Batman and The Joker have gone together like peas and carrots for over 75 years. The Clown Prince of Crime is the Caped Crusader's antithesis, and like Heath Ledger's Joker said in The Dark Knight, they're "destined to do this forever." Unfortunately for Zach Galifianakis' Joker in The Lego Batman Movie, Will Arnett's Batman no longer considers their relationship special, and this new preview delves a little bit deeper into the "couple's" issues.
In the midst of Batman defending Gotham City from The Joker's latest attack in this new ad for The Lego Batman Movie, the former informs the latter that he doesn't consider him to be his greatest enemy. Joker is understandably shocked by this revelation and asks who drives him to one-upmanship the same way he does. Batman then admits that he's been "fighting around" with Superman, even though the Man of Steel isn't a bad guy. Yes, well, given how Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice publicized their conflict earlier this year, one couldn't blame folks from getting the wrong idea. Regardless, Batman makes it painfully clear to Joker that there is no "us" between them, causing the usually smiling villain to shed a tear.
In a breakup that bad, we wouldn't fault Joker from wanting to curl up at home with some Ben & Jerry's and processes his feelings. Instead, the clown has opted to go down a route many of us wish we could with our exes: dishing out revenge! While Batman is dealing with his own problems, namely keeping his new adopted son, Dick Grayson, out of trouble, and trying to understand why the GCPD would want to officially work with him, Joker has formed a team of super villains to take over Gotham City once and for all. Its lineup ranges from longtime favorites like The Riddler and Catwoman to more obscure baddies like Calendar Man and Condiment King. Yes, folks, Condiment King is a real villain. Check out the Batman: The Animated Series "Make Em Laugh" to see his "frightening" debut. Fortunately, Batman will have allies of his own, namely Robin, Batgirl and the Justice League (which, by the way, also counts the Wonder Twins and their space monkey Gleek as members).
Since Suicide Squad didn't feature any interaction between Batman and Joker outside of that brief car chase sequence, The Lego Batman Movie marks the first time their dynamic has been explored on the big screen since 2008's The Dark Knight. Even better, the Lego format allows the blockbuster to explore their dynamic in a way the live action movies never could, namely through humor. However, often times there's a little bit of truth in jokes, so while we may laugh at Batman and Joker behaving like a bickering couple, The Lego Batman Movie might actually have wise insight into their decades-long conflict. But more importantly, that Buttmobile line at the very end? Classic!
The Lego Batman Movie hits theaters on February 10, 2017.
