I know its super late, but on your Batman Beyond thoughts, I always wonder where all these powerful and weird looking misfit teenagers become Jokerz?
Or like does Bonk have parents, if so did they care about his death?
You make a very good point here, anon.
The show, as great as it is, fails to elaborate much on The Jokerz's past as a whole. Sure, there are tidbits here and there but more should have been added to properly explain how and why they joined The Jokerz in the first place.
Sure, make the point they were dumb teens who didn't know better, but there's more than that, there always is.
So let's explain it further by the five W’s.
Who, What, Where, When, and Why.
Who?
Who are the characters presented to us?
Ghoul, DeeDee, Chucko, Wolf, and Bonk.
And whoever other teenager dressing up is similar to either The Joker or Harley Quinn herself.
What?
What is happening to these characters and the people around them?
Simple, a group of misfit teenagers go out of their way to cause chaos and mischief wherever they go. Of course, lacking general empathy, causing property damage, and directly or indirectly murdering people whether they were innocent or not. And to be stopped by either law enforcement or by The Batman.
Where?
Gotham City, more specifically Neo-Gotham City.
The various old and decrepit buildings of what Gotham City was like before were long forgotten. Likely, used for the citizens of Gotham who couldn't afford the luxurious apartments and homes near and within Neo-Gotham.
When?
The future.
A time beyond Batman’s prime in time for a new Batman to take place. Just in time to handle the new and chaotic criminals that run or fly freely across the city. New technology, new law enforcement, new drugs, and new opportunities to cause havoc upon the citizens of the futuristic city.
Why?
Many reasons, few predictable, others reasonable, and the rest unexplainable.
Throughout the show, it's shown that various teenagers who go into a life of crime have rough backgrounds. Abusive or neglectful parents, low income, bullying, or even the corruption of authorities.
Bonk’s death, while brief, shows the cruel reality that many of these young criminal teenagers would face. Yes, they may be having fun, but over time they’ll be able to face life-threatening situations that may end their life. It could be painful, it could be painless, or it could have long-lasting effects if they survived. In Bonk’s case, he made the fatal mistake of going up against The Joker, paying dearly for it, and dying with a permanent smile on his face.
His body might as well be disposed of near or in a trashcan. I doubt DeeDee would go the extra mile to deliver his body to his parents, but if they did I can't imagine the horror his parents would have finding his corpse laid out on their front porch. Now, whether or not they cared for Bonk is unknown, but judging his brutish personality I could only speculate he cared for himself and likely hated being seen as lesser than everyone else. Especially his parents.
The other Jokerz can be speculated as well.
Ghoul came from a rich family, likely running off to live a life without rules and regulations. I've written a few scenarios about this on this blog about this. His family likely disowned him because of his involvement with The Jokerz as I never see them visit him when he's captured.
DeeDee are related to Harley Quinn, now whether they know about that is up in the air. But it's obvious they were inspired despite how much their ‘Nana Harley’ despised them for it. They seem to enjoy the limelight of joining forces to cause havoc and chaos all at once despite everyone telling them not to.
Chucko is a bully who loves inflicting misery on others. Likely joined The Jokerz to bully others without consequences and cause mass amounts of destruction. Whether or not he came from a bad family, it's clear that Chucko enjoys bullying others he sees as lesser than him.
Wolf was human before being spliced with hyena DNA and became the rabid creature we all know. It's possible that he felt a clear connection with animals, specifically dogs, rather than with his own family. Maybe he felt like being a dog/hyena made him feel more complete rather than living his life out like a human.
And we already talked about Bonk.
God knows about the other Jokerz members.
Sometimes I wonder what would happen in the next ten years for these characters and where they’ll be then.
Would they be dead? Would they get proper help and move on? Would they still be in jail? Would they change their whole gimmick and become like the villains from the past?
This reminds me, I found an artist on Devianart who specifically drew The Jokerz gang if they took part in the inspirations of past villains. Ghoul as Scarecrow, Wolf as Killer Croc, and Bonk as Bane. It's very creative and I feel like it should get more attention for how creative they all were.
Nonetheless, The Jokerz gang should be talked more about not only for their missed potential but for their capability to do so much more.
((Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker but it's with Scarecrow-))
“Batman showed up and we had to ditch. But we were able to save this,” From out of the pocket of Chucko he brought out a simple vile.
It was filled halfway with whatever compound within, it swirled around in the teenager’s hold as he held it. He then rolled it over to the decrepit man, body hidden in the shadows he grabbed the vile and raised it to his eyes.
His hand was pale and thin, if anyone chose to look closely at the man they might see missing pieces of flesh.
“I know it's not much but-”
“It’s not much, “the figure asked, “it’s nothing.”
