Joker - Character History
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics Joker (character)
Art by Alex Ross
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance: Batman #1 (April 25, 1940)
Created
Bill Finger
Bob Kane
Jerry Robinson
Capabilities
- Criminal mastermind
- Experienced Chemist
- Uses military-grade props and toxins
The Joker is a fictional supervillain created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson who first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book Batman (April 25, 1940) published by DC Comics. The rights to create the Joker are disputed; Kane and Robinson took credit for the Joker's design, acknowledging the contributions of Finger's writing. Although the Joker was planned to be destroyed during his initial appearance, he was spared editorial intervention by allowing the character to endure as the arch-enemy of the superhero Batman.
One of the majority cult characters V popular culture The Joker has been listed among the greatest comic book villains and fictional characters ever created. The character's popularity has seen him appear on a variety of merchandise such as clothing and collectibles, inspire real-life structures (such as theme park attractions), and be referenced in many media. The Joker has been adapted to serve as Batman's adversary in live-action film, animated, and video game incarnations, including the 1960s Batman television series (played by Cesar Romero) and in Jack Nicholson's film The Batman (1989), Heath Ledger's The Dark Knight (2008) , and Jared Leto in Suicide Squad (2016). Mark Hamill, Troy Baker and others provided the character's voice.
Creation and development
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics 1940 sketch of Jerry Robinson's character (left behind) The Joker. (correct) Actor Conrad Veidt in character as Gwynplaine in The Man Who Laughs (1928). Veidt's grinning visage inspired the Joker's design.
Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson are credited with creating the Joker, but their accounts of the character's concept differ, each providing his own version of events. Finger, Kane, and Robinson's versions acknowledge that Finger produced actor Conrad Veidt's portrayal of the character as Gwynplaine (a man with a disfigured face, giving him an endless grin) in the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs as the inspiration for the Joker's appearance, and Robinson produced the sketch playing card Joker (right).
Robinson claimed that it was his 1940 map sketch that served as the character's concept, and which Finger associated Veidt's image. Kane hired 17-year-old Robinson as an assistant in 1939, after he saw Robinson wearing a white jacket decorated with his with my own illustrations. Starting out as a letterer and background inker, Robinson quickly became the primary artist for the newly created Batman comic book series. In a 1975 interview in Amazing World DC Comics Robinson said he wanted a supreme arch-villain who could test Batman, but not the typical crime lord or gangster, designed to be easy to locate.
He wanted an exotic, enduring character as an ongoing source of conflict for Batman (similar to the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty), designing a devilishly sinister-but-buffoonish villain. Robinson was intrigued by villains; his studies at Columbia University taught him that some characters are made up of contradictions, leading to the Joker's sense of humor. He said the name came first, accompanied by an image of a deck playing card he often had on hand: "I wanted someone visually exciting.
I wanted someone who would leave a lasting impression, would be quirky, would be memorable like the Hunchback of Notre Dame or any of the other villains who had unique physical attributes. “He told Finger about his concept over the phone, later providing character sketches and images of what would become his iconic Joker playing card design. Finger thought the concept was incomplete, ensuring Veidt's image with a terrible, permanent mouth-hole grin.
Kane countered that Robinson's sketch was produced only after Finger had already shown the Gwynplaine image to Kane, and that it was only used as a card design owned by the Joker in his early appearances. Finger said he was also inspired by an image at Steeplechase Park in Coney Island, which resembled a Joker head he sketched and later shared with future publishing director Carmine Infantino. In a 1994 interview with journalist Frank Lowes, Kane stated his position:
Bill Finger and I created the Joker. Bill was a writer. Jerry Robinson came to me with a Joker playing card. 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 photo of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, 'Here's the Joker.' Jerry Robinson had absolutely nothing to do with him, but he will always say that he created him until he dies. He brought in the playing card that we used for several problems for him Joker] to use as his playing card.
Robinson credited himself, Thumb and Kane to create the Joker. He said he created the character as Batman's unlikely nemesis when additional stories were quickly needed for Batman # and he received history credit in a college course:
At that first meeting when I showed them the Joker sketch, Bill said it reminded him of Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs. This was the first mention of him... Bob himself can acknowledge him, we all played a role in him. The concept was mine. Bill completed that first script from my outline of the person and what should happen in the first story. He wrote the script for it, so he really was a co-creator, and Bob and I did the visuals, so Bob was too.
Although Kane adamantly refused to share credit for many of his characters (and denied Robinson's claim until Kane's death), many comic historians credit Robinson with creating the Joker and Thumb with character development. By 201 Thumb, Kane and Robinson had died, leaving the story unresolved.
Golden age
The Joker debuted in Batman #1 (1940) as the first villain of the same name, shortly after Batman's debut in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The Joker originally appeared as a ruthless serial killer, modeled after the Joker playing card with a bleak grin, who killed his victims with "Joker Venom": a toxin that left their faces smiling in a grotesque manner. the character was intended to be killed off in his second appearance in Batman No. by being stabbed in the heart. Finger wanted the Joker to die due to his concern that recurring villains would make Batman seem unsuitable, but was overruled by then-editor Whitney Ellsworth; a hastily drawn panel, indicating that the Joker was still alive, was added to the comedian. The Joker went on to appear in nine of the first twelve Batman issues.
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics The character's regular appearances quickly established him as the archenemy of the dynamic duo, Batman and Robin; he killed dozens of people, and even derailed a train. By issue #13, Kane's work on the syndicated Batman strip left him with little time for comics; artist Dick Sprang took over his duties, and editor Jack Schiff collaborated with Finger on the stories. At the same time, DC Comics found it easier to sell his stories to children without the more mature pulp elements that spawned many superhero comics. During this period, the first changes to the Joker began to appear, portraying him more as the Joker than a threat; when he kidnaps Robin, Batman pays the ransom by check, implying that the Joker cannot exchange it for money without being arrested. Comics writer Mark Waid suggests that the 1942 story "The Joker's Walk, The Last Mile" was the starting point for the character's transformation into a goofier incarnation, a period that Grant Morrison believed would last the next thirty years.
The 1942 cover of Detective Comics #69, known as "Double Gun" (with the Joker emerging from a genie's lamp, aiming two guns at Batman and Robin), is considered one of the largest Golden Age superhero comic covers and the only depiction of the character using a traditional weapon . Robinson said other modern villains used guns, and the creative team wanted the Joker - as Batman's adversary - to be more resourceful.
silver Age
The Joker was one of several popular villains continuing to appear regularly in Batman comics from the Golden Age into the Silver Age, as the series continued during the rise in popularity of mystery and romance comics. In 1951, Thumb wrote an origin story for the Joker in Detective Comics #168, which introduced the feature of him formerly being the criminal Red Hood and his acquiring a physical defect the result of a fall into a chemical vat.
By 1954, the Comics Code Authority was established in response to increasing public disapproval of comic book content. The backlash was inspired by Frederick Wertham, who hypothesized that the means mass media(especially comic books) were responsible for increasing juvenile delinquency, violence, and homosexuality, especially among young men. Parents banned their children from reading comics, and there were several mass arson attacks. The Comics Code banned gore, innuendo and excessive violence, stripping Batman of his menace and transforming the Joker into a stupid, thieving trickster without his original homicidal tendencies.
