Joker   id:  5167362
"The Joker" redirects here. For other uses, see Joker (disambiguation).
The Joker
Manwholaughs.jpg
The Joker on the cover of Batman: The Man Who Laughs.
Art by Doug Mahnke
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Batman #1
(Spring 1940)[1]
Created by Jerry Robinson (concept)
Bill Finger
Bob Kane
In-story information
Team affiliations Injustice Gang
Injustice League
The Society
Club of Villains
Notable aliases The Clown Prince of Crime, Red Hood, Jack White, Joseph "Joe" Kerr, Clem Rusty, Mr. Rekoj, Oberon Sexton, The Domino Killer, King of Arkham Asylum, Puddin, Mr.J
Altered in-story information for adaptations to other media
Alter ego Jack Napier — Batman (1989 film)

The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book super villain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. Created by Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger and Bob Kane, he first appeared in Batman #1 (Spring 1940).

Throughout his comic book appearances, the Joker is portrayed as a master criminal whose characterization has varied from that of a violent psychopathic killer to a goofy trickster-thief.

Throughout the character's long history, there have been several different origin tales; they most commonly depict him as falling into a tank of chemical waste, which bleaches his skin and turns his hair green and his lips bright red, giving him the appearance of a clown.

The Joker has been portrayed by Cesar Romero in the Batman television series, Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's Batman, and Heath Ledger in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, which posthumously earned Ledger an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Larry Storch, Mark Hamill, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jeff Bennett and John DiMaggio have provided the voice for the character in animated form.

As one of the most iconic and recognized villains in popular media, The Joker was ranked #1 in Wizard's list of the 100 Greatest Villains of All Time.[2] He was also named #2 in IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time List,[3] was ranked #8 in the Greatest Comic Book Characters in History list by Empire (being the highest ranking villain on the list)[4] and was listed as the fifth Greatest Comic Book Character Ever in Wizard Magazine's 200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of all Time list, also the highest villain on the list.[5] On their list of the 100 Greatest Fictional Characters, Fandomania.com ranked the Joker at number 30.[6]

Fictional biography

Though many have been related, a definitive back-story has never been established for the Joker in the comics, and his real name has never been confirmed. He himself is confused as to what actually happened; as he says in The Killing Joke, "Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice! Ha ha ha!"[7] The Dark Knight movie somewhat acknowledges this habit. Although he does not disclose his full origin, when the Joker recounts the events which led to his appearance; he tells it differently every time. In Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, written by Grant Morrison, it is said that the Joker may not be insane, but has some sort of "super-sanity" in which he re-creates himself each day to cope with the chaotic flow of modern urban life.[8]

The first origin account, Detective Comics #168 (February 1951), revealed that the Joker had once been a criminal known as the Red Hood. In the story, he is a chemical engineer looking to steal from the company that employs him and adopts the persona of Red Hood. After committing the theft, which Batman thwarts, he falls into a vat of chemical waste. He emerges with bleached white skin, red lips, green hair and a permanent grin.[9][10]

The most widely cited backstory, which the official DC Comics publication, Who's Who in the DC Universe credits as the most widely believed account, is featured in The Killing Joke. It depicts him as originally being an engineer at a chemical plant who quits his job to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife, Jeannie, he agrees to help two criminals break into the plant where he was formerly employed to get to the card company next door. In this version of the story, the Red Hood persona is given to the inside man of every job (thus it is never the same man twice); this makes the man appear to be the ringleader, allowing the two criminals to escape. During the planning, police contact him and inform him that his wife and unborn child have died in a household accident.[7][11]

Stricken with grief, he attempts to back out of the plan, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his promise. As soon as they enter the plant, however, they are immediately caught by security and a shoot-out ensues, in which the two criminals are killed. As the engineer tries to escape, he is confronted by Batman, who is investigating the disturbance. Terrified, the engineer leaps over a rail and plummets into a pound lock of chemicals. When he surfaces in the nearby reservoir, he removes the hood and sees his reflection: bleached chalk-white skin, ruby-red lips, and bright green hair. These events, coupled with his other misfortunes that day, drive the engineer completely insane, resulting in the birth of the Joker.[7][11]

The story "Pushback" (Batman: Gotham Knights #50-55) supports part of this version of the Joker's origin story. In it, a witness (who coincidentally turns out to be Edward Nigma) recounts that the Joker's wife was kidnapped and murdered by a corrupt cop working for the criminals in order to force the engineer into performing the crime. The Joker attempts to find the corrupt cop who committed the murder, but is beaten badly by Hush and expelled from Gotham before this takes place. "Payback" also shows pictures of the pre-disfigurement Joker — identified as "Jack" — with his wife, giving further support to this version.[12]

The Paul Dini-Alex Ross story "Case Study" proposes a far different theory. This story suggests that the Joker was a sadistic gangster who worked his way up Gotham's criminal food chain until he was the leader of a powerful mob. Still seeking the thrills that dirty work allowed, he created the Red Hood identity for himself so that he could commit small-time crimes. Eventually, he had his fateful first meeting with Batman, resulting in his disfigurement. However, the story suggests that the Joker remained sane, and researched his crimes to look like the work of a sick mind in order to pursue his vendetta against Batman, able to evade permanent incarceration via insanity defense. Unfortunately, the written report found explaining this theory is discovered to have been written by Dr. Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn, the Joker's insane sidekick/lover, which invalidates any credibility it could have in court.

The second arc of Batman Confidential (#7-12) re-imagines him as a gifted criminal who is bored with his "work". This origin once more states his name as Jack, and eliminates the Red Hood identity. On the point of suicide, Jack becomes obsessed with Batman when the vigilante breaks up one of his robberies, seeing him as unique and giving him a reason to continue. He crashes a museum ball to attract Batman's attention, but in doing so, he badly injures Lorna Shore (whom Bruce Wayne is dating). An enraged Batman disfigures his face with a batarang as he escapes. At the point of desperation and unable to see any other way to end the crime spree, Batman sells Jack out to mobsters whom he had crossed, who torture Jack in a disused chemical plant. Turning the tables, Jack kills several of his assailants, but falls into an empty vat. Wild gunfire punctures the chemical tanks above him, and the resultant flood of toxins alters his appearance to that of a clown, completing his transformation into the Joker.[13]

The Brave and the Bold issue #31, penned by J Michael Straczynski, features another possible origin for the Joker. In it, Atom is called to assist in an operation on the Joker's brain. While literally inside the Joker's head, he sees the arch-criminal's childhood and young adulthood. As a child, the Joker beats a bully to the point he needs stitches after discussing his worldview with another child; as a teen he locks his parents in his house and sets it on fire as they discuss discovering him killing neighborhood pets. After leaving home, he apparently joins a group of robbers. He needlessly kills a shopowner, causing the whole gang to potentially be charged with the murder, and kills a gang member who challenges him after telling him he finds killing fun. His career as the Joker begins soon afterward, featuring episodes alluding to the film The Dark Knight.