Forces
Explanation
The Joke
The comic shows Batman confronting a villain who declares: "You'll never get away with this, Batman! Materialism..." Batman interrupts with a philosophical argument: "I don't need to 'get away' with anything. The sum of human action is the product of competing forces. It's the laws that govern behavior. Like Batman. The word 'dark' doesn't describe the button, it's incidental..." The villain simply responds "Dammit!" as Batman appears to escape or gain the upper hand.
The joke is that Batman uses a philosophical argument about determinism and materialism -- the idea that all human behavior is determined by physical forces rather than free will -- as a rhetorical distraction or justification. The villain's own invocation of materialism backfires when Batman co-opts the philosophical framework.
The Humor
The comic is funny because it places an abstract philosophical debate about free will and determinism into a superhero action scenario where it is completely out of place. Batman, typically known for punching criminals and using gadgets, instead defeats a villain through philosophical argumentation about materialism and determinism. The villain accidentally opens a philosophical door by mentioning materialism, and Batman walks right through it. The "Dammit!" reaction suggests the villain recognizes they've been outmaneuvered not physically but intellectually, which is an absurd inversion of the typical Batman confrontation.
References
The comic references philosophical materialism (the view that everything is made of matter and governed by physical laws), determinism (the idea that all events are caused by prior events according to natural laws, leaving no room for free will), and compatibilism debates in philosophy of mind. Batman, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger for DC Comics, is here used as a vehicle for philosophical satire -- a common SMBC technique of placing highbrow intellectual content in lowbrow or pop-culture settings.