The character appeared less often after 1964, when Julius Schwartz (who disliked the Joker) became editor of Batman comics. The character risked becoming a vague indicator of a previous era until this goofy version of the Joker character was adapted into the 1966 television series Batman, in which he was played by Cesar Romero. The popularity of the show led Schwartz to keep the comics in the same vein. While the show's popularity has waned, however, so have those of the Batman comics. After the series ended in 1968, increased public visibility did not stop the comedian's sales decline; Publishing director Carmine Infantino decided to turn things around, moving the stories away from school-friendly adventures. The Silver Age introduced several of the Joker's defining character traits: lethal joy horns, acid-squirting flowers, trick guns, and stupid, elaborate crimes.
Bronze Age
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics Cover Batman #251 (September 1973), featuring "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge", which returned the Joker to his murderous roots. Art by Neal Adams.
In 1973, after disappearing for four years, the Joker was revived (and revised) by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams. Beginning with Batman #251's "Five-Path Revenge of the Joker", the character returns to his roots as an impulsive, homicidal maniac who matches wits with Batman. This story started a trend in which the Joker was used sparingly, as central character. O'Neill said his idea was to "just take it back to where it started. I went to the DC library and read some early stories. I tried to get a sense of what Kane and Thumb were after." O'Neill's 1973 Run introduced the idea of the Joker being legally insane to explain why the character is sent to Arkham Asylum (introduced by O'Neill in 1974 as Arkham Asylum) instead of prison. Adams changed the Joker's appearance, changing him more medium figure, elongating his jaw and making him taller and leaner.
DC Comics was a hotbed of experimentation during the 1970s, and in 1975 the character became the first villain to show how title character in the comic book series, Joker. the series followed the character's interactions with other supervillains, and the first issue was written by O'Neill. The stories balanced between emphasizing the Joker's criminality and making him a likable protagonist that readers could root for. Although he killed thugs and civilians, he never fought Batman.
This made the Joker a series in which the villainy of the character prevailed over rival villains instead of a fight between good and evil, as the Comics Code Authority mandated punishment for the villains, each issue ending with the Joker being arrested, limiting the scope of each story. The series never found an audience, and Joker was canceled after nine issues (despite advertising a "next issue" for an appearance by the Justice League). The complete series became difficult to obtain over time, often commanding high prices from collectors. In 2013, DC Comics republished the series as a graphic novel.
When Genette Kahn became DC editor in 1976, she rebuilt the company's struggling titles; During her tenure, the Joker would become one of DC's most popular characters. While O'Neill and Adams' work were critically acclaimed, writer Steve Englehart and penciller Marshall Rogers ran an eight-issue run in Detective Comics #471-476 (August 1977 - April 1978) have defined the Joker for decades to come with stories emphasizing the character's madness.
In "The Laughing Fish", the Joker disfigures a fish with a mouth-hole grin reminiscent of his own (anticipating copyright protection) and is unable to understand that copyrighting a natural resource is legally impossible. Englehart and Rogers' work on the series influenced the 1989 film Batman and were adapted into 1992's Batman: The Animated Series. Rogers elaborated on Adams' character design, featuring the Joker with a fedora and trench coat. Englehart outlined in general outline how he understood the character, saying that the Joker "was this very crazy, scary character. I really wanted to go back to the idea of Batman fighting mad killers at 3:00 under a full moon as the clouds are destroyed."
Nowadays
In the years following the end of the 1966 television series, Batman's sales continued to decline and the title was almost cancelled. Although the 1970s re-established the Joker as Batman's mad, lethal adversary, it was during the 1980s that the Batman series began to turn around and the Joker achieved recognition as part of the "medieval" era of comics: mature tales of death and destruction. The change was ridiculed for moving away from tame superheroes (and villains), but comic audiences were no longer primarily children.
Several months after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the era began by destroying symbols Silver Age such as The Flash and Supergirl and undoing decades of continuity, Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (1986) re-imagined Batman as an older retired hero and the Joker as a lipstick-wearing celebrity who cannot function without his opponent. The late 1980s saw the Joker has had a significant influence on Batman and his supporting cast. In the 1988–89 story arc "A Death in the Family", the Joker kills Batman's sidekick (the second Robin, Jason Todd). Todd was unpopular with fans; rather than changing his character, DC decided to let them vote on his fate, and the 28-vote plurality had the Joker beat Todd to death with a crowbar.
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics This story changed the Batman universe: instead of killing anonymous witnesses, the Joker killed a major character in Batman fiction; this had a lasting effect on future stories. Written at the height of tensions between the United States and Iran, the story's conclusion had Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini appoint the Joker as his country's ambassador to the United Nations (allowing him to temporarily escape justice).
Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's 1988 graphic novel The Deadly Joke expands on the Joker's origins, describing the character as a failed comedian who takes on the identity of Red Hood to support his pregnant wife. Unlike The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke takes place in the mainstream continuity . the novel is described by critics as one of the greatest Joker stories ever written, influencing later comic stories (including then-Batgirl Barbara Gordon's forced retirement after she is paralyzed by the Joker) and films such as 1989's Batman and 2008's The Dark Knight Grant Morrison's 1989 Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth explores the psychosis of Batman, the Joker and other rogues in the eponymous vehicle.
The 1992 animated series introduced a female sidekick to the Joker: Harley Quinn, a psychiatrist who falls in love with—and ends up in an abusive relationship with—the Joker, becoming his supervillain accomplice. The character was popular, and was adapted into comics as the Joker's romantic interest in 1999. That same year, Alan Grant and Norm Breifogle's comic Anarky came to the conclusion with the discovery that the titular character was the Joker's son. Breifogle conceived the idea as a means to expand on Anarky's characterization, but O'Neill (by then the editor for the Batman series of books) was opposed to it, and only allowed it to be written under protest, and with the promise that the discovery would eventually be revealed wrong. However, the Anarky series was canceled before a retraction could be published.
The Joker's first major storyline in the New 52, DC Comics' 2011 reboot of the story continuity, was 2012's "Death of the Family" by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capallo. The story arc explores the symbiotic relationship between the Joker and Batman, and sees the villain destroy the trust between Batman and his adopted family. Capallo's Joker design replaced his traditional outfit with a pragmatic, dirty, and tousled appearance to convey that the character was on a mission; his face (surgically removed in 2011's Detective Comics #1) was reattached with belts, wires and hooks, and he was outfitted with a mechanic's jumpsuit. The Joker's face was restored in Snyder and Capallo's Endgame (2014), the final chapter to Death of the Family.
Biography of the Joker character DC comics
The Joker has undergone many revisions since its 1940 debut. The most common interpretation of the character is that he disguises himself as the criminal Red Hood and is being pursued by Batman. The Joker falls into a vat of chemicals that bleaches his skin, dyes his hair green and his lips red, and drives him insane. The reasons why the Joker was disguised as Red Hood and his identity before his transformation have varied over time.
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics The character was introduced in Batman #1 (1940), in which he announces that he will kill three of Gotham's prominent citizens (including Mayor Henry Claridge). Although the police protect Claridge, the Joker poisons him before making his announcement, and Claridge dies with a terrible grin on his face; Batman ultimately defeats him, putting him in prison. The Joker commits bizarre, brutal crimes for reasons that, in Batman's words, "make sense to him." Detective Comics #168 (1951) introduced the Joker's first origin story as Red Hood: a criminal who, during his final heist, disappears after jumping into a vat of chemicals to escape Batman. His resulting acquisition of a physical defect led him to take the name "Joker", from a playing card it is believed he came to remind. the Silver Age transformation of the Joker into an object of ridicule was established in 1952's "The Joker's Millions".
