Batman: White Knight stopped with a fist, i.e. Batman's methods. This led him to turn the Joker into a politician, using the character's intelligence and charisma to win the people of Gotham over. DC Comics had no problems with the ideas that Murphy had for the series such as changing the timeline in Batman's history. However, the adult content like nudity and profanity that Murphy had intended to include were not permitted. Murphy revealed that the Joker in "White Knight" has the real name Jack Napier, a callback to Tim Burton's 1989 "Batman" film where the Joker played by Jack Nicholson also shares
Batman: The Man Who Laughs take on the Joker feels incredibly authentic." Goldstein later ranked "The Man Who Laughs" #23 on a list of the 25 best Batman graphic novels. Don MacPherson of The Fourth Rail felt that "The Man Who Laughs" "rob[s] the Joker of some of his mystery" but said that Brubaker and Mahnke "capture the chilling nature of the Joker's insanity and bloodlust, not to mention the intensity of the Batman." MacPherson in particular praised "how well [Brubaker] brings Jim Gordon to life." Batman: The Man Who Laughs Batman: The Man Who Laughs is a one-shot prestige format comic book by Ed