During the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con, altered $1 bills were distributed throughout the convention. These bills changed George Washington's picture to include red lipstick and blacked-out eyes (in a manner similar to the Harvey Dent photo on Ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com), as well as replacing "ONE DOLLAR" with "WHY SO SERIOUS?". Using WHY SO SERIOUS as a .com address led to a Joker henchman recruitiment page.
Initially, Whysoserious.com showed a vandalized Uncle Sam "I Want You" poster (see below) with a countdown timer in the upper right, counting to 10:00AM PDT, and coordinates leading to a location in San Diego.
- Tired of your miserable, dead-end job? Ready for a change of
- pace? Our elite organization is expanding! We're looking for
- fresh faces to represent us in an important upcoming negotiation.
- You must be 18 or older to apply.
- Enjoy a career in a lucrative, ultra high-profile field. Our
- associates make their own hours, enjoy great benefits and, in
- some cases, work from home.
- Do you have what it takes? Qualified recruits must have:
- An open mind.
- Strong moral compass.
- The ability to improvise.
- Recruits are encouraged to ask a friend with access to the internet
- to help them from home. If you don't have any friends,
- consider hiring one.
- Tryouts begin when the clock hits zero at 32-42'29.13"N
- 117-9'40.91"W.
- Bring your sense of humor, but don't worry -- we'll
- supply the smile.
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Report
After the scavenger hunt ended, Whysoserious.com updated. The site featured the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight and a police file summarizing the events, captioned "Here's what you missed..."
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Gotham Police Department - Update: "Joker" Eliminated - All Forces Stand Down
- Do Not Disseminate - Police Department Use Only
Offense:
- Reported Code Violations 7-27-07
- 415, 594, 602, 136.1, 528, 422, 207, 203, 220
Location:
- 4th and Island, 2nd and J, Harbor Blvd, Convention Center, 6th and J, MLK Promenade, Children's Walk
Details:
- Thursday
- Officers were intially called to the downtown area after recieving multiple reports of defaced currency.
- Detectives recieved reports that the money was somehow linked to a website.
- This site appeared to be looking for "recruits" - a ruse that the site's author used to manipulate hundreds of gullible individuals into creating mayhem in the city streets.
- Friday morning, 10:00 am
- Recruits assembled at 10 am Friday morning. Most of them appeared to be in contact with co-conspirators online. Those online alerted the crew on the street to "Look up," where they were suprised to see a phone number written in the sky.
- Friday morning, 10-11:30
- From this point, the downtown area spiraled into chaos as a mob of depraved citizens, disguised with gruesome clown make-up that seemed to remove all their inhbitions, proceeded to:
- Form a dangerous roaming mob that terrorized ordinary citizens
- Foul public water fountains
- Terrorize a Girl Guide and steal her cookies
- And commit various other dangerous and illegal acts.
- In all of these activities, those on the ground were apparently aided and abetted by their online accomplices - an unholy alliance of technophiles and thugs.
- Online Evidence
- Aftermath
- In an ironic twist, the mob ended up betraying their instigator, believed to be the notorious criminal known as "the Joker." A black vehicle which officers believe may be connected to certain underworld figures pulled up in front of the mob, who allowed a pair of armed men to drag away "the Joker." Witnesses report hearing agonized screams from the vehicle as it sped away.
- Officers later discovered the body of the dead clown a few blocks from the site of the abduction.
- Conclusion
- Why was "the Joker" attempting to recruit an army? Who wanted him dead? How did his scheme go so teribly wrong? We may never know the answers: but at least the city has been cleansed of a dangerous psychopath, and decent people can sleep safely once more, secure in the knowledge that we have seen the last of "the Joker."
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Almost one year later, a nearly identical version of the report was added to the Why So Serious checklist. The only difference is that where the original lists code violations, the new report has a summary of the event:
| GPD was led on a merry chase through the streets of Gotham as hundreds of citizens in bizzare make-up worked with online counterparts to perform tasks and solve puzzles.
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Aftermath
Soon after the final update, Whysoserious.com was shut down entirely and redirected to Rent-a-clown.com.
