Joker (comics)

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 Red Hood, Jack White, Joseph "Joe" Kerr, Clem Rusty, Mr. Rekoj, Oberon Sexton, The Domino Killer
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. The original and currently dominant image is of a highly intelligent psychopath with a warped, sadistic sense of humor, while other versions have placed varying emphasis on humor, eccentricity, and pranks. Similarly, 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 the 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 on Wizard's list of the 100 Greatest Villains of All Time.[2] He was also named #2 on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time List,[3] was ranked #8 on 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]

Contents

Publication history

Creation

From the Joker's debut: Batman #1 (Spring 1940)

The credit for creation of the Joker is disputed. Kane responded in a 1994 interview to claims that Jerry Robinson created the concept of the character:

“ Bill Finger and I created the Joker. Bill was the writer. Jerry Robinson came to me with a playing card of the Joker. That's the way I sum it up. [The Joker] looks like Conrad Veidt — you know, the actor in The Man Who Laughs, [the 1928 movie based on the novel] by Victor Hugo. [...] Bill Finger had a book with a photograph of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, 'Here's the Joker'. Jerry Robinson had absolutely nothing to do with it, but he'll always say he created it till he dies. He brought in a playing card, which we used for a couple of issues for him [the Joker] to use as his playing card.[7] ”

Robinson, whose original Joker playing card was on public display in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the Jewish Museum in New York City, from September 16, 2006 to January 28, 2007, and the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta, Georgia from October 24, 2004 to August 28, 2005, has countered that he created the Joker to be Batman's larger-than-life nemesis when extra stories needed to be written quickly for Batman #1 and that he even received credit for the story in a college course.[8] Regarding the Conrad Veidt similarity, Robinson said:

“ In that first meeting when I showed them that sketch of the Joker, Bill said it reminded him of Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs. That was the first mention of it...He can be credited and Bob himself, we all played a role in it. The concept was mine. Bill finished that first script from my outline of the persona and what should happen in the first story. He wrote the script of that, so he really was co-creator, and Bob and I did the visuals, so Bob was also.[9] ”

Golden Age

In his initial dozen or so appearances, starting with Batman #1 (1940), the Joker was a straightforward homicidal maniac, with a bizarre appearance modeled after the Joker playing card. He was slated to be killed in his second appearance,[10] but editor Whitney Ellsworth suggested that the character be spared. A hastily drawn panel, demonstrating that the Joker was still alive, was subsequently added to the comic.[11] For the next several appearances, the Joker often escaped capture but suffered an apparent death (falling off a cliff, being caught in a burning building, etc.), from which his body was not recovered.

From the Joker's first appearance in Batman #1, he has committed crimes both whimsical and inhumanly brutal, all with a logic and reasoning that, in Batman's words, "make sense to him alone."[12] In his first appearance, the character leaves his victims with post-mortem smiles on their faces, a modus operandi that has been carried on throughout the decades with the concept of the character.

In Batman #1, he challenges Gotham's underworld and police department by announcing over the radio that he will kill three of Gotham's most prominent citizens: Henry Claridge, Judge Drake and Jay Wilde at certain times. Batman and Robin investigate the crimes and find the victims' bodies stricken with a perpetual grin upon their faces. The Joker traps Robin and is prepared to murder him with the same deadly Joker venom, but Batman rescues Robin and the Joker goes to prison. (This story is retold in the 2005 graphic novel Batman: The Man Who Laughs.) He escapes in his following appearance, and throughout his publication history escapes from any imprisonment in order to plague Batman and Gotham.

Silver Age

In the 1950s and 1960s, following the imposition of the Comics Code Authority censorship board, the comic book's writers characterized the Joker as a harmless, cackling nuisance. He disappeared from Batman stories almost entirely when Julius Schwartz took over editorship of the Batman comics in 1964. The Joker from the 1960s Batman television series is one of the best known characterizations of this Joker.

The establishment of the Earth-One Joker is the result of retroactive alteration to the character’s established published history (colloquially known as a retcon). It is commonly accepted that most appearances made by the Joker from the early-mid 1950s until 1986 are attributed to the Earth-One Joker. One of the major differences that distinguishes the Silver Age Joker from the original iteration of the character is the revelation of his Pre-Joker Red Hood identity.

The Joker’s actual first appearance as an Earth-One character is a matter of interpretation, as there has never been an actual distinction between when the Golden Age Earth-Two Joker ceased making regular published appearances and when the Silver Age Joker was introduced.

In June 1985, after the intertitle Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity was put into effect, the Multiverse continuity was discontinued. Earth-One and all of its denizens, including the Joker, were merged into the restructured Post-Crisis continuity commonly known as New Earth.

Revision by O'Neil and Adams

Batman #251 (Sept. 1973). Art by Neal Adams.

In 1973, the character was revived and profoundly revised in Batman stories by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams. Beginning in Batman #251, with "The Joker's Five Way Revenge", the Joker returns to his roots as a homicidal maniac who murders people on a whim, while enjoying battles of wits with Batman.[13] O'Neil said his idea was "simply to take it back to where it started. I went to the DC library and read some of the early stories. I tried to get a sense of what Kane and Finger were after."[14] Writer Steve Englehart and penciler Marshall Rogers, in an acclaimed run in Detective Comics #471-476 (Aug. 1977 - April 1978), which went on to influence the 1989 movie Batman and be adapted for the 1990s animated series,[15] added elements deepening the severity of the Joker's insanity. In the Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers story "The Laughing Fish", the Joker is brazen enough to disfigure fish with a rictus grin, then expects to be granted a federal trademark on them, only to start killing bureaucrats who try to explain that obtaining such a claim on a natural resource is legally impossible.[16][17]

The Joker had his own nine-issue series during the 1970s in which he faces off against a variety of both superheroes and supervillains. Although he was the protagonist of the series, certain issues feature just as much murder as those wherein he was the antagonist; of the nine issues, he commits murder in seven. This interpretation of the character continues with the issues A Death in the Family[18] and The Killing Joke in 1988, redefining the character for DC's Modern Age after the company wide reboot following Crisis on Infinite Earths.[19][20]

