Stanzas: Monthly Chapbooks April 2015: The Fool | Page 18

higher power, but rather is driven by the acknowledgment of his actions. Though our
Joker claims ‘I am not a schemer. I show the schemers how pathetic their attempts
to control things really are.’ (The Dark Night) it is obvious that he shares a lot of
characteristics to The Fool; he is of a lower class than Batman, he seems to be a mad
man but in reality he is clever and collected, he keeps Batman on his toes and shows
him a different side to his reality.
The Joker’s drive of creating world anarchy brings us to another iconic figure,
Brain from Pinky and the Brain. Where The Joker’s goal is to destroy the Brains is to
control.
‘Gee, Brain. What are we going to do tonight?’
‘The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try and take over the world.’
Now, you’re probably assuming here is a perfect example of a fool in Pinky but
no, Pinky is the Fool and Brain a fool. However now the strings have been cut Pinky
has no input, no control, yet if Brain put aside his arrogance and God complex
perhaps he would succeed. Where Pinky’s ideas are simple and concise Brains are
extravagant, every night he embarks on a fools errand only to be foiled by the people
he wishes to conquer. Even when Brain enhances Pinkies mental abilities he refuses
to listen to his advice marking him as an idiot. The theme song gives a clue to the true
nature of these infamous mice.
‘They’re Pinky and The Brain
Yes, Pinky and The Brain
One is a genius
The other’s insane.’
So we come back to the original question ‘What is a fool?’ A fool is any man. Any
man at all. But beware for those you pin as foolish may in fact be a true Fool. Who
pulls the strings?

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