In this story, the Joker is obsessed with maintaining his illusion of wealth and celebrity as a criminal folk hero, afraid to let the citizens of Gotham know that he is poor and has been cheated out of his fortune. The 1970s redefined the character as a murderous psychopath. "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" has the Joker taking violent revenge on the former gang members who betrayed him; "The Laughing Fish" has the character chemically add his face to Gotham's fish (hoping to profit from the copyright) by killing bureaucrats who stand in his way.
Batman: The Killing Joke (1988) was based on the 1951 origin story of the Joker, portraying him as a failed comedian who is pressured into committing a crime as Red Hood in order to support his pregnant wife. Batman's intervention causes him to jump into a chemical vat, which disfigures him. This, combined with the trauma of his wife's earlier accidental death, causes him to go crazy and become the Joker. However, Joker says that this story may not be true and prefers his past to be a "varied choice." In this graphic novel, the Joker shoots and paralyzes Barbara Gordon and tortures her father, Commissioner James Gordon, to prove that it only takes one bad day to drive a normal person insane.
After Batman rescues Gordon and subdues the Joker, he offers to rehabilitate his old foe and end their rivalry. Although the Joker refuses, he shows his gratitude by sharing a prank with Batman. After the self-mutilation of Barbara's character, she became a more important character in the DC Universe: Oracle, a data miner informant and superhero who has her revenge on Birds of Prey by destroying the Joker's teeth and ruining his smile.
In the 1988 story "A Death in the Family", the Joker hits Jason Todd with a crowbar and leaves him to die in an explosion. Todd's death haunts Batman, and for the first time he considers killing the Joker. The Joker temporarily escapes justice when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appoints him Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, giving him diplomatic immunity. However, when he attempts to poison the UN membership, he is defeated by Batman and Superman.
In the main storyline 1999's No Man's Land The Joker kills Commissioner Gordon's second wife, Sarah, as she shields a group of babies. He taunts Gordon, who shoots him in the kneecap. The Joker, lamenting that he may never walk again, dies laughing when he realizes that the Commissioner was taking revenge for Barbara's paralysis. This story also introduced the Joker's girlfriend, Harley Quinn.
The 2000s began with the crossover story "Emperor Joker", in which the Joker steals the reality-altering power of Mister Mxyzptlk and remakes the universe in his image (torturing and killing Batman daily before reviving him). When the supervillain then tries to destroy the universe, his reluctance to eliminate Batman causes him to lose control and Superman defeats him. Broken by his experience, the events of Batman's death are transferred to Superman by the Specter so he can heal mentally.
In "Joker's Last Laugh" (2001), doctors at Arkham Asylum convince the character that he is dying in an attempt to rehabilitate him. Instead, the Joker (between an army of "Jokerized" supervillains) begins the final crime spree. Believing Robin (Tim Drake) to have been killed in the chaos, Dick Grayson beats the Joker to death (although Batman revives his opponent to keep Grayson from being the killer) and the character succeeds in getting a member of the Bat-Family to break their rule against murder .
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics In "Under the Hood" (2005), a revived Todd attempts to force Batman to avenge his death by killing the Joker. Batman refuses, claiming that if he allows himself to kill the Joker, he will not be able to stop killing other criminals. The Joker kills Alexander Luthor in Infinite Crisis (2005) to expel him from the Secret Society of Super Villains, which deems him too unpredictable for membership. In Morrison's Batman and Son (2006), the deranged policeman who impersonates Batman shoots the Joker in the face , scratching and maiming him. The supervillain returns in Clown at Midnight (2007) as a brutal, mysterious force who awakens and tries to kill Harley Quinn to prove to Batman that he has become more than human. The 2008 story forms the arc "Batman R.I.P." "
The Joker is recruited by the Black Glove to destroy Batman, but betrays the group, killing its members one by one. After Batman's near-death experience in "Final Crisis" (2008), Grayson investigates a series of murders (which leads him to the Joker in disguise). The Joker is arrested and then Robin Damian Wayne hits him with a crowbar, finding something similar to Todd's murder. As the Joker escapes, he attacks the Black Glove, burying its leader Simon Hurt alive after the supervillain considers him a failure as an opponent; The Joker is then defeated by the newly returned Batman.
In DC's New 52, the 2011 reboot of his post-Flashpoint titles, the Joker has his face cut off. He disappears for a year, returning to launch an attack on Batman's extended family in "Death of the Family", so he and Batman may be best hero and the villain they can be. At the end of the storyline, the Joker falls off a cliff into a dark abyss. The Joker returns in the 2014 "Endgame" storyline, in which he brainwashes the Justice League into attacking Batman, believing that he betrayed their relationship. The story implies That the Joker is immortal - having existed for centuries in Gotham as the cause of tragedy after exposure to a substance the Joker calls 'dionesium' - and is able to recover from mortal wounds. "Endgame" restores the Joker's face, and also reveals that he knows Batman's secret identity. the story ends with the clinical deaths of Batman and the Joker at each other's hands.
Origin of the Joker
“They gave a lot of the origin of the Joker, how he turned out. It doesn't seem to matter - as he does now. I never intended to explain his appearance. We discussed it and BillFinger and I never wanted to change it at the time. I thought - and he agreed - that this removed some of the essential mystery."
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics Although many backstories have been given, a definitive one has not yet been established for the Joker. An unreliable narrator, the character is ambiguous about who he was before and how he became the Joker: "Sometimes I remember him one way, sometimes another...if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be a varied choice!" "The Joker's origin story appeared in Detective Comics #168 (February 1951), nearly a decade after the character's debut. Here, the character is a lab worker who becomes Red Hood (a masked criminal) to steal a million dollars from his employer and retire. He ends up in a vat of chemical waste when his robbery is thwarted by Batman, who appears with bleached white skin, red lips, green hair and a permanent grin.
This story was the basis for the most often cited origin story, Moore's one-shot The Killing Joke. The Joker quits his job as a Lab assistant, becoming a stand-up comedian to support his pregnant wife. Unsuccessful, he agrees to help the bandits with the robbery and dons the Red Hood. The robbery gets confused; the comedian jumps into a chemical vat to escape Batman, emerging disfigured. This, combined with more early death The accident of his wife and unborn child drives the comedian insane and he becomes the Joker.
This version has been cited in many stories, including Batman: The Man Who Laughs (in which Batman deduces that Red Hood survived his fall and became the Joker), Batman #450 (in which the Joker dons Red Hood to aid his recovery from the events of Deaths in the Family, but finds the experience too traumatic), and “Death of the Family.” Other stories have elaborated on this origin;" Pushback" explains that the Joker's wife was killed by a corrupt cop working for mobsters, and "Payback" gives the Joker's name as "Jack".
However, the Joker's unreliable memory allowed writers to develop a different origin for the character. "Case Study", Paul DiniAlex Rossitorie, describes the Joker as a sadistic gangster who creates the Red Hood identity to continue the thrill of petty crime. He has his fateful first meeting with Batman, which leads to him acquiring a physical defect. It is suggested that the Joker be sane and feign insanity to avoid the death penalty. In Batman Confidential (#7–12), the character, Jack, is a talented criminal who is bored with his job. He encounters (and becomes obsessed with) Batman during a robbery, embarking on a crime spree to get his attention.
