Joker (DC)

Revision as of 12:00, 8 October 2022

The Joker in Batman v2 #23.1

The Joker is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Golden Age

The Clown Prince of Crime in Batman v1 #23.

The Joker was a male human who lived in the modern age where he terrorised Gotham City.

One account claimed that he was once an ordinary lab worker who found his job unfulfilling and decided to turn to crime in order to become rich. To achieve that end, he decided to steal $1,000,000 and use the money to retire but knew that showing his face would lead to his arrest. Thus, he decided to adopt a masked identity where he became the Red Hood who attempted to rob the Monarch Playing Card Company which was when he was confronted by Batman and Robin. With no option of escape on the catwalk, he decided to jump into a large vat of steaming chemicals where he reasoned that his mask's oxygen supply would let him survive and escape to safety. The crime fighters believed the criminal to had perished in the escape attempt but the Red Hood survived and fled from a drainage pipe that emptied into the river. After emerging, he discovered that the chemicals had permanently altered his features with his skin going chalk-white, his hair going green and his lips a deep red. Using the playing card company as inspiration, he abandoned his old identity and adopted a new one where he became the criminal known as the Joker. (Detective Comics v1 #168)

The newly created Joker then looked to make a name for himself by challenging Gotham's police and the criminal underworld by declaring on the radio that he would be killing three prominent citizens namely Henry Claridge, Judge Drake and Jay Wilde. This attracted the attention of Batman and Robin who upon investigating the crimes found the dead to be stricken with a perpetual macabre grin on their faces. In his fight against them, the Joker came to trap Robin an was prepared to murder him with Joker venom but the Boy Wonder was rescued by Batman. Together, they came to defeat the Joker who was then sent to prison. (Batman v1 #1)

Silver Age

Bronze Age

Later on, the Joker was in Arkham when explosions damaged the Asylum allowing for a mass break-out from its in-mates. All of the prisoners came to gather their costumes and equipment as they made their escape. They then received instructions from their mysterious benefactor who bade them to kidnap people that had connections to Bruce Wayne. Unknown to anyone, this was actually part of an elaborate plan by Ra's al Ghul to tempt Batman into joining him. (Batman v1 #400)

Modern Age

Joker in Joker's Asylum: The Joker v1 #1.

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

According to him, he had come up with different variations of his past where he ultimately said that if he had a past then he preferred it to be multiple choice. (Batman: The Killing Joke v1 #1)

For a period, the majority of Earth's villains were deported to the Hell Planet, where the Joker became responsible for one of the factions. They were largely non-constructive and attempted to steal food and supplies from Lex Luthor's group, who were trying to find a way to escape. The conflict ended in one-on-one fisticuffs between Luthor and the Joker. Although the match was nearly even, the Joker ultimately overcame Lex, just before the entire villain community was forced to unite against an oncoming Parademon attack. (Salvation Run v1 #6) Joker eventually escaped the planet along with most of the other villains. (Salvation Run v1 #7)

Within Arkham, he had to undergo facial reconstruction surgery following the shot to his face by Bat-Cop leaving it covered with bandages whilst he was crippled and forced to use a wheelchair. The Joker felt the rise of a new 'self' and that he needed to purge his life of the old things within it. Around this time, he was visited by his speech therapist Miss Wisakedjak who was actually Harley using the name of an ancient Indian trickster god. Through his eyes, he managed to convey a message to her via Morse code that told her to kill all his former henchmen. In this time, she delivered him Joker Toxin secretly whilst she began delivering black and red roses that were coated in the substance which started killing clowns all across Gotham. Despite the Joker's M.O. being used, many were perplexed on how he was managing to accomplish the murders whilst being restrained in Arkham and with his current condition. Ultimately, Batman uncovered the truth but by this point the Joker had freed himself in Arkham after regaining control of his body and removed the bandages on his face with him applying Joker Venom to give it a permanent grin. He killed numerous orderlies where he decided to unleash his newest 'self' which was when he was confronted by Batman. (Batman v1 #663)

Joker was locked in his cell in Arkham when Batman showed up and attacked the Scarecrow in front of Joker's cell. Batman opened the cell, cuffed Joker to a pipe and proceeded to torture Crane on the Joker's toilet, much to the madman's delight. After Crane confessed his crime, Batman left the place and Joker was thankful with him for letting him witness such a great performance. (Detective Comics v1 #849)

