In the season finale
for The Enemy Within, an exhausted, bloody, and beaten Joker asks Batman a
question: “Did you ever think of me as your friend?” It’s a spark of
vulnerability in a character that is typically sowing discontent and wreaking
havoc. Unlike many of the other decision-making points, there’s no timer
pressuring you to respond, and in that moment I reflected on the choices I had
made up until then. I asked myself whether I feigned friendship with him in thepursuit of justice, or if it was genuine.
Telltale’s Batman: The
Enemy Within convincingly presented me with the idea that I could find
salvation for the Joker. That I could use the Dark Knight’s unwavering sense of
justice as a guiding hand, hopefully to shape him into something other than the
maniacal Clown Prince of Crime. I was wrong, and I failed.
In the end, events
played out as they always do: A cackling clown and a man dressed as a bat
standing on different sides of the law. This is a disappointing bait andswitch, but only because I let myself think things could be different–I saw
hope where there was none. The fact that I bought into the idea speaks to the
strength of the writing and performances throughout the series. Despite this
letdown, Episode 5 remains a compelling end to a story in which Batman becomes
a participant in the creation his greatest adversary.
While
that’s not a unique concept, ‘Same Stitch’ takes the idea that Joker exists
because of Batman and explores it more directly. Where comics allow subtlety
and subtext to suggest the symbiotic nature between the two characters,
Telltale’s take is more overt, and makes a stronger, clearer statement because
of it: Maybe Batman is the
reason villains exist in Gotham , and maybe his
crusade is doing
as much harm as it is good.
In possession of a
deadly virus and being hunted by an out-of-control Amanda Waller, John Doe
comes out of hiding as a vigilante calling himself Joker. That’s the person I
shaped though my actions as Batman. Wherever possible, I put my faith in him,
trusted him to do the right thing, and gave him the benefit of the doubt,
hoping it would have a positive impact. In response Doe modeled himself after
Batman, complete with Jokerangs, a grapnel gun with chattering teeth, and the
overwhelming compulsion to see justice served.
But, despite my
intentions, I had unwittingly placed Joker on the path to realising his
villainous destiny, albeit with a short detour through vigilantism. The episode
begins with Batman trying to recover the deadly virus in Doe’s possession and
stop him from doing harm. Amanda Waller, meanwhile, wants to capture Doe and
Batman, and resorts to using villains to get the job done, putting together a
Suicide Squad of sorts.
Events quickly spiral
out of control. Having been blamed for killing The Riddler, Joker becomes
focused on proving that Waller is the real villain in Gotham .
His morality becomes black and white, and Telltale does a great job of forcing
Batman to admit there are shades of grey. As Waller argues her case, it’s hard
not agree with her that Batman has taken similar measures in his crusade. This
showing of sympathy, and Batman’s insistence that she face trial instead of
suffering a more immediate fate frustrates Joker, making him lash out.
[Joker’s] morality becomes black and white, and Telltale does
a great job of forcing Batman to admit there are shades of grey
Batman’s rigid code of
conduct and unwavering morality erodes Joker’s sense of what it means to be a
hero and conflicts with his need for reparations. The result is is a mentally
unstable figure that acts on violent impulses and lives by a twisted sense of
self-serving principles. Instead of dropping John Doe into a vat of green
chemicals to create Joker, Episode 5 presents your influence as Batman to be
one of the reasons Joker is born.
Same Stitch manages to
be introspective and thoughtful, while also providing plenty of levity. Joker’s
stint as Batman’s sidekick is incredibly memorable, thanks to excellent voice
acting and more than a few funny lines. Joker behaves as you’d imagine any
Batman fanboy would if given the opportunity to go on a mission with the Dark
Knight, revelling in going back to back with his idol, running through the
ridiculous superhero names he considered before arriving at Joker, joyfully
riding in the Batmobile, and taking pleasure in being mended by Alfred. Sadly,
the fun and games are short-lived, as before long he’s on the warpath.
Episode 5 also gives
Alfred a more prominent and meaningful role. Having been there for every step
of Bruce’s journey, from orphaned child to vigilante superhero, he’s begins to
realise that perhaps he’s also been a negative influence, enabling Bruce’s
destructive lifestyle and failing in his job as a surrogate father. Telltale
takes some bold steps to change the dynamic between the two characters, and it
will be interesting to see how this carries over into future seasons, if they
happen.
Overall, Episode 5 of
Telltale’s Batman: The Enemy Within provides plenty of thrills and is a
satisfying conclusion to the story. Although there are a few set-piece fights
that are dynamic to watch, much of the actual gameplay remains focused on
walking around environments and interacting with points of interest. It’s a
shame that the series as a whole didn’t offer more opportunities to solve
puzzles, as it did in the earlier in the series, but given the satisfying story
payoff that’s easy to forgive.
Over the course of
five episodes, the Batman: The Enemy Within has delicately developed John Doe
and pulled strings to position Batman as a key player in his transition into
Joker. While Telltale’s first Batman season stuck a bit too close to
established mythos and delivered an underwhelming ending, the second is a memorable
Joker origin story that Bat-fans should make a point of playing.
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