Story: "Part Six: You Only Laugh Twice" (30 Pages)

Credits: Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty (plot, script)
Rock Burchett (pencils)
Mark Lipka and Dan Davis (inks)
Willie Schubert (letters)
Gina Going (colours)
Digital Chameleon (colour separations)
Matt Idelson (edits)

Feature Character:

Joker

Guest Stars: Nightwing II
Oracle
Black Canary II
Batman (last in Robin Vol. 2 #95)
Huntress II
Spoiler
Martian Manhunter (last in JLA #59)
Robin III (last in Robin Vol. 2 #95)

Supporting Characters: Dina Bell
Shilo Norman (next in Birds of Prey #38)
Vincent Del Arrazio (next in Detective Comics #765)
Johnson (see comment)
Mike Akins (next in Detective Comics #764)
Lex Luthor

Villains: Rancor
Apeface
Warp
Multi-Man
Mister Mind
King Shark
Psimon
Mammoth
Carnivora
Hellgrammite (next in Adventures of Superman #608)
Black Mass
Doctor Polaris (last in JLA #59)

Comment: Johnson of the G.C.P.D. appears to be a last-minute substitution for Harvey Bullock, who quit the force a couple of months ago in the pages of Detective Comics.

Synopsis

Joker is enraged that he has been robbed of the chance to kill Robin, but somewhat mollified by the fact that the Boy Wonder was eaten. Nightwing and the other Gotham crimefighters, meanwhile, mourn their loss and contemplate revenge on the Joker - Nightwing makes a break for Gotham Cathedral, where he is eagerly awaited. The Joker has erected an energy barrier around the square which only admits Batman and those close to him.

In the Slab, Dina and Shilo have to resort to killing Multi-Man over and over again, until he gains the ability to reanimate dead tissue, which they use to resuscitate Black Mass. Mister Mind takes over his body and the Slab is returned to Earth, though at the South Pole. Inside Gotham Cathedral, Nightwing pummels the Joker relentlessly until Robin arrives on the scene, much to Nightwing's surprise. The Joker lies unbreathing, but he is brought back through artificial respiration. However, Nightwing will have to live with the knowledge that he killed the Joker, even if only for a few minutes. The Joker is returned to the Slab, but in many ways, he has won...