After Jack injures Batman's girlfriend, Jack scars Batman's face with a permanent grin and betrays him to a group of bandits who torture him in a chemical plant. Jack escapes, but ends up in an empty vat as gunfire punctures the chemical tanks above him. A flood of chemicals (used in antipsychotic medication) changes his appearance and completes his transformation. The superhero Atom sees the Joker's memory of burning his parents alive (after they find him killing animals) in The Brave and the Bold #3, and Snyder's Zero Year (2013) suggests that the pre-mutilated Joker was the criminal mastermind leading the gang Red Hoods.
The Joker has stated many origins, including being the child of an abusive father who broke his nose and a long-lived buffoon of an Egyptian pharaoh. As Batman says, "Like any other comedian, he uses whatever material will work."
Alternate versions of the Joker
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics Many alternate universes in DC Comics publications allow writers to introduce variations on the Joker in which the character's origins, behavior and morals differ from the mainstream setting. The Dark Knight Returns depicts the final battle between an aged Batman and the Joker; others depict the aftermath of the Joker's death at the hands of many characters, including Superman. Still others describe distant futures in which the Joker is a computer virus or a hero trying to defeat the era's tyrannical Batman. In some stories, the Joker is someone else entirely; "Flashpoint" features Batman's mother Martha Wayne as the Joker in response to her son's murder, and in Superman: Bullets Flying Lex Luthor becomes the Joker in a world where Superman is Batman.
Characteristics
Known as Batman's greatest enemy, the Joker is known by many nicknames, including the Clown Prince of Crime, the Jester of Genocide, the Harlequin of Hatred and the Ace of Dodgers. During the development of the DC Universe, interpretations and versions of the Joker have taken two forms. The original, dominant image is that of an extreme psychopath, with a genius-level intellect and a warped, sadistic sense of humor. Another version, popular in comics from the late 940s to the 960s and in the 960s television series, is the eccentric, harmless Joker and thief.
Like other long-lasting characters, the Joker's character and cultural interpretations have changed over time, however, unlike other characters who may have to accommodate or ignore previous versions to make sense, more than any other comic book character, the Joker thrives on his changeable and contradictory personalities. The Joker is typically seen wearing a purple suit with a long tail, padded shoulder jacket, ribbon tie, gloves, striped pants and spats on sharp pointe shoes (sometimes with a wide-brimmed hat). This appearance is such a fundamental aspect of the character that when the 2004 Batman animated series placed the Joker in a straitjacket, it quickly redesigned him into his familiar suit.
The Joker is obsessed with Batman, the pair representing the yang of the opposition against the dark and light force; although it is the Joker who represents humor and color and Batman who lives in the dark. Murder, theft and terrorism, no crime outside of the Joker, and his deeds - theatrical performance, which are funny to him alone. Spectacle is more important than success to the Joker, and if it's not exciting, it's boring. Although the Joker demands indifference to everything, he secretly craves Batman's attention and validation.
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics The character was described as having killed over 2,000 people in Joker: The Devil's Advocate (996). Despite this body count, he is always found not guilty due to insanity and sent to Arkham Asylum, avoiding the death penalty. Many of the Joker's actions attempt to force Batman to kill; if the most organized and self-governing of people can kill, anyone is capable of becoming a monster like the Joker. The villain shows no instinct for self-preservation and is willing to die to prove his point. The Joker is "the personification of an irrational number" and represents "everything that Batman stands against."
Individuality
Joker co-creator Jerry Robinson in 2008; he conceived of the Joker as an exotic, resilient arch-villain who could repeatedly challenge Batman.
The Joker's main characteristic is his apparent insanity, although he is not described as having a specific psychological disorder. Like a psychopath, he lacks empathy, conscience and concern for right and wrong. In Serious House on Serious Earth, the Joker is described as being capable of processing non-sensory information only by adapting to it. This allows him to create a new personality every day (depending on what would benefit him) and explains why in different time he is a mischievous clown or a psychopathic killer. In "Clown at Midnight" (Batman #663, 2007), the Joker enters a meditative state where he evaluates his previous self to consciously create a new personality, effectively changing himself for his needs.
The Deadly Joke (in which the Joker is an unreliable narrator) explains the roots of his madness as "one bad day": losing his wife and unborn child and being disfigured by chemicals, finding something similar to Batman's origins in the loss of his parents. He tries (and fails) to prove that anyone can become like him after one bad day by tormenting Commissioner Gordon, physically and psychologically. Batman offers to rehabilitate his opponent; The Joker apologetically shrinks away, believing that it is too late for him to be saved.
Other interpretations show that the Joker is fully aware of how his actions affect others and that his madness is simply an act. Comics scholar Peter Coogan describes the Joker as attempting to bend reality to fit himself, superimposing his face on his victims (and fish) in an attempt to make the world understandable, creating a twisted parody of himself. Englehart's "The Laughing Fish" demonstrates the illogical nature of the character: trying to copyright the fish that bear his face, and not understanding why threatening the copyright clerk cannot achieve the desired result.
The Joker is alternatively depicted as sexual and asexual. In Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth, the Joker seduces Batman; it's questionable whether their relationship has homoerotic overtones or if the Joker is simply trying to control his nemesis. Frank Miller has interpreted the character as being fixated on death and uninterested in sexual relationships, while Robinson believes the Joker is capable of romantic relationships. His relationship with Harley Quinn is offensively paradoxical; although the Joker keeps her on his side, he inadvertently harms her (such as by throwing her window without seeing if she survives). Harley loves him, but the Joker does not reciprocate her feelings, reproaching her for distracting him from other plans.
Joker DC comics – Character history – Joker DC comics "Snyder's Death of the Family" depicts the Joker as loving Batman, although not in a traditionally romantic way. The Joker believes that Batman didn't kill him because he makes Batman better, and he loves the villain for that. Batman comic book writer Peter Tomasi agreed, saying that the Joker's main goal is to make Batman the best he can be. The Joker and Batman represent opposites: the extroverted Joker wears bright clothes and embraces chaos, while the introverted, monochromatic Batman represents order and discipline. The Joker is often portrayed as defining his existence through his conflict with Batman.
In "Movement 994 Normal", the villain tries to carry out normal life after Batman's (apparent) death, only to become his old self again when Batman reappears; in "Emperor Joker", the apparently all-powerful Joker cannot destroy Batman without canceling himself. Since the Joker is simply "The Joker", he believes that Batman is "Batman" (with or without the costume) and has no interest in what is behind Batman's mask, ignoring opportunities to learn Batman's secret identity. Given the opportunity to kill Batman , villain hesitation; he believes that without their performance, victory is meaningless. the character has no desire for typical criminal goals like money or power; his crime is designed only to continue his game with Batman.
The Joker is portrayed as having no fear; when fellow supervillain Scarecrow doses him with fear toxin in Knightfall (993), the Joker simply laughs and says, "Boo!" the villain was temporarily rendered normal by several means, including telepathic manipulation by Martian Manhunter and being revived in the restoration of life by Lazarus Pete (an experience typically causing temporary insanity in the subject). During these moments, the Joker is depicted as expressing remorse for his actions; however, during a medically induced period of partial sanity in Batman: Cacophony he tells his opponent: “I don't hate you 'cause I'm crazy. I'm crazy 'cause I hate you" and confirms that he will only stop killing when Batman is dead.
Joker Skills and Abilities
The Joker has no innate superhuman abilities. He commits crimes with a variety of military themed props such as a razor-tipped card playing deck, marble spins, Jack in the Box with nasty surprises and a cigar explosion capable of leveling a building. The flower in his lapel sprays acid, and his hand often holds a lethal joy buzzer, conducting a million volts of electricity, although both points were introduced in 952 as harmless joke points. However, his chemical genius provides his most famous weapon: the Joker's venom, liquid or gaseous a toxin that sends its targets into fits of uncontrollable laughter; higher doses can result in paralysis, coma or death, leaving its victim with a ghoulish, distressed grin at the mouth.
