This is Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker. The story is Done by Sean Gordon Murphy. The script is Written by Katana Collins and Clay McCormack. It is Illustrated by Mirka Andolfo. It is Colored by Alejandro Sánchez Rodríguez and Lettered by Andworld’s DC Hopkins. The cover is Illustrated by Sean Gordon Murphy and Colored by Dave Stewart. This book is a part of the DC Black Label initiative. Trigger Warning: This book contains elements that one may find disturbing such as fatal illnesses, references to past trauma, child gun use, and inhumane experimentation. Readers’ discretion is advised. This book follows Jackie and Bryce, The Joker and Harley Quinn’s children, as they go on a wacky adventure. After the end of Batman: Beyond the White Knight, a digital copy of Jack Napier’s consciousness was set off into the wild. And where does he go, right to his kids. He asks them to go on a little road trip, showing his kids what he was like before he became The Joker. But, being The Joker, of course everything goes wrong. Along with this, Harley Quinn, Batman, and Neo-Joker go on a quest to get Jackie and Bryce back. What will Jackie and Bryce find out about Jack Napier, and what secrets will be uncovered?
Honestly, this is the last book I’m going to read from the Batman: White Knight universe. It isn’t even that this book is bad, it’s just showing that the Batman: White Knight universe is going in a direction that I’m not particularly interested in anymore. When I originally read the first Batman: White Knight story back in 2021 (whenever I purchased it), I was initially fascinated with The Joker going sane, which was the general premise. That idea ended with that first book, but the sequel goes into interesting concepts with Azrael and the true origins of Gotham. The mystery and reveal were great with this sequel, but the ongoing problem I have with this series started to show itself, although only slightly. We then got our first Batman: White Knight universe spinoff book, which was focused on Harley Quinn. This book was fine because it had a sense of focus, but the villains could have been better. The third book of the main series, Batman: Beyond the White Knight, was interesting since it implemented elements from Batman Beyond, but was where I really noticed the main problem with this universe. There is just too much going on. There were too many characters, both new and old, doing their own thing, in a way that the actual plot gets lost in the mix. And, while this recent book doesn’t feel crowded per se, I feel like it was more concerned with setting the next installment up than actually having a worthy story. I was really excited when this book was announced, since Harley and Joker’s kids were one of the more overlooked elements of Batman: Beyond the White Knight. But sadly, they aren’t that interesting in this book either. They are key to the plot, but their characters were just stereotypical archetypes which I’ve seen many times before. Jackie is the rebellious teenager, while Bryce is the golden child she is constantly compared to. But, hey, if the characters are interesting, then who cares if it is a little cliche? Well, they aren’t interesting. They never fully grow past their archetypes, making the ending feel unearned. Overall, this story was a very lackluster showing.
Spoiler Alert: Along with the main story, there are also two interesting subplots. The first follows Harley Quinn and Neo-Joker (now named Riot), as they track down the two kids. This subplot was fairly good for me just because of one fantastic scene. For context, in the White Knight alternate universe, there are technically two Harley Quinns, both representing both eras of the character. Harleen Quinzel, the first Harley Quinn, shares characteristics of the original character, paying homage to Batman: The Animated Series. She stayed with The Joker until the death of Jason Todd, where she escapes The Joker’s abuse, with him never even noticing. Marian Drews, the second one now named Riot, is more in line with modern Harley. Joker found her and just assumed she was Harley. She stayed with him until the beginning of Batman: White Knight. Both of these characters were heavily abused by The Joker. The scene of this book is Harley and Riot bonding over the trauma they both have and talking how they got through it. Harley through her family and Riot through her lover, Poison Ivy. Riot also goes into how much she resented Harley because she was able to get past her trauma and she couldn’t (at least, for a time). This scene is easily my favorite of the entire book, and I wish it were in something less boring. The second subplot is following Wonder Woman of the White Knight universe, Agent Diana Prince. In this universe, many superheroes, except Superman, are agents, with Diana being the main one. Well, they are also looking for the two kids. Well, more for the Jack AI that they hold. The plot is stupid and is only used for teasing the next installment. There are a couple of cameos from other superheroes, like John Stewart and Wally West, which were fine. The ending teases Lex Luthor, to counteract the Superman appearance at the end of the last one. It’s boring, I’m done talking about it, moving on.
The art for this book is quite brilliant. One thing that has kept my interest within this series would be its spectacular artwork. It’s usually done by Sean Gordon Murphy, but this time around, it’s illustrated by Mirka Andolfo. Her art style works so well with the more lighthearted story, compared with the other installments in this universe. All the character designs are intricate, and the fight scenes are dynamic. I also really enjoy the coloring by Alejandro Sánchez Rodríguez, who brings a lighter tone to this series. Other than that, the artwork is great and is one of my favorite parts of this book.
Overall, this book was just not for me. I have been waning with this series for a bit now, and this book was the straw that finally broke me. The story was not that interesting to me, with only a few interesting segments that couldn’t save it. The two main kids were not my favorite at all, and their arc felt unearned. The subplots were fine, but I felt some of them were unneeded. The art is exceptionally good and differentiates this book from others in the series. Overall, a disappointment for me and my final one from this series.