Batman #614

HUSH CHAPTER 7 - THE JOKE

Batman flies into a rage and begins pummeling the Joker. The Joker keeps muttering the word, "Stop", but Batman isn't listening to him. Harley Quinn tries to sneak up behind him with her signature mallet, but Batman sidesteps the blow, and Harley accidentally smashes the Joker's arm with the hammer. Batman gives Harley a kick to the gut to get her out of the way, then continues to beat on the Joker. Images of Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd and Sarah Essen flash through his mind – all victims of the Joker.  Catwoman, slowed by the bullet lodged in her shoulder, attempts to restrain Batman with her whip. She recognizes the look in the Dark Knight's eyes, and realizes that he plans on killing the Joker. Batman swings about punching Catwoman in her wounded shoulder. The shock from the pain causes her to slump over, but Batman can't stop from killing the Joker because he thinks about the idea of Catwoman being Joker's next victim and he can't stand the thought of it.  As Batman continues to wail on the Joker, former police commissioner James Gordon shows up behind him. He draws his weapon and fires two warning shots, telling Batman to calm down and think it through. Gordon is horrified as he realizes Batman already has thought it through. He coaxes Batman away from the Joker, reminding him that he is about to cross a line that can never be forgiven, and that if Batman becomes a killer, Gordon will lead the hunt for Batman himself. Shocked that the only other man who could want the Joker dead more than Batman himself wants him to live, Batman calms down, and the Joker keeps repeating that he is innocent.  From a rooftop high above, the man whose face is covered in bandages witnesses the event while flipping a scarred silver dollar in his hand. Talking to himself, he admits that the Joker was actually innocent in the death of Tommy Elliot.