119-507: The Joker is a supervillain who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics . He was created by Bill Finger , Bob Kane , and Jerry Robinson , and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book Batman on April 25, 1940. Credit for the Joker's creation is disputed; Kane and Robinson claimed responsibility for his design while acknowledging Finger's writing contribution. Although
238-472: A Paul Dini - Alex Ross story, describes the Joker as a sadistic gangster who creates the Red Hood identity because he misses the thrill of committing robberies. He has his fateful first meeting with Batman, which results in his disfigurement. It is suggested that the Joker is sane, and researches his crimes to look like the work of a sick mind in order to avoid the death penalty. In Batman Confidential #7–12,
357-426: A lettering guide , a pen or brush, India ink , and white paint for corrections. Some situations required the letterer to use vellum overlays on top of the original art. The lettering in the comics of the sensationalist horror comics publisher EC Comics (c. 1945 – c. 1955) was different from other publishers – its mechanical appearance gave it a sterile aspect, and helped define the particular style of comics EC
476-463: A serial killer and jewel thief, modeled after a joker playing card with a mirthless grin, who killed his victims with "Joker venom," a toxin that left their faces smiling grotesquely. The character was intended to be killed in his second appearance in Batman #1, after being stabbed in the heart. Finger wanted the Joker to die because of his concern that recurring villains would make Batman appear inept, but
595-501: A utilitarian , messy, and disheveled appearance to convey that the character was on a mission; his face (surgically removed in 2011's Detective Comics (vol. 2) #1) was reattached with belts, wires, and hooks, and he was outfitted with mechanics overalls. The Joker's face was restored in Snyder's and Capullo's " Endgame " (2014), the concluding chapter to "Death of the Family". The conclusion of
714-642: A "best letterer" category. Both the Harvey Awards (given starting in 1992) and the Eisner Awards (given starting in 1993) have a "best letterer" category. Todd Klein has won the Eisner award for lettering fifteen times and has won the Harvey Award for lettering eight times. Ken Bruzenak , Chris Ware , John Workman , and Dan Clowes have all won the Harvey Award for lettering multiple times. Cartoonists known for
833-399: A big caption will be); and second, comics tell a story, and a page of comics art without the lettering is only half the story. Long-time letterer John Workman toes a middle ground between traditional and digital lettering. In addition to his "on-the-art boards work", Workman has been electronically hand-lettering by way of a Wacom tablet. The Shazam Awards , given from 1970 to 1975, had
952-427: A cause of tragedy after exposure to a substance the Joker terms "dionesium"—and is able to regenerate from mortal injuries. "Endgame" restores the Joker's face, and also reveals that he knows Batman's secret identity . The story ends with the apparent deaths of Batman and the Joker at each other's hands, though it is revealed that they were both resurrected in a life-restoring Lazarus Pit, without their memories. During
1071-555: A comical prankster in the late 1950s in response to regulation by the Comics Code Authority , before returning to his darker roots during the early 1970s. The Joker has been part of defining Batman stories, including the murder of Jason Todd —the second Robin and Batman's ward—in " A Death in the Family " (1988) and the paralysis of Barbara Gordon —the first Batgirl —in The Killing Joke (1988). Unlike many supervillains,
1190-444: A computer font based on the handwriting of letterer Jack Morelli – with Morelli's permission.) Other early users of computer lettering were David Cody Weiss and Roxanne Starr , who experimented in computer lettering with Bob Burden 's Flaming Carrot Comics . Computer lettering really started making an impact with the availability of the first commercial comic book font, "Whizbang" (created by Studio Daedalus) around 1990. In
1309-460: A copyright, and killing bureaucrats who stand in his way. Batman: The Killing Joke (1988) built on the Joker's 1951 origin story, portraying him as a failed comedian who participates in a robbery as the Red Hood to support his pregnant wife. Batman arrives to stop the robbery, provoking the terrified comedian into jumping into a vat of chemicals, which dyes his skin chalk-white, his hair green, and his lips bright red. His disfigurement, combined with
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#17332022650521428-530: A definitive one has never been established for the Joker. An unreliable narrator , the character is uncertain of who he was before and how he became the Joker: "Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another ...if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!" A story about the Joker's origin appeared in Detective Comics #168 (February 1951), more than decade after the character's debut. Here,
1547-408: A gas attack on the city and rain poisoned glass shards on its citizens from an airship. Supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character . It is sometimes found in comic books and may possess superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero . Supervillains are often used as foils to present a daunting challenge to
1666-429: A lab assistant in order to fulfill his dream of being a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife, he agrees to help two criminals commit a robbery as the Red Hood. The heist goes awry; the comedian leaps into a chemical vat to escape Batman, surfacing disfigured. This, combined with the earlier accidental death of his wife and unborn child, drives the comedian insane, turning him into
1785-500: A liquid or gaseous toxin that sends its targets into fits of uncontrollable laughter; higher doses can lead to paralysis, coma or death, leaving its victim with a ghoulish, pained rictus grin. The Joker has used venom since his debut; only he knows the formula, and is shown to be gifted enough to manufacture the toxin from ordinary household chemicals. Another version of the venom (used in Joker: Last Laugh ) makes its victims resemble
