Nearly all of Gotham City is infected with Joker's deadliest toxin yet. The city's citizens roam the streets with grim smiles on their face, looking to harm those they come across. The CDC and military begin a quarantine for the city, erecting massive walls to keep citizens inside.
That's the state of the Gotham Batman must dive into the heart of in order to find a cure. Joker's virus seems unkillable, but Bruce thinks that by finding patient zero he can develop a cure. Only problem is patient zero is housed at Gotham Presbyterian hospital, right in the center of the city.
Batman contacts Commissioner Gordon to let him in on the plan. Gordon says Gotham Pres is the oldest hospital in the city, Wayne funded, and prone to accidents. Some say the hospital is haunted.
Once Bruce is inside the hospital, Batman #37 takes off and doesn't stop. Just as Batman finds patient zero, the Joker finds Gordon. The revelation of patient zero and the events that follow are too good to spoil here, but needless to say the stakes continue to get higher and higher. There is no joke this time -- Joker is out for blood, and he's doing everything in his power to bring Batman to his knees. Joker has orchestrated his plan flawlessly so far, but it's easy to see the madman is just getting started. What is he building up to? It's a scary thought.
Writer Scott Snyder does a good job of building tension throughout the issue. He lets us into Batman's head, which is key in this issue where the situation is quickly spiraling out of the Dark Knight's control. Bruce is obviously shaken. He is constantly repeating to himself that he is more than a man. He's Batman. He can defeat Joker. He can find a cure. He can save the city. Bruce is trying to be the hero Gotham needs, but it is taking everything he has just to keep it together and not give into despair. It's a rare look at how vulnerable Batman can be. Batman has already failed to stop the spread of the virus; now he's trying to make up for his failure, but the Joker is making sure that it isn't going to be easy. Or painless.
Greg Capullo (as usual) does a fantastic job on art duties. Special attention needs to be called to his absolutely terrifying depictions of the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime has always been portrayed as crazy, but Capullo has an amazing ability to make the Joker look downright evil. One moment in particular, Joker, with fire-axe in hand as a building burns around him, stands out as the perfect image to capture the essence of the character through this arc.
Like every issue of "Endgame," we get yet another side story that tells of the Joker's possible origins. As these tales are all told by the criminally insane, it's hard to put much weight in what they are saying, but that's part of the fun. Every issue continues to build upon the aura of mystery that surrounds the Joker as a character. Is he a man? A monster? A demon? A ghost? Nobody knows for sure, and that's what makes him so captivating and terrifying at the same time.
Story
★★★★½☆
Art
★★★★½☆
Overall
★★★★½☆
