After the four-issue interlude "Batman: Grotesk", Morrison returned with the prose story "The Clown at Midnight" in "Batman" #663. The story was acclaimed and called one of the definitive Joker stories. Den of Geek called it one of 10 essential Joker stories, and it was revealed that Heath Ledger read the story to help him become the character for the film, "The Dark Knight". Many of the plot points in the story were used later in Morrison's run during the story arc "Batman R.I.P." when the Joker would return.