1904-421: A living just lettering comic strips and comic books for artists, studios, and companies that did not have the time or desire to do it in-house. The career of freelance letterer was born, and by the 1950s, letterers such as Gaspar Saladino , Sam Rosen , and Ben Oda were crafting full-time careers as letterers for DC Comics , Marvel Comics , and King Features . Letterer and logo designer Ira Schnapp defined
2023-452: A lot of technical shortcuts, especially by combining the lettering work directly with digital art files, eliminating the tedious physical paste-up stage altogether. Some letterers handwrite part of the script. Hand-lettering is often used for sound effects and onomatopoeia in comics. There are also still comics artists and inkers who prefer to have the lettering directly on their pages. First, it saves drawing time (not having to put art where
2142-474: A more effective way by combining them directly with digital art files, eliminating the physical paste-up stage altogether. Wildstorm Comics was ahead of the curve, Marvel came around a few years later, and DC held to traditional production methods the longest, but now nearly all lettering is digitally applied. In the early years of the 21st Century, the mainstream American comics companies moved almost exclusively to in-house computer lettering, effectively ending
2261-609: A murderer), and the villain succeeds in making a member of the Bat-family break their rule against killing. In " Under the Hood " (2005), a resurrected Todd tries to force Batman to avenge his death by killing the Joker. Batman refuses, arguing that if he allowed himself to kill the Joker, he would not be able to stop himself from killing other criminals. The Joker kills Alexander Luthor, Jr. in Infinite Crisis (2005) for excluding him from
2380-578: A normal man 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 appreciation by sharing a joke with Batman. Following the character's maiming of Barbara, she became a more important character in the DC Universe: the Oracle, a data gatherer and superhero informant, who has her revenge in Birds of Prey by shattering
2499-461: A playing card, which we used for a couple of issues for him [the Joker] to use as his playing card. Robinson credited himself, Finger, and Kane for the Joker's creation. He said he created the character as Batman's larger-than-life nemesis when extra stories were quickly needed for Batman #1, and he received credit for the story in a college course: In that first meeting when I showed them that sketch of
SECTION 20
#17332022650522618-473: A psychopath, he lacks empathy, a conscience, and concern over right and wrong. In Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth , the Joker is described as capable of processing outside sensory information only by adapting to it. This enables him to create a new personality every day (depending on what would benefit him) and explains why, at different times, he is a mischievous clown or a psychopathic killer. In "The Clown at Midnight" ( Batman #663 (April 2007)),
2737-413: A sketch of a joker playing card . Robinson stated that it was his 1940 card sketch that served as the character's concept, and Finger associated that image with Veidt in the film. Kane hired the 17-year-old Robinson as an assistant in 1939, after he saw Robinson in a white jacket decorated with his own illustrations. Beginning as a letterer and background inker, Robinson quickly became primary artist for
2856-402: A stable of more than 20 letterers in the comics they published in the 1950s and 1960s (some of the letterers — like Jerry Robinson and Dick Sprang — were more well known as artists): Starting in around 1966, Ira Schnapp's classic, art deco-inspired look was replaced by the pulsing, organic style of Gaspar Saladino, who redesigned DC's house style for the counterculture era. Gaspar became
2975-682: A superhero. In instances where the supervillain does not have superhuman, mystical, or alien powers, the supervillain may possess a genius intellect or a skill set that allows them to draft complex schemes or commit crimes in a way normal humans cannot. Other traits may include megalomania and possession of considerable resources to further their aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real-world dictators , gangsters , mad scientists , trophy hunters , corrupt businesspeople , serial killers , and terrorists , often having an aspiration of world domination . The Joker , Lex Luthor , Doctor Doom , Magneto , Brainiac , Deathstroke ,
3094-402: A team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces , calligraphy , letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comic's "display lettering" : the story title lettering and other special captions and credits that usually appear on a story's first page. The letterer also writes the letters in
3213-523: A trend in which the Joker was used, sparingly, as a central character. O'Neil said his idea was "simply to take it back to where it started. I went to the DC library and read some of the early stories. I tried to get a sense of what Kane and Finger were after." O'Neil'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'Neil in 1974 as Arkham Hospital) instead of to prison. Adams modified
3332-402: A twisted parody of himself. Englehart's "The Laughing Fish" demonstrates the character's illogical nature: trying to copyright fish that bear his face, and not understanding why threatening the copyright clerk cannot produce the desired result. The Joker is alternatively depicted as sexual and asexual . In The Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth , the Joker
3451-555: Is dead. The Joker has no inherent superhuman abilities. He commits crimes with a variety of weaponized thematic props such as a deck of razor-tipped playing cards, rolling marbles, jack-in-the-boxes with unpleasant surprises and exploding cigars 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 items were introduced in 1952 as harmless joke items. However, his chemical genius provides his most-notable weapon: " Joker venom ",
3570-463: Is described by critics as one of the greatest Joker stories ever written, influencing later comic stories (including the forced retirement of then- Batgirl , Barbara Gordon, 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 Serious Earth explores the psychoses of Batman, the Joker and other rogues in
3689-502: Is not spectacular it is boring. Although the Joker claims indifference to everything, he secretly craves Batman's attention and validation. The character was described as having killed over 2,000 people in The Joker: Devil's Advocate (1996). Despite this body count, he is always found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to Arkham Asylum , avoiding the death penalty . Many of the Joker's acts attempt to force Batman to kill; to
