The Jokers five -way revenge !
Rumor has it, that the classic Batman vs.Joker(1973)issue #251, may be a major influence in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight"...
In “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!” the villain is ruthlessly hunting down members of his old gang because one of them betrayed him to Batman and the Gotham Police, leading to his arrest. Upon escaping from “the state hospital for the criminally insane” (Arkham Asylum had not been dreamed up as a Gotham locale yet!) the Joker kills his former henchmen one by one, with Batman hot on his trail. Batman finally catches up to the Joker at a seaside aquarium that has been closed due to a recent oil spill. The Caped Crusader is just in time – he manages to save the Joker’s last surviving henchman just as the villain throws the henchman into a tank containing a ravenous shark. Batman then chases the Joker down on the oil-slicked beach, delivering him to justice with several savage punches.