He later resurfaced where he took the guise of a masked British detective known as Oberon Sexton. At the same time, he began targeting the members of the Black Glove organization who he killed one-by-one and came to be regarded as the mysterious Domino Killer. (Batman and Robin v1 #12)

It was then that the Joker was offered a position on Doctor Hurt's conspiracy called the Black Glove and murdered several people in Arkham as part of the plan. (Batman v1 #676) Joker joined Black Glove on the condition that they let him have Robin, and not long after this, Guy Dax freed Joker from his cell. (Batman v1 #679) Joker attacked Dax and mutilated his face after going for his henchmen, and after a while, he attacked El Sombrero, apparently killing him. Joker went to Hurt, and shortly after he faced Batman who had been lured to Arkham. During the fight, Joker cut his tongue and caused Batman to have a mental breakdown. (Batman v1 #680)

After the Black Glove buried Batman alive, Joker warned them that the Dark Knight would rise again and eliminate them all. The Joker the hijacked an ambulance and escaped Arkham, but was pushed off a bridge by the Batmobile driven by Damian Wayne. (Batman v1 #681)

Post-Flashpoint

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

The Joker's notoriety continued to grow to the point that he operated his own gang of henchmen in Gotham. At some indiscriminate point early in the Joker's criminal career, he and his gang terrorized the Gotham Zoo, killing its employees. While there, a baby gorilla caught the Joker's attention, and the clown killed its mother to raise it as his new sidekick. Naming the gorilla Jackanapes, Joker and his "son" terrorized Gotham until, on a mission to kill a Gotham City councilwoman for trying to close the Gotham Zoo, Jackanapes fells into a river and seemingly drowned. The Joker was unfazed at the death of his son, instead insisting he get a refund for the swimming lessons he purchased. (Batman v2 #23.1)

During Batman's second year, the Joker came to find himself unable to laugh with this coming to annoying him. By this point, he was tracked down by the Riddler who had recently escaped the prison. He proposed that the pair work together to kill the Batman but the Joker did not find this funny and instead shot the Riddler leaving him badly injured. This triggered a conflict that erupted over Gotham with this being known as the War of Jokes and Riddles. (Batman v3 #25)

Drugging the Justice League using a new and extremely potent Joker Venom, the madman sent Batman's superhero allies after the vigilante, forcing Batman to single-handedly fend off the entire Justice League. (Batman v2 #36) Wasting no time, Joker infected the entire city with the same virus, turning them all into laughing homicidal maniacs. Revealing that he knew Batman's secret identity, Joker then singled out some of Batman's closest allies, putting a hatchet into Commissioner Gordon's chest. (Batman v2 #38)

The Dionesium, despite having thought to been destroyed in the cave's collapse, managed to still revive both Bruce and the Joker, healing the scars on their bodies but also robbing them of their memories. The man who was once the Joker—his skin and hair turned back to normal—returned to society and started a new life at a butcher shop. (Batman v2 #47) Months later, Bruce, also living a normal life without the knowledge that he was once the Batman, met the former Joker in the park, who had intended to kill himself that night but eventually backed down. (Batman v2 #48)

Batman, weary from all his adventures, proposed to Catwoman, who accepted. However, after months of anticipation for the event, the wedding was crashed by the Joker, who convinced Catwoman not to marry Batman because happiness is Batman's greatest weakness. (Batman v3 #50)

He then hired Deathstroke to lead a band of assassins to enact his plan to steal the Wayne fortune and take over Gotham City. (Batman Secret Files v1 #3)

Joker then managed to capture a member of the Court of Owls and tortured them for information on the location of the Tomb of the Unworthy that was used to store their Talon assassins that failed them. Breaking into the site, he proceeded to find and awaken Lincoln March where he forced the Talon to serve him and dispatched him after Batman. (Detective Comics v1 #1023)

