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Sometimes when a character begins to get stale, writers decide to make up more powers or abilities. When the Flash was first introduced, all he could do was run fast. It was later decided that he could go through solid matter and travel through time. The Flash I could understand, but I never thought I would see this stunt pulled on the Joker.
In Batman Gotham Knight issue 73 (Affiliate Link), we see that Joker was badly beaten by Hush. So while recovering, he accidentally discovers that he has an apparent connection with birds. So he begins reading bird books and befriends them, until he is able to control them and rig them with explosives. So Joker becomes a bird whisperer, and now has powers I guess? Sort of bizarre to me.
So I guess the Comic Code Authority became really lax by 2006, since they were allowing things like a bare-breasted bloody corpse in a morgue. Granted nipples have been removed, so I guess that makes it okay? There is a lot of blood and violence in Batman Gotham Knight 73 and I would question letting my children read the material. That being said, it is entertaining and the artwork is fantastic. It features guest artist Diego Olmos. He is clearly talented with the dynamic anatomy and clear storytelling that I do not always expect in comics like this.
I do have one major complaint, however: the cover. It lies by saying The Joker vs Hush, Round 2! Does this happen? Nope. A blatant lie. But regardless, we see what direction the story is headed. The artwork is good, the story is good, and the characters are good. There is a lot of excellent content in Batman Gotham Knight 73. My favorite is when Joker shoots a Robin, exclaiming that he hates them. This is an obvious reference to when the Joker killed Robin in the past. Definitely check it out when you have the chance.
