The Tragedy of John Doe, A Discussion on Telltale’s Batman: The Enemy Within

Will: Let’s be clear about something: Joaquin Phoenix can do his movie and people can still sing the overrated praise of the Killing Joke, but this is the Joker origin story we deserve. I didn’t know we needed this or were going to get it, but it’s what we deserve Mikkel. As soul-crushing as it was. Mikkel: Telltale didn’t just hit the mark, they hit repeatedly, multiple batarangs at the bull’s eye. I was not ready for the emotional journey that started all the way in the first episode of Enemy Within, by the end of Same Stitch, I was an emotional wreck. I don’t know what you saw, but Villainous Joker was all of the best elements of Hamill, Ledger, Nicholson, and hell even Leto. Seeing the transformation was one of the most harrowing experiences in gaming I’ve had and the highlight of this week in gaming. Will: Ok, so let’s step back for a second. Back to the first season. We don’t have to unpack everything, but when we first went to Arkham and met John Doe, knowing that he was supposed to be the Joker before the Joker…did you know he would play such a pivotal role in this season? Would you have even asked for that?

Mikkel: When the season one coda started to play out, I knew that Joker was going to come back in form for the second season. Every hero needs a villain, and it made sense to tackle the Crown/Clown Prince of Crime. But I didn’t expect to play a role in his origin story. I didn’t expect to become so invested in John Doe. But now I don’t know any other way they c…