Punchline is a brand-new character who is really terrifying. She is an evil, cold-blooded, and ruthless serial killer. Knives are her main weapon, and she wields them pretty well along with her jokes. She frequently claims that what happens next is what is humorous. Sincerely, based on appearances, she resembles the Joker in terms of psychosis. She admires him for who he is—completely insane.
She is suspected of being the Joker’s new love interest in addition to his new partner. She made her comic book début in volume 89 of the Batman series. She will play a bigger part in the future Batman series, it has been widely implied. We shall thus investigate her history today to learn how Punchline got to be Punchline.
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Punchline Psychotic Backstory Explored
Who is Punchline? Well, her public persona is that of Alexis Kaye. She is introduced in the 80th-anniversary edition of the Joker. Here, she is shown as a student at Snyder College. She met The Joker for the first time when she was visiting a TV studio as part of a school field trip. There, The Joker had taken over the newsroom and was busy doing his thing, you know, terrorizing people and whatnot.
He then held Alexis at gunpoint as bait, and to show his power, he then made the anchor give out a threatening little message to the Gotham residents. Alexis’s life was saved when Batman came in and ruined his fun, but she became obsessed with the Joker by then. She romanticized him so much that she even started to think that the Joker’s crimes had a more significant meaning. Obviously, he’s a Bad-Man’s God.
She went on to create a podcast where she just talked about the Joker and extensively investigated and fangirled over his prior misdeeds. Eventually, she made her own outfit and her own name as well. She started poisoning individuals in and around Gotham to catch the Joker’s eye. The Joker saw her promise and taught her how to make a customized version of Joker Venom, which is basically a deadly version of the laughing gas. She then used it to conduct experiments on the homeless people who lived under a bridge.
This is shown in the comic where she talks to her college Dean, Bob. Now, Bob was a sweet fellow who was worried about Alexis’ behavior and went to speak to her. However, she just saw him as an authority figure who was probably trying to save his behind by making sure that he did his part and spoke to her. The event that started all this was a misdemeanor that Alexis did on Superhero Day.
Everyone in college was supposed to dress up like a superhero that they admired, and she chose to wear a Joker t-shirt. She seems edgy, right? Yeah, well, that and her sinister ideas were probably what drew the Joker to her. She used the modified Joker Venom to kill him.
While he was dying of uncontrollable laughter, she told him how it was everyone’s fault that she had become this way. Her reasoning was that everyone is told that they can be anything. So, she chose to be a bad guy. She then proceeds to dress up in her Punchline outfit and out her ragdoll makeup. This heartless and cold-blooded killing finally managed to convince the Joker that she belonged and that she should be a part of his team.
The first arc that she is a part of is ‘Road to Joker War.’ The entire scene takes place after Superman decides that it is a great idea, as a wanted superhero, to disclose his hidden identity to the public. This only led to more sinister ideas in Joker’s brain. He felt that fighting one last battle with Batman using his secret identity would be super entertaining. Obviously, it will be entertaining; it would be like ripping off the mask and exposing him in front of all the villains in Gotham. Joker chose Punchline as the new underboss to prepare for this task.
Her very first task was to monitor Catwoman, who had gone to dig up a Joker impersonator’s body after she got a message from the Designer. She was unaware that it belonged to one of the gang members of Joker’s gang, Artie. The Joker obviously heard about it by Punchline.
She told him that Catwoman and Harley Quinn had discovered Artie’s body. While she seems to want to know the next steps, Joker is quite easygoing about the situation. Instead of worrying or planning, he says it’s okay and goes to meet some people.
Meanwhile, Punchline kept Mercy Graves as a captive in Batman Who Laughs while Joker battles it out with Lex Luthor for using the Dark Multiverse’s Batman for help and disobeying his warnings. But surprisingly, the Joker let them both go, saying that it was all a prank and that Lex had gotten what he needed. Later, while working with the Underbroker, Punchline runs into Catwoman and Harley Quinn.
This time, however, a fight breaks out between Punchline and Harley Quinn. Punchline is furious that even though Harley spent so much time with the Joker, she tried to fix him during his days in Arkham instead of loving him for who he is, an evil genius. In the ensuing fight, Punchline cuts Harley’s neck before giving the order to drop her body into the river. She also manages to injure Catwoman and then steals the whole Wayne wealth from Batman for the Joker using the account details Catwoman had previously obtained.
We see her again in the ‘Joker War.’ In this, Punchline arrested Lucius Fox and poisoned him in order to gain access to the equipment that Batman owns as Underbroker and Joker were now in charge of Wayne Enterprises and the Wayne fortune, respectively. Punchline was waiting for Batman when he entered the Batcave. She went on to surprise him with the new Batsuit that Lucius had made for him.