Post Crisis

In Batman: The Killing Joke, the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon (then known as Batgirl and in later comics as Oracle), rendering her a paraplegic. He then kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and taunts him with enlarged photographs of his wounded daughter being undressed, in an attempt to prove that any normal man can go insane after having "one bad day." The Joker ridicules him as an example of "the average man," a naïve weakling doomed to insanity. Batman saves Commissioner Gordon, and sees that the Joker's plan failed; although traumatized, Gordon retains his sanity and moral code, urging Batman to apprehend the Joker "by the book" in order to "show him that our way works." After a brief struggle, Batman tries one final time to reach his old foe, offering to rehabilitate him. The Joker ultimately refuses, but shows his appreciation by sharing a joke with Batman, provoking an uncharacteristic laugh.[21]

The Joker murders Jason Todd, the second Robin, in the story A Death in the Family. Jason discovers that a woman who may be his birth mother is being blackmailed by the Joker. She betrays her son to the Joker to keep from having her medical supply thefts exposed, and the Joker savagely beats Jason with a crowbar. The Joker locks Jason and his mother in the warehouse where the assault took place and blows it up just as Batman arrives. Readers could vote on whether they wanted Jason Todd to survive the blast. They voted for him to die, hence Batman finds Jason's lifeless body. Jason's death has haunted Batman ever since, and has intensified his obsession with his archenemy.[18]

In the (non-continuity) one-shot comic Mad Love, Arkham Asylum psychiatrist Harleen Quinzel ponders whether the Joker may in fact be faking insanity so as to avoid the death penalty. As she tries to treat the Joker, he recounts a tale of an abusive father and runaway mother to gain her sympathy. She falls hopelessly in love with him and allows him to escape Arkham several times before she is eventually exposed. Driven over the edge with obsession, she becomes Harley Quinn, the Joker's sidekick/girlfriend.[22]

During the events of the No Man's Land storyline, the Joker murders Sarah Essen Gordon, Commissioner Gordon's second wife, during a confrontation over kidnapped infants. The Joker is shown frowning in the aftermath of the murder. He surrenders to Batman but continues to taunt Gordon, provoking the Commissioner to shoot him in the kneecap. The Joker laments that he may never walk again, and then collapses with laughter as he "gets the joke" that Gordon has just avenged his daughter's paralysis.[23] While in transit back to Arkham, however, he takes control of the helicopter transporting him, and flies off to Qurac, where he becomes part of the government and helps to speed the country's decline into war with its neighbours. He is subsequently sent to New York as the country's ambassador, in which position he then threatens to use a neutron bomb to kill everyone in Manhattan if the United Nations doesn't withdraw its forces. Power Girl and Black Canary of the Birds of Prey capture him, however, and Barbara Gordon tricks him into telling them how to stop the attack, after which the Joker is sent to 'the Slab' "with the rest of the supercreeps."[24]

In Emperor Joker, a multi-part story throughout the Superman titles, the Joker steals Mister Mxyzptlk's reality-altering power, remaking the entire world into a twisted caricature, with everyone in it stuck in a loop. The Joker entertains himself with various forms of murder, such as killing Lex Luthor over and over and devouring the entire population of China. The conflict focuses on the fate of Batman in this world, with the Joker torturing and killing his adversary every day, only to bring him back to life and do it over and over again. Superman's powerful will allows him to fight off the Joker's influence enough to make contact with the weakened Mxyzptlk, who along with a less-powerful Spectre, encourages Superman to work out the Joker's weakness before reality is destroyed by the Joker's misuse of Mxyzptlk's power. As time runs out, Superman realizes that the Joker still cannot erase Batman from existence, as the Joker totally defines himself by his opposition to the Dark Knight; by this logic, the Joker would be incapable of destroying the entire universe, since he is incapable of doing so to Batman. This breaks the Joker's control, and Mxyzptlk and the Spectre manage to reconstruct reality from the moment the Joker disrupted everything, but Batman is left broken from experiencing multiple deaths. Superman has to steal Batman's memories so that he can go on.[25]

In a company-wide crossover, Last Laugh, the Joker believes himself to be dying and plans one last historic crime spree, infecting the inmates of The Slab, a prison for super criminals, with Joker venom to escape. With plans to infect the entire world, he manipulates the super-powered inmates to allow a jailbreak, and sets them loose to cause mass chaos in their "Jokerized" forms. The Joker is not cheered as, using the example of vandalized Easter Island statues, he does not believe that the altered inmates are being appropriately funny. The entire United States declares war on the Joker under the orders of President Lex Luthor; in response, Joker sends his minions to kill the President. Black Canary discovers that Joker's doctor modified his CAT scan to make it appear that he had a fatal tumor in an attempt to subdue him with the threat of death. Harley Quinn, angry at the Joker's attempt to make her pregnant without marrying her, helps the heroes create an antidote to the Joker poison and return the super villains to their normal state. Believing Robin had been eaten by Killer Croc in the ensuing madness, Nightwing eventually catches up with the Joker and beats him to death. To keep Nightwing from having blood on his hands, Batman resuscitates the Joker.[26]

In their attempt to destroy Batman, Hush and the Riddler convince and manipulate several other villains to help. Part of this includes fooling Bruce that his childhood friend Tommy Elliott is the latest victim of the Joker. This brings Batman to the brink of murdering the Joker; he is only stopped when former GCPD commissioner Jim Gordon talks him down by reminding him that by killing the Joker, Batman would become just another killer, and Jim refuses to let the Joker ruin Batman's life like that.