The vile was slammed onto the table, the contents from inside splattering across from the force. Bits of it dripped from the edge and onto the floor as well on the skin of the man, yet the pain wasn’t registered at all. Even as bits of glass pierced through his hand he did not flinch, opting over to personally take the pieces out by hand.
The group had flinched at the notion, the room filled with dread more so than ever. Even taking a breath was relevant of a pin drop of how quiet it was.
“Useless, all of you. A disgrace to those who have come before you. Why in my day-”
“In your day?!”
Everyone looked over at the bulking teenager on their left, raising himself off of where he stood he marched his way over to the others.
“Ever since you got here, it's been ‘Your day’ this and ‘Your day’ that!” He slammed his hands onto the table, huffing at the lack of reaction given by the man in the shadows.
“Bonk-” Chucko grabbed onto the arm of the teen only to be shrugged off, his anger only growing.
“Your days are over, old man, even if you are who you say you are.” Bonk pointed an accusing finger at the man who nonchalantly picked at the candy corn beside him.
“And, personally, I think you’re a fake.”
The figure hardly reacted, twisting the piece of candy in his decayed hand before he finally spoke.
“Ah, the gift of the youth; speaking their minds with no thought or consequence.”
Bonk turned over at the others, one hand on the table, the other pointing over at the man.
“He’s got us running around, ripping a lot of chemicals, but no cash! He won't tell us what his plan is if he even has one!”
The others were of silent agreement, apart from Ghoul, who kept his eyes over at the figure. He wasn't even sure if the man was even paying attention to what Bonk was saying, it seemed like he was more interested in how he would react.
Would he agree to what Bonk would say or would he stay loyal like before?
Before Ghoul could give a proper reaction, Bonk went over at the figure, facing him with no fear.
“I. Want. Out.”
“If you insist.”
A click was heard, Bonk gasping at the sudden image of the barrel of a gun in front of his face. Besides the shadows covering his face, the man made a crude smile, and jagged teeth poked through into the light.
“Hey man, “Bonk raised his hands, “take it easy. I-I was just kidding.”
The gun went closer, the man raising himself above the rest as the gun went closer to the teenager. Everyone gasped as Bonk flinched at the notion before the trigger was pulled and red gas seeped through the muzzle.
Bonk immediately coughed at the sensation, waving his hands as the sickly feeling of the gas was taken in.
“Scared you, didn't I?”
The reaction wasn't immediate, it took a second, maybe even five before the effects finally came through. To everyone else, they all watched helplessly as Bonk looked at his hands in confusion before fear had taken over.
“Uh-huh-”
He swiped away something on his hands before it went to his arms, then his neck, and soon his face.
“Get off! Get OFF! GET OFF!”
He then screamed, falling over himself as his hands reached all over his body. He was scratching himself, back arching as his eyes widened and tears leaked through. His mouth wide and his voice pitched as he continued with his convolutions, his cries echoing the factory as everyone watched on.
The Scarecrow hummed to himself, walking over the frightened teen as he made his way to the others. Everyone instinctively cowered before him, Ghoul himself falling back behind the others like a child. But he’d be lying if he didn't feel some form of excitement over Bonk’s predicament.
Serves him right.
“That’s also how we did it in my day, “The Scarecrow admitted over Bonk’s screams.
You know, besides thinking that Ghoul will become the next Scarecrow, I always wondered what the other members of the Jokerz gang would become later on.
You know the Jokerz are teenagers, right? If so, I wonder if Bonk had parents?
I wonder that too, and I can't remember if Bonk's age was revealed in the bios. We know The Dee Dee's are 16 years old in Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker, and Ghoul is 19. Woof's age is unknown but he's probably a teen and/or young adult. I know in the 2.0 I think it's maybe a few years time skip since Terry is in College, so maybe a year-2 or even 3 years.
Bonk's age I'm unsure of, he seems like it could be one of the eldest. Teen or Young Adult, he most likely would still have parents, who may or may not miss him, and probably don't know he's dead unfortunately (That's if they do care about him).
Thanks for your detailed response on the Jokerz backgrounds.
I do imagine regardless of where the Jokerz disposed of Bonk's body, the authorities would eventually find the body or its remains and identity it, as well as inform his next of kin or at least put "Benjamin Knox" on the news somewhere.
It's sad to know that that is how Bonk will only be remembered by.
A troubled kid who turned to crime died at the hands of a madman, his corpse thrown out in the garbage or elsewhere, and his family possibly buried him as one last ditch effort to give him peace. And what he’ll be remembered by was just what he was made out to be: A criminal.
At the end of the day, despite the trouble and possible homicide they caused, The Jokerz are just kids. They don't know better than to relish the suffering of others but I bet you if they faced the actual brutality of crime they’d be scared and run off. They’re not hardcore criminals willing to bomb Neo-Gotham on April Fools' Day, they’re just kids.
They just want to have fun without the restrictions of the law (or rules in general) that's it.
