this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2025
804 points (98.6% liked)
Funny
11935 readers
2021 users here now
General rules:
- Be kind.
- All posts must make an attempt to be funny.
- Obey the general sh.itjust.works instance rules.
- No politics or political figures. There are plenty of other politics communities to choose from.
- Don't post anything grotesque or potentially illegal. Examples include pornography, gore, animal cruelty, inappropriate jokes involving kids, etc.
Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the mods.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
It's about the appearance of rehab.
If it was actually about rehab, the Joker would have become a hero himself.
The real message is that rehab doesn't work, and the hero is too naive to realize it.
The joker has become a hero in the past. The joker also is the sole character whos defining characteristics basically is he's crazy not insane
There's nothing to fix, he's just like that.
And then, recidivism. He goes right back to being the bad guy.
The message is that you can't ever trust the offender. Even though it seems like they've gotten their life together, they are a minute away from returning to evil. The message they are sending is that all "rehabilitation" is temporary at best.
Exactly. They are saying that rehabilitation can't possibly work; the bad guy can never change.
The lesson actually being taught is that the hero's naivete enables the villain's future harm. The villain should never be trusted again, because rehabilitation is an impossibility. Trust and compassion are the hero's true weaknesses.
Batman is not about rehabilitation.
There are plenty of stories available of former bad guys getting their lives together and becoming heroes themselves. Those are stories of rehabilitation. Batman is not.