Jason Todd Revealed (But Didn't Learn) The Disturbing Reason Why The Joker Doesn't Die

The following post contains spoilers for "DC KO: Red Hood Vs. The Joker" #1.

Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime, is one of the greatest villains of the 20th century, and arguably the single most iconic comic book villain, period. Just like Gotham City, Joker has evolved through the years, with different iterations highlighting different aspects of the character. Joker has been a remorseless serial killer, a prankster clown with goofy trick guns, a mentally unstable maniac, a literal monster, and much more.

Over the years, Joker has died many times, both in comics and in a few movies. His return can be simply attributed to comics being comics, to DC not wanting to get rid of their most popular and recognizable villain. But it can also mean more, like how Jason Todd helps reveal the reason why the Clown Prince of Crime doesn't die. The answer comes from an unlikely source. For the uninitiated, DC is going through a big Crisis-style crossover event, wherein the heroes of the DC Universe participate in a tournament. The winner will be chosen as King Omega, a champion capable of defeating Darkseid and ending his dominion over all of reality. This has resulted in such fights as Superman vs. Captain Atom and Cyborg vs. Swamp Thing, but also weird brawls like Superman vs. Homelander.

One of the best matches came in "DC KO: Red Hood Vs. The Joker" #1, wherein Jason Todd finally got the rematch he's been waiting for his entire life and got revenge on Joker for killing him in 1988's "A Death in the Family." Unfortunately, the fight doesn't exactly go his way, and though Jason ends up killing the Joker, the Clown Prince ends up on top, as Jason revealed why this particular evil doesn't die.

Jason Todd and Joker have a long history. After Joker seemingly killed him, Jason returned as the antihero Red Hood, vowing to kill Joker and every other villain Batman just leaves alive to fight another day. That story was best portrayed in the "Under the Red Hood" animated film, one of the best DC animated movies you need to watch. This means that their latest brawl had decades' worth of context and buildup.

The fight between Joker and Jason was bound to pack a few reveals and big moments. The first one is that Batman has actually been trying to develop a cure for Joker, a permanent solution for his archenemy. Jason, meanwhile, had been working on something special for Joker — a concoction to amplify the chemicals that created the villain to kill him.

When Jason manages to overpower Joker and kill him in the fight, he inadvertently activates a device Clown Prince of Crime had implanted in his body that shocks his heart and restarts it if he's killed. Jason, unfortunately, doesn't see this, but the reader learns of Joker's horrific plan to terrorize innocents even after death. Now that is a hilarious joke.

The idea of Joker implanting a failsafe in case he's killed is a brilliant and silly way to explain why he can't die. But it isn't the only time he's done it. "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" is a fantastic animated film that reveals how Joker once kidnapped Tim Drake (the third Robin) and implanted a microchip in his head containing the Joker's consciousness. After the real Joker's death, the microchip activated, and the Clown Prince of Crime essentially possessed his body, slowly morphing him into the clown we love to hate.