Warning! Spoilers ahead for Joker #9

DC Comics has just revealed that a greater conspiracy was at work behind the events that lead to the Joker killing Jason Todd, Batman's second Robin who would be resurrected to become Red Hood. In DC's Joker series, Jim Gordon has been trekking the globe hunting down the Clown Prince of Crime who's become the world's most wanted criminal. However, while Barbara Gordon and Julia Pennyworth have been helping him, they've recently learned of the existence of a powerful group of influential leaders that Joker had discovered before the sinister cabal even made it onto the Bat-Family's radar.

In Joker #9 from writer James Tynion IV and artist Stefano Raffaele, Jim Gordon learns of the secret collection of the world's most powerful and corrupt leaders known as the Network. This group has their hands in various operations, which Jim discovers thanks to the Joker himself. The Network was behind the creation of the classic Batman villain Bane as well his genetic clone/offspring Vengeance, created as the first of a new generation of supervillains which the Network can program, manipulate, and control for their own ends.

Related: Even Jason Todd Knows His Robin Was Killed Because of Fans

However, this new issue reveals that the Network was also behind one of the Joker's darkest acts against the Bat-Family, seeing as how the Clown Prince of Crime purchased a cruise missile from one of their American members (potentially within the C.I.A). Of course, this was the precursor event that led to Joker getting his hands on Jason Todd's Robin, murdering him in the iconic Death in the Family storyline before Batman could get to him.

Joker-Jason-Todd-Death-Conspiracy

Apparently, Joker has been ahead of the curve about the Network, while the Bat-Family has largely been in the dark. Furthermore, it seems as though Joker has his own vendetta against the Network for trying to clone him against his wishes, as they seemingly want a Clown Prince they can control. Because Joker prides himself on being one of kind, this would explain why he's been leading Gordon and company to the truth, exposing the Network's existence.

While the Network is certainly an organization that should be dismantled, it seems like an impossible task. Comprised of a vast selection of unknown members who hold the highest seats of power all over the world, how would Jim and the Bat-Family even begin trying to take them down? In any case, the fact that they were responsible for the events that led to Jason Todd's murder by Joker is very significant, serving as a major new development behind one of the biggest chapters in the Batman mythos.

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