In the Under The Hood arc (Batman #635-650), Jason Todd returns to life. Angry at Batman for failing to avenge his death, he takes over his killer's old Red Hood identity, abducts the Joker and attempts to force Batman to shoot him. Even though the Clown Prince of Crime is surprised that Todd is alive, the resulted antagonism between the former Dynamic Duo is even more rewarding to the villain than the Boy Wonder's death and apparently does not care whether he would die or not.[27]

At the conclusion of Infinite Crisis, the Joker kills Alexander Luthor, hero of the original Crisis on Infinite Earths and villain of Infinite Crisis for being left out of the Society.[28]

In Batman #655, a deranged police officer impersonating Batman shoots the Joker in the face, leaving him physically scarred and disabled. After having undergone extensive plastic surgery and physical therapy, the Joker reappears in Batman #663 with a drastic new appearance, now permanently fixed with a Glasgow smile. While in intensive care at Arkham, the Joker develops a new, more lethal variant of Joker Venom, instructing Harley Quinn to use it to kill his former henchmen to signal his spiritual "rebirth". He then goes on a rampage through Arkham, attempting to murder Harley (her death being the final "punchline" of his rebirth) before being stopped by Batman.[29] These events ultimately lead to the Joker's association with the Black Glove in their attempt to destroy Batman.

Salvation Run depicts the Joker as leading one of two factions of supervillains who have been exiled from Earth to a distant prison planet.[30] In issue six of the series, Joker engages Lex Luthor in an all-out brawl for power. Just as he gains the upper hand, however, the planet is invaded by Parademons; The Joker helps fight off the invasion and later escapes along with the rest of the surviving villains via a teleportation machine.

After returning to Earth, Joker is yet again a patient in Arkham Asylum. Batman visits him to ask him if he knows anything about the Black Glove, but Joker only responds by dealing a Dead man's hand.[31] During routine therapy, Joker is met by a spy for the Club of Villains who offers him a chance to join them in their crusade against Batman. He participates in their action, considering it a farce all along (knowing Batman will survive their attempts, which he spitefully reveals to them just when they think their plan has come to fruition) and casually murdering some Black Glove members before escaping in an ambulance, only to be driven off the road by Damian, Batman´s son.[32]

During the events of the Last Rites story arc, the Joker is mentioned and shown several times in Batman's past experiences as his history is explored.[33] He is also shown entering the funeral service for Batman in Neil Gaiman's Whatever Happened to The Caped Crusader? story.[34][35]

The Joker remained unseen or heard from since the end of Batman R.I.P.. In his absence, Dick Grayson took up the mantle of Batman in the wake of Bruce Wayne's disappearance at the hands of Darkseid in Final Crisis. A British journalist/detective named Oberon Sexton appeared in Gotham City in the early issues of Batman and Robin, with the nickname "the Gravedigger." At the time of Sexton's appearance, a murderer known as the "Domino Killer" also appeared, killing members of the Black Glove systematically. The new Batman confronts Sexton about his connection to the killings, deciphering that the manner in which the men were killed followed a set routine of jokes. Sexton then takes off his mask to reveal himself to be the Joker, having been operating as Sexton the entire time.[36] After the Joker is arrested once more, he underestimates the current Robin (Damian Wayne), by trying to win the Boy Wonder's pity before the Clown Prince of Crime begins his attempts on killing the young hero. Instead, he receives a beating with a crowbar (mirroring Jason Todd's murder) from Robin, whom he realizes is a son of his old foe after noting the resemblance between the child and the original Batman. The officers at GCPD even ignores the Clown Prince's pleas for help, after they see that Robin can handle the villain easily and takes pleasure of the Joker's suffering. The Joker is apparently completely under the Boy Wonder's mercy, as he tries to get away from the boy fearfully.[37]

Powers, abilities and equipment

The Joker commits crimes with comedic weapons such as a deck of bladed playing cards, an acid-squirting flower, cyanide-stuffed pies, exploding cigars filled with nitroglycerin, harpoon guns that utilize razor-sharp BANG!-flags, and lethally electric joy buzzers. His most prominent weapon is his Joker venom, a deadly poison that infects his victims with a ghoulish rictus grin as they die while laughing uncontrollably. The venom comes in many forms, from gas to darts to liquid poison, and has been his primary calling card from his first appearance. The Joker is immune to every known venom as well as to his own laughing toxic; in Batman #663, Morrison writes that "being an avid consumer of his products, the Joker's immunity to poisons has been built up over years of dedicated abuse".[38]

The Joker is portrayed as highly intelligent and skilled in the fields of chemistry and engineering, as well an expert with explosives. In a miniseries featuring Tim Drake, the third Robin, the Joker is shown kidnapping a computer genius, and admitting that he doesn't know much about computers, although later writers have portrayed him as very computer literate.

The Joker's skills in unarmed combat vary considerably depending on the writer. Some writers have shown Joker to be a very skilled fighter, capable of holding his own against Batman (and sometimes even beating the caped crusader) in hand-to-hand combat. His versatility in combat is due in part to his own extensive array of hidden gadgets and weapons on his person that he often pulls out on a moment's whim (rolling a handful of explosive marbles on the ground, retractable knives attached to his spats, etc.); other writers, on the other hand, prefer portraying Joker as physically frail to the point that he can be defeated with a single punch. He is, however, consistently described as agile. Joker's skills in combat also differ in the film and television adaptations.

The Joker has cheated death numerous times, even in seemingly inescapable and lethal situations. He has been seen caught in explosions, been shot repeatedly, dropped from lethal heights, electrocuted, and so on, but he always returns once again to wreak havoc.[39][40]

Over several decades there have been a variety of depictions and possibilities regarding the Joker's apparent insanity. Grant Morrison's graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth suggests that the Joker's mental state is in fact a previously unprecedented form of "super-sanity," a form of ultra-sensory perception. It also suggests that he has no true personality of his own, that on any given day he can be a harmless clown or a vicious killer, depending on which would benefit him the most. Later, during the Knightfall saga, after Scarecrow and the Joker team up and kidnap the mayor of Gotham City, Scarecrow turns on the Joker and uses his fear gas to see what Joker is afraid of. To Scarecrow's surprise, the gas has no effect on Joker, who in turn beats him with a chair. In Morrison's JLA, the Martian Manhunter, trapped in a surreal maze created by the Joker, used his shape-shifting abilities to reconfigure his own brain to emulate the Joker's chaotic thought patterns. Later in the same storyline, Martian Manhunter uses his telepathic powers to reorganize the Joker's mind and create momentary sanity, albeit with great effort and only temporarily. In those few moments, the Joker expresses regret for his many crimes and pleads for a chance at redemption.

