Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2023: Week 40
Joker/Bruce Wayne, also known as Batjokes, is the popular non-canonical slash pairing of Joker and Bruce Wayne (Batman) in Batman fandom. Many iterations of the pair are shipped together from many different media, from the comics, TV shows, films, and video games.
Originally a crack ship, Batjokes has risen to become a popular ship in DC fandom. It is currently the second most popular slash pairing for Bruce and the most popular pairing overall for Joker, on fanfiction website Ao3. The Dark Knight movie provided compelling live action versions of both characters and helped to reinvigorate this ship. The fandom has continued to grow with each successive release of new canon, regardless of the media format.
Fanworks often focus on the co-dependent, obsessive and somewhat ambiguous relationship between these two enemies. There are lots of identity porn stories and stories where the two enemies must work together but fics where these two end up in a happily-ever-after style romantic relationship are less common. However, The LEGO Batman Movie and The Telltale Series video game are two source materials which provide creators with less antagonistic iterations of the characters, and that's reflected in the Batjokes fanworks coming from those fandoms.
Batjokes is notable as an enemies to lovers ship with very little antishipping.