The Joker has used poison since his debut; only he knows the formula and is shown to be gifted enough to produce the toxin from common household chemicals. Another version of the poison (used in "The Joker's Last Laugh") causes its victims to resemble the Joker, susceptible to his orders. The villain is immune to the poison and most poisons; in Batman #663 (2007), Morrison writes that, being "an avid consumer of his own chemical experiments, the Joker's immunity to poison concoctions that might kill another person instantly was developed over years of ad hoc abuse. »
The character's arsenal is inspired by his nemesis's weaponry, such as batarangs. In "The Joker's Utility Belt" (952), he emulated Batman's utility belt with non-lethal items such as Mexican jumping beans and sneeze powder. In 942 "The Joker Follows Example", the villain built his versions of the Batplane and Batmobile, the Jokergyro and the Jokermobile (the latter with a large Joker face on its hood), and created a Joker signal with which criminals could call him for their robberies. The Jokermobile lasted for several decades, evolving with the Batmobile. His technical genius is not limited by practicality, allowing him to hijack Gotham's television airwaves to release threats, transform buildings into death traps, go on a gas offensive on the city, and rain poisoned glass shards on its citizens from the airship.
The Joker is portrayed as skilled in melee combat from his initial appearances, when he defeats Batman in a sword fight (almost killing him), and others when he overwhelms Batman but refuses to kill him. He is talented with firearms, although even his weapons are theatrical; his long-barreled revolver often releases a flag reading "Strike" and a second trigger pull starts the flag to pierce his target. Although formidable in battle, the Joker's greatest asset is his mind.
Joker- supervillain of the DC Comics universe, the main and sworn enemy of Batman. In cinema, the role of the Joker was played by several actors and in this article I will tell who played the role of the Joker in film.
Actors who played the Joker
1. The first Joker. He was played on television for the first time by an American actor. Romero Cesar, who played the famous villain in the Batman series (1967-1969). Although he didn’t particularly look like a villain... here he’s more of a joker, a comedian, than some kind of serial maniac!
2. The second actor to play the role of the Joker in the film “Batman” (1989) Jack Nicholson. Here the character received a backstory: the antagonist, during the fight with Batman, falls into some vat, as a result of which he changes completely (from hair color to psyche)
3. The third was inimitable Heath Ledger with the film “The Dark Knight” (2008). One of the best Jokers. It is not for nothing that the performer of this role, who, unfortunately, did not live to see the premiere of the film, was posthumously awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Inaccurate makeup, terrible hairstyle and untidy appearance - precisely because of all this, this Joker turned out to be the most realistic. It was he who played him in the film The Dark Knight
4. Another Joker became no less inimitable Jared Leto with him leading role in the film "Suicide Squad" (2016). A street rebel, a crazy guy, that’s what the actor himself is. To create his image, most of the details were taken from the comics themselves - green hair, a cheeky grin, silver teeth, rings and an endless number of tattoos on his body. It is possible that such an image will become a new canon and style icon... it was he who played it in Suicide Squad
5. Don’t forget about one of the most famous (in my opinion) and the best Joker(also in my opinion) Mark Hamill. Mark first began voicing one of the most famous cartoon villains in the world in 1992 in the animated series Batman. Before he became the voice of the Joker, the actor already had extensive voice acting experience. animated characters. He voiced him so perfectly that every second of his Joker on the screen, you are imbued with this voice acting! His voice can also be heard in the series of games about Batman, where he also did an excellent job.
Just listen for yourself how this voice sounds!
And that’s all for now, but I’m sure that the Joker’s role will not end there and in his lifetime, we will still see several reincarnations of the most famous criminal!
In this article you will learn:
Joker is a villain and psychopath from DC comics. The DC Comics universe is diverse and multifaceted. It has hundreds of characters, multiple timelines and physical spaces. Movies are made based on comic books, full-length books are written, and computer games. And it all started in 1940. Then the first comic book about Batman was written, in which one of the most recognizable villains of all time, Batman's sworn enemy, the Joker, appeared.
Story
Almost nothing is known about the past of the man who later became the Joker. Here are some facts: he lived in Gotham City, was a member of the Red Hood gang, and participated in gangster raids.
Batman and Joker During the robbery of the Ace Chemicals card factory, the gang was discovered. One of the bandits (for an unknown reason, most likely from fear) fell into a cauldron with a toxic substance. The result of this incident was the appearance of such a character as the Joker.
The ordinary gangster underwent irreversible changes: his skin became bright white, black circles appeared around his eyes, his hair turned green, and a permanent smile was fixed on his lips. But the main thing is that the Joker has become completely crazy.
After this incident, a new villain appeared in Gotham City. His first crime was the murder of many people (corpses were found in an abandoned warehouse, all of them smiling from ear to ear).
The Joker was no ordinary criminal. He talked about the future crime in advance, appearing on television.
Among the Joker's atrocities were the following: the murder of the owners of that same card factory, the release of prisoners of Arkham Asylum and attempts to poison the city's reservoir.
The result of the feud between Batman and the Joker was the arrest of the latter and his placement in that same institution for the mentally ill.
History after restart
The New 52 version, which is a de facto reboot of the DC Comics universe, left the Joker virtually unchanged. The appearance of the villain has not changed, but his story has become a little different.
So, the reader met the Joker while the entire city police was chasing him. Here the antagonist was again caught and imprisoned in Arkham.
The Joker was not left alone in the hospital. One day, a character called the Puppeteer came to him, who, according to him, was the biggest fan of the Red Hood (one of the Joker's nicknames). The visitor, after communicating with the prisoner, cut off his face, after which rumors about the death of the Joker began to circulate around the city.
The villain's partner, a girl named , hopelessly in love with her crazy friend, lost her mind from such gossip. She assembled a team of villains (the Suicide Squad), and together with them stormed the Gotham City police department. Thus, the girl hoped to receive the cut off face of the Joker and, possibly, revive her beloved. However, the Joker soon appeared again.
The villainous prankster began his criminal activities again. He killed several city police officers and regained his face. The Joker regained his appearance, only now his face was attached to his head with special belts.
Red Hood once again began killing the citizens of Gotham City and carving smiles on their faces.
Soon, the villain lured Batman to a card factory, where he was captured by Harley Quinn. At the same time, the antagonist himself kidnapped Alfred, Batman's servant, and the entire Bat-family.
Later, the Joker gathered together all of Batman's enemies, but the hero defeated them, and not without the help of the Joker himself (this inconsistency is explained by the Red Hood's manic desire to kill Batman himself). The result of the rivalry between the characters in this episode was another “death” of the Joker - he flies into the abyss near the waterfall.
In one of latest issues, The Joker has returned and infected Batman's allies with a dangerous virus, forcing them to fight against the hero. Residents of Gotham City were also infected and attacked all unsmiling people.
The shocking news was the latest developments of the city police - the Joker is older than Gotham City itself, and is also, most likely, immortal.
Features and abilities
The Joker is a typical crazy maniac. He is confident, very smart, and has many unusual skills and knowledge (in particular, in the field of chemistry). The villain is wary of both opponents and partners (temporary, because he doesn’t have permanent ones). The Joker's main goal is Batman, in whom the maniac sees the root cause of all his troubles. At the same time, the Joker respects his opponent, considers him smart and worthy.