Thus, the Wayne fortune was transferred over to the Joker which he used to enact the next step of his plan. (Batman v3 #93) With the money, he made it appear that Bruce Wayne had embezzled millions resulting in the police seizing Wayne Manor and Wayne Enterprises. He then had his people move to target Batman's support network and his friends as he embarked on a plan to kill thousands in the city. (Batman v3 #94) He briefly made a stop at Arkham Asylum in order to confront the captive Bane and told him that there would be a reckoning between them over how the Santa Priscan had wasted the opportunity in killing Alfred Pennyworth. (Batman: The Joker War Zone v1 #1)

He had a limousine take him to Ace Chemicals to begin the next stage of his plan where he was informed that Punchline had failed in her mission. However, the Joker was unconcerned and told her to meet up with him at the plant whilst he planned for the new batch of Joker Toxin to be shipped to Gotham's cinemas that were to be packed with civilians. At the same time, he prepared for his next encounter with Batman where he wore a new incarnation of the Batsuit that he vandalised with Joker paint whereupon he ambushed the Dark Knight who arrived at Ace Chemicals. (Batman v3 #99)

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, the Joker was a male with chalk white face, bright red lips and green hair with his face styled in a ghastly grin. (Batman v1 #1) He once created a fake persona named John Dough in order to lead a populist movement. (Justice League of America v1 #77) At one point, he was a mysterious masked man who had adopted the identity of the Red Hood. (Detective Comics v1 #168) One time, he operated in the guise of the masked bespectacled Oberon Sexton as well as being the infamous Domino Killer. (Batman and Robin v1 #12) As Sexton, he was known in Englan as the Gravedigger who was an amateur detective that hunted serial killers. (Batman and Robin v1 #5) Once disguised as a doctor, he appeared normal and operated in Arkham where he went by the name of Eric Border with this being a hint at his identity as the surname of 'Border' was a homophone for 'Bourder' that was an obsolete word for 'jester'. (Batman v2 #36) One account claimed that he was an immortal being from before the founding of Gotham who was known as the Pale Man. (Batman v2 #38)

He said that he sometimes remembered his past one way and other times another way. The Joker claimed that if he had a past he preferred it to be multiple choice. (Batman: The Killing Joke v1 #1)

A calling card he left behind at the scenes of his crime was a joker card. (Batman v1 #1)

At times, the Joker was said to had liked it at Arkham Asylum. (Batman v1 #400)

In fact, he refused to kill Batman if a mere chance allowed his attack to succeed as he always envisioned himself winning as a result of cunning at the end of a bitter struggle. This would involving pitting his divine gift men called madness against the Dark Knight's detective skills. Thus, he felt that winning was nothing after playing the game against Batman for so many years and would let his foe live so that he could destroy him properly one day. (Batman v1 #251)

Powers and abilities

As an avid consumer of his own products, the Joker was said to had developed an immunity to poisons over the years. In one case, a mosquito was known to had sucked his blood where it writhed, whined and choked on the tainted blood. (Batman v1 #663) The chemicals that stained his skin also damaged his genetic material that prevented him from being cloned with an attempt resulting in deformed creations. (The Joker v2 #9) He could disguise his features by using muscle relaxers to drop his constant grin allowing him to appear with more normal features by using make-up. This included chemicals that could change his skin pigmentation to give him a more normal complexion. (Batman v2 #36)

One of his signature weapons was the Joker Venom that caused people to experience a laughing fit where they died and were left with a smile on their faces. (Batman v1 #1) A more vicious version of the original venom was created with this pathogen capable of being tailor-made for individual super-powered opponents. (Batman v2 #36)

At one time, he was noted to had created his own version of Batman's Utility Belt that he equipped with a number of joke-themed gadgets to give him an edge in a fight. (Batman v1 #73)

In his hand, he was known to use a joy buzzer that typically only dealt a mild electrical shock but the Joker had increased his version's capacity with it dealing 200 volts. (Joker v1 #2)

He once sought to copy the tactics of Batman and made his own Jokermobile. (Batman v1 #37)

The Joker's gang in The Joker v2 #11.

