Joker Venom

Joker Venom is a toxin that features in DC Comics.

History

Pre-Crisis

Joker Venom

The Joker claimed on radio that he intended to kill millionaire Henry Claridge and steal the Claridge Diamond. This saw him secretly injecting a solution the night before that took effect twenty four hours later leaving Claridge dead with a grotesque smile on his face. He later conducted similar acts with the venom where he targeted Jay Wilde to steal the Ronkers Ruby and killed Judge Drake for sending him to prison in the past. (Batman v1 #1)

Post-Crisis

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.

The toxin was said to had been developed by Melvin Reipan who was a blonde-haired young man who developed it on behalf of his cousin who had become the Joker. Unknown to Melvin, the Joker decided to test it on his pet cat which died with a smiling rictus face. The Joker then used the poison to kill Henry Haight when he was giving a speech at the Chamber of Commerce. The success of the Joker Venom brought the Joker allies in the criminal underworld who began to rally after seeing his success. He then made a threat against George Partridge with him telling the police that the man would become his next victim. Despite police protection, Partridge himself was killed by a time-delayed use of the poison that was administered to him the night before he was taken in by the GCPD. (Legends of the Dark Knight v1 #50)

The crime lord Maxie Zeus found an old cache of Joker Venom and began mixing it with ecstasy to make a new drug called Chuckles. It became a popular drug in Gotham around clubs before to towards the suburbs. Time magazine called it the worst drug epidemic since crack in the late 1980's. A number of people began to die from overdose on the drug but it brought a large fortune to Maxie Zeus. Upon discovering this development, the Joker was left angry and escaped Arkham Asylum to get revenge on the crime lord. (Batman: Cacophony v1 #1)

Among the criminals infected by the 'Jokerification' was Doctor Polaris who already suffered from split-personality with the Venom making him more dangerous. He became a world killing threat when he attempted to use his magnetic powers to destroy the planet but was captured by Plastic Man. (JLA v1 #59)

At some point, the Joker came to work with Dr. Vincent Yatz and secretly helped in his nanocell smartskin technology. As part of the experiment, he provided some of his Joker Venom into the formula mix that eventually became part of the Creeper. (Creeper v2 #5)

At some point, a variant of the substance was produced known as Joker Juice that the Jokerz were passing through viral messaging of the web address on the internet. (Detective Comics v1 #867) It was later modified with steroids that induced rage and increased combat potential of their users. Despite the dangers, people were still making use of it as a recreational drug. (Detective Comics v1 #868)

The Joker later created a new version of the toxin that was much more vicious than the original pathogen and tailored it to affect each member of the Justice League who attacked Batman. (Batman v2 #36) Another was airborne and dispersed into the air with the infected spreading it even further in Gotham with all previous cures made by Batman being ineffective against this train. The infected were turned into laughing lunatics that attacked anyone around them. (Batman v2 #36)

Whilst investigating the disappearance of Martin Stein, the Jason Rusch Firestorm was ambushed by Killer Frost who was later assisted by the Injustice League where Joker was a member of the supervillain team. They aided Frost with the Joker spraying specially prepared Venom at Firestorm causing him to laugh uncontrollably leading to his defeat as he could not neutralise it with his powers. Afterwards, he was recovered and taken to St. Vincents hospital where he was getting treatment for the paralysis. Batman and Red Arrow arrived to investigate where they learnt that numerous supervillains were teaming up and targeting superheroes. (Justice League of America Wedding Special v2 #1)

In a possible future, Damian Wayne became Batman where this time had weaponised Joker Venom infected in climate control creating neurotoxic rain called the Laughing Death that turned people into Jokerzombies who laughed themselves crazy and causing them to run amok. (Batman v1 #700)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.

The Joker created a new more vicious version of the original venom with the pathogen tailor-made for use against superhumans. He customised it so that he could deploy it against the Justice League and send them to attack Batman in Gotham City. (Batman v2 #36)

A canister of Joker Toxin was kept in storage with Task Force X led by Rick Flag with Harley Quinn alongside as support being dispatched to dispose of it. However, the Joker Gas canister was booby trapped causing it to be released and driving the soldiers insane where they attacked Harley Quinn. Quinn managed to save Flag by taking him outside before the gas transformed him but the rest of the soldiers were irreversibly transformed into laughing maniacs. (Suicide Squad v5 #4)