The Joker is mad. He is merciless and uncompromising. To achieve results, he is ready to do anything. The Red Hood is fearless, but with agility he avoids dangerous situations and escapes from the clutches of death. He rarely understands the situation meticulously, but, relying on instincts and intuition, he is perfectly oriented at any moment. And madness prompts the villain to make completely unexpected moves and actions.
The Joker's powers and abilities include:
- Highest IQ level.
- Excellent knowledge of chemistry.
- Amazing ingenuity.
- Unique willpower - immunity to torture and influences on the mind.
- Immunity to poisons and acids of various kinds.
- Detective flair and talent for planning.
Special devices and mechanisms of the Joker:
- A toxin that makes a person laugh until they die.
- The acid found in the flower on a jacket or police badges.
- Playing cards with sharp edges.
- On the hand - an electric shock or a poisonous needle.
- Balls with smoke inside.
- Bombs of different sizes and shapes.
- A cane from which rockets fly.
Jared Leto as the Joker - Already in the second issue of the original universe (in 1940), the Joker was supposed to die. The fact is that most of Batman's opponents then appeared for 1-2 issues and were “disposable”. But Chief Editor DC Comics then decided that the image of the Joker was incredibly colorful. The villain remained in comics for many years.
- The Joker has appeared several times in various lists characters and villains. In 2006, Wizard magazine voted him the top 100 villains of all time. In 2009, the character was ranked second in the TOP 100 comic book villains from the Internet portal IGN. In 2012, the Joker was ranked eighth in the TOP 50 comic book characters by Empire magazine (the highest achievement for a villain).
- In the 2008 film The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger played the Joker. For this role he received an Oscar (though posthumously). This performance, by the way, took third place in the TOP 100 movie characters of all time from the same Empire magazine. And MTV completely gave the victory to this role in the “Best Villain” category.
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With a history as long as that of his nemesis the caped knight, it seems strange that we know so little about Joker. He first appeared on the pages of a comic book about 70 years ago and has been a fixture in comics ever since. television shows, cartoons, films and video games about Batman. Of course, everyone knows the general facts about the Joker - his madness, the manic nature of a clown, his strange love/hate for the Dark Knight. Little is known about the Joker's past until now, even in the film "The Dark Knight" he himself gives several stories about his past, without focusing on any one. His motives are also not particularly clear; he himself refers to chaos and anarchy.
Over these 70 years, a lot has happened to the character. It's just that there are many details you haven't heard about. Most people remember Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight, but he was also a real-life clown, murder victim, and adversary of Judge Dredd.
Here are 10 things you didn't know about the Joker.
10. He was on a team with Carnage
Spider-Man/Batman fit together better than many other crossovers within the same company, but in this case they didn't even bother to explain how the two fictional universes came together. Just a fact NY Marvel and Gotham DC exist in the same world. The Joker and the Carnage symbiont underwent experimental therapy: special chips were embedded in their heads to extinguish their madness.
Of course, this therapy did not work, otherwise what would be the point of uniting two psychos from two different universes. They run away together and begin to wreak havoc.
9. And fought against Judge Dredd
This crossover makes even less sense, but at least this time they tried to explain. Batman/Judge Dredd focuses on a random jump where the Joker has traveled from Gotham to the dystopia of Mega City One. There he finds communication with Dredd's villain the Dark Judge. The Joker gets along so well that Judge Death appoints him the fifth Dark Judge. It's funny, isn't it? Fortunately, his physical body is in Gotham, and in the world of Judges there is only a disembodied spirit.
At least until he figures out how to inhabit the bodies of other Dark Judges. The result is a monstrous hybrid that only Batman and Judge Dredd can stop.
8. His girlfriend came straight from a cartoon series
Harley Quinn has done the incredible - she has become one of the most recognizable characters in the Batman universe. And this despite the fact that it first appeared in the world in 1992, that is, quite recently. Since then, she often appears in the company of the Joker, and was paired with Poison Ivy. She fits perfectly into the Arkham game universe.
Dr. Harleen Quinzel was a psychologist at Arkham Asylum, where she worked on the Joker. Later she fell in love with him, helped him escape and became his assistant.
7. He was almost killed
Despite being Batman's greatest nemesis (and arguably one of the greatest supervillains in comic book history), the Joker could quickly fade away and be forgotten. The Joker first appeared in 1940's Batman #1 and was originally planned as a two-issue character. At that time, the character of the Dark Knight was just being formed and the possible outcome of the clash between the Joker and Batman could have ended in death for the former. Of course, now we know that Batman did not kill the clown back then, but sent him to Arkham Asylum.
6. Initially not so cruel
Initially, the Joker acted as a simple serial killer. But after the introduction of the Comics Code, which required no sex, no swearing and a hell of a lot less violence for big sales, the Joker spent 20 years doing stupid robbery using a lot of circus tricks. But that time has passed and now we know the Joker as a sick psycho. We love him that way.
5. Disappeared for a decade
All this ruined the Joker's character. What's so scary about a clown who plays petty pranks? All clowns do this. Throughout the 50s, the Joker was used less and less in favor of other rogues such as the Penguin and his ilk. By 1964, the clown was completely removed from the pages of comics. He returned only 10 years later.
It's hard to believe now that the greatest villain in Batman history simply disappeared between 1964 and 1973. But he made a grand return in a crazier form in The Joker's Five Paths of Revenge.
4. Long life in cinema
The first person to portray the Joker on screen was Cesar Romero, but besides him, the clown was played by the greatest actors of his generation. The incomparable Jack Nicholson played him as the devil in pale moonlight in Tim Burton's film, Heath Ledger made absolutely everyone fall in love with the Joker in Christopher Nolan's film, and Mark Hamill surprised everyone by voicing him perfectly in the animated series and video games. Who would have thought that Luke Skywalker would become the Joker, albeit only in voice. The Joker's next appearance on the big screen is the film Suicide Squad, where he will be played by Jared Leto. But there is another appearance of the “living” Joker, which few people know about.
At the beginning of the 2000s, the spin-off series Birds of Prey was released, which talked about minor female characters in the Batman universe - Huntress, Black Canary and former Batgirl Barbara Gordon. The TV show didn't last long, but the first episodes featured cameos from the Dark Knight and the Joker, played by one Roger Stoneburner.
3. Always "The" Joker (except once)
Regardless of the Joker's various external and internal changes over the years, there are some things that never change. He always has green hair, clown makeup, a scary smile, purple clothes, and is almost always psychopathic to some degree. IN English language there are articles and it’s strange, but the Joker is always written with the article “the” (The Joker), although the same Batman is written without.
The only time the article was not used in relation to the Joker was in the early 2000s in the animated series Batman, which was famous for a bunch of interesting recast characters. The clown has been given overly neat makeup, green dreadlocks, and a chimpanzee-like appearance, making him one of the most radically redesigned characters. And this is the only time when he became just Joker, and Batman, in turn, received his article “the”.
2. His absence from The Dark Knight Rises was explained
The tragic death of Heath Ledger greatly influenced the Joker's absence from the final part of the Dark Knight trilogy. Everyone knows that the plans were for a clown to appear in the film. The mad Joker played by Heath Ledger was supposed to be Batman's main adversary in the third part, but for obvious reasons he was replaced by the opposite Bane (played by Tom Hardy).
