Warning! Spoilers ahead for Joker #8
In the latest issue of DC Comics' Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime helps to reveal the true origin of Bane's daughter known as Vengeance. While Vengeance has been hunting Joker on behalf of the Santa Priscan government, she now knows the truth about who and what she truly is, revealing her discovery to none other than Jim Gordon. Furthermore, she asks something big of Gordon in light of this new information, a major request that the former police commissioner isn't quite sure how to process by the issue's end.
In The Joker #8 from writer James Tynion IV and artist Guillem March, Jim Gordon had found himself in Paris, working with Interpol in his hunt for the Joker, the most wanted criminal in the world after the devastation of the Joker War. However, Vengeance soon arrived and kidnapped Jim Gordon, taking him aboard a boat. When Gordon started asking her what she wanted and whose "vengeance" she was, Bane's daughter was surprisingly open and honest, revealing the secret origin she only recently discovered for herself thanks to the Joker who left a secret file for her to find.
According to the contents of the file and secret laboratory Vengeance found, Bane's daughter learns that she's actually a clone of Bane himself, being the second attempt in an experiment conducted by the Santa Priscan government. Apparently, their first attempt to program hate within a prime subject worked too well, seeing as how Bane internalized his hate for Batman so much that he never even knew it had been implanted. Instead, Vengeance was created with an addiction to the Venom compound from birth, being programmed with a hatred for the Joker while still being easier to control as opposed to her predecessor.
It seems as though Joker was hoping that if Vengeance knew the truth about where her artificial hatred for him came from, she might stop hunting him as so many others currently are. Interestingly enough, that does suggest that the Clown Prince sees her as a veritable threat that he may indeed fear, but his plan ultimately fails regardless. Instead, Vengeance recognizes the fact that Jim Gordon has been traveling the globe to try and take down (and possibly kill) the Joker. She sees that he has a genuine hatred and passion for ending one of the darkest beings to have ever plagued Gotham. As a result, Vengeance wishes to become Gordon's Vengeance, wanting to learn why he hates the Joker so that it might serve as a legitimate anchor for her, allowing her to kill Joker not for the generals who made her and have been using her as a simple weapon, but for Gordon himself.
All in all, the true origin of Vengeance is pretty intense, especially considering that she's essentially a darker version of Marvel's Winter Soldier when he was still brainwashed by Hydra. While she knows that she can't rest or be at peace until the Joker is dead, she no longer wants to serve Santa Prisca. As a result, Gordon seems to be her only hope. However, it's going to be interesting to see how Gordon responds in future issues. Will he allow Bane's daughter to become his instrument to potentially kill the Joker and end his evil once and for all? Will he finally decide that murdering Joker is the kind of justice he truly wants? Fans will have to wait and see as the series continues.