The Joker is an extreme and infamously formidable psychopathic criminal from Gotham City, being at the very top of the city's criminal underworld, greatly feared by other crime bosses.
History[]
Early Life[]
Nothing, not even his true name, is known about the Joker past prior to the start of his career as a criminal, though it is likely he was born in and around Gotham City, New Jersey. It is known, however, at one point he fell into a boiling vat of toxic waste during a botched robbery at Ace Chemicals, permanently bleaching his hair and skin chalk-white. Seeing this disfigurment as well as the chemical exposure and brain damage via oxygen deprivation drove him completely insane.
Joker dyed his hair emerald-green and began wearing lipstick to complete a more theatrical, garish clown-like appearance. Thus was born the bombastic, psychopathic, fearsome and murderous man who would become "The Joker". Batman would come into conflict with the Joker on numerous occasions, leading to him becoming the vigilante's archnemesis. Eventually, Batman would defeat and apprehend him, subsequently having the Joker imprisoned in Arkham Asylum for his numerous crimes.
Arkham and Breakout[]
In Arkham, Joker would first meet psychiatrist intern Dr. Harleen Quinzel when she was assigned to the Joker, whom he psychologically sabotaged and manipulated. Eventually, Harleen gradually fell in love with him so the Joker got
Joker and Harleen Quinzel in Arkham Asylum
her to do him favors, from giving him a knitted stuffed kitten to a machine gun. Shortly thereafter, Joker's bizarrely dressed goons broke into Arkham Asylum and successfully broke their boss out, tying Harleen down in the process of the attack. Before leaving however, the Joker sadistically subjected his young psychiatrist to shock therapy, fracturing her psyche and causing intense psychological trauma. Thus resulting in Harleen's severe mental instability.
Chemical Wedding[]
Harleen later chased down the Joker on her motorcycle and managed to get him to stop his Jokermobile car, resulting in the clownish crime lord killing a man and nearly shooting Harleen. Joker only taunted her and Harleen wanted to come with him, so the Joker took Harleen to Ace Chemicals which led to his chemical disfigurment. While
Joker pulls Harley to the surface
there, Harleen was told to say the oath to die for him and then asked her if she would live for him because dying would be too easy. She responded in the affirmative and allowed herself to fall into the chemicals where the Joker originally planned to let her die but changed his mind and jumped in after her, he saved her and pulled her up to the vat's surface. Joker then kissed Harleen and
The King and Queen of Gotham City
she awakened, kissing each other and breaking down in maniacal laughter.
From that point on, Harleen dubbed herself "Harley Quinn" and donned a red and black Harlequin costume, and the duo of psychopathic lovers would go on to commit crime sprees throughout the streets of Gotham City together, which would result in the duo coming into conflict with Batman, becoming the criminal king and queen of the city.
Murder of Robin[]
At some point prior to the Black Zero Event, the Joker, with help from Harley Quinn, managed to trap and kill Batman's partner, Robin. To add insult to injury to Batman's loss in hopes of driving his adversary insane, the Joker spray-painted "HAHAHA JOKE'S ON YOU BATMAN" in yellow on the Robinsuit. A devastated Batman would later place the damaged and vandalized suit in an exhibit in the Batcave.
Harley Captured []
In 2014 after the Black Zero Event, a lavish strip club owned by the Joker was visited by crime boss Monster T, whom Joker greeted, though he refused to shake his hand. Monster T however welcomed his fellow crime boss ally back, congratulating Joker on his escape. However, Monster T took notice of the exceptionally beautiful Harley Quinn and promptly made distasteful remarks about her, proceeding to stare with lustful desire, an act that greatly displeased Joker. In response he called Harley over and intimidated Monster T by making him somewhat
Joker and Harley, greeted by Monster T
uncomfortable by suggesting he sleep with Harley. Monster T, having picked up on Joker's displeasure, attempted to assure him that Harley was his girl and wants no trouble however Joker was unimpressed and promptly shot Monster T dead.
Later that night the Joker and Harley were driving in the streets of Gotham in the Jokermobile, Batman pursued them in the Batmobile. Batman then put the Batmobile in auto drive and jumped onto the roof of Joker's car. Joker tries to shake Batman off, driving the car into a river. Batman dove down to arrest them however the Joker vanished and Harley was knocked unconscious and drove to prison.
Suicide Squad []
Eventually in 2016, after becoming increasingly bored and unhappy without his beloved Harley Quinn, Joker, who by this point had taken to drawing an accented black smile around his mouth to keep up appearances, began deploying numerous goons to track her location. Eventually, Jonny Frost returned and revealed that she is imprisoned in Belle Reve supermax prison. Exuberant at the news, Joker ordered Frost to get his car and laid down admist his collection of numerous bladed and firearm weaponry, roaring with gleeful psychopathic laughter.
Joker after finding out Harley's location
In order to learn more details, Joker again deployed Jonny Frost with the latter finding one of Belle Reve guards, Captain Griggs, in a nightclub and subsequently subdued him. Griggs was brought before the Joker and his goons, who terrified the guard and interrogated him. Ultimately, the tortorous interrogation proved effective on Griggs; as he revealed Amanda Waller's plan to use Harley Quinn as a member of Task Force X as well as the implantation of an ARGUS nanobomb into Harley as an emergency contigency. Griggs then led the Joker to the facility where the nanobombs are created and the Joker then forced him to return to Belle Reve to give Harley a purple phone so the two could communicate before she was deployed for her mission in Midway City.
