I’ve noticed a lot of talking about Joker lately, so I put together a little compendium about him. Enjoy :)
Joker was actually the first classic batman villain to receive its own ongoing series. Back in 1975, Joker became so popular and gained so much interest that DC actually decided to give him his own ongoing comic series. Creating a Joker protagonist, however, was a bad move for DC. The idea was a flop and the series got cancelled after only nine issues. This is the comic series that ignited amazing graphic novels, animations, and plotlines like the ‘Killing Joke.’ Without further ado, here is my Joker Compendium. Let's start off with the best events in Joker History:
EMPORER JOKER: JOKER MITE?
In ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ (Season 2, Episode 19: Emperor Joker) Joker accidentally received Bat-Mites powers. In order to thank Bat-Mite, The Joker invented a miniature version of himself, calling it “Joker-Mite.” What the Joker didn’t expect was for “Joker-Mite” to go rogue; trying to stop both his creator and Batman. Luckily, Bat-Mite and Harley Quinn were able to defeat the little freak. Once Bat-Mite finally got his powers back, he undid everything the Joker had made, except for “Joker Mite” which was taken to the Fifth Dimension to serve as his arch nemesis. You can watch this episode at the link below:
http://watchcartoonsonline.eu/watch/batman-the-brave-and-the-bold-s02e18-emperor-joker/
KIDNAPS BABIES AND KILLS GORDON’S WIFE
In Detective Comics #141, Joker kidnaps dozens of babies and hides them in the basement of the GCPD (Gotham City Police Department). When Sarah Essen (Commissioner Gordon’s Wife) discovered Joker’s twisted scheme, she pulled a gun on him. In return, Joker threw a baby at her! Sarah caught the baby, but was shot point-blank in the head by Joker. The last thing she heard before she died were the Joker’s twisted words: “Merry Christmas.” He left Sarah’s corpse; the infant still screaming and crying in her dead arms.
This was a pretty dark and emotional comic, but now we finally got know what happened to the commissioner’s wife.
EATING CHINA
In the comic book Superman: Emperor Joker, Joker steals Mister Mxyzptlk’s powers and uses them to altar reality. In this reality, he used his powers to make gruesome/twisted versions of superheroes, constantly kill and resurrect Batman, and ate the entire Chinese population… just so he could make a joke about China.
DARK CLAW AND CREED QUINN?
This is probably my favorite and most interesting thing that has ever happened to the Joker. It all started in 1996, when the Spectre and Living Tribunal created a universe of Marvel/DC hybrid characters. This sparked the Amalgam Comics line and got a lot of attention. In the comic “Legends of the Dark Claw”, Batman is fused with Wolverine (Darkclaw) and Joker is fused with Sabretooth (Creed Quinn). Each of these characters were created by a secret Weapon X Project, turning them into living weapons. This idea was absolutely radical, but at the same time amazing. You should look it up sometimes.
DEATH IN THE FAMILY/BATMAN UNDER THE RED HOOD
There’s almost no one who hasn’t read this series or at least watched the animated version ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood.’ This remains a classic and one of my favorites for many reasons. This comic series was one of DC’s dark/gritty spins on the Joker and his origin. If you read ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ this comic works as the perfect sequel.
The Joker kidnaps Robin, drags him to an abandoned warehouse, and beats him brutally with a crowbar; all the while laughing and making fun of him. When he’s finished with his dirt work, the Joker leaves Jason Todd (Robin) alone in the warehouse with a bomb. Batman arrives, only seconds late; the bomb explodes.
Batman dugs Jason out of the rubble and debris; what he saw horrifying him. Jason was dead; for the second time, Batman has lost his Robin.
Ra’s ah ghul brings Jason back to life in his so called ‘Lazarus Pit.’ He emerges from the pit of slime; ready to extract his revenge. He stole the Joker’s Red Hood cowl, mocking him, and became one of Gotham’s new vigilantes. A feared one that violated Batman’s moral code. At one point in the movie, he actually tried to kill the Joker.
The plot fascinated me and I loved the flashbacks of Joker’s past, much like the ones seen in Batman: The Killing Joke.
I also understand that this comic/animated movie focused more on Jason Todd, but none of it would’ve been possible without the Joker.
JOKER: FLASHPOINT
In an alternate universe, Bruce Wayne died instead of his parents. His dad became a much older and more brutal Batman. His mom, however, became the Joker of this universe; driven crazy from the grief of her dead son. Nice plot twist, right?
QUICK FACT: Joker has one of the biggest kill counts of any DC character, ranging from 680-1500 people. That’s a lot!
I could talk about Jokers interesting plot lines all day. How he made Superman kill his pregnant wife (Injustice), or how he tried to patent Joker-Fish, or how he had plastic surgery to become normal…. But I’m ending it here to start with a new section of the Joker Historium: FAN THEORIES
(Try looking these up. A lot of these theories have evidence to back them up and are quite intriguing!)
- The Joker is immortal
- The Joker has a supernatural sense of timing
- The Joker is Bruce’s brother, Thomas Jr.
- He was a war veteran
- He and Harley had kids
- Joker has ‘Super Sanity’
- Alfred Pennyworth is the Joker
- Jason Todd is the Joker
- The Joker is an ancient virus
- Joker is Batman from the Future
EVERY JOKER ACTOR SO FAR
Troy Baker
Jeff Bennet
Steve Blum
John DeMaggio
Mark Hamill
Heath Ledger
Jared Leto
Jack Nicholson
Kevin Richardson
Cesar Romero
Brent Spiner
Roger Stoneburner
QUICK FACT: The Joker knows Batman is Bruce Wayne… and he doesn’t care.
JOKER’S NICKNAMES:
The Clown Prince of Crime
The Ace of Knaves
The Jester of Genocide
The Harlequin of Hate
Mistah J (Harley Quinn's frequent name for him)
The Red Hood
Aliases:
Melvin White
Jack White
Jack Napier
Joe Kerr
Dr. J Reckon
Oberon Sexton
‘Eric’
THAT’S IT… I HOPE YOU ENJOYED!