In Elseworlds: Distant Fires, the Joker is rendered sane by a nuclear war that deprives all super beings of their powers. In Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #145, the Joker became sane when Batman put him in one of Ra's al Ghul's Lazarus Pits after being shot, a reversal of the insanity which may come after experiencing such rejuvenation. However, the sanity is only temporary, and soon the Joker is reverted back to his "normal" self.[41]

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!"[19] 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.[42]

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.[43][44]

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.[19][20]

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.[19][20]

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.[45]

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.[46]

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.[47]

Character

The Joker has been referred to as the Clown Prince of Crime (or Chaos), the Harlequin of Hate (Havoc), and the Ace of Knaves. Throughout the evolution of the DC Universe, interpretations and incarnations of the Joker have taken two forms. The original and currently dominant image is of a highly intelligent psychopath with a warped, sadistic sense of humor.[48][49] The other interpretation of the character, popular in the late 1940s through 1960s comic books as well as the 1960s television series, is that of an eccentric but harmless prankster and thief. Batman: The Animated Series blended these two aspects, although most interpretations tend to embrace one characterization or the other.[50]

The Joker lives with a somewhat cynical view on life and humanity itself, mentioning several times that he finds life to be senseless and that humanity is the world's biggest joke. His relationship with Batman is complex and dependent on the wider characterization. In some versions Batman is simply the Joker's most hated foe, whose death is his highest goal. In others the Joker takes glee in his position as Batman's antithesis and wants the struggle to continue; as he states in The Dark Knight, "Kill you?! I don't want to kill you ... you're just too much fun." He seems to respect his archenemy for his intelligence and rigid character, but frustrated with the Dark Knight's convictions of devotion and protection of a city filled with many corrupt criminals, cops, and even citizens that scorn his presence. His sadism is evident even in short stories such as the ones in Joker's Asylum, where he recounts tragic stories from the Penguin, Poison Ivy, and even one with Two-Face, where he snidely replies he prefers a fireman's suicide rather than reconciling with his wife while speaking to the reader.

The Joker's victims have included men, women, children, and even his own henchmen and other villains. In the graphic novel The Joker: Devil's Advocate, the Joker is reported to have killed well over 2,000 people. Despite having murdered enough people to get the death penalty thousands of times over, he is always found not guilty by reason of insanity.[51] In the Batman story line "War Crimes", this continued ruling of insanity is in fact made possible by the Joker's own dream team of lawyers. He is then placed in Arkham Asylum, from which he appears able to escape at will, going so far as to claim that it's just a resting ground in between his "performances".

Batman has been given numerous opportunities to put the Joker down once and for all, but has relented at the last minute. As an example, in one story line, Batman threatens to kill the Joker, but stops himself upon realizing that such an act would make him "a killer like yourself!" Conversely, the Joker has given up many chances to kill the Batman because the Joker defines himself by his struggle with his archnemesis. However, after a man dressed as Batman shot the Joker, Joker became enraged at the fact that his old enemy tried to end his life. However, Joker is sometimes intimidated by heroes who have no problem killing, such as when he was confronted by the Punisher, and was terrified when the Punisher was about to kill him.

The Joker is renowned as Batman's greatest enemy.[52] While other villains rely on tried-and-true methods to commit crimes (such as Mr. Freeze's freeze gun or Poison Ivy's toxic plants), Joker has a variety of weapons at his disposal. For example, the flower he wears in his lapel sprays (at any given time) highly corrosive acid, poisonous gas, or soda water. In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and much earlier in "Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker!" (Batman #321), or more recent in Detective Comics 866 (June 2010), the Joker has a gun which at first shoots a flag saying "BANG!", but then, with another pull of the trigger, the flag fires and impales its target (in the edited version of Return of the Joker, the gun shoots Joker gas).[40][53] His most recurring weapons are a high-voltage hand-buzzer, which he uses to electrocute his victims with a handshake, as well as his iconic Joker venom, which will either cause a victim to become paralyzed, comatose, or even die, depending on the strength of the particular batch. What all versions share however, is that the effects are always preceded by hysterical fits of laughter, as well as a frozen grin. His capricious nature, coupled with his violent streak and general unpredictability, makes him feared by the public at large, other DC superheroes, and DC supervillains as well; in the Villains United and Infinite Crisis mini-series, the members of the villains' Secret Society refuse to induct the Joker for this reason, which backfires as the Joker attacks members of the Society, and ultimately kills the leader, Alexander Luthor. In the mini-series Underworld Unleashed, the Trickster remarks, "When super-villains want to scare each other, they tell Joker stories."

Other versions

Another Joker appeared in the DC Comics imprint Tangent Comics, a line set in on an alternate earth. The heroes have the same names (The Flash, Batman, etc.), but their histories and powers are vastly different. This Earth is now listed as Earth-9. The Joker of this Earth is a female hero who uses her array of jokes and comical devices to mock the tyrant Superman's authority. This Joker is actually three women: a student named Mary Marvel, an entrepreneur named Christie Xanadu, and a reporter, Lori Lemaris. Mary is eventually captured by the evil Superman and tortured into giving up the names of the other two before she is killed. Lemaris is sent to prison, but Christina's fate is left unknown. Later, Lemaris is re-offered the mantle of the Joker in order to take down Superman, but refused as there was too much pain associated with the costume, and instead chooses to take up that of her fallen comrade, Manhunter.