Batman was forced to run away after he was attacked by Punchline. Why? She made fun of Batman for losing everything and even infected him with a hallucinatory variant of the Joker Venom, that is why. She is such a mean person; I love it. Clearly, the poor man had no other option but to run. As the story progresses, we see Punchline and Underbroker at the Tricorner Yards to check on the chemical shipments that have just arrived.
They are planning to use it to produce a greater quantity of her version of the Joker Venom. There, they find out about Clownhunter, a vigilante who dresses as a clown. He hunts down and kills members of Joker’s gang. She then tells Joker to send some of his heavier goons to deal with Clownhunter before she heads off to murder Harley Quinn. Still, Joker is unconcerned with her warnings about Clownhunter and Batman’s ongoing presence.
Punchline discovers Harley Quinn and Batman in Eden, a forested sanctuary constructed by Poison Ivy for Harley beneath the City of Gotham. Harley Quinn stops Punchline from committing arson and torching the entire place, which leads to a fight between the two. Punchline made fun of Harley forever even thinking she could get to the Joker’s heart while they battled. She really has a knack for these, I feel.
Harley reacted angrily when Punchline suggested that the Joker actually loved her for “understanding” him. She accuses her of being nothing more than a con artist, saying that Harley only ever cared for Batman. Punchline breaks away in a rage, prepared to murder Batman to further make her point. But Batman, who had managed to escape from her drug just as she got there, thanks to a mixture Harley had earlier given him, was her perfect match. It didn’t take Batman long to vanquish her and well show her that he would always win.
Punchline is said to be inspired by a character called Marian Drews, who was created two years before Punchline. Both of them used to work for the Joker, but Marian was more of a satirical version of the recent version of Harley Quinn, while Punchline is more of an anti-Harley Quinn.
Amazing Storyline of Punchline
Punchline is one of the most influential and manipulative characters I have come across. The comic “Punchline” follows her obsession with the Joker. After meeting the Joker, we see how she becomes an obsessed stalker and serial killer. We also follow her through a court trial where she claims to be innocent.
The story starts with how the two met. They met at the tv studio where he held her hostage. She pretty much immediately became obsessed with him. Call it Stockholm syndrome or just crazy girl behavior, but it was something. She became so obsessed with him that she started a podcast where she used to talk about each of his crimes. She claimed there was a greater purpose to his work.
Meanwhile, in the present day, she has been charged with multiple crimes like arson, assault, and conspiracy. If the charges came out to be true, she would be heavily penalized and could be sentenced to capital punishment as well. She claims to be both innocent and mentally stable.
She makes a video about her innocence as well. She calls herself a victim of the Joker. She claims to have been manipulated by the Joker into thinking that the system needs to be torn down and create something new. She talks passionately about how she was brainwashed while she lives her life as Punchline and kills people left and right.
She keeps trying to get the Joker’s attention by trying to recreate the Joker Venom and make it better by committing mass murders. This eventually draws the attention of the Joker, and well, she is ready to tell jokes to everyone and show them that she is the Punchline. The Joker decides to help her remake the Joker Venom and make it effective when she kills people. They are shown sharing a kiss after they meet, which clearly implies that the two will have some romance in the future.
We see the extent of her manipulative abilities right at the end of the comic. She has managed to garner a hoard of followers who are screaming Free Punchline, and We Love You Punchline. It is fascinating to see the kind of hold a supervillain can have on people. Using her podcast, she has been gathering followers and like-minded people all over the world. The whole world is about to have a boom in comedians from the looks of it.
What Makes Punchline So deadly?
Punchline has the deadliest ability anyone can have, the power of her words. She can manage to overturn crowds with her words. She is so manipulative that she can even get under the skin of Batman. She is obviously really good at hand-to-hand combat and acrobatics. She used her knives in close quarters and managed to hurt Harley Quinn really bad. She even wounded Catwoman with her knife skills.
She has great knowledge about chemicals. She created a modified version of the Joker Venom which made people laugh till they died. Initially, the venom was not working as well. But her efforts caught the attention of the Joker, and they finally partnered up and made it as deadly as it is so far.
Punchline is a character that I would love to see even more of. She is a manipulative and cold-hearted person who shows zero remorse for her actions. I think she is one of the most brilliant supervillains that I have come across. She is like the Joker in terms of their psychotic characteristics and thoughts. It is quite a treat to watch. It would be wonderful to see more of her in the upcoming Batman series. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!