Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

Maria's experience was actually not complicated. She was simply cursed by the once Joker, and now she has become the Joker herself.

But if you look at it from another angle, her story is not that simple. If it were just falling into a chemical vat and under the watchful eye of Batman, she wouldn't have turned into the Joker so easily.

Maria was an ordinary bank clerk. But before she became a bank clerk, her upbringing was naturally not smooth sailing. In general, it could be summed up as: an abusive father, runaway mother, worthless brother, and her striving self.

The fact that she could find a stable job with such family conditions shows how hard she worked.

What's more commendable is that Maria didn't choose to walk down the path of crime but grasped every opportunity to work hard and carefully minimised mistakes, thus winning the battle of survival.

Perhaps many people have this experience: someone struggling so long for survival tends to lose themselves. Operating daily like a lifeless machine until the soul gradually disappears. After achieving what was once unattainable, one no longer feels any joy.

Maria did just that; she lived her life like a template, similar yet opposite to Rose.

Rose relied on criminal means, not exactly honourable, but in the end, she reached a high position. Maria didn't become a criminal; through hard work, caution, and a little luck, she also lived a stable life like an ordinary person.

But they both faced the same problem, which was the lid above their heads.

Whether through criminal means or hard work, they could not continue upwards.

Rose chose to resign herself to fate, to escape from the terrible living conditions of the lower class, and if that meant being a dog, so be it. Maria, however, chose to grab the Joker's hand that reached out to her, and together they plunged into madness, using insanity to ward off despair.

Her true self had been suppressed for too long, life without room for advancement left her with no reason to continue suppressing herself. The Joker made her see the wonderful liberation behind madness, which cast Maria as she is today.

Was Maria's tragedy created by the Joker? Maria, the Joker, and even Batman don't think so, at least not entirely.

The moment Maria's head hit the ceiling, her normal life could not go on forever. To break through this limitation, one must either become a criminal or a madman.

From this perspective, how many criminals and madmen in Gotham have experiences like Maria's?

Clark was also pondering this question. He had never viewed Gotham from this angle before, but now he realized that many of Gotham's darknesses didn't have a specific source like Metropolis did. No matter how much he traced back, he couldn't find any specific person or thing to blame.

Then, Bruce showed Clark some videos, which were testimonials of the criminals from Arkham Asylum.

The super villains who made it to solitary confinement in Arkham all have a story, don't they? But then again, who among those still alive to tell their stories hasn't dealt with the lid above their heads?

Indeed, many of Arkham's criminals are born with a bit of mental abnormality, but that doesn't mean their choice to become criminals isn't influenced by other factors.

Society didn't give these congenitally mentally ill sufferers any other path. Even on the road of crime, their options are limited. In the end, they are just pawns under the control of the upper class, consumed mutually with those at the bottom.

To blame everything on the wealthy isn't entirely fair. Many among them have climbed up from the lower class themselves. Through their own strength and a stroke of luck, they broke through the ceiling above them and secured a better new life for themselves.

All their efforts to maintain their class are simply because they don't want to fall back down; they are protecting their own interests. Had others from the poor been in their place, they would have done the same.

It should have been this way.

But without thoughts that can dismantle this closed loop of logic, everyone deserves a fair share of blame, then gentle measures should be taken to reform and ease the conflict.

However, after the Arkham Asylum escape betting game, this issue, in Superman's eyes, is no longer just a problem of the rich-poor divide.

Maintaining one's class interests is one thing, but treating human lives as toys for amusement, releasing one's entire cruelty and darkness without shame but rather with pride, can't be solved by sheer force. Superman could bring them down in a second.

After hearing what Bruce said, Clark nearly burst with rage. The heaving of his chest made one think even the sun might be sucked dry.

Unfortunately, Gotham has no sun. So, Clark became even angrier.

Just as Clark was ready to take action one punch at a time, Bruce stopped him and persuaded him with all his might.

His logic was quite clear: firstly, there were too many people involved, even if they could all be successfully arrested, the court wouldn't be able to pass judgment right away, giving them room to maneuver.

These are very cunning people, not to mention how many could escape in a few days, any delay of a day would be enough for them to destroy all evidence and exonerate themselves.

They must be judged, but collecting a complete chain of evidence and preventing them from destroying it, to nail them to the pillar of shame, is what matters most.

Additionally, these people control Gotham's economy and livelihood. If they were all arrested at once, even a brief upheaval would be enough trouble for the average person. Unless it's extremely urgent, it's better not to be so aggressive.

Clark gradually calmed down as well. He worked hard to temper his anger, and at the same time praised Batman's composure.

"What do you think we should do?" Clark asked, "You must have already found evidence, right? Is there anything I can help with?"

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have called you over," Bruce said. "There are many who can arrest them, GCPD can do it. But to expose their evil deeds and let the public know the truth, there's only you."