Planetary/Batman presents the Joker as a field agent for Planetary working under Richard Grayson named Jaspar. He has a habit of giggling when he's nervous, but appears harmless. However, Elijah Snow mentions not liking how Jasper "touched himself" when he saw photos of crime scenes.

The Joker makes a cameo appearance in the Elseworld graphic novel Gotham by Gaslight as a serial killer who tries to kill himself with strychnine, leaving him with a permanent grin.

The one heroic version of the Joker from an alternate Earth is called the Jokester. He appears as a hero battling Owlman, a villainous version of Batman.

In the 1990 graphic novel Batman: Digital Justice created by Pepe Moreno, an artificial intelligence calling itself the "Joker Virus" takes over a futuristic, technology-dependent Gotham City in the late 21st century and claims to be the reincarnation of its creator, the original Joker. Batman — in this version, the grandson of Commissioner James Gordon — stops the virus with help from another A.I.: the Batcomputer, as programmed by the long-dead Bruce Wayne.

Another graphic novel, called simply Joker focuses on the character in a more gritty, realistic version of the Batman mythos.

In the alternate future of The Dark Knight Returns, the Joker has been comatose since Batman's retirement, and regains consciousness after seeing a news story about his archnemesis' remergence. He manipulates his psychiatrist into declaring him cured, and hires a publicist to book him on a late night talk show. He attempts to destroy the television studio, drawing Batman out into the open. Batman pursues him into the Tunnel of Love at a carnival, where he breaks Joker's neck in a fit of rage, but cannot bring himself to kill his old foe. The Joker then commits suicide by twisting his fractured neck until it breaks completely, thus framing Batman as a murderer.

In The Dark Knight Strikes Again, the sequel to The Dark Knight Returns The Joker is a mysterious and apparently indestructible figure who kills off old superheroes. He appears as the Joker and wears recognizable suits of former heroes and villains — including Cosmic Boy and Mister Mxyzptlk. His victims include Martian Manhunter, Creeper, and the Guardian. He is revealed to be Dick Grayson, driven insane after years of radical gene therapy by Luthor and others. When he confronts Batman, the Dark Knight states that he sacked him "For incompetence. For cowardice"; in fact he shows no sympathy for Grayson whatsoever and contemptuously organizes his death there and then.

A slightly altered Joker makes an appearance once again in Frank Miller's non-canon series, All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder.

In Batman: Nosferatu, The Joker appears as The Laughing Man, a monstrous cyborg created by the experiments of the depraved Dr Arkham, who uses him as an assassin. This version of the Joker ironically ends up creating this world's Batman after an assassination attempt on Bruce Wayne's counterpart.

In Batman: Bloodstorm- a sequel to Batman & Dracula: Red Rain-, the Joker becomes the leader of a group of vampires after the death of their original leader, Dracula, pointing out their inability to think beyond their next meal in their current condition. Although he successfully coordinates their efforts to turn and take control of all of Gotham's major crime families, the now-vampire Batman- aided by were-cat Selina Kyle- is able to destroy the Joker's minions. Unfortunately, Selina is killed in the final battle with the Joker's vampires, her death leaving Batman so enraged that he finally succumbs to his lust for blood and drinks from the Joker, staking him to prevent him from coming back as a vampire but nevertheless aware that, at the last, the Joker has won by turning him into a monster as bad as Dracula and even the Clown Prince of Crime himself.

In other media

Live-action

Batman (TV series) and Batman (1966 film)

The Joker, as portrayed by (from left to right)
Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, and Heath Ledger.

Cesar Romero portrays the character in 19 episodes of the 1960s Batman television series. The Joker of this series is characterized by a cackling laugh and comedy-themed crimes, such as turning the city's water supply into jelly and pulling off a stand-up comedy-themed bank heist. In one episode he competed with Batman in a surfing contest. Romero refused to shave his distinctive mustache for the role, and it was partially visible beneath his white face makeup. Romero reprises his role in the 1966 film Batman. A parody of Batman, Joker has his own "utility belt" and "Jokermobile". Stories sometimes saw Joker teamed up with the Penguin and Catwoman. In the movie he is teamed up with both of them and the Riddler as well. The only information on his past life is a remark by Batman that the Joker had been a hypnotist in his youth.

Batman (1989 film)

The Joker is portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the 1989 film Batman. In the film, the character is a psychopathic gangster named Jack Napier, the right-hand man of crime boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance). Napier is disfigured during a confrontation with Batman (Michael Keaton) in a chemical factory during which he is shot in the face by a ricochet from his own pistol and falls into a vat of chemicals. Although there are many versions of Joker's origins, the filmmakers decided to use one loosely resembling the origin explained in the 1988 graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke. His trademark grin is the combined result of a bullet wound on his face made worse by direct exposure to hot steam and a botched attempt at plastic surgery; his white color is a result of his skin being bleached by the toxic chemicals he fell into.

Driven insane by his reflection, he kills Grissom and takes over his gang, launching a crime wave designed to "outdo" Batman, who he feels is getting too much press. He describes himself as a "homicidal artist" who makes avant-garde "art" by killing people with Smilex gas, which leaves its victims with a grotesque grin. When Bruce Wayne confronts the Joker, he later recognizes him as the mugger who murdered his parents. The Joker kidnaps reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) and attempts to massacre all of Gotham City, but Batman foils his plan. During the battle, it's revealed that the Joker remembers the night when he murdered the Waynes, and because of it he realizes who Batman is after the Dark Knight hinted that they made each other. As the Joker is about to escape in a helicopter, Batman ties a grappling hook onto the Joker's leg and attaches it to a stone grotesque; the Joker falls to his death when the grotesque breaks loose of its moorings.

In the flashback scene showing Napier's murder of Bruce Wayne's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, in an alley. The young Napier is played by Hugo E. Blick.

