Yes, we finally get the Joker in Batman Vol. 4 #7… but not the way you expect.
In Batman Vol. 4 #6, Dr. Zeller’s mysterious Patient Ten floating in the tank was finally revealed to be the Joker. Issue #7 picks up exactly there.
No rooftop chase, no exploding amusement park, no big he’s loose again splash page. Instead, Bruce gets called into Arkham Tower like he is a very tired consultant, and the Clown Prince of Crime is sitting quietly in a Crown of Storms float tank, labelled Patient Ten and allegedly cured of his criminal insanity.
On paper, that sounds like every bad Gotham idea rolled into one. Let’s take the most dangerous mind in the city, plug him into experimental brain tech, and see if we can fix him.
What could go wrong?
In practice, this issue plays out like a tight, tense chamber piece: Batman, Dr. Zeller, and Joker locked in one room, talking about fear, systems, and control… with a kill switch hanging over Bruce’s head the entire time.
And then there is the foldout. DC decided that normal pages could not handle Joker’s history, so they stuffed his origin and insanity timeline into a giant gatefold that you have to physically unfold like you are opening his brain. It is loud, messy, beautiful, and completely wasted on digital readers who will only ever see it chopped into scrolling slices.
This is the issue that quietly says, If you care about this run, you should get the physical copy.
Joker in a Tank, Finally
Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez are kicking off their Joker arc by completely stripping away Joker’s usual chaotic mobility.
If you remember my Batman Vol. 4 #1-4 arc review, you know Dr. Anna Zeller has been building this controversial Arkham Tower treatment program since the reboot started. We saw her date night with Bruce go terribly wrong in Batman Vol. 4 #5 because of her tech. Now, we see her ultimate project.
Patient Ten is Joker, floating in suspension, claiming his madness has been stabilized. He isn’t throwing laughing gas. He isn’t swinging crowbars. He is speaking calmly, showing what looks like actual gratitude, and hinting that someone is coming to kill Bruce Wayne.
It makes you ask the uncomfortable question: Is he actually cured, or is he just playing a much deeper, quieter game with Zeller’s system?
The Chamber Piece: Batman, Zeller, Joker
I actually respect what Fraction did here. This whole issue is basically a three-hander stage play. Batman is trying to read the room while suppressing every instinct he has to smash the glass. Zeller is standing there proudly with a literal kill switch to keep Batman in check. And Joker is the spider in the jar.
You don’t get massive action spreads here. The tension comes entirely from dialogue, body language, and the history between these characters. Batman does not trust a fixed Joker, and honestly, as a reader, neither do I. We have seen the Joker goes sane trope before, but Fraction’s sharp dialogue makes the moral clash feel fresh. You spend the whole issue waiting for the other shoe to drop.
That Gatefold Joker Origin Page
Let’s talk about the logistics of this book. Right in the middle, Jiménez delivers a massive gatefold foldout page.
It is a visual explosion of Joker’s origins and his twisted perspective on Gotham. It is packed with multiple Joker personas, visual callbacks to classic eras, and the sheer chaotic noise of his timeline. It literally cannot be contained on a standard comic page.
From a pure collector standpoint, this is the kind of gimmick I actually like. It isn’t a variant cover trying to squeeze another twenty bucks out of you. It is form acting as storytelling. You have to physically open the pages wider to let the madness out.
Art & Atmosphere in Arkham Tower
Jiménez does incredible work here, and he does it with both hands tied behind his back. Since Joker is mostly submerged, Jiménez has to rely on extreme close-ups.
The eyes do all the heavy lifting. The lighting in the tank, the sickly greens, the reflections of Batman and Joker staring at each other through the glass, it creates this incredibly sterile, claustrophobic atmosphere. It feels more like The Silence of the Lambs than a superhero comic.
Print vs Digital: Why This Issue Wants Paper
I am going to sound like a grumpy old man for a second, but this issue proves why physical comics still matter.
If you read Batman Vol. 4 #7 on an app, you are going to get to that gatefold page, and the software is going to chop it into bits. You will swipe left, swipe left, swipe left, trying to piece together a massive piece of art that was designed to hit your eyes all at once.
Digital reading is great for clearing out backlog logistics. I do it all the time. But this specific issue? It is a print-first experience. You lose half the impact of Jiménez’s work if you are staring at it on a small screen.
Verdict: Batman Vol. 4 #7 Is Not a Spec Key, But a Format Key
Let me be clear: this is not a major spec key. It is not a first appearance like the Minotaur back in #4. Do not run out and buy ten copies expecting it to pay for your retirement.
But is it a key issue for the story? Absolutely.
It sets up the new status quo for Joker in the 2025 Fraction era, proving that sometimes the scariest version of a villain is the one who calmly tells you he is better now.
Score: 9/10
Buy it if you like watching Batman argue with science while Joker pretends to be normal and the paper itself loses its mind.