"I am one of them, if I stand up to speak, the public may not believe me. Batman only recently cleared his bad criminal reputation, and still lacks credibility."

"I contacted our mayor earlier, but someone reported that municipal funds are undetermined, and he's cooperating with the FBI on the matter, so he can't spare the effort. Fortunately, there's you, Clark."

Bruce stepped forward, put his hand on Clark's shoulder and said, "I've heard about the achievements you've recently made in Metropolis. I didn't expect that with such great power, you would also choose such a delicate way to help ordinary people. I'm proud of you."

Clark embraced him without another word.

"I know it's hard for you to face all this alone," said Clark. "I hope if anything like this happens again, you'll tell me first. No matter how tough, I'll be there to help you."

Bruce seemed to hesitate for a moment, but didn't push him away. Instead, he said, "I will."

Clark said with some surprise, "You've changed a lot, Bruce. I'm really happy about it. Alfred would be proud of you too."

Bruce smiled. Clark was dazzled by his smile. It was so genuine, as if he was truly happy. Even if Clark knew that might not be the case, it was hard not to respond.

"This is much better than when you're all serious," said Clark. "You should smile more often."

Bruce smiled again, and so did Clark.

"Arkham Asylum has records of these criminals' admissions and treatments. These are key pieces of evidence. I hope you can go there to retrieve them and keep them safe, make sure no one else gets access to them."

"I have to find that betting money, to prevent anyone from getting any ideas. Let's split up. After you get the stuff, we'll meet up at Wayne Manor."

Clark, as always, did not object to the plan. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'm on it."

When Clark arrived at Arkham Asylum, he didn't have much trouble getting the documents.

The problem arose when he was heading to Wayne Manor to meet up. As soon as he got to Wayne Manor, Batman was just getting ready to leave.

Clark noticed his complexion wasn't great and asked with some puzzlement, "What's wrong? Did something go wrong with the plan?"

Batman was taken aback by his question and quickly thought it over.

Seeing Superman's searching gaze, he immediately guessed that Bruce and Clark might have discussed something, that there might be some kind of plan between them.

But if he said, "The one you met before wasn't me," then Clark probably wouldn't share the plan with him. To probe for more information, he'd have to play along.

"Yes, there's a minor issue, but it's nothing major. I'm just about to deal with it," said Batman. "How did it go on your side?"

"I got the stuff."

"Let me check it to make sure everything's alright."

Clark didn't think twice; he directly handed over the documents he was carrying to Batman. Batman was startled as soon as he saw them: Weren't these the details of super villains I'd announced earlier? What does Clark want with these?

Fortunately, Clark didn't disappoint him, not even needing him to fish for information. Clark said, "This information is indeed very important. If those people want to clear their names, they'll definitely try to tamper with the data."

"Even though it should be quite safe in your Batcave, I think it's best if I carry it with me. Besides, I can organize the information and get ready to write a press release."

Several keywords flashed through Batman's mind: criminal data, carry it around, press release...

Wait, could it be the "Super Villain Registration Bill" again? Was it Penguin Man who sent him? Just to get this data to release it, to support his proposed bill in the State Council?

Batman frowned slightly. So that no-good Bruce had also sided with Cobblepot and even successfully persuaded Superman. This was troublesome.

Batman knew about the ruckus Clark had been causing in Metropolis recently. He had quite the reputation lately, and many people followed his press releases. If it was really published, and the State Council passed the bill, the pale knight would definitely give it strong support. It would be hard to oppose it alone.

He had to find a way to get Superman on his side.

Bruce could impersonate him, so naturally, he could impersonate Bruce. After all, they shared an identity; wasn't it just as he said it was?

"There's been a change in the plan," Batman said bluntly. "Don't write the press release just yet. I need to conduct a thorough investigation before deciding our next move."

Clark, however, frowned and said, "Did you run into some serious trouble? Didn't you just promise me that you'd tell me first if you faced any trouble? Are you thinking about handling everything by yourself again without telling anyone?"

Who promised you? Batman thought, wondering if Kryptonians could also have poor eyesight. That utterly feckless man that didn't look like me at all, you could mistake him for me?

And what does that guy's reckless promise have to do with me? Why should I share the trouble I encounter with Superman? What's the logic in that?

As Batman pondered, he felt a shadow looming over him.

The next second, Clark embraced him.

With a swish, Batman shot three meters away, looking at Clark with the most horrified eyes he'd ever had in his life.

Looking at Clark's hurt expression, Batman nearly lost the urge to ask—What are you! Upset about! Exactly!

And then he thought of a terrifying possibility—Bruce didn't really let him hug him, did he?!

Just for a Super Villain Registration Bill, could that guy be willing to sacrifice so much?

Batman thought somewhat frantically, go ahead and register, live father, who could stop you?!