Joker (character) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-399: Is obsessed with Batman, the pair representing a yin-yang of opposing dark and light force, although it is the Joker who represents humor and color and Batman who dwells in the dark. No crime – including murder, theft, and terrorism – is beyond the Joker, and his exploits are theatrical performances that are funny to him alone. Spectacle is more important than success for the Joker, and if it
3927-402: Is seductive toward Batman; it is uncertain if their relationship has homoerotic undertones or if the Joker is simply trying to manipulate his nemesis. Frank Miller interpreted the character as fixated on death and uninterested in sexual relationships, while Robinson believed that the Joker is capable of a romantic relationship. His relationship with Harley Quinn is abusively paradoxical; although
4046-441: Is shown), "Death of the Family", and Batman: Three Jokers (which asserts that it is the canon origin story). Other stories have expanded on this origin; " Pushback " suggests that the Joker's wife was murdered by a corrupt policeman working for the mobsters, and "Payback" gives the Joker's first name as "Jack". The ending of Batman: Three Jokers establishes that the Joker's wife did not actually die—rather, she fled to Alaska with
4165-506: Is that of a psychopath with genius-level intelligence and a warped, sadistic sense of humor. The other version, popular in comic books from the late 1940s to the 1960s and in the 1960s television series, is an eccentric, harmless prankster and thief. Like other long-lived characters, the Joker's character and cultural interpretations have changed with time; however, unlike other characters who may need to reconcile or ignore previous versions to make sense, more than any other comic book character,
4284-510: The Inspector Gadget animated series, Dr. Evil and Mr. Bigglesworth from the Austin Powers film series , or Dr. Blowhole from the animated TV series The Penguins of Madagascar . The overarching villain of Star Wars , Emperor Palpatine , leads the tyrannical Galactic Empire , and was inspired by real-world tyrannical leaders. Letterer A letterer is a member of
4403-507: 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 foe. The late 1980s saw the Joker exert a significant impact on Batman and his supporting cast. In the 1988–89 story arc " A Death in the Family ", the Joker murders Batman's sidekick (the second Robin, Jason Todd ). Todd
4522-564: The Green Goblin , Loki , the Reverse-Flash , Black Manta , Ultron , Thanos , and Darkseid are some notable male comic book supervillains that have been adapted in film and television. Some notable female supervillains are Catwoman , Harley Quinn , Poison Ivy , Mystique , Hela , Viper , and the Cheetah . Just like superheroes, supervillains are sometimes members of groups, such as
4641-786: The Injustice League , the Sinister Six , the Legion of Doom , the Brotherhood of Mutants , the Suicide Squad , and the Masters of Evil . In the documentary A Study in Sherlock , writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss said they regarded Professor James Moriarty as a supervillain because he possesses genius-level intelligence and powers of observation and deduction, setting him above ordinary people to
4760-553: The Martian Manhunter and being resurrected in a Lazarus Pit (an experience typically inducing temporary insanity in the subject). At these moments, the Joker is depicted as expressing remorse for his crimes; however, during a medically induced period of partial sanity in Batman: Cacophony , he tells Batman, "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
4879-530: The Penguin and Two-Face , and groups like the Injustice Gang and Injustice League , but these relationships often collapse due to the Joker's desire for unbridled chaos. A romantic interest for the Joker, his former psychiatrist and sidekick Harley Quinn , was introduced in the 1990s. Although his primary obsession is Batman, the Joker has also fought other heroes, including Superman and Wonder Woman . One of
Joker (character) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-480: The Secret Society of Super Villains , which considers him too unpredictable for membership. In Morrison's " Batman and Son " (2006), a deranged police officer who impersonates Batman shoots the Joker in the face, scarring and disabling him. The supervillain returns in "The Clown at Midnight" (2007) as an enigmatic force who awakens and tries to kill Harley Quinn to prove to Batman that he has become more than human. In
5117-494: The Spectre so he can heal mentally. In Joker: Last Laugh (2001), the doctors at Arkham Asylum convince the character that he is dying in an attempt to rehabilitate him. Instead, the Joker (flanked by an army of "Jokerized" supervillains) launches a final crime spree. Believing that Robin ( Tim Drake ) has been killed in the chaos, Dick Grayson beats the Joker to death (although Batman revives his foe to keep Grayson from becoming
5236-438: The crossover story "Emperor Joker", in which the Joker steals Mister Mxyzptlk 's reality-altering power and remakes the universe in his image (torturing and killing Batman daily, before resurrecting him). When the supervillain then tries to destroy the universe, his reluctance to eliminate Batman makes him lose control, and Superman defeats him. Broken by his experience, Batman's experiences of death are transferred to Superman by
5355-424: The eponymous facility . The 1992 animated series introduced the Joker's female sidekick: Harley Quinn , a psychiatrist who falls for—and ends up in an abusive relationship with—the Joker, becoming his supervillain accomplice. The character was popular, and was adapted into the comics as the Joker's romantic interest in 1999. In the same year, Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle 's comic book Anarky concluded with
5474-420: The word balloons and draws in sound effects . Many letterers also design logos for the comic book company's various titles. By the time comic books came of age in the 1940s, the huge volume of work demanded by publishers had encouraged an assembly-line process, dividing the creative process into distinct tasks: writer, penciller , letterer, inker , and colorist . By the late 1940s, it became possible to make
