I was aware that some readers of the book objected to the Batman sharing a laugh with the Joker at the end. But the joke itself and the laughter is a switch from the gritty realism of the Batman offering to rehabilitate the Joker, poised on the edge of knowing that they were inevitably going to kill each other otherwise, to symbolism. The joke is a symbol, the laughter is a symbol, and the playing card on the back jacket is a symbol: that, at tne end of the day, the two characters have manifested their grief in fundamentally similar ways (whereas Gordon is stronger than them both).
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
