I can fight fight Gargoyles just fine without the Joker Badge and my sword is allrdy maxed out and I killed the ghost before I had the last badge >_> And at least I now have all the stuff from the auction. The hand 4xable was rly 'handy' some times after I got it =P
And even If I had an older save, I would probably not play all the content again, just for some honey. btw.: what would happen if I show the boot-driving ghost the badge?