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DC is looking to make the Joker feel new, so Batman writer Matt Fraction is looking to Michael Mann's version of Hannibal Lecter
Matt Fraction has described the dynamic between Batman and the Joker as akin to Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter
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If I can speak for the public right now, I'd say that the people love their Hannibal Lecter. Whether it's Brian Cox, Anthony Hopkins, or Mads Mikkelsen, we get a kick out of watching a mastermind cannibal like Hannibal Lecter run circles around the people trying to bring him to justice, because he's so unsettling. Hannibal scratches an itch we didn't know we had.
Arguably, the Joker is in a similar position to Hannibal, which is why it isn't surprising that current Batman writer Matt Fraction is drawing on the character while writing the Joker in his and Jorge Jiménez's run.
On the BIFF! BAM! POW! Podcast, Matt Fraction called out the Michael Mann movie, Manhunter, and an exchange that Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter have in the film. "There's a line in Michael Mann's Manhunter, where Hannibal Lecter says to Will Graham, 'Well how'd you catch me?' And [Will] says, 'You had certain disadvantages.' [Hannibal] is like, 'What disadvantages, what disadvantages?' 'You're completely insane,' right, is the response."
“When I started to think about how do you do a Joker that is in any way even slightly different, because it’s been so well trod. Yes, he’s the best villain in comics but that also means there’s about as many Joker stories as Batman stories. What is anything that feels new to me as a reader, that feels different… What’s the opposite of everything else? Slow, fat, and quiet. The suspicion that if he wasn’t completely insane, they would be best friends," Fraction said.
Fraction was speaking about this current arc that started off with the ending of Batman #6, where it was revealed that the Joker is alive, but in a tank with a mask delivering oxygen to his nose and mouth, making him unable to speak. Because he's been floating in this tank, the Joker has gained weight, making his new appearance a departure from his previous status quo.
Batman is the most well-known superhero in the world — surprisingly, given how much he loves hanging out in the dark. But between his comics, TV shows, movies, games, and more, DC's Dark Knight is the hero this city/country/world/universe needs, and we have all you need to enjoy him even more:
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