Among his followers included:

• Gaggy the Dwarf : Gagsworth A. Gagsworthy was a dwarfish man who was a refugee from the circus before he joined as the court jester for Joker and served as his sidekick with him notable for having a glass-shattering scream. (Batman v1 #186)
• Harley Quinn : Dr. Harleen Quinzel was a young psychologist who became enamoured with the Joker during her attempt to study him at Arkham Asylum where she was seduced by his madness and became his sidekick where she took the name Harley Quinn. (Batman: Harley Quinn v1 #1)
• Flame Dupree : a woman with long blonde hair who wore pink clothes. (Batman v2 #23.1)
• Jackanapes : a gorilla that the Joker abducted from his mother at the zoo when the Clown Prince of Crime wanted to start a family. Naming him Jackanapes, he gave the gorilla the childhood that the Joker wished he had growing up. Dressing the ape in a clown costume, the gorilla was taught about survival of the fittest yet the pair had a father and son relationship. Eventually, he was taught to build his own inventions and came to use weapons such as machine guns or rocket launchers where he assisted the Joker on his criminal ventures. One day, the pair were involved on a heist on a plane where the Joker gassed the people turning them into zombies with Jackanapes becoming horrified at their actions. After jumping from the plane, Jack decided he didn't want to continue living he life and seemingly perished in the river after refusing to activate his jetpack. (Batman v2 #23.1)
• Merrymaker : Dr. Byron Merideth was a psychiatrist noted for his extreme methods in treating patients at Arkham Asylum where he eventually left to start his own private practice with him specialising to treat those with obsessions over the Joker. He eventually faked his death and became the masked Merrymaker where he created the League of Smiles consisting of his former patients as they terrorised Gotham during the Joker's return but really used them to eliminate his enemies. (Detective Comics v2 #17)
• Clownface : a version of Clayface or possibly a fragment of him that separated where it gained sentience and took the form of a mute old man. Upon finding him, the Joker infected him with Joker Toxin and turned him into a monstrous shapeshifting killer with a pale white form along with a constant grin on his face. (Arkham Manor v1 #3)
• Punchline : a dark haired woman who came to be the Joker's right hand woman and was a skilled killer who did his bidding. (Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen v1 #3)
• Hench Master : a large muscular masked man who was responsible for training henchmen for the various crime bosses in Gotham that included the Joker. (Batman: The Joker War Zone v1 #1)

He was known to make use of henchmen known as Slapstick Men that were people who impersonated him and had their identities changed multiple times to hide their true selves. (The Batman Who Laughs v2 #1)

The Joker was said to have he tendency to attract anybody not in their right mind. These included the obsessives, the nihilistic fanatics looking for a hero and even the depressingly ordinary who simply required inspiration to indulge in their dark thoughts. (Detective Comics v2 #16)

It was believed that the Joker's heart contained a singular super-toxin that was released if he ever died. The toxin then transformed the person who killed him into the next Joker. (The Batman Who Laughs v1 #1)

The Joker's spine once contained a regenerative healing compound called Dionesium that allowed those exposed to it to recover from injuries at an accelerated rate. (Batman v2 #38) At one point, he had the omnipotent powers of a 5th Dimensional Imp after Mister Mxyzptlk gave his abilities to the Joker. (Emperor Joker v1 #1)

He came to reside in his lair that he called Ha-Hacienda which was a secret base of operations for him and his gang. (Joker v1 #2)

Notes

• The Joker was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson where he made his first appearance in Batman v1 #1 (April, 1940).
• According to Bill Finger, he showed fellow co-creator and artist Bob Kane a photograph of actor Conrad Veidt wearing make-up for the 1928 silent film "The Man Who Laughs" with this becoming the model of the character that became the Joker.
• During a panel discussion, Finger said in 1966, "I got a call from Bob Kane.... He had a new villain. When I arrived he was holding a playing card. Apparently Jerry Robinson or Bob, I don't recall who, looked at the card and they had an idea for a character ... the Joker. Bob made a rough sketch of it. At first it didn't look much like the Joker. It looked more like a clown. But I remembered that Grosset & Dunlap formerly issued very cheap editions of classics by Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo ... The volume I had was The Man Who Laughs — his face had been permanently operated on so that he will always have this perpetual grin. And it looked absolutely weird. I cut the picture out of the book and gave it to Bob, who drew the profile and gave it a more sinister aspect. Then he worked on the face; made him look a little clown-like, which accounted for his white face, red lips, green hair. And that was the Joker!"
• "Batman From the '30s to the '70s" (1970) noted that the character was initially going to be killed by a knife wound in his second appearance but series editor Whitney Ellsworth decided the character had potential and should survive with this resulting in an additional panel depicting the Joker's survival.
• In Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight v1 (2012), Jerry Robinson noted that, ""They've given many origins of the Joker, how he came to be. That doesn't seem to matter—just how he is now. I never intended to give a reason for his appearance. We discussed that and Bill [Finger] and I never wanted to change it at that time. I thought—and he agreed—that it takes away some of the essential mystery."
• In the 1960's, editor Julius Schwartz who despised the character came to take over the Batman line of comics and relegated the Joker to comic book limbo.
• In Justice League v2 #50 (2016), writer Geoff Johns had Batman consult the Mobius Chair on the Joker's identity where the machine revealed that there were three different Jokers. The story arc was later followed in Batman: Three Jokers v1 (2020) where one was referred to as the Criminal, the other Comedian and the last one as the Clown.
• According to Flashpoint Beyond v1 #5 (2022), the real name of the person that became the Joker was possibly Jack Oswald White.

