THE MASSACRE

The Massacre was one of Gotham’s darkest tragedies, carried out by the Joker and leaving a deep scar on Batman, his allies, and the city.

It began when the Joker, who had been in a common cell at Arkham Asylum, escaped with the help of an intern. That same night, he targeted a charity center run by Bruce Wayne, which housed and educated troubled children under the supervision of Leslie Thompkins and her Sisters of Charity.

The attack unfolded with chilling precision:

• Joker entered during the early morning hours.

• He first shot Barbara Gordon, the center’s young receptionist, leaving her paraplegic.

• He then entered the dormitories, killing two children, Carrie and Duke.

• A third child, Stephanie Brown, was shot and left deaf.

• Other children tried to defend themselves and stop him from killing more.

• The surviving children were eventually saved by Leslie, who locked them in a safe room, but Joker still managed to shoot her in the back.

This atrocity became known as The Massacre. It had lasting consequences:

• Barbara Gordon transitioned from Batgirl to Oracle.

• Stephanie Brown lived with permanent injuries.

• The trauma fractured the Robin Class, scattering its members—Cassandra, Jason, Stephanie, Tim, Dick—each taking different paths.

Jason Todd’s fate became tied to the event; two weeks after the attack, Joker was arrested in a northern cabin, and Jason’s body was found mutilated and buried in a shallow grave.