Nicholson's performance was well-received; Newsweek's review of the film stated that the best scenes in the movie are due to the surreal black comedy portrayed in this character.[54] In 2003, American Film Institute named Nicholson's performance #45 out of 50 greatest film villains.[55][56] Tim Burton says he wanted to kill the Joker at the end of the film, because he thought having the villain come back would be too unrealistic.

OnStar commercials and Birds of Prey

During the OnStar "Batman" ad campaign, the Joker appears in one commercial, played by Curtis Armstrong. Roger Stoneburner makes a cameo appearance as the character in an episode of Birds of Prey. Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker in various animated shows throughout the 1990s, provides the Joker's voice in the scene, and he is the only one of the two actors to be credited.

The Dark Knight

In the 2008 film The Dark Knight, the Joker is portrayed by Heath Ledger, who told Sarah Lyall of New York Times that he viewed that film's version of the character as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy."[57] In this film, he starts out as a bank robber targeting mob banks, whom Gotham's Mafia families reluctantly hire to kill Batman (Christian Bale) after he brazenly offers them his services, and kills a henchman who trys to attack him. It is gradually revealed that he desires to upset social order and he comes to define himself by his battle with Batman.

Costume designer Lindy Hemming described the Joker's look as being based around his personality, in that "he doesn't care about himself at all." She avoided his design being vagrant, but nonetheless it is "scruffier, grungier and therefore when you see him move, he's slightly twitchier or edgy."[58] Unlike most incarnations, where his appearance is a result of chemical bleaching, this Joker sports a Glasgow smile, and accentuates it through unevenly applied white, black, and red make-up (he also has dyed green hair). During the course of the film, he tells conflicting stories about how he acquired the scars, which involve child abuse and self-mutilation.

Unlike the previous film and comic-book depictions of the Joker, this one eschews gag-based weapons common to the character, in favor of knives, firearms, and an array of explosive devices. In the film, the Joker is responsible for the death of Batman's childhood sweetheart Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and the creation of Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart).[59] Having blown up a hospital and turned the now-insane Harvey Dent on the city to tackle those he blames for Rachel's death, the Joker threatens to blow up the city to manipulate people into escaping on two boats that he has rigged to explode, one boat being filled with civilians and the other prisoners, threatening to blow them both up at midnight unless one of them destroys the other first. Neither group does so, and Batman informs the Joker that he failed while knocking the master detonator from his hand. He then projects the steel spikes off his gaunlet at the Joker, and then throws him off the edge of a building. But Batman manages to catch him with his grappling hook, hanging him upside down. He is soon left by Batman for the authorities to arrest him, ending his reign of terror. Joker mockingly reflects that his 'corruption' of Harvey Dent and the negative publicity of Batman by the public 'caused' by him is still a victory.

Ledger's portrayal of the Joker was widely praised by critics. On February 22, 2009, Ledger posthumously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.[60] He was the fourth actor to be nominated for the portrayal of a comic book character, and the first to win.

Animation

Earlier appearances

DC animated universe

Joker, as he appears throughout every incarnation of the DC Animated Universe spin-offs.

The Batman

The Joker as he appears in The Batman.

A different interpretation of the Joker appears in the animated series The Batman, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson in English and Naoki Tatsuta in Japanese. This incarnation sports a purple and yellow straitjacket, fingerless gloves, bare feet, wild green hair, and red eyes. The Joker also moves and fights with a Monkey Kung Fu-like style, using his feet as dexterously as his hands, and often hangs from the walls and ceilings (as the series progresses, these abilities do not appear as much). His appearance becomes somewhat refined later in the series, where he adopts the more traditional garb of a purple suit and spats, but he still has wild hair and wears no shoes, save one episode. In "Strange Mind", Dr. Strange and Batman travel to the mind of the Joker to find Detective Yin and Batman meet the first time Jack Napier before his accident. His lip color also changed with his outfit, from a bright red to a dark, almost blackish, red.

In the animated feature The Batman vs. Dracula, he is temporarily transformed into a vampire with paler clothes, claws, fangs and supernatural powers. In the episode "Strange Minds", Batman enters Joker's mind and discovers that he was once a low-level bureaucrat who dreamed of "making people laugh".

Krypto the Superdog

In the TV show Krypto the Superdog, the Joker's trained pet hyenas are the main villains. The Joker himself does not appear in the show, but is mentioned on various occasions.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, a heroic counter-part of the Joker known as Red Hood appears in the episode "Deep Cover for Batman!". He appears in the beginning of the story taking off his mask though we never see his face clearly. The Joker made his debut on the show in the episode "Game Over for Owlman!" (a continuation of "Deep Cover for Batman!") voiced by Jeff Bennett. His appearance and personality is very similar to the Silver Age version, as drawn by Dick Sprang.[61] With the police and some of his superhero friends after him, Batman has no option but to team up with Joker to stop Owlman's crime spree especially when Owlman was upstaging Joker. During that time, the Joker briefly becomes a hero, but ultimately goes back to his evil roots because being a good guy was "just not him". Joker makes an appearance in "Legends of the Dark Mite!" along with the Penguin and other Batman villains. Joker appears in the teaser to "Hail the Tornado Tyrant!" when he is being tailed by Batman and Green Arrow during a series of robberies. He is captured after his car's many means of propulsion are destroyed by the combined efforts of the heroes. Joker also appears in the episode "Death Race to Oblivion!" as one of Mongul's racers. He creates tough obstacles for Batman and the others until after he is out of the race. He occasionally provides a play-by-play of the race while doing so. He is transported to a cell with the other losing villains and later put in a green cell created by Guy Gardner's power ring. Joker appears again among other villains in a bidding for a supersonic weapon held by arms dealer Joe Chill in the episode "Chill of the Night!".

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

A parallel earth, heroic version of the Joker called "the Jester" appears in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths voiced by James Patrick Stuart. He is a longtime ally of that Earth's Lex Luthor and a former member of their world's Justice League. He sacrifices his life at the beginning of the film so that Luthor can escape and get help for their Earth which has been besieged by the villainous Crime Syndicate of America. Back at his lair, he is shown to have a monkey called Harley, whom Lex sadly informs that "the jester is never coming back".