The Joker was later offered a position within the Legion of Doom which he accepted though secretly he worked to destroy its members as part of a grand joke on them. Thus, he created a new formula for his toxin that was tailor made for various supervillains. He deployed it at the Hall of Doom when the Legion went on a recruitment drive. This version of the toxin made those affected docile and obedient to the Jokers commands with the gas being purposely made to not affect Lex Luthor. The various supervillains worked to help capture Luthor for the Joker who allowed Lex to live as he departed the Legion of Doom and reversed the effects of the gas on them. (Justice League v4 #13) Batman was exposed to a large quantity of Joker Venom after the Joker's poisoned heart released the gas in order to turn the person by his dying body into the new Joker. The Dark Knight had Alfred help save the Joker whilst he treated himself with a variety of toxin antidotes to stave off the transformation. (The Batman Who Laughs v2 #2)

The Batman Who Laughs created a unique variant of Joker Toxin that was laced with microdoses of dark matter allowing him to corrupt people and making them into his Infected. (Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen v1 #3)

Punchline created a new version of the Joker Toxin that was merged with Fear Toxin and Venom with her coating her knife in it which she used to infect Batman. (Batman v3 #93) A new deadlier strain of Joker Toxin was being mass produced by the Joker for use in Gotham City that was engulfed in the Joker War. (Batman v3 #94) Using the Wayne fortune, they managed to outbid use of the docks in order to ship massive amounts of chemicals into the city that were to be sent to Ace Chemicals to create the new Joker Toxin. However, shipments that were being dispatched through the Narrows was being intercepted by a new vigilante known as the Clownhunter. (Batman v3 #97) Afterwards, a massive Joker Toxin attack was made at Arkham Asylum where a new variant was used that caused its people to die silently without the characteristic laugh. This was responsible for killing 500 people at the asylum which included staff and prisoners with among the dead being Bane. (Infinite Frontier v1 #0) The high death count led to the event being known as A-Day with an effort being made to hunt down the Joker who was believed to be responsible for the attack though he was outside Gotham at the time. (The Joker v2 #1)

Overview

Normally fatal, it operated by constricting the facial muscles to give a grotesque grin. (Batman v1 #545) It could be activated through body heat with the poison being introduced into the blood through the skin. (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1 #50) The Joker could tailor the formula to affected superpowered individuals or even make certain people immune to the gas. (Justice League v4 #13) Part of the formula involved chlorides bonding with a hydrocolloid derivative that operated with a protein catalyst. (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1 #50) A component of the toxin was a substance that was known as Smylex. (Harley Quinn v3 #57) It was said that Joker Toxin worked by suppressing the moral centers of the brain. (Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen v1 #3)

The solution could be distilled into a variety of forms including a spray that does not kill but paralyses targets whilst concentrated venom could be treated on a dart that was fatal if it struck its target. (Batman v1 #1) Nerve paralysis was the last thing to wear off for those that managed to survive a dose of the venom. (Justice League of America Wedding Special v2 #1)

Its effects on some people led to them being subservient to someone in the same state of madness as them with such people following the orders of such a person. (Suicide Squad v5 #4)

There were a number of derivatives of Joker Venom that included:

• Chuckles : by mixing ecstasy with it, the Venom was diluted to give a great giggly high that gave the drug its name. It had dangerous side effects that included lockjaw, paranoia, and psychosis. (Batman: Cacophony v1 #1)
• Joker Juice : superficially resembled Joker Venom but was a derivative which was much less toxic. In fact, the key ingredient of the Venom which was hydrogen cyanide was missing in its chemical makeup. However, strychnodide was present that caused the muscle convulsions which produced the hallmark ricus sardonicus grin. This was combined with methamphetamine, MDMA, and nitrous oxide which produced the effects of euphoria, mild hallucinations, increased energy levels, uncontrolled hilarity and muscular spasms. It was believed that Joker Juice was likely to be psychologically addictive after a single dose. (Detective Comics v1 #867) The Juice was later modified with several steroids to increase aggression along with acting as a powerful pain suppressant. (Detective Comics v1 #868)

There were more than 50 different versions of Joker Toxin. (Detective Comics v1 #880) These were some of the variants of the normally fatal Joker Juice with another version being non-lethal that turned the affected into having a similar appearance as the Joker himself At the same time, it manipulated the lower limbic system to lull them into an obedient trance to make them follow the orders of the Clown Prince of Crime. (Batman v1 #545) Another version had all the effects of the toxin without the laugh thus causing people to die silently as a result. (Infinite Frontier v1 #0)

There was an antidote that when injected made the user immune to the effects of the Venom. (Batman v1 #1) After a certain duration, it was noted that the anti-serum no longer worked for those infected by the Venom. (JLA v1 #59) A combination of various types of narcotics made certain drug users able to survive exposure to Joker Venom as it partially blocked its lethal effects. (Detective Comics v1 #868)

