In 1988, the Joker taught Batman readers that it just takes one bad day to drive someone mad and 34 years later, readers will find out in Batman: One Bad Day how this applies to someone like the Riddler, who is already quite mad. It was in March 1988 that Alan Moore's famous Joker one-shot, The Killing Joke, was published for the first time, proceeding to lead a legacy as arguably the most important and influential comic in the Batman's lore. Through a questionable origin story and a mission to push Commissioner Gordon to his limits, it is in this one-shot that Joker first insinuates that all it takes is one bad day for someone to be driven as mad as himself.
The Joker's philosophy was mostly directed at people who could be labeled as morally righteous and purely sane, highlighting how even the purest of people can be corrupted into pure evil. However, The Killing Joke never delved into how this philosophy could be reflected towards people who are already insane. That theory is about to be put to the ultimate test with the Riddler as its subject.
On Tuesday DC Comics announced on Twitter that writer Tom King and illustrator Mitch Gerads are releasing a special one-shot dedicated to a sudden killing spree helmed by the Riddler in a story titled Batman: One Bad Day. It's worth noting that this isn't the only one-shot announced today under the Batman: One Bad Day moniker. With additional one-shots announced focused on the likes of The Penguin and Two-Face so far, it's been teased that there will be at least eight different Batman: One Bad Day one-shots, each with different writers and artists on board. The Riddler version of Batman: One Bad Day by Tom King and Mitch Gerads is expected to release in August.
The Riddler and the Joker have always seemed to have been intrinsically linked to each other in one way, shape, or form. It wasn't that long ago that the two were interlocked into an all-out gang war with the fate of Gotham on the line during Tom King's War of Jokes and Riddles story arc. Then, more recently in the mainstream movies, Robert Pattinson's The Batman teased a sequel with the Riddler teaming up with the Joker.
Batman: One Bad Day appears to make that link between the two villains far more psychological than it's ever been by instilling Joker's famous philosophy through the eyes of the Riddler. The Riddler is typically depicted as the more calculated of the two, but enacting a full-blown killing spree is something more akin to something he'd do in the latest movie, than his traditional comics counterpart. To see just how the Riddler goes as mad as the Joker, stay tuned for Batman: One Bad Day's August release date.
Source: DC Comics