Viewers knew why the Joker would not appear in the film and there was no talk of re-casting, but his disappearance was never mentioned in the film. However, in the official novelization of "The Dark Knight Rises" there was a small mention of the clown: apparently, after the Dent Act, all the villains were moved from Arkham Asylum to Blackgate Prison. Everyone except the Joker, who remained in the mental hospital. Thus, at the time of the events of the film, he was behind bars.
1. The Joker's death at the hands of Batman has been discussed many times.
One of the most confusing aspects of Batman and his constant rivalry with the Joker is that the Dark Knight does not kill and lets his opponent live every time. It is clear that Batman initially did not want to kill him, thinking that the clown would reform. And in the 50s, murder was censored. But these days, with the Joker constantly escaping from Arkham and killing hordes of people, it would seem that Batman could do some good for the world by killing him once and for all.
The most common explanation is that the Dark Knight doesn't want to break his treasured rule of not killing anyone, which seems like a poor excuse considering the number of civilians killed because of that rule.
What's interesting is that Batman actually considered killing the Joker numerous times. The Joker himself also tried to kill his opponent, even luring him into a trap where he sincerely thought that Batman was dead. At that time, the Joker regained his sanity, had plastic surgery, and lived as a human for a while. When he found out that Batman was alive, he returned to his original state.
We all know that Batman needs the Joker, and the Joker needs Batman.
He first appeared in a comic called Batman#1 (April 25, 1940) and was created by Jerry Robinson, Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Credit for creating the Joker is debatable; Kane and Robinson took credit for creating the Joker's design, acknowledging Finger's writing contributions. Although the Joker was intended to be a one-time character and was supposed to die during his first appearance, he was retained and eventually became Batman's nemesis.
The Joker's facial nerves are paralyzed, creating the appearance of a permanent smile. His green hair and nails, rosy red lips, and chalky white skin are directly due to exposure to chemicals. The Joker's face in the mouth area is "decorated" by large scars in the form of a terrible smile. Joker is 198 cm tall and weighs 73 kilograms.
Biography
The Joker's past remains shrouded in mystery to this day, despite the character's seventy-year history. DC continues to adhere to Alan Moore's theory about the sinister clown's multi-variant past. Perhaps even the Joker himself no longer remembers who he was before the night he put on the Red Hood. According to the accepted canonical version, the man who became the Joker (perhaps he was an unsuccessful comedian, and perhaps a gangster) fell into acid, frightened by Batman, when he participated in a robbery of a card factory in the Red Hood costume. As a result, he went crazy, got white skin, black circles around his eyes and green hair, and a smile was forever frozen on his face.
Some time later, after the Hood incident, a warehouse full of smiling corpses was discovered in Gotham. And on the TV screens a strange character appeared in a purple suit, who announced in advance who and when he was going to kill. Batman and Commissioner Gordon had to make a lot of efforts to stop the Joker, who dealt with the owners of the ill-fated plant and intended to poison the Gotham reservoir. As a result, the villain ended up in the Arkham mental hospital, whose patients he had recently released onto the city streets.
Later, the Joker got a partner, Harley Quinn, dressed in a harlequin costume and madly in love with the maniac. Also, according to some versions, he had a pregnant wife, Jenny, who died in an accident, and the Joker sometimes worried about her.
Easy targets
The Joker starts shooting with a powerful sniper rifle, as a result of the shooting, he kills Mayor Dickerson and the Superintendent, all in an effort to force the city's residents to stay home during the Christmas holiday. He then causes major crimes in Gotham, before revealing himself that he planted bombs throughout the city as a "Christmas gift" for Batman, causing him to rush to save a large number of Christmas shoppers from death. The Joker then begins shooting in a number of large locations, where he kills several detectives, only to be shot by Sawyer's Maggie, after which his bomb explodes, but people have already been evacuated from the toy store, ultimately the Joker comes to his senses already in the hospital and laughs at the bloody the massacre he caused.
Renaissance
In the comic Batman#655, The Joker is shot in the face by a mentally ill police officer, leaving him disabled for a period of time. After undergoing extensive plastic surgery and some physical therapy, the Joker appeared in the comic Batman No. 663 with a completely new look. While he was in the intensive care unit, he developed an even more dangerous form of his Venom, giving it to Harley Quinn to kill her former partners to signal spiritual rebirth. Later, he went on a rampage, attempting to kill Harley Quinn, which would have been the climax of his rebirth, but Batman stopped him, and through these events, the Joker joins the Black Glove.
Faces of Death
After the events Flashpoint, Joker story moments may have changed, but the Joker's personality has not changed in New 52.
In the comic Detective Comics #1, it appears as main suspect in a number of murders in Gotham, he used a black shirt, and at the end of this comic, we see that his face was cut off by the Puppeteer.
Capabilities
Due to his mental state, the Joker is immune to fear as he takes everything as a joke. He also has immunity to poison, as a result of prolonged exposure to chemicals. The fear gas that Scarecrow is famous for has no effect on him, and the Visionary was unable to hypnotize him in the comic. Birds of Prey#121. The Joker and Poison Ivy have been shown to be immune to each other's chemicals. He also has a very high pain tolerance. In the comic Birds of Prey#16, The Joker had a cast on his leg, but he walked as if it wasn't even there. He laughed after he received gunshot wound in the comic Batman: Dark Victory . He shows no signs of pain after several batarangs cut his mouth in the comic Batman Confidential. It seems that in most cases he simply enjoys the pain, provoking others to hit him; thus, to some extent, he can be described as a sadomasachist. He was known to survive explosions and accidents on several occasions. His bones heal quickly, and it has been hinted in a couple of comics that he does not physically age.
Joker is a brilliant inventor and chemist. Using a seemingly ridiculous but actually very dangerous arsenal of comedy-themed weapons, examples include his patented laughing gas, a flag pistol, exploding fart pillows, an acid-spraying flower (which is usually found on his jacket), a hand-held stun gun, sharp as razor cards, poison pies and exploding cigars. The Joker is immune to his own poison, as well as other types of similar toxins. Joker is an excellent shooter; he almost never misses. His accuracy was also proven when he shot the ropes of suspended hostages to distract Batman. The Joker has sometimes demonstrated above-average hand-to-hand combat skills, sometimes even taking Batman by surprise with his punch.
The Joker does not possess any direct superhuman abilities. However, he does display several superhuman abilities. Arc of History Arkham Asylum indicates that that he is "supernormal"; this means that he sees the reality of the universe without any personal illusions, and that his personality can change everything to suit the circumstances, allowing him to be excellent at pretending and passing off lies as truth, since he truly believes what he says. Also, the Joker very often manages to cheat his death. People have repeatedly assumed that he is dead, but he came back again and again to wreak havoc. Super strength is a moot point in regards to the Joker, but the Joker's insanity, or his mood, leaves him immune to the Specter's judgments, although Batman at one point explains this by saying that the Joker doesn't actually know what is right and wrong.
The Joker also has a tendency to break the fourth wall and seems to have a sense of heightened awareness of being a comic book character. He is the only character who directly addresses the reader. The Joker also knows that he is the perfect opposite of Batman. In the comic Legends of the Dark Knight#65-68, The Joker, thinks he killed Batman and there is no point in being the Joker anymore, he resorts to plastic surgery and tries to lead a normal, sane life. However, upon discovering that Batman is still alive, he returns to madness and continues his criminal career.
In the media
Cartoon series
The Hour of Batman and Superman" released in 1968. The character was voiced by Larry Storch. The Joker appeared as a regular adversary of Batman.
