In the alternate future timeline from Tom King, the daughter of Batman discovers that the Joker was very close to her own mother, Catwoman.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman/Catwoman #4
In the latest issue of DC Comics' Batman/Catwoman max-series, the daughter of Batman is looking into the secret history of the Joker and her own mother Catwoman. While Selina Kyle has evolved away from her status as a Gotham rogue as her romance with Batman has grown, her past is still her past, and Joker was apparently a big part of it, so much so that more than one foe from Batman's rogues recalls his and Catwoman's significant bond in this new issue.
Tom King and Clay Mann's Batwoman/Catwoman series allows King to conclude his narrative and romance between the Bat and Cat which included their attempted (and failed) marriage back in 2018. However, this new maxi-series takes place between three different timelines in the past, present, and future. While much of the series holds a lot of focus on the debut of the Phantasm to the DC Comics continuity for the first time, King also continues to allude to the past relationship of the Joker and Catwoman. Batman/Catwoman #4 confirms their strong kinship and bond they once had when Bruce Wayne and Selina's daughter Helena (the new Batwoman of the future) is investigating the murder of an elderly and retired Joker (whom Selina finally killed after Bruce passed away).
In the issue, Helena visits and questions several different Batman rogues, many of whom seemingly no longer pose a threat to Gotham. While she started with the Penguin, she soon got the same answer from many more past foes such as Scarface, Mister Freeze, and more: her mother was closer to the Joker than any other villain in Gotham City.
Based upon past interactions between Joker and Selina in this series, it seems as though Joker truly liked Catwoman, seeing her as a true friend and equal. Likewise, it seems as though Joker's personality and charisma appealed to the darkest parts of Catwoman, which only made things worse when the best parts of her became drawn to Batman, eventually leading to their romance. Now, their secret history and bond has compromised Selina, as Joker has been taking advantage of their past to hurt Batman. Naturally, this relationship was something Selina had tried to keep hidden from Bruce, but the Joker forces it to come to light by letting Selina know about a bomb he's set to go off at an ice rink, leaving Selina no choice but to tell Batman about it (and where she got her information). Naturally, this results in a pretty large rift between Batman and the Catwoman.
As far as the future is concerned, it looks as though the new Batwoman is close to putting the pieces together, and she'll soon come to realize that Catwoman killed the Joker. While this was apparently due to something savage and brutal the Clown Prince of Crime did to the Phantasm in the present, it seems very likely that mother and daughter will soon be at odds with one another as the Batman/Catwoman continues from DC Comics.
More: Catwoman Just Killed The Penguin In The Most Gruesome Way