Batman: Under the Red Hood

The Joker appears in the animated original movie which is based on the same book, Batman: Under the Red Hood, voiced by John DiMaggio. The Joker was hired by Ra's al Ghul to distract Batman and Jason Todd, the second Robin, and the Joker mercilessly killed Jason with a crowbar. Feeling guilty for his death, Ra's al Ghul revived Jason with the Lazarus Pit. Years later, Batman questions the Joker in Arkham Asylum about any connection between him and the new Red Hood. The Joker claims that there is no connection. After an attempt on his life by the Red Hood, the Black Mask later frees and hires the Joker as a hitman to take down the Red Hood, the secret identity of Jason Todd. To accomplish this the Joker kidnaps Jason's eight under-bosses, including the Black Mask, and holds them hostage inside an oil tanker. Jason arrives and reveals that his previous actions were designed to lure the Joker away from the safety of Arkham so that he could kill him. Jason beats and kidnaps the Joker and brings him to Crime Alley. He forces Batman to either kill him or the Joker, or Jason will detonate a bomb killing all three of them. Refusing either offer, Batman allows Jason to detonate the bomb but saves himself, Jason and the Joker. While Jason escapes, Batman hands the Joker over to Gotham authorities where he's taken back to Arkham.

Video games

The Joker appears in numerous Batman-related video games, often being the main antagonist:

