![]() ![]() ![]() Grant Morrison said that their mentor suggested a bearded Joker, symbolizing Vagina Dentata.In the early sketches, the Joker was supposed to be dressed as Madonna.There's also Batman driving a shard of glass through his own palm.Sequelitis: A "spiritual sequel", written and illustrated by Sam Kieth and entitled Arkham Asylum: Madness, was released in 2006.Scarecrow gets a one page cameo spastically walking down a hallway with a pitchfork.Perhaps fitting, as his portrayal here is heavily based on another One-Scene Wonder, the insane Earl from The Ruling Class. Maxie Zeus only appears for one scene and does nothing but ramble out a speech, but he leaves a major and chilling impact.Narm: It's hard to tell whether or not this was intentional Black Comedy or just Morrison trying to make an obvious Visual Pun horrifying as Amadeus discovers his daughter's head in the doll house, the cuckoo clock chimes to signal the moment he goes cuckoo for Coco Puffs.Likewise, Batman brutally breaking Clayface's leg to keep him away is good deal more understandable if you know all that it isn't a vicious Kick the Dog moment, Clayface is trying to melt him and Batman is defending himself. The Clayface featured here is actually the third one, Preston Payne, who suffered painful Body Horror he could only soothe by using his Touch of Death powers on people, hence his sickly appearance and weird dialogue about giving Batman his sickness. Less Disturbing in Context: Clayface's portrayal, while still creepy, feels a lot less inexplicable if you're aware of when the comic was released. ![]() Hilarious in Hindsight: This wouldn't be the last time Joker and pencils in people's eyes would cross paths.Morrison noted all it did was add another layer to the Joker's audacity in saying it. The Joker's crack about Robin was written before Jason Todd had died in the regular books (at the hands of the Joker, no less) but the book came after."I almost wish she need never grow up.".Crosses the Line Twice: Call it sick if you want, but Batman defeating Doctor Destiny by pushing him down a flight of stairs is audaciously, "I'm-the-goddamn-Batman" hilarious.Awesome Art: Words cannot describe how horrifying and amazing the artwork looks.They all laughed their asses off, and in the paperback, Morrison asks them Who's Laughing Now?. Most of them thought the psychological horror and heavy symbolism was not only a failure, but the dumbest Batman story ever. And You Thought It Would Fail: In one of the anniversary paperbacks, Grant Morrison recalls how an early version of the script was passed around for people to look at.This incarnation was also used by Neil Gaiman in The Sandman (1989), to good effect. Morrison re-imagined him as an emaciated cripple, trapped in a wheelchair, wasted by his inability to dream. Most incarnations of Doctor Destiny have him as a 7-foot tall, muscular titan with a skull for a head.Though the abstract storytelling makes it hard to know for sure, the story also leaves open the suggestion that Bruce Wayne may (or may not) really be either possessed by an evil spirit that gives him a symbiotic connection with Arkham Asylum, or the latest reincarnation of the deranged psychologist who founded the asylum.
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