Tales From The Mind of Thomas

Damian seethes with anger as he and Batman arrive back at the Batcave. The sound of the Batmobile’s engine hums in the background, but for Damian, it’s drowned out by the Joker’s mocking laughter, echoing in his mind like a nightmare that refuses to end.

As they step out of the vehicle, the cavernous space of the Batcave feels suffocating. Damian clenches his fists, his knuckles white from the pressure. The weight of Batman’s hand earlier, pulling him away from ending the Joker, still lingers on his shoulder like a heavy burden. His heart races, the vision of his blade pressed against the Joker’s neck replaying over and over in his mind. He could have ended it.

Damian (voice trembling with rage): Why did you stop me?! I had him, Father! One strike, and it would be all over!

[Batman removes his cowl, his expression calm but worn]

Batman: We don’t kill, Damian. You know that.

[Damian’s face contorts with rage.]

Damian: We should!

[Damian paces, his gaze locked onto his sword, seeing the Joker face in the blade.]

Damian: Do you know what he said to me? He taunted me. He knew I wouldn’t do it. He knew you wouldn’t let me. He said he’d escape. And that he’d come back and kill again. He said I didn’t have the guts to stop him.

[Batman watches his son, letting Damian’s word hang in the air. Saying nothing, he allows Damian to release his anger.]

Damian: How can you let him live? How can you let him keep doing this? You listen to him laughing, taunting you, me, Gotham! Saying he’ll escape and kill more! Cause more chaos, and yet you let him live. How many more lives will be lost because you refuse to end this madness?

[Damian turns his back towards Batman]

Damian: You think letting him live is somehow noble? That sparing him makes you better? It’s just a weakness. Every time you let him live, it’s just another invitation for him to come back and kill again. You don’t kill him not because of some code, but because you’re too weak to do the right thing.

[Damian walks towards the exit. His sword still clutched in his hands.]

Batman: I’ve thought about it. I’ve wanted to. Every time I see the bodies, the destruction—the temptation is there. It would be so easy. But then I’m reminded of Paul. He killed hundreds too, persecuted thousands, and yet… God saw the good in him. God saw what Paul could become. He was the Hebrew of Hebrews, the greatest Pharisee, the ultimate persecutor of Christians… and still, God deemed him redeemable. Who am I to say the Joker, Jack Oswald White, isn’t?

[Batman pauses, his eyes hardening, but his voice remains calm.]

Batman: Every time I fight him… every time he kills, it’s a struggle not to cross that line. There’s a war inside me because I know how simple it would be. I know ending him would bring some peace, some sense of justice to Gotham. But it would also give me a power I shouldn’t have—the power to decide who lives and who dies. Who faces a courtroom and who lies in a grave. And once I take that power, there’s no going back. I’d stop being a protector… and become an executioner.

[He steps closer, his tone darker.]

Batman: And if I take that step… who will take that power from me? Who will stop me from using it again? One day it’s the Joker. The next, it’s someone else. My role is to protect Gotham, not play God.

[His voice softens.]

Batman: I’m not naïve. I don’t expect the Joker to change. There’s no grand redemption arc waiting for him. But if, somehow, beneath all the madness, there’s a chance—however small—if I kill him, that chance dies with him. I can’t let myself take that away.

[He glances at Jason.]

Batman: Others were saved. Others were redeemed, even when no one believed they could be. If I had taken that choice from them, we’d never know what they could become. Maybe the Joker can’t change. But… if God saw good in Paul, then there’s still a shred of hope. And that shred—no matter how small—is worth more than my rage.

That’s what separates me from him. That’s why I won’t kill the Joker.