that everyone was telling fake story, I think alfred is mad trolling I mean the joker is right in front of them

[lolsaidthescorpionlmao]

It's kinda sad that most people don't remember Joker's old comic named "going sane" where he kills batman by accident because he overestimated his skills (not really some woman nursed him back to health while they had a romance) he goes sane like he usually does when batman is not around and presumably takes back his real name Joseph Kerr, it's a really good story and I think it was the first time it was explored what would happen to the joker if he won but I could be wrong.

[X-SPONGED]

Bruce: "Alfred, you're joking. This can't be-"

Alfred: "Oh, but it can, sir. I assure you."

Bruce: "What about the hostages?"

Alfred: "Paid actors, mostly homeless and down on their luck theatre kids"

Bruce: "But- the PD... Jim... the crooks... the henchmen... They're actors!?"
Alfred: "Well- sort of... the Commissioner and some of the others are actual officers of the law. Whilst the thugs and goons you usually see me with are actual inmates. I've arranged a _"rehab"_ program with the city council. Each inmate is to be given a psych exam to be included in your stunts. If they pass, they'll be instructed and coordinated by an earpiece behind the masks and make-up. This actually made them rehabilitate faster and most of them came out of prison to be functioning members of society again. As a result, the crime rate has been an all time low, The PD has to do less paperwork and are now able to actually use their forces and resources on more dangerous criminals. The nameless officers at the scenes were also prison inmates, very cheap acting labour."

Bruce: "I- what about Arkham and all the buildings you destroyed in your evil plans?!"

Alfred: "Those? Arkham was a run-down historical asylum that desperately needed renovation. No real psychopath was actually sent there. As for the buildings, they were already scheduled to be demolished. I simply advised the council to let me take advantage of the situation for more showmanship"

Bruce: "What about Jason? What about Dick? Barbara???"

Alfred: "Again, paid actors. Jason died because we had to write him out of the show. His parents weren't really comfortable with the gig and wanted him out. He later returned as _"The Red Hood"_ under his own will. He wanted an edgy character. Barbara was a talented actress but also likes the spotlight. She was the one who suggested to kiss you on that rooftop. I disagreed but she went ahead anyways. I didn't like this, so I made adjustments to make her character a cripple. I guaranteed she could never pull such a stunt again. As for Richard, he was an actual circus boy. In fact, his parents encouraged him to take the role. In his late teens, however, he wanted to move on and work as a professional stuntman. Thus him leaving your side as "Robin" and becoming "Nightwing". It was an excuse for him to not be by your side all the time so he has time to focus on his professional career."

Bruce: "What about Clark, Barry, Hal, and Diana? Who are they??"

Alfred: "Again, paid actors. This time, it's actual actors. We hired Hollywood Celebrities to play part"

Bruce: "Tell me, Alfred. Did I even do anything real these last few years of my life?"

Alfred: "Let's look at it this way, Master Bruce. Your "needs" helped the city's crime and poverty rate massively drop, economy and tourism boom, whilst also keeping you from going into a psychotic episode or spiral further into depression. Wayne Enterprises has also developed many life changing technologies by reverse engineering your gadget concepts and then we pour the profits right back into the community for the actual stunts. You saved Gotham by being the Batman. You did it, Master Bruce. You *_ARE_* a Superhero, just not in the way you'd initially thought of..."

[Night_Raptor_]

LoL it's just like those creepypastas about some main character being in coma and his entire life being a lie.

[ignis]

It was the butler the whole time, classic

[IsRickIV]

Bruce: “But…Superman? The Justice League? Darkside!”

Alfred: Ah, those were a bit tricky to pull off, but nothing a bit of pyrotechnics, hidden wires, and makeup can solve.

Bruce: MAKEUP!

[IgneousRockstar]

This takes “the butler did it” to the next level !

[OpenBiolabsGuy]

Somewhere, in an alternate universe, there’s also a situation where Batman and Joker are secretly the same person. Wouldn’t THAT be a story?

[supershotgun]

This comic raises so many questions like were the gotham police in on the scheme or did they not know but if they weren't why wasn't any of the actors arrested. And would Superman be fake too?

[luanrafaelvieira]

The real Joker in his chair while hearing the story: "what the actual f..."

[just_an_internet_explorer]

It’s like that one meme

*Alfred in Corner*

Alfred: “They don’t know I’m the Joker”.