THE JOKER’S MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON WAS HIS ABILITY TO MAKE GOOD PEOPLE QUESTION THEMSELVES. Joker understood that defeating Batman in a physical fight would never prove what he wanted to prove. His real objective was to expose the possibility that morality could collapse when people faced enough fear, pain, and desperation. That is why the choices involving Harvey Dent and Gotham’s citizens matter so much. Joker wanted people to believe that principles were only temporary comforts that disappeared when survival was at stake. Batman could stop him physically, but stopping his argument was much harder. The terrifying part is that Joker did not need everyone to become evil. He only needed them to believe that goodness was an illusion. Did Batman defeat Joker, or did Joker permanently change how Batman understood Gotham?