In Addition To Bringing Back Fun, Funny Silver Age Prankster Joker, Let’s Also Bring Back Fun, Whimsical

In addition to bringing back fun, funny Silver Age prankster Joker, let’s also bring back fun, whimsical hat-obsessed Jervis.

I don’t mean hat-obsessed as in using hats as masturbatory aids, Gail Simone. (Though I do stand by that still being far preferable to certain other interpretations.) But remember when that little motherfucker was all about stealing Batman’s cape and cowl? Let’s bring that back.

What I want is an entire storyline where Batman is trying to solve a very perplexing mystery, but he’s delayed, inconvenienced, and generally irritated at every turn by the Mad Hatter trying to steal his cowl. He’s not even being malicious about it, and he has no desire to know Batman’s secret identity. He just wants the cowl and is doggedly persistent and annoyingly competent. (Maybe he’s using a bunch of nifty new gadgets, too. Feel free to remember the guy’s an engineer anytime you want, DC.) No matter what Batman and the BatFamily does, he just keeps stalking the Dark Knight through the city and story.

Eventually it’s discovered that the Hatter actually holds the key to solving the mystery at hand (either it’s a complete coincidence or the he’d been trying to tell them the whole time and offering to exchange his help for the cowl but they weren’t listening), and he happily teams up with Batman for the climax of the story. And it all ends with Jervis in the back of the Batmobile, being allowed to wear the cape and cowl on the drive back to Arkham (Batman using other means to hide his face) and just delighted as he can be.

Bonus points if he’s sharing the backseat with the story’s true culprit, who is far less amused by the turn of events.