Alternate Versions

• In Batman: White Knight v1 (2018), an alternate version of the Joker appeared in the Elseworld setting where originally he was Jack Napier. He eventually took Harley Quinn as his henchwoman where she was madly in love with him but he was obsessed with Batman. In time, he became more mentally unstable and looked to murder Robin but Harley stopped him by informing Batman of their hideout with her leaving him. Afterwards, Joker robbed a bank where he forced a woman at the counter named Marian Drews to help him. Going to his lair, he treated her injuries and she suffered Stockholm Syndrome where she took on the identity of Harley Quinn. One day, the Joker was partially cured of his madness where he resumed his former identity of Jack Napier and attempted to make amends for his past actions. However, he believed that Batman was bad for Gotham City and promoted violence in the city. Napier then attempted to make amends to 'Harley' and confessed his love to her but she rejected him and attacked him in response. She was only stopped by the real Harleen Quinzel who forced Marian to flee who then adopted a new identity as the Neo-Joker in a bid to restore Napier to his 'true identity'.

In other media

Television

• In Batman, the Joker appeared in the setting of the 1960s live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Cesar Romero.
• In the DC Animated Universe, the Joker made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting:
  • In Batman: The Animated Series, the Joker appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Mark Hamill.
  • In Justice League, the Joker appeared in the animated television series where he was once again voiced by actor Mark Hamill.
• In Harley Quinn, the Joker appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Alan Tudyk.

Films

• In Batman, the Joker appeared in the 1989 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Jack Nicholson. This version was originally Jack Napier who was the right-hand man of mob boss Carl Grissom and years ago was responsible for the murder of Thomas along with Martha Wayne.
• In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, the Joker appeared in the animated film set in the DC Animated Universe where he was once again voiced by actor Mark Hamill.
• In The Dark Knight, the Joker featured as the primary antagonist in the live-action film that was part of The Dark Knight Trilogy where he was portrayed by actor Heath Ledger.
• In Batman Ninja, the Joker appeared in the setting of the 2018 animated film where he was voiced by Japanese actor Wataru Takagi and English actor Tony Hale.
• In Batman: Hush, the Joker appeared in the setting of the animated film where he was voiced again by actor Jason Spisak.

Video games

• In Infinite Crisis, the Joker appeared as a playable champion in the setting of the MOBA video game where he was voiced by actor Richard Epcar.
• In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, the Joker appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Richard Epcar.
• In Injustice: Gods Among Us, the Joker appeared as a playable character in the setting of the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Richard Epcar.
• In Injustice 2, the Joker appeared as a playable character in the setting of the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Richard Epcar.
• In Mortal Kombat 11, the Joker was introduced as a playable character in the fighting video game through DLC where once more he was voiced by actor Richard Epcar.

Appearances

• Batman v1: (1940)
• Joker v1:
• Batman v2:
• JLA v1:
• Joker: (2008)
• Batman and Robin v1:
• Batman v2:
• Detective Comics v2:
• Batman v3:
• Justice League v4:
• The Batman Who Laughs v2:
• Justice League: Hell Arisen v1:
• Batman Secret Files v1: (2020)
• Batman: Three Jokers v1: (2020)
• Batman: The Joker War Zone v1: (2020)
• The Joker v2:

External Links

• DC Comics.com Entry.
• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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