Joker interrogates Griggs
While Joker, Frost and some other goons drove towards the ARGUS facility, he had another faction of goons simultaneously kidnap the wife of Dr. Van Criss, the man behind the nanobombs' creation. When the security guard was unwilling to let Joker and his goons' truck in, the guard was instead given a "gift basket" to deliver to Criss however the package turned out to be a concealed bomb, which promptly killed the guard and Joker and his goons then entered the facility. Dr. Van Criss initially hid behind a wall of bulletproof glass, but Joker promptly showed him a live feed of his kidnapped wife being tortured. He then unlocked the door and let Joker's gang in, agreeing to help Joker disable his girlfriend's nanobomb. In act of sadism, the Joker shot a nanobomb into Criss'
Joker, about to meet Dr. Van Criss
neck. Satisfied with his progress, Joker sends Harley a SMS, letting her know his close. Later, the welcoming helicopter arriving to ARGUS headquarters was revealed to have been hijacked by the Joker and he opened fire over Task Force X while forcing Criss in disabling Harley's nanobomb, allowing her to climb aboard the helicopter. The reunited Joker and Quinn happily kissed and embraced; with
Joker manically laughing as he shoots at Task Force X
Joker letting her know that he'll do anything for her however their reunion is cut short, as Joker's chopper is shot down by Waller's agents. While Harley manages to jump out and save herself, the Joker is presumed dead in an explosion of the aircraft much to Harley's devastation. After Task Force X had managed to defeat and kill Enchantress, her brother Incubus and their monstrous army, they were re-imprisoned in Belle Reve, albeit with their sentences shortened by ten years and their cells rendered more comfortable in gratitude. All of a sudden,
Joker and Harley embrace after he breaks her out
the Joker, now revealed to be alive and unscathed, and his goons disguised as a SWAT team broke into the prison, managing to free Harley from her cage. Joker then removes his mask to reveal himself and reunites with an overjoyed Harley. The reunited lovers finally embrace before fleeing from the prison together, heading "home".
Personality[]
The Joker is an exceptionally malevolent individual, being a complete psychopath with no regard for human life and a ruthless sadist who takes sadistic pleasure in torturing others to achieve his goals. His dark and twisted personality makes Joker find humor or sport in the suffering and fear of his enemies, and he is seemingly impossible to intimidate. Joker is also remarkably manipulative in addition to being extremely intelligent and unpredictable. In addition, the Joker appears to be somewhat vain in his status as Gotham City's top crime lord. The Joker also uses sexuality to intimidate and unnerve his victims.
Joker has a perchant for flamboyancy, lavishness and extravagance; complementing his bleached white skin with dyed green hair, lipstick and eye-liner and his bright and flashy Jokermobile as well as his outrageous outfits that Joker sometimes has his goons wear. Despite his psychopathic malevolence, the Joker does reciprocate Harley Quinn's strong romantic love and infatuation in his own twisted way, being extremely distressed after losing her, being very possessive of her, being desperate to rescue her and is exuberant during their reunion, happily kissing and embracing his girlfriend, claiming that he would do anything for her. Despite these feelings, the Joker has been known to physically abuse her and leave her for dead when backed into a corner.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Unique Physiology: Joker, as a highly skilled and experienced criminal, has a unique physiology due to his chemical bath.
- Toxin Immunity: Joker is immune to various toxins.
- Cheating Death: Joker is shown to be capable of cheating death and escaping unscathed in extremely dangerous situations such as escaping from his submerged Jokermobile before Batman dives underwater and somehow surviving the explosion of the helicopter he was on.
Abilities[]
- Genius Level Intellect: Joker is extremely intelligent, able to go toe-to-toe with Batman for years, as well as succeeding in catching Amanda Waller off-guard by unexpectedly sabotaging the helicopter and later manages to break into Belle Reve itself. He is a genius at planning and improvising criminal activities despite his insanity and manages to stay one step ahead of the police, and sometimes even Batman himself, due to him being completely unpredictable. Joker is also skilled at coming up with contigency plans, giving Harley the opening she needed to escape and having his goons successfully break him out of Arkham Asylum. He is also an expert at getting into people's heads and manipulating them.
- Intimidation: Joker, due to his exceptional capacity for heinous torture and murder, commands a very intimidating presence, enough to frighten low-level thugs and make them work for him out of fear of what he would do if they refused.
- Indomitable Will: Joker possesses obliviousness to danger that makes him invulnerable to fear and intimidation, which are usually Batman's greatest weapons in combat. Hence, Joker does not fear death and will even threaten his own life to achieve his goals or make a point.
Equipment[]
- Jokermobile: Joker utilizes an Infiniti G35 Vaydor as his personal stylized car, which reflects his flamboyant personality, as it is in stark contrast to the dark and armored Batmobile of his archnemesis.
Gallery[]
Trivia []
- Jared Leto portrayed the fourth live-action interpretation of the Joker following Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger, respectively.
- First live-action of the character to not receive any kind of disfigured smile or extended makeup smile.
- This version of the Joker appears to somewhat care for Harley Quinn more than other incarnations.
- Unlike Romero's prankster, Nicholson's mobster and Ledger's anarchist, Jared Leto portrayed the Joker as a contemporary gangster and a complete sadist.
- There is a possible inconsistency with the death of Robin in the timeline. While it was confirmed Joker murdered Robin in an interview with Zack Snyder, it was later revealed in Suicide Squad that Harley assisted him in entrapping and murdering Robin. This, however, does not match that the time of Harley arrived at Arkham Asylum, the Joker already had the grill and "Damaged" tattoo due to, according to David Ayer, are the result of a brutal beatdown by Batman for killing Robin.
- In Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, the Joker is indirectly mentioned by Bruce Wayne to Clark Kent, when he states that Gotham City has a bad history with "freaks who dress like clowns".