The Joker appears in the animated series " Batman Adventures" aired between 1968 and 1969. He voiced the role of the character. In the episode "How Many Herring in a Wheelbarrow?", the Joker raids technology firms to build a powerful solar mirror that he can use as a laser weapon. He also appears in a number of other series" My crime is your crime", "Two Penguins are too many", "A Game of Cat and Mouse" and others.
The Joker appears in the animated series " Super friends"published between 1973 and 1983. The role of the character was voiced by Frank Welker.
The Joker appears in the animated series " New Batman Adventures"released in 1977 - 1999. The role of the character was voiced by Mark Hamill.
The Joker appears in the animated series " Super Power Team: Guardians of the Galaxy"released in 1985 - 1986. The role of the character was voiced by Frank Welker.
The Joker appears in the animated series " Batman", the character is voiced by Mark Hamill. He appears in the episode "A Joker Christmas", in which he escapes from Arkham Asylum on Christmas Eve.
The Joker appears in the animated series " New Batman Adventures", which was published between 1997 and 1999. The role of the character was voiced by Mark Hamill.
The Joker is mentioned in the animated series" Batman of the Future", which was published between 1999 and 2001. He himself does not personally appear in the cartoon, but there are references to him.
The Joker appears in the animated series " Justice League", the role of the character was voiced by Mark Hamill.
The Joker appears in the animated series " Static shock", voiced the role of the character. He appeared in the episode entitled "Major League", in which the Joker wants to destroy a young superhero named Static Shock.
The Joker appears in the animated series " Batman"published between 2004 and 2008. The character was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
The Joker appears in the animated series " Batman: The Brave and the Bold", the character was voiced by Jeff Bennett. The Joker first appears as the Red Hood in the episode entitled "Deep Cover Job". This episode shows how Owlman and the Scarlet Scarab caused an accident at a chemical plant, which led to his deformity. In contrast from his counterpart in the world of Batman, this Red Hood becomes a real hero and also appears in the episodes entitled "Joker: Vile and Vile!", "Emperor Joker!" and others.
The Joker appears in the animated series " Young Justice", voiced by Brent Spiner. He appears as a member League N justice, together with Count Vertigo, Black Adam, A languid Skull, I'm a dove Ivy, Ultra-Humanoid and Wotan. They used a combination of poison Cobra and Joker's poison in mysticism having received radioactively enhanced plants for attack largest cities peace. The Joker was given the task of controlling plants when "Justice League" started a fight with them.
Animated films
The Joker appears in " Batman: Mask of the Phantasm", which was released in 1993, the character is voiced by Mark Hamill.
The Joker appears in " Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" The character is voiced by Mark Hamill. He mysteriously returns to Gotham. In flashbacks, the Joker is shown to have kidnapped and tortured Tim Drake, driving Robin to madness; Drake kills the Joker during his madness, but the chip implanted in Tim's neck possesses a copy the Joker's mind and DNA, allowing him to gradually take over Drake's body and transform him into a duplicate of the Joker.
The Joker appears in " Batman vs Dracula" released in 2005, he is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. The Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum and unwittingly becomes a vampire under the control of Count Dracula. Batman manages to catch him, after which he takes him to the Batcave, where he cures the Joker of his bloodthirstiness.
The Joker appears in " Batman: Under the Red Hood" released in 2010. The character was voiced by John DiMaggio. According to the film, he was once an early version of the Red Hood (as several people used the alias). Recruited by Ra's al Ghul to distract Batman from terrorists planning to destroy world economy in exchange for a small fortune, the Joker lures the Dynamic Duo to Sarajevo, Bosnia, where he beats Jason Todd with a crowbar and leaves Robin in the hope that he will be killed by a bomb.
The Joker appears in " Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths"The character was voiced by James Patrick Stewart. On an alternate Earth, the heroic version of the Joker is known as Harlequin. He is a longtime ally of the same Earth's Lex Luthor and a former member of their Justice League/Underground Justice. He sacrifices his life so that Luthor can escape and to ask for help for their Earth, which was under siege by the villainous Crime Syndicate of America.
The Joker appears in " Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Part 1" And " Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Part 2", the character was voiced by Michael Emerson. The Joker becomes catatonic and is confined to Arkham Asylum after Batman retires and with the return of the Dark Knight ten years later (at the end of the first part), the Joker comes to his senses. During the events In the second part of the film, the Joker deceives his doctor and ends up on television. While at the studio, he carries out his terrible plan, during which many people die (with the help of his signature gas) and goes to the local amusement park. final scene, The Joker manages to inflict many stab wounds and in the end he breaks his neck, which was already damaged.
The Joker appears in " Batman: Assault on Arkham" released in 2014. The character is voiced by Troy Baker. The Joker is in Arkham Asylum, but before he got there, he hid a bomb in Gotham, which Batman is trying to find.
The Joker appears in " Batman Unlimited: Chaos" released in 2015. The character was voiced by Troy Baker.
The Joker appears in " Batman: The Killing Joke".
The Joker appears in Batman: Return of the Masked Knights.
The Joker appears in The LEGO Movie: Batman, which was released in 2017, voiced by Zach Galifianakis.
Series
The Joker appears in the television series " Batman", released between 1966 and 1968, the role of the character was played by Cesar Romero. Romero refused to shave his mustache for the role, and its outline is noticeable despite the makeup.
The Joker appears in the television series Birds of Prey, played by Roger Stonebarner and voiced by Mark Hamill. The Joker appears in the first episode, in which he has a small role.
The Joker appears in the television series Gotham, played by Cameron Monaghan.
Movies
The Joker appears in " Batman", which was released in 1989, the character was played by actor Jack Nicholson, and Hugo Blick played the role of the Joker in flashbacks . In the film, the Joker is originally Jack Napier, who is right hand gangster leader Carl Grissom (Jack Palance), who is disfigured as a result of a skirmish with Batman (Michael Keaton) at a chemical factory. After being shot in the face, Napier falls into a vat of chemical waste.as a result, he gets green hair, chalk white skin and bright red lips. Because of unsuccessful attempt plastic surgery on his face, he has scars that give the appearance of a permanent smile. Driven into absolute madness by seeing a reflection of himself, the Joker kills Grissom, becomes the new head of his syndicate and launches new wave crime, designed to outdo Batman, who he feels is getting too much attention from the press. During Batman and the Joker's final battle, they discover each other's equality and realize that they "made each other."
Jack Napier appears in the film " Batman Forever", which was released in 1995, the character was played by David Y. Hodges. Napier appears in a flashback.
The Joker appears in the film " The Dark Knight", which was released in 2008, the character was played by Heath Ledger. At the beginning of the film, the Joker appears as a bank robber, after which he was hired by the Gotham City crime families to kill Batman (Christian Bale). He threatens to kill every day until Batman won't reveal his secret identity.
The Joker appears in the film Suicide Squad, played by Jared Leto.
Games
The Joker appears in Lego Batman: The Videogame.
The Joker appears in the game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
The Joker appears in the game Batman Vengeance Joker.
The Joker appears in the game "Batman: Arkham Asylum".
The Joker appears in the game "Batman: Arkham City".
The Joker appears in the game "DC Universe Online".
The Joker appears in the game "LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes".
The Joker appears in the game "Batman". released for Sega Mega Drive
The Joker appears in the game "The Adventures of Batman and Robin".
The Joker appears in the game "Batman: Arkham Origins".
The Joker appears in the game "Injustice: Gods Among Us".
The Joker appears in Infinite Crisis.
The Joker appears in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
The Joker appears in the game "Batman: Arkham Knight".
The Joker appears in the Lego Dimensions game.