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Newsstand on-sale date April 25, 1940 per: "The first ad for Batman #1". DC Comics. http://www.goldenagebatman.com/batman1ad.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-23. 
  2. ↑ Staff (July 2006). "Top 100 Greatest Villains". Wizard Magazine 1 (177). 
  3. ↑ The Joker is Number 2
  4. ↑ Empire | The 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters
  5. ↑ [1]
  6. ↑ "The 100 Greatest Fictional Characters". Fandomania.com. http://fandomania.com/100-greatest-fictional-characters-30-26/. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  7. ↑ Entertainment Weekly writer Frank Lovece official site: Web Exclusives — Bob Kane interview
  8. ↑ Rocket Llama World Headquarters (July 21. 2009): "Meet the Joker's Maker, Jerry Robinson" (interview)
  9. ↑ Rocket Llama World Headquarters (Aug. 5. 2009): "The Joker's Maker Tackles The Man Who Laughs" (interview)
  10. ↑ Steranko, 1970
  11. ↑ Batman From the 30s to the 70s, Bonanza books, 1970
  12. ↑ Ramey, Bill (2007-03-11). "Comic Review: Batman #1, Part 2". Batman on Film. http://www.batman-on-film.com/comics_jett_batman1_review2.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  13. ↑ Reinhart, Mark S. (2006-10-04). ""The Joker's 5 Way Revenge"". Batman on Film. http://www.batman-on-film.com/bathistory_thejokers5wayrevenge_msreinhart.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  14. ↑ Pearson, Roberta E.; Uricchio, William (1991). "Notes from the Batcave: An Interview with Dennis O'Neil." The Many Lives of the Batman: Critical Approaches to a Superhero and His Media. Routledge: London. p. 18. ISBN 0-85170-276-7. 
  15. ↑ "SciFi Wire (March 28, 2007): "Batman Artist Rogers is Dead"". Sci Fi. 2007-03-28. http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=5&id=40748. Retrieved 2008-05-02. "Even though their Batman run was only six issues, the three laid the foundation for later Batman comics. Their stories include the classic 'Laughing Fish' (in which the Joker's face appeared on fish); they were adapted for Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990s. Earlier drafts of the 1989 Batman film with Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight were based heavily on their work" 
  16. ↑ Waters, Cullen (2007-06-19). "“Detective Comics #475 (The Laughing Fish) and #476 (The Sign of the Joker)". The Writer Journal of Cullen M. M. Waters. http://welltuncares.wordpress.com/2007/06/19/laughing_fish_comic_review/. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  17. ↑ "The Laughing Fish". Toon Zone. http://www.toonzone.net/anbat/btas/tlf.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03. "The Joker tries to copyright his mutant fish." 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Batman: A Death in the Family". DC Comics. http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=1223. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Moore, Alan (w), Bolland, Brian (p,i). "Batman: The Killing Joke" The Killing Joke (1988), DC Comics, 1401209270
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "The Killing Joke". Comic Vine. http://www.comicvine.com/the-killing-joke/40503/. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  21. ↑ Moore, Alan. "Batman: The Killing Joke". DC Comics. http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=1282. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  22. ↑ Goldstein, Hilary (2005-05-24). "The Batman Adventures: Mad Love Review". IGN. http://comics.ign.com/articles/618/618636p1.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  23. ↑ "No Man's Land (comics)". Comic Vine. http://www.comicvine.com/no-mans-land/42106/. Retrieved 2008-05-09. 
  24. ↑ Birds of Prey (vol. 1) #16
  25. ↑ Loeb, Jeph, DeMatteis, J.M., Schultz, Mark, Kelly, Joe (w), McGuiness, Ed, Miller, Mike, Mahnke, Doug, Kano (p), Smith, Cam, Marzan, Jose, Nguyen, Tom, McCrea, John, Alquiza, Marlo, Durrurthy, Armando, various others (i). Superman: Emperor Joker Superman #160-161, Adventures of Superman #582-583, Action Comics 769-770, Superman: The Man of Steel 104-105, and Emperor Joker.: 224 (January 2007), DC Comics, 9781401211936
  26. ↑ "Joker: Last Laugh (comics)". Comic Vine. http://www.comicvine.com/joker-last-laugh/46441/. Retrieved 2008-05-09. 
  27. ↑ Batman: Under The Hood (635-641): 176 (November 2005), DC Comics, 9781401207564
  28. ↑ Johns, Geoff (w), Jimenez, Phil, Perez, George, Reis, Ivan, Bennet, Joe (p), Lanning, Andy, Perez, George, Reis, Ivan Ordway, Jerry, Parsons, Sean, Thibert, Art (i). "Infinite Crisis #7" Infinite Crisis #7 (7): 31/6-7 (June 2006), DC Comics
  29. ↑ Morrison, Grant (w). Batman 1 (663) (April 2007), DC Comics
  30. ↑ "SDCC '07: Bill Willingham on Salvation Run". Newsarama.com. 2007. http://www.newsarama.com/Comic-Con_07/DC/SalvationRun.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  31. ↑ Johns, Geoff and Morrison, Grant (w). DC Universe Zero 1 (1) (April 2008), DC Comics
  32. ↑ Morrison, Grant (w). Batman 1 (681) (November 2008), DC Comics
  33. ↑ Batman #682
  34. ↑ Gaiman, Neil (w). Batman 1 (686) (May 2010), DC Comics
  35. ↑ Gaiman, Neil (w). Detective Comics 1 (853) (May 2010), DC Comics
  36. ↑ Morrison, Grant (w). Batman and Robin 1 (12) (May 2010), DC Comics
  37. ↑ Morrison, Grant (w). Batman and Robin 1 (13) (July 2010), DC Comics
  38. ↑ Morrison, Grant (w), Van Fleet, John (p,i). "The Clown at Midnight" Batman#663 (663): 22 (April 2007), DC Comics
  39. ↑ Ramey, Bill (2007-02-17). "Comic Review: Batman #663". Batman on Film. http://www.batman-on-film.com/comics_jett_batman663_review.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. [DVD]. Warner Bros.. 2000. 
  41. ↑ Dixon, Chuck (w), Aparo, Jim, Cebollero, John (p,i). Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (145): 32 (September 2001), DC Comics
  42. ↑ Morrison, Grant (w), McKean, Dave (p,i). Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (1990), DC Comics, 0930289560 9780930289560
  43. ↑ Hunt, Matt. "How the Joker works". Howstuffworks. http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/joker1.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  44. ↑ Phillips, Daniel (2007-12-14). "Why So Serious? - The Many Faces of Joker". IGN. http://stars.ign.com/articles/841/841564p1.html. Retrieved 2008-05-02. "Sure, the basics have always been there: The Joker's maniacal grin, his green hair, red lips and purple suit." 
  45. ↑ Devin Grayson, Scott Beatty, A.J. Lieberman (w), Dale Eaglesham, Paul Ryan, Roger Robinson, Al Barrionuevo (p), John Floyd (i). Batman: Gotham Knights 50-55 (74) (March 2000 - April 2006), DC Comics
  46. ↑ Diggle, Andy, Green, Michael, Tony Bedard (w), Portacio, Whilce, Friend, Richard, Cowan, Denys, Morales, Rags (p,i). "Batman Confidential: Lovers & Madmen (#7-12)" Batman Confidential: Lovers & Madmen (#7-12) 7-12 (2006-Present), DC Comics
  47. ↑ The Brave and the Bold #31 review
  48. ↑ Lewis, Paul (2006). Cracking Up: American Humor in a Time of Conflict. University of Chicago Press. pp. 31–34. ISBN 0226476995. 
  49. ↑ Sabin, Roger (1996). Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels. Phaidon. p. 61. ISBN 0714830089. 
  50. ↑ Batman: The Animated Series. [DVD]. Warner Bros. Home Video. 2004. 
  51. ↑ Goldstein, Hilary (2005-05-24). "The Joker: Devil's Advocate". IGN. http://comics.ign.com/articles/618/618664p1.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  52. ↑ "IGN: Joker Biography". IGN. http://stars.ign.com/objects/923/923882_biography.html. Retrieved 2008-05-18. 
  53. ↑ Tipton, Scott (2004-01-07). "Batman, Part V -- You gotta be Joking". Comics 101. http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/comics101/46.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  54. ↑ Kroll, Jack (1989-06-26). "The Joker is Wild, but Batman Carries the Night". Newsweek. http://www.timburtoncollective.com/articles/bat8.html. 
  55. ↑ "AFI's 100 Years...The Complete Lists". American Film Institute. http://connect.afi.com/site/PageServer?pagename=100YearsList. Retrieved 2009-06-23. 
  56. ↑ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains". American Film Institute. http://www.afi.com/docs/tvevents/pdf/handv100.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-23. 
  57. ↑ Sarah Lyall (2007-11-04). "Movies: In Stetson or Wig, He's Hard to Pin Down". The New York Times, Movies (nytimes.com). http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04lyal.html. Retrieved 2008-08-18. 
  58. ↑ Dan Jolin (January 2008). "Fear has a Face". Empire: pp. 87–88. 
  59. ↑ Jeff Labrecque, "Review of The Dark Knight," Entertainment Weekly 1026 (December 19, 2008): 46.
  60. ↑ Leopold, Todd (2009-02-23). "A rich night for best picture 'Slumdog Millionaire'". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/22/oscar.night/index.html. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
  61. ↑ "The World's Finest - Batman: The Brave and the Bold". http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/bravebold/guides/reviews/13gameover/. 
  62. ↑ Game Informer features a two-page gallery of the many heroes and villains who appear in the game with a picture for each character and a descriptive paragraph. See "LEGO Batman: Character Gallery," Game Informer 186 (October 2008): 93.
  63. ↑ KHI and FXN - Otakon 2008 Feature!. Kingdom Hearts Insider. Retrieved on 2008-10-13.

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Related topics
Shows
Legends of the Superheroes · The New Adventures of Batman · Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt · The Green Hornet
Films
Batman (1966 film)
Music
"Batman Theme"
Lists
Episodes (List) · List of Batman television series cast members
Other
Batusi
See also: Batman franchise media · Joker's appearances in other media · Robin in other media · Barbara Gordon in other media