Joker's Bang! Flag Gun

Gallery

Origins

Owners

Current Owner

Joker

Creators

John Broome · Carmine Infantino

First Appearance
Detective Comics #341 (July, 1965)

Relax, Sonny, it's just a toy. You like toys, don't you? Pull the trigger and a ten-inch rod pops out, with the cutest little flag on it that says "Bang!" Priceless. Wanna see?

—The Joker^src

Joker's Bang! Flag Gun is a lethal gag pistol that the Joker uses for deadly practical jokes.

History

When the gun's trigger is pulled, it ejects a small flag instead of shooting bullets. The flag usually has the word "BANG!" written on it, although there have also been several other versions, including the phrases "Bang! You're Shot" or "Bang! You're Dead!". As part of the Joker's vast arsenal of comedic weapons, the Bang! flag pistol is often used by him to play with his victims and catch them off guard. While the Clown Prince of Crime has sometimes used it for harmless pranks, the notorious joke item is frequently revealed as a lethal speargun that can shoot out the flag like a harpoon once the user pulls the trigger a second time.

Pre-Crisis

The Joker first used a variant of the Bang! flag gun when he disguised himself during robberies by dressing up as several comedic actors from the silent film era. At one point, he wore a costume resembling Harpo Marx and carried a gun with a flag attached to it that said "Bang! You're shot!"^[1] In order to escape from Arkham Asylum, the Joker once swapped a guard's pistol with one of his own harmless prank guns. This variant simply ejected a flag depicting the Joker's face.^[2]

Joker 0117 — "It-It's not a **real gun**...!"
"Oh yes it is, Sidney..."

A deadly version was first used by the Clown Prince of Crime to toy with and execute his own henchman Sidney because he forgot to laugh at one of his jokes. At first, only a flag with the words "Bang! You're Dead!" popped out, whereon Sidney believed that his boss was only playing a practical joke on him. However, he was then murdered when the Joker pulled the trigger a second time, causing the gun to fire the flagpole into the henchman's face.^[3]

When the Joker wanted to obtain the rights to several old comedy silent films, he decided to kill the copyright owner and movie producer Harold J. Standish. He used Joker Venom to make him smile uncontrollably and then shot him with a Bang! flag gun.^[4]

Post-Crisis

After the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Joker attempted to shoot Batman with one of his pistols during a fight at the Bonus Brothers Carnival and Amusement Park. However, the Joker's gun had run out of bullets and only ejected a white flag with the words "Click Click Click" written on it.^[5]

The Clown Prince of Crime also held a Bang! flag pistol when Batman found him standing over the bleeding body of Thomas Elliot in front of the Gotham City Opera House.^[6] This led Batman to believe that his childhood friend had been killed by the Joker, whereon he proceeded to beat and almost murder his archenemy in rage.^[7]

Flag Variations

Bang!: Most versions of the joke weapon shoot this flagpole and sometimes a short sentence like "You're Dead!" is added.^[3] Although the flag has been shown to act as a harpoon, there have also been cases when the pistol shoots normal bullets while the flag itself remains attached to the gun barrel.^[4]
Click Click Click: A white flag with these words written on it pops out when the Joker's pistol is empty. As it is only meant to indicate that the gun has run out of bullets, this flag can not be used as a projectile.^[5]
Joker Face: This flag gun variant with the Joker's own laughing face printed on it was used by the Clown Prince of Crime to mock the guards at Arkham Asylum during his escape. The pistol of at least one guard was replaced with this prank version.^[2]

Other Versions

Burtonverse

The Joker carried a Bang! flag revolver during his dance with Vicki Vale at the Gotham Cathedral. Napier told her that he would not want to go on without her and proceeded to hold the pistol to their heads. When he pulled the trigger, it released a Bang! flag and Vicki screamed in terror, whereon the Joker began to laugh at his joke and her reaction before tossing the gag weapon away.^[8]

DC Animated Universe

Joker DCAU 032 — The Joker is killed with his own gun.

Both harmless and lethal flag guns were part of the Joker's weapons arsenal.^[9]^[10]^[11] Harley Quinn once tried to kill the Joker with one of them, but it turned out to be a simple toy machine gun that could only eject a "Rat Tat Tat" flag.^[10] A functional one was eventually used by a brainwashed Tim Drake to kill the Joker himself, who commented his own demise with the words "That's not funny." Moments after the death of the Joker, Tim broke down crying and was comforted by Batgirl. Decades later, the Joker was revived and carried a Bang! flag gun once again. When Bonk wanted to leave the Jokerz, the Joker threatened him with it and then revealed the flag by pulling the trigger. Believing it was only a joke, Bonk and the rest of the Jokerz gang reacted relieved at first. However, their boss then pulled the trigger again, whereon the flag was fired as a deadly projectile and killed Bonk.^[11]

Notes

In the uncut version of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, the Joker is killed with his own Bang! flag gun by Tim Drake. This was later edited along with other violent moments from the movie and replaced with a different scene. In the censored version, the Joker instead dies offscreen through electrocution. The scene in which Joker shoots Bonk was also altered. Instead of getting shot with the flagpole, the Bang! flag gun doses him with Joker Venom and he dies offscreen. The Joker's original death and the other cut scenes were later restored for the uncensored home video release.

Joker's Bang! Flag Gun

Contents