Warning: "Dark Knight Rises" spoilers ahead! Proceed with caution!

Christopher Nolan was adamant about not including Heath Ledger's Joker in "The Dark Knight Rises," to the point that the Clown Prince of Crime isn't even name-checked in the film. That was a disappointing decision for many fans (yours truly included) who felt that at least some reference to Gotham's premiere psychopath was warranted.

If that was towards the top of your list of "Rises" complaints, then the film's novelization might be the cure. Nuke The Fridge reports that the book contains a mention of what happened to Joker after the events of "The Dark Knight." We got our hands on the book earlier this week, too. Click past the jump to take a look at the excerpt yourself.

I love that. It's a great little nod to one of the greatest movie villains of all time, and wholly appropriate considering the character. Would it have been too much for Nolan to include a similar line somewhere over the course of "Rises'" nearly three-hour run-time? Personally, I don't think so. But it's nice to have the novel to somewhat fill in that gap.

Inspired by the possibility, one creative fan even imagined how a Joker cameo could have played out in "Rises."

Tell us what you think of the Joker's fate in the comments section below or on Twitter!