Victims

• Melvin Reipan : blonde haired young man from New Jersey who was an idiot savant skilled in chemistry that had the mind of an 8-year old and whose mother told him he was ugly even though he had handsome features. He believed his mother despite her being admitted into an asylum with him being convinced by his cousin who had become the Joker to develop a formula that killed people but left a smiling rictus on their face. Melvin had done it thinking the Joker would help fund plastic surgery to change his face. Ultimately killed b the Joker who dressed his body as himself in an effort to make people think he had died when their car fell off a bridge and into the river. (Legends of the Dark Knight v1 #50) In the Post-Crisis story, he was shown as being the developer of the toxin
• Barbara Eileen Gordon : female who was the wife of Jim Gordon who was targeted by the Joker where she was rescued before she was killed after they stopped the progression of the toxin and began careful extraction without her succumbing to shock. (Detective Comics v1 #880)
• Virgil Myers : male who owned a joke store in Tricorner who suffered an allergic reaction to the first batch of Joker gas and needed an extreme tracheotomy to survive whereupon he operated as the Mute and joined the Victim Syndicate. (Detective Comics v1 #944)

Notes

• Joker Venom was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane where it made its first appearance in Batman v1 #1 (June, 1940) with it initially being called a solution or venom.
• Writer David Hine during his 'Imposters' arc in Detective Comics commented, "Their mood is enhanced with Joker Juice, a watered-down version of Joker Venom. For a half-hour, the Juice induces facial distortions, like the original Joker Venom, along with a sense of euphoria and hilarity, but without the unfortunate side-effect of the original Venom. You don’t actually die."

In other media

Television

• In the DC Animated Universe, Joker Venom made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting:
  • In Batman: The Animated Series, Joker Venom made its first appearance in the animated television series starting in the episode "The Last Laugh".
  • In Superman: The Animated Series, Joker Venom appeared in the animated television series in the episode "World's Finest, Part I".
• In Young Justice, Joker Venom appeared in the animated television series in the episode "Revelation". It was bonded to giant plants controlled by Poison Ivy with these enhanced by Kobra-Venom. This allowed the Joker to remotely trigger the plants causing them to release the spores that spread Joker Venom to infect people. After the Injustice League's defeat, the Joker attempted to kill the villains and the heroes by releasing Joker Venom spores but these were transported elsewhere by Doctor Fate.
• In Justice League Action, Laughing Gas was mentioned in the animated television series in the episode "Galaxy Jest". Joker created super-laughing gas intending to unleash it on Gotham City but he was abducted by Mongul.
• In Powerless, Anti-Joker Toxin was shown in the live-action comedy television series where it was a product of Wayne Security.

Films

• In Batman, a toxin was shown in the live-action Tim Burton film where it was created by the newly born Joker to terrorize Gotham that causes its victims to be in a permanently laughing state leading to death. A television commercial was played by the Joker showcasing these new and improved Joker Products where he claimed that the secret ingredient of the venom was Smylex that were dropped into the city from giant balloons.
• In the DC Animated Universe, Joker Venom appeared in the shared continuity setting:
  • In Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm, Joker Venom appeared in the setting of the animated film.
  • In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Joker Venom appeared in the setting of the animated film.
• In Batman and Harley Quinn, Joker Venom briefly appeared in the animated film with Harley Quinn keeing a low-grade version of it on a ring that she used to poison her enemies allowing her to knock them out. She used this on Nightwing and though she lost the fight she managed to knock him out after he succumbed to the toxin's effects.
• In Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Joker Venom appeared in the setting of the 2019 animated film. The Joker held onto the formula whilst he was trapped in Arkham Asylum with Ra's al Ghul coming to an arrangement for it to be given to him. In exchange, Joker wanted the Mutagen which he used on the in-mates at Arkham and even on himself thus turning him into a snake-like Mutant. He also mixed his venom into a sample of Mutagen which he injected into Batman thus turning him into a mad bat monster. However, the Turtles managed to use a retro-Mutagen thus turning him back to normal thus thwarting Joker's scheme.

Video games

• In Batman: Vengeance, Joker toxin made an appearance in the 2001 video game set in the DC Animated Universe. Joker had Gotham Chemical rebuilt in order to mass-produce his own signature Joker toxin.
• In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Jokers special abilities in the video-game made use of Laughing Gas canisters with Joker Venom not being mentioned.

Appearances

• Batman v1: (1940)
• World's Finest v1:
• Joker: Last Laugh v1:
• Batman v2:
• Justice League v4:
• Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen v1:
• Batman v3:
• Baman: Joker War Zone v1: (2020)
• The Joker v2:

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry

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