Warning: spoilers for Batman #130!There's no doubt the Joker is considered one of DC's most dangerous villains, but now Batman is explaining exactly what it is about the Jester of Genocide that makes him such a consistent threat to Gotham City and even life on Earth.

Batman is in for the fight of his life as he is facing one of his most dangerous foes yet. Failsafe is a robot that was designed by Batman's alter ego, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. - a personality he developed in order to act as a secret weapon against psychological attack. The Caped Crusader always has a contingency plan, and the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is a genius move, giving him a back-up identity when any of his villains tries to attack or control his mind. However, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is an extreme measure, and only the worse threats allow him to emerge

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In Batman #130's 'I am a Gun' - from Chip Zdarsky and Leonardo Romero - the origins of Batman Zur-En-Arrh are revealed. This alter ego of Batman was actually created by a psychiatrist as part of an experiment. It was then used to disorient and confuse Bruce Wayne, leading to a more violent and unrestrained version of the Dark Knight. This personality was then repressed and kept inside of Batman to fend off any psychological attacks. However, when facing the Joker, Batman Zur-En-Arrh emerges unbidden. The Bruce Wayne side of Batman is confused as he isn't under threat of any psychological attack, so this alter ego shouldn't have risen to the surface. However, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh claims that Joker essentially is a psychological attack.

Joker Is Batman's Most Psychological Threat

batman joker is a psychological attack

Classifying the Joker as a psychological attack is something that every DC fan knew, but which is only now put into words. Joker is a force of chaos with no fixed personality - while he embraces criminality and destruction, his perspective can change on a dime, and his modus operandi ranges from simple robberies to attempting to wipe Gotham off the face of the Earth. He constantly taunts Batman to break his most essential moral rule by killing him, and yet is such a threat, even fans can't agree whether the Dark Knight is actually being selfish by not making an exception for his nemesis. Just by appearing, Joker sows doubt and confusion, to the extent that the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh sincerely believes this is the type of situation he was created to address - Joker's mere presence is on the same level as any other villain directly attacking Batman's mind.

The Joker has always been considered Batman's nemesis, even though Batman faces much more physically and even tactically formidable opponents, such as Bane, Ra's al Ghul and Deathstroke. Yet the Joker is still considered Batman's arch enemy because of this psychological aspect to his villainy - a concept that "the Joker IS a psychological attack" perfectly explains.

Next: DC Proves Joker Can Destroy Earth Whenever He Wants

Batman #130 is now available from DC Comics.