5593-535: The " Darkseid War " (2015–2016) storyline, Batman uses Metron 's Mobius Chair to find out the Joker's real name; the chair's answer leaves Batman in disbelief. In the DC Universe: Rebirth (2016) one-shot, Batman informs Hal Jordan that the chair told him there were three individual Jokers, not just one. This revelation was the basis for the miniseries Batman: Three Jokers (2020), written by Geoff Johns with art by Jason Fabok . Three Jokers reveals that
5712-426: The 1930 through the 1990s (with a few exceptions), the letterer plied his craft on the same page drawn by the penciler. (The penciled art was then inked after the letterer has completed his work on the page.) At DC Comics during the " Silver Age " of the 1960s, pencilers were required to "rough in balloons and sound effects" for the letterers to later go over. An accomplished letterer was able to adapt his or her style to
5831-563: The 2008 story 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 apparent death in Final Crisis (2008), Grayson investigates a series of murders (which leads him to a disguised Joker). The Joker is arrested, and then-Robin Damian Wayne beats him with a crowbar, paralleling Todd's murder. When
5950-472: The 2020 " Joker War " storyline by writer James Tynion IV and artist Jorge Jiménez sees the Joker leave Gotham after Batman chooses to let him die. This led to a second ongoing Joker series, beginning in March 2021 with Tynion writing and Guillem March providing art. The Joker has undergone many revisions since his 1940 debut. The most common interpretation of the character is that of a man who, while disguised as
6069-546: The Bold #31, the superhero Atom enters the Joker's mind and sees the criminal's former self - a violent sociopath who tortures animals , murders his own parents, and kills for fun while committing robberies. Snyder's " Zero Year " (2013) suggests that the pre-disfigured Joker was a criminal mastermind leading a gang of Red Hoods. A number of alternate universes in DC Comics publications have allowed writers to introduce variations on
SECTION 50
#17332022650526188-433: The DC Comics look for nearly thirty years. Starting in 1940, he designed or refined such iconic logos as Action Comics , Superman , The Flash , and Justice League of America , while also creating the distinctive appearance of DC's house ads and promotions. (Schnapp also designed the Comics Code Authority seal, which was a fixture on comic book covers from all major companies for over forty years.) DC Comics used
6307-505: The Family" so he and Batman can be the best hero and 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 storyline "Endgame" in which he brainwashes the Justice League into attacking Batman, believing he has betrayed their relationship. The story implies that the Joker is immortal—having existed for centuries in Gotham as
6426-596: The Golden Age into the Silver Age, as the series continued during the rise in popularity of mystery and romance comics. In 1951, Finger wrote an origin story for the Joker in Detective Comics #168, which introduced the characteristic of him formerly being the criminal Red Hood , and his disfigurement the result of a fall into a chemical vat. By 1954, the Comics Code Authority had been established in response to increasing public disapproval of comic book content. The backlash
6545-407: The Joker apologetically declines, believing it 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 insanity as merely an act. Comics scholar Peter Coogan describes the Joker as trying to reshape reality to fit himself by imposing his face on his victims (and fish) in an attempt to make the world comprehensible by creating
6664-459: The Joker disfigures fish with a rictus grin resembling his own (expecting copyright protection), and is unable to understand that copyrighting a natural resource is legally impossible. Englehart's and Rogers' work on the series influenced the 1989 film Batman , and was adapted for 1992's Batman: The Animated Series . Rogers expanded on Adams' character design, drawing the Joker with a fedora and trench coat. Englehart outlined how he understood
6783-730: The Joker does not have a definitive origin story , but various possible ones have been developed. The most common story involves him falling into a tank of chemical waste that bleaches his skin chalk-white, turns his hair and eyes cobalt-green and lips ruby-red, and spasms his face that left him with a rictus and unidentifiable by any means; the resulting disfigurement drives him insane. The Joker possesses no superhuman abilities, instead using his expertise in chemical engineering to develop poisonous or lethal concoctions and thematic weaponry, including razor-tipped playing cards , deadly joy buzzers , and acid-spraying lapel flowers. The Joker sometimes works with other Gotham City supervillains, such as
6902-582: The Joker emerging from a genie 's lamp, aiming two guns at Batman and Robin), is considered one of the greatest superhero comic covers of the Golden Age and is the only image from that era of the character using traditional guns. Robinson said that other contemporary villains used guns, and the creative team wanted the Joker—as Batman's adversary—to be more resourceful. The Joker was one of the few popular villains continuing to appear regularly in Batman comics from
7021-593: The Joker enters a meditative state where he evaluates his previous selves to consciously create a new personality, effectively modifying himself for his needs. The Killing Joke (in which the Joker is the unreliable narrator ) explains the roots of his insanity as "one bad day": losing his wife and unborn child and being disfigured by chemicals, paralleling Batman's origin in the loss of his parents. He tries (and fails) to prove that anyone can become like him after one bad day by torturing Commissioner Gordon, physically and psychologically. Batman offers to rehabilitate his foe;
7140-420: 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 recently returned Batman. In DC's The New 52 , a 2011 relaunch of its titles following Flashpoint , the Joker has his own face cut off. He disappears for a year, returning to launch an attack on Batman's extended family in "Death of
7259-411: The Joker into a goofy, thieving trickster without his original homicidal tendencies. The character appeared less frequently after 1964, when Julius Schwartz (who disliked the Joker) became editor of the Batman comics. The character risked becoming an obscure figure of the preceding era until this goofy prankster version of the character was adapted into the 1966 television series Batman , in which he
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#17332022650527378-499: The Joker is obsessed with maintaining his illusion of wealth and celebrity as a criminal folk hero , afraid to let Gotham's citizens know that he is penniless and was tricked out of his fortune. The 1970s redefined the character as a homicidal sociopath . "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" has the Joker taking violent revenge on the former gang members who betrayed him, while "The Laughing Fish" portrays him chemically disfiguring fish so they will share his trademark grin, hoping to profit from
7497-463: The Joker keeps her at his side, he heedlessly harms her (for example, throwing her out a window without seeing if she survives). Harley loves him, but the Joker does not reciprocate her feelings, chiding her for distracting him from other plans. Snyder's "Death of the Family" describes the Joker as in love with Batman, although not in a traditionally romantic way. The Joker believes that Batman has not killed him because he makes Batman better and he loves
7616-509: The Joker kidnaps Robin and Batman pays the ransom by check, meaning that the Joker cannot cash it without being arrested. Comic book writer Mark Waid suggests that the 1942 story "The Joker Walks the Last Mile" was the beginning point for the character's transformation into a more goofy incarnation, a period that Grant Morrison considered to have lasted the following 30 years. The 1942 cover of Detective Comics #69, known as "Double Guns" (with
7735-466: The Joker thrives on his mutable and irreconcilable identities. The Joker is typically seen in a purple suit with a long-tailed, padded-shoulder jacket, a string tie, gloves, striped pants and spats on pointed-toe shoes (sometimes with a wide-brimmed hat). This appearance is such a fundamental aspect of the character that when the 2004 animated series The Batman placed the Joker in a straitjacket, it quickly redesigned him in his familiar suit. The Joker
7854-464: The Joker was planned to be killed off during his initial appearance, he was spared by editorial intervention, allowing the character to endure as the archenemy of the superhero Batman . In the DC Universe , the Joker is portrayed as a criminal mastermind and the antithesis of Batman in personality and appearance. He was introduced as a psychopath with a warped, sadistic sense of humor but became
7973-452: The Joker's appearance, changing his more average figure by extending 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 feature as the title character in a comic book series, The Joker . The series followed the character's interactions with other supervillains, and the first issue was written by O'Neil. Stories balanced between emphasizing
8092-487: The Joker's criminality and making him a likable protagonist whom readers could support. Although he murdered thugs and civilians, he never fought Batman; this made The Joker a series in which the character's villainy prevailed over rival villains, instead of a struggle between good and evil. Because the Comics Code Authority mandated punishment for villains, each issue ended with the Joker being apprehended, limiting
8211-423: The Joker's defining character traits: lethal joy buzzers , acid-squirting flowers, trick guns, and goofy, elaborate crimes. In 1973, after a four-year disappearance, the Joker was revived (and revised) by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams . Beginning with Batman #251's "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge", the character returns to his roots as a homicidal maniac who matches wits with Batman. This story began
8330-430: The Joker's first origin story as the former Red Hood : a masked criminal who, during his final heist, vanished after leaping into a vat of chemicals to escape Batman. His resulting disfigurement drove him insane and led him to adopt the name "Joker", from the playing card figure he came to resemble. The Joker's Silver Age transformation into a figure of fun was established in 1952's " The Joker's Millions ". In this story,
8449-592: The Joker's teeth and destroying his smile. In the 1988 story "A Death in the Family", the Joker beats Jason Todd , the second Robin , with a crowbar and leaves him to die in an explosion. Todd's death haunts Batman, and for the first time he seriously considers killing the Joker. The Joker temporarily escapes justice when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appoints him the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations , giving him diplomatic immunity ; however, when he tries to poison
8568-402: The Joker's true identity. "They've given many origins of the Joker, how he came to be. That doesn't seem to matter—just how he is now. I never intended to give a reason for his appearance. We discussed that and Bill [Finger] and I never wanted to change it at that time. I thought—and he agreed—that it takes away some of the essential mystery." Although a number of backstories have been given,
8687-467: The Joker, Bill said it reminded him of Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs . That was the first mention of it ... He can be credited and Bob himself, we all played a role in it. The concept was mine. Bill finished that first script from my outline of the persona and what should happen in the first story. He wrote the script of that, so he really was co-creator, and Bob and I did the visuals, so Bob
8806-411: The Joker, but their accounts of the character's conception differ, each providing his own version of events. Finger's, Kane's, and Robinson's versions acknowledge that Finger showed them an image of actor Conrad Veidt in character as Gwynplaine (a man whose mouth is disfigured into a perpetual grin) in the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs as an inspiration for the Joker's appearance, and Robinson produced
8925-404: The Joker, in which the character's origins, behavior, and morality differ from the mainstream setting. The Dark Knight Returns depicts the final battle between an aged Batman and Joker; others portray the aftermath of the Joker's death at the hands of a number of characters, including Superman. Still others describe distant futures in which the Joker is a computer virus or a hero trying to defeat
9044-600: The Joker, susceptible to his orders. The villain is immune to venom and most poisons; in Batman #663 (April 2007), Morrison writes that being "an avid consumer of his own chemical experiments, the Joker's immunity to poison concoctions that might kill another man in an instant has been developed over years of dedicated abuse." The character's arsenal is inspired by his nemesis' weaponry, such as batarangs . In "The Joker's Utility Belt" (1952), he mimicked Batman's utility belt with non-lethal items, such as Mexican jumping beans and sneezing powder. In 1942's "The Joker Follows Suit",
9163-465: The Joker, the greatest victory would be to make Batman become like him. The Joker displays no instinct for self-preservation, and is willing to die to prove his point that anyone could become like him after "one bad day". The Joker is the "personification of the irrational," and represents "everything Batman [opposes]." The Joker's main characteristic is his apparent insanity, although he is not described as having any particular psychological disorder. Like
9282-665: The Joker, which turns him into the supervillain, The Batman Who Laughs , a combination of Batman's and the Joker's personalities. Renowned as Batman's greatest enemy, the Joker is known by a number of nicknames, including the Clown Prince of Crime, the Harlequin of Hate, the Ace of Knaves, and the Jester of Genocide. During the evolution of the DC Universe , interpretations and versions of the Joker have taken two main forms. The original, dominant image
9401-412: The Joker. That's the way I sum it up. [The Joker] looks like Conrad Veidt – you know, the actor in The Man Who Laughs , [the 1928 movie based on the novel] by Victor Hugo . ... Bill Finger had a book with a photograph of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, 'Here's the Joker.' Jerry Robinson had absolutely nothing to do with it, but he'll always say he created it till he dies. He brought in
9520-464: The Joker. This version has been cited in many stories, including Batman: The Man Who Laughs (in which Batman deduces that the Red Hood survived his fall and became the Joker), Batman #450 (in which the Joker dons the Red Hood to aid his recovery after the events in "A Death in the Family", but finds the experience too traumatic), Batman: Shadow of the Bat #38 (in which Joker's failed stand-up performance
9639-420: The U.N. membership, he is defeated by Batman and Superman . In the 1999 " No Man's Land " storyline, the Joker murders Commissioner Gordon's second wife, Sarah , as she shields a group of infants. He taunts Gordon, who shoots him in the kneecap. The Joker, lamenting that he may never walk again, collapses with laughter when he realizes that the commissioner has avenged Barbara's paralysis. The 2000s began with
9758-592: The United States and Iran, the story's conclusion had Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appoint the Joker his country's ambassador to the United Nations (allowing him to temporarily escape justice). Alan Moore and Brian Bolland 's 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke expands on the Joker's origins, describing the character as a failed comedian who adopts the identity of the Red Hood to support his pregnant wife. Unlike The Dark Knight Returns , The Killing Joke takes place in mainstream continuity. The novel
9877-649: The character Jack is a career criminal who is bored with his work. He encounters (and becomes obsessed with) Batman during a heist, embarking on a crime spree to attract the Caped Crusader's attention. After Jack injures Batman's girlfriend, Batman scars Jack's face with a permanent grin and betrays him to a group of mobsters, who torture him in a chemical plant. Jack escapes but falls into an empty vat as gunfire punctures chemical tanks above him. The flood of chemicals (used in anti-psychotic medication) alters his appearance and completes his transformation. In The Brave and
9996-480: The character and images of what would become his iconic Joker playing-card design. Finger thought the concept was incomplete, providing the image of Veidt with a ghastly, permanent rictus 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 belonging to the Joker in his early appearances. Finger said that he
10115-416: The character by saying that the Joker "was this very crazy, scary character. I really wanted to get back to the idea of Batman fighting insane murderers at 3 a.m. under the full moon, as the clouds scuttled by." Years after the end of the 1966 television series, sales of Batman continued to fall and the title was nearly cancelled. Although the 1970s restored the Joker as Batman's insane, lethal archenemy, it
10234-422: The character is a laboratory worker who becomes the Red Hood (a masked criminal) to steal $ 1 million and retire. He falls into a vat of chemical waste when his heist is thwarted by Batman, emerging with bleached white skin, red lips, green hair and a permanent grin. This story was the basis for the most often-cited origin tale, Moore's one-shot The Killing Joke . The man who will become the Joker quits his job as
10353-415: The comic book; artist Dick Sprang assumed his duties, and editor Jack Schiff collaborated with Finger on stories. Around the same time, DC Comics found it easier to market its stories to children without the more mature pulp elements that had originated many superhero comics. During this period, the first changes in the Joker began to appear, portraying him as a wacky but harmless prankster; in one story,
10472-412: The company's struggling titles; during her tenure, the Joker would become one of DC's most popular characters. While O'Neil and Adams' work was critically acclaimed, writer Steve Englehart and penciller Marshall Rogers 's eight-issue run in Detective Comics #471–476 (August 1977–April 1978) defined the Joker for decades to come with stories emphasizing the character's insanity. In "The Laughing Fish",
10591-405: The cover letterer for all of DC's books throughout the 1970s, and even " ghosted " as Marvel Comics' "page-one" letterer for much of the same period. Gaspar's work became so iconic that various independent comics publishers which sprang up in the 1970s and 1980s – such as Atlas/Seaboard , Continuity Comics , and Eclipse Comics – hired him to design logos for their entire line of titles. From
10710-428: The criminal Red Hood, is pursued by Batman and falls into a vat of chemicals that bleaches his skin, colors his hair green and his lips red, and drives him insane. The reasons why the Joker was disguised as the Red Hood and his identity before his transformation have changed over time. The character was introduced in Batman #1 (1940), in which he announces that he will kill three of Gotham's prominent citizens. Although
10829-502: The early 1990s letterer Richard Starkings and his partner John Roshell (formerly Gaushell) began creating comic book fonts and started Comicraft , which has since become the major source of comics fonts (though they have competition from others, such as Blambot ). In deference to tradition, at first computer lettering was printed out and pasted onto the original artwork, but after a few years, as comics coloring also moved to desktop publishing, digital lettering files began to be used in
10948-402: The era of the freelance letterer. Chris Eliopoulos designed the fonts for Marvel's in-house lettering unit, and Ken Lopez did the same at DC. Since then the trend has swung the other way, with most comics publishers once again using freelance letterers rather than in-house staff. Nearly all use computer and digital comic book fonts. The traditional comic book letterer needs little more than
11067-459: The era's tyrannical Batman. In some stories, the Joker is someone else entirely: In Superman: Speeding Bullets (1993), Lex Luthor becomes the Joker in a world where Superman is Batman; Flashpoint (2011) portrays Batman's mother, Martha Wayne , becoming the Joker after being driven mad by her son's murder; and in Dark Nights: Metal (2017), Batman is infected by a toxin after killing
11186-425: The help of Gotham police and Batman because she feared her husband would be an abusive father; the police then told the Joker a story about her dying to protect her. The miniseries also reveals that Batman knows the Joker's identity, and has kept it secret in order to protect the criminal's wife and son. However, the Joker's unreliable memory has allowed writers to develop other origins for the character. "Case Study",
11305-503: The most iconic characters in popular culture, the Joker has been listed among the greatest comic book villains and fictional characters ever created. His likeness has appeared on merchandise such as clothing and collectible items, and he has inspired real-world structures (such as theme park attractions) and been referenced in various media. The Joker has been adapted in live-action, animated, and video game incarnations. Bill Finger , Bob Kane , and Jerry Robinson are credited with creating
11424-458: The newly created Batman comic book series. In a 1975 interview in The Amazing World of DC Comics , Robinson said he wanted a supreme arch-villain who could test Batman, not a typical crime lord or gangster designed to be easily disposed of. He wanted an exotic, enduring character as an ongoing source of conflict for Batman, designing a diabolically sinister, but clownish, villain. Robinson
11543-632: The opportunity to kill Batman, the villain demurs; he believes that without their game, winning is pointless. The character has no desire for typical criminal goals like money or power; his criminality 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 (1993), the Joker merely laughs and says "Boo!" The villain has been temporarily rendered sane by several means, including telepathic manipulation by
11662-818: The point where only he can pose a credible threat to Sherlock Holmes . Fu Manchu is an archetypal evil criminal genius and mad scientist created by English author Sax Rohmer in 1913. The Fu Manchu moustache became integral to stereotypical cinematic and television depictions of Chinese villains. Between 1965 and 1969 Christopher Lee played Fu Manchu five times in film, and in 1973 the character first appeared in Marvel Comics . The James Bond arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (whose scenes often show him sitting on an armchair stroking his cat, his face unseen) has influenced supervillain tropes in popular cinema, including parodies like Dr. Claw and M.A.D. Cat from
11781-402: The police protect his first announced victim, millionaire Henry Claridge, the Joker had poisoned him before making his announcement and Claridge dies with a ghastly grin on his face. Batman eventually defeats him, sending him to prison. The Joker commits crimes ranging from whimsical to brutal, for reasons that, in Batman's words, "make sense to him alone". Detective Comics #168 (1951) introduced
11900-483: The rebuttal could be published. The Joker's first major storyline in The New 52 , DC Comics' 2011 reboot of story continuity, was 2012's " Death of the Family " by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo . The story arc explores the symbiotic relationship between the Joker and Batman, and sees the villain shatter the trust between Batman and his adopted family. Capullo's Joker design replaced his traditional outfit with
12019-461: The rest of his life, many comic historians credit Robinson with the Joker's creation and Finger with the character's development. By 2011, Finger, Kane, and Robinson had died, leaving the story unresolved. The Joker debuted in Batman #1 (April 1940) as the eponymous character's first villain, about a year after Batman's debut in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The Joker initially appeared as
12138-454: The revelation that the titular character was the Joker's son. Breyfogle conceived the idea as a means to expand on Anarky's characterization, but O'Neil (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 a promise that the revelation would eventually be revealed incorrect. However, the Anarky series was cancelled before
12257-476: The scope of each story. The series never found an audience, and The Joker was canceled after nine issues (despite a "next issue" advertisement 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 reissued the series as a trade paperback . When Jenette Kahn became DC editor in 1976, she redeveloped
12376-492: The style of the art for that particular book. The evolution of desktop publishing powered by computers, especially those made by Apple , began in the 1980s, and started having a gradual impact on comics lettering soon after. One of the first users of computer-generated lettering was writer/artist John Byrne , who made fonts from existing lettering. (Incidentally, Byrne made use of existing lettering by other artists, such as Dave Gibbons , without their permission. Now Byrne uses
12495-585: The three Jokers, who work in tandem, include "The Criminal", a methodical mastermind based on the Golden Age Joker; "The Clown", a goofy prankster based on the Silver Age Joker; and "The Comedian", a sadistic psychopath based on the Modern Age Joker. The Comedian orchestrates the deaths of the other two Jokers and reveals himself as the original. The miniseries ends with the revelation that Batman knows
12614-496: The trauma of his wife's earlier accidental death, drives him insane, and results in the birth of the Joker. However, the Joker says that this story may not be true; he admits that he does not remember exactly what drove him insane, and says that he prefers his past to be "multiple choice". In this graphic novel, the Joker shoots and paralyzes Barbara Gordon , the former Batgirl , and tortures her father, Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon , to prove that it only takes "one bad day" to drive
12733-623: The villain built his versions of the Batplane and Batmobile , the Jokergyro and Jokermobile (the latter with a large Joker face on its hood), and created a Joker-signal with which criminals could summon him for their heists. 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 issue threats, transform buildings into death traps, launch
12852-449: The villain for that. Batman comic book writer Peter Tomasi concurred, stating that the Joker's main goal is to make Batman the best that he can be. The Joker and Batman represent opposites: the extroverted Joker wears colorful clothing and embraces chaos, while the introverted, monochromatic Batman represents order and discipline. The Joker is often depicted as defining his existence through his conflict with Batman. In 1994's "Going Sane",
12971-449: The villain tries to lead a normal life after Batman's (apparent) death, only to become his old self again when Batman reappears; in "Emperor Joker", an apparently omnipotent Joker cannot destroy Batman without undoing 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
13090-517: Was The Man Who Laughs — his face had been permanently operated on so that he will always have this perpetual grin. And it looked absolutely weird. I cut the picture out of the book and gave it to Bob, who drew the profile and gave it a more sinister aspect. Then he worked on the face; made him look a little clown -like, which accounted for his white face, red lips, green hair. And that was the Joker! Although Kane adamantly refused to share credit for many of his characters, and refuted Robinson's claim for
13209-518: Was also inspired by the Steeplechase Face , an image in Steeplechase Park at Coney Island that resembled a Joker's head, which he sketched and later shared with future editorial director Carmine Infantino . In a 1994 interview with journalist Frank Lovece , Kane stated his position: Bill Finger and I created the Joker. Bill was the writer. Jerry Robinson came to me with a playing card of
13328-531: Was also. Finger provided his own account in 1966: I got a call from Bob Kane.... He had a new villain. When I arrived he was holding a playing card. Apparently Jerry Robinson or Bob, I don't recall who, looked at the card and they had an idea for a character ... the Joker. Bob made a rough sketch of it. At first it didn't look much like the Joker. It looked more like a clown. But I remembered that Grosset & Dunlap formerly issued very cheap editions of classics by Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo ... The volume I had
13447-424: Was during the 1980s that the Batman series started to turn around and the Joker came into his own as part of the "Dark Age" of comics, with mature tales of death and destruction. The shift was criticized for moving away from tamer superheroes (and villains), but comic audiences were no longer primarily children. Several months after Crisis on Infinite Earths launched the era by killing off Silver Age icons such as
13566-413: Was inspired by Frederic Wertham , who hypothesized that mass media (especially comic books) was responsible for the rise in juvenile delinquency , violence and homosexuality , particularly in young males. Parents forbade their children from reading comic books, and there were several mass burnings. The Comics Code banned gore, innuendo and excessive violence, stripping Batman of his menace and transforming
13685-591: Was intrigued by villains; he believed that some characters are made up of contradictions, leading to the Joker's sense of humor. He said that the name came first, followed by an image of a playing card from a deck he often had at hand: "I wanted somebody visually exciting. I wanted somebody that would make an indelible impression, would be bizarre, would be memorable like the Hunchback of Notre Dame or any other villains that had unique physical characters." He told Finger about his concept by telephone, later providing sketches of
13804-436: Was known for. EC's letterers achieved their particular look by using a Leroy lettering set, a device popular amongst draftsmen and architects. The Leroy lettering set consisted of a stylus and a pantographic lettering form. Most Marvel and DC books are now lettered using a graphics program such as Adobe Illustrator , Adobe Photoshop or Adobe InDesign , and a font that resembles hand lettering. Computer lettering provides
13923-461: Was overruled by then-editor Whitney Ellsworth ; a hastily drawn panel, indicating that the Joker was still alive, was added to the comic. The Joker went on to appear in nine of Batman ' s first 12 issues. The character's regular appearances quickly defined him as the archenemy of Batman and Robin ; he killed dozens of people, and even derailed a train. By issue #13, Kane's work on the syndicated Batman newspaper strip left him little time for
14042-502: Was played by Cesar Romero . The show's popularity compelled Schwartz to keep the comics in a similar vein. As the show's popularity waned, however, so did that of the Batman comics. After the TV series ended in 1969, the increase in public visibility had not stopped the comic's sales decline; editorial director Carmine Infantino resolved to turn things around, moving stories away from child-friendly adventures. The Silver Age introduced several of
14161-423: Was unpopular with fans; rather than modify his character, DC opted to let them vote for his fate and a 72-vote plurality had the Joker brutally beat Todd with a crowbar and trap him in a room with a bomb, killing him. This story altered the Batman universe: instead of killing anonymous bystanders, the Joker murdered a core character; this had a lasting effect on future stories. Written at the height of tensions between
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