“50 Tales for 50 Years: A Celebration of Barbara Gordon” - 2007: No Joke:
Throughout the years, as the guise Oracle, Barbara Gordon would have flashbacks to the day Joker struck her down. As the years went on in DC Comics, Barbara’s paralysis became a thing of destiny. In Geoff John’s 2007 Booster Gold (Vol 2) issue 5 story “No Joke”, illustrations by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund (cover art presented), Booster is sent back over and over to stop Barbara from being shot, but fails every time. In the end, Rip Hunter is informed by Batman that Booster would always fail this mission because this fate was meant for Barbara. A few years later, in Michael Straczynski’s 2010 story “Ladies Night” in The Brave and the Bold (Vol 3) 33, Zatanna and Wonder Woman struggle to come to terms with the impending attack on Barbara after Zatanna has a precognitive dream about it. These tales, although hurtful to members of the DC Universe, illustrate that Barbara’s tragedy was meant for her to become greater than she could have possibly imagined. ✌🏼💛💜📖🎨🎉
I heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he’s depressed. Life seems harsh, and cruel. Says he feels all alone in threatening world. Doctor says: “Treatment is simple. The great clown - Pagliacci - is in town. Go see him. That should pick you up.” Man bursts into tears. “But doctor…” he says “I am Pagliacci.” Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.
