He's been called the Clown Prince of Crime, the Jester of Genocide, the Prince of Knaves and the Scourge of Gotham.
Whatever you call him, the Jokerstands as the greatest Batman villain of all time, and quite possibly one of the most iconic and memorable in all of pop culture. Throughout his career, he's underwent a series of dramatic personality changes, thanks to the differing sensibilities of various writers, artists and editors; he debuted as a cold-blooded murderer in 1940, regressed to a goofy prankster in the 1950s and 60s, then finally returned to his roots as comics' #1 homicidal maniac in the 1970s.
Since then, Mr. J has starred in some of the most memorable Batman comics of all time, constantly pushing the Dark Knight to his physical and emotional limits.
First Appearance:
Like most seventy year-old comic book characters, the Joker's origin has undergone a series of retellings and modernizations. The core story, however, has remained largely the same since the character's debut in 1940's Batman #1 as a murderous psychopath. As for how the Joker was initially scarred with his trademark pale skin, green hair and ruby red lips, that much remains a bit hazy.
Through his own admission, the Joker hasn't always served as the most reliable narrator, and writers have had a fun time suggesting most pre-"acid bath" Joker stories may in fact be a product of the villain's deranged mind. By most accounts, though, writer Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland's brilliant exploration of the Joker's past, 1988's The Killing Joke, stands as the definitive take on the Joker's beginnings.
In that landmark story, Moore proposes that the Joker was once a lowly, talent-less stand-up comedian and ex-engineer at a chemical plant who struggled to support his pregnant wife. In a last ditch effort to provide for his family, the man who would be Joker agrees to help two petty criminals break into his former place of employment. Right before the heist is set to go down, he learns from police that his wife and unborn child have died in a freak accident. Though he tries to back out of the crime, the criminals strong-arm him into the job. Donning the uniform of the thieves' trademark Red Hood costume, the Joker and the thugs break into Ace Chemical Plant, but, as we all know, the operation goes horribly wrong when Batman arrives. In an effort to flee the Dark Knight, the Joker throws himself into the Plant's vat of toxic waste. After washing up down river, he sees his grotesque reflection in the water. His shocking appearance is the last straw in what amounted to one traumatic day, and he – for lack of a better term – loses his mind.
Moore's idea that "one bad day" spawned Batman's greatest foe was a brilliant addition to both the Joker and Batman mythos, as it inexorably tied the two polar opposites together as products of a single tragic event.
Modus Operandi: Murder, genocide, blackmail, terrorism, petty larceny. If it's illegal and immoral, the Joker gets a laugh out of it. Fueled by his unending desire to torment the Dark Knight and quench his appetite for mayhem, the Clown Prince of Crime will stop at nothing to terrorize both Gotham City and the world at large. Thanks to his previous job as a chemical engineer, the Joker also has the dangerous capability to produce his deadly Joker Gas, which murders anyone who comes in contact with it, leaving them with Mr. J's trademark grin.
Rap Sheet: The Joker's mile-long rap sheet encompasses some of the greatest Batman stories of all time. From his mile-long rap sheet, here are a few of Joker's greatest hits:
The Killing Joke: Besides detailing what is now considered the definitive Jokerorigin story, Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke also upped the murderous stakes of the Joker's attempt to torment Batman like never before. Fueled by his desire to prove that one bad day can turn any sane man into a lunatic, the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon (permanently paralyzing the former Batgirl) and kidnaps Commissioner Gordon. Imprisoning Batman's ally in a deranged carnival, the Joker tortures Gordon and forces him to view pictures of his naked, dying daughter. The Dark Knight arrives just in time to save his friend and even comes close to killing the Joker once and for all, but Bats stops after Gordon implores him to bring the Joker to justice, the right way. The story's most brilliant and lasting contribution was the notion that Batman might just be as insane as his many rogues.
The Joker's Five Way Revenge: After a stint of nearly ten years in which he was all but absent from any Batman comic, writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams brought the Joker back to his homicidal roots in 1973's classic Batman #251, "The Joker's Five Way Revenge."
In this landmark tale, the Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum (which at that time had yet to be named in the comics) and begins hunting down and murdering the hoods he believed sold him out to Batman and the police. It was a dark, terrifying take on the Joker that no one had seen since the 1940s, and O'Neil and Adams' take ushered Batman's greatest foe into the modern age.
The Laughing Fish:
In this simultaneously hilarious and horrifying 1978 story from the legendary team of writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshal Rogers, the Joker decides to brand every fish product in Gotham with his trademark grin, going so far as to blackmail and murder copyright officials until he's compensated for his hideous innovation.
This classic tale was adapted brilliantly for an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, and stands as one of the best installments of that television series.
Death in the Family: This controversial 1989 story stands right alongside The Killing Joke as the most important chapter in the history of both the Joker and Batman. Death sees the Clown Prince of Crime commit his most heinous act – the murder of Jason Todd, the second Robin.
After bludgeoning Robin within an inch of his life with a crowbar, the Joker locks him and his mother in a building right before it's blown to bits by a bomb. Batman arrives a moment too late, just in time to hold his dying protégé in his arms and swear revenge against the Joker once and for all. That revenge proves complicated, however, as the Joker manages to get diplomatic immunity from none other than Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini. With the help of Superman, Batman eventually succeeds in bringing the Joker to justice.
Recent Crime Spree: Like most of the DC Universe' villains, the Joker has recently been exiled to a prison planet by the United Nations-sanctioned intelligence organization Checkmate.
As seen in the Salvation Run miniseries, the Joker is now busy playing Lord of the Flies with the rest of the DCU's costumed crazies, struggling for control of the insane mob with Lex Luthor.
The Joker's next crime spree will be on the big screen, when the villain gets re-imagined, again, for the sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight.