History Characters / BatmanTheJoker

** He abruptly [[ComicBook/BatmanAndCaptainAmerica ends a partnership]] with [[Characters/MarvelComicsRedSkull Red Skull]] when his Nazi affiliation comes out. Red Skull [[EvilCannotComprehendGood simply wonders why he is so surprised when he thinks that the Joker would make a great Nazi]]. The Joker is ''NOT'' happy about this, proclaiming "I may be a criminal lunatic, but I'm an ''American'' criminal lunatic!" And yes, folks, even an equal-opportunity murderer like ''the Joker'' despises the Nazis![[note]]The Joker had originally thought that Red Skull was just dressing up as a Nazi as a sort of theme, which he approved of because it sounded like great trolling.[[/note]]
** The exception is mentioned again in the ''Last Laugh'' arc where the Joker immediately refused to join the American Neo-Nazi Aryan Alliance group in the Slab after he was offered membership. Later on he is disgusted when his minions vandalize the Moai on Eastern Island.
---> '''Joker:''' I'm evil and all that, but you guys are just plain mean.

** The Joker absolutely ''loathes'' [[Characters/DarkNightsMetalTheBatmanWhoLaughs The Batman Who Laughs]], to the point where [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness he drops his usual joking demeanor and is deathly serious whenever directly referring to him]], even willing to [[EnemyMine work together with Batman]] to face him when it comes down to it. To Joker, the Batman Who Laughs is the worst possible result of his rivalry with Batman and an insult towards both of their personal philosophies and legacies -- a bad joke that should never have existed in the first place. When he learns that Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom have been keeping the Batman Who Laughs prisoner in the Fortress of Doom and release him in exchange for information, not only is the Joker is furious and {{Rage Quit}}s the Legion, but he leaves them alive, telling them that while he planned to betray and kill them all eventually anyway, whatever the Batman Who Laughs will do to them when ''he'' betrays them will be even worse.

->''"If the police expect to play against the '''Joker''', they had best be prepared to be dealt from the bottom of the deck."''
-->-- '''Batman #1''', his first appearance, written by Creator/BillFinger.

The Clown Prince of Crime. The Harlequin of Hate. The Ace of Knaves. The Jester of Genocide. The Mountebank of Mirth. Mistah J.

''[[TropeCodifier The]]'' MonsterClown. '''''[[TropeCodifier The]]''''' ArchEnemy.

** He abruptly [[ComicBook/BatmanAndCaptainAmerica ends a partnership]] with Character/MarvelComicsRedSkull when his Nazi affiliation comes out. Red Skull [[EvilCannotComprehendGood simply wonders why he is so surprised when he thinks that the Joker would make a great Nazi]]. The Joker is ''NOT'' happy about this, proclaiming "I may be a criminal lunatic, but I'm an ''American'' criminal lunatic!" And yes, folks, even an equal-opportunity murderer like ''the Joker'' despises the Nazis![[note]]The Joker had originally thought that Red Skull was just dressing up as a Nazi as a sort of theme, which he approved of because it sounded like great trolling.[[/note]]

* CollectiveIdentity: Before Creator/ChipZdarsky's ''ComicBook/{{Batman|ChipZdarsky}}'' story, "Joker: Year One", subjected it to CanonDiscontinuity, ''ComicBook/BatmanThreeJokers'' intended the reveal of the three Jokers in ''ComicBook/DarkseidWar'' and ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''to be this: The Criminal (the original "Golden Age" Joker from the character's debut in ''ComicBook/BatmanNumber1''), The Clown (the "Silver Age" Joker, strongly implied to be the one who [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily killed Jason Todd]]), and The Comedian (the current "Modern Age" Joker, [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke who kidnapped and tormented Jim Gordon]]).]]

* CollectiveIdentity: [[spoiler:As revealed in ''ComicBook/DarkseidWar'' and ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', the Joker has been used by three people, though ''ComicBook/BatmanThreeJokers'' clarified it as this: The Criminal (the original "Golden Age" Joker from the character's debut in ''ComicBook/BatmanNumber1''), The Clown (the "Silver Age" Joker, strongly implied to be the one who [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily killed Jason Todd]]), and The Comedian (the current "Modern Age" Joker, [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke who kidnapped and tormented Jim Gordon]]).]]

* DecompositeCharacter: The Three Jokers (see below) are each based on one era of Joker's time as a singular entity and his behavior during that time.
** The "Criminal" is based on his earliest appearances in the Golden Age, where he was a NoNonsenseNemesis who mainly cared about the results.
** The "Clown" is based on his Silver Age depiction, in which he genuinely wanted to make people laugh, although now he also has the willingness to kill that the actual Silver Age restricted.
** The "Comedian" is based on his Bronze Age depiction defined by ComicBook/TheKillingJoke, a complete and utter psychopath that relishes in hurting other people out of sheer spite and hate.

** He abruptly [[ComicBook/BatmanAndCaptainAmerica ends a partnership]] with ComicBook/RedSkull when his Nazi affiliation comes out. Red Skull [[EvilCannotComprehendGood simply wonders why he is so surprised when he thinks that the Joker would make a great Nazi]]. The Joker is ''NOT'' happy about this, proclaiming "I may be a criminal lunatic, but I'm an ''American'' criminal lunatic!" And yes, folks, even an equal-opportunity murderer like ''the Joker'' despises the Nazis![[note]]The Joker had originally thought that Red Skull was just dressing up as a Nazi as a sort of theme, which he approved of because it sounded like great trolling.[[/note]]

* FacialHorror: His iconic [[WesternAnimation/TheBatman "perma-clown"]] appearance (the green hair, chalk-white skin, and most of the time, red lips) is the result of being submerged in a tank of chemicals. However, there was times this has gotten worse.

** In the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague'' storyline "Rock of Ages", Martian Manhunter has to put in incredible effort to reorganize Joker's mind long enough for him to give up the cataclysmic Philosopher's Stone. The briefly sane Joker immediately says MyGodWhatHaveIDone verbatim as he hands it back, before quickly losing his mind and going back to the laughing madman.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Some of the Joker's victims fall into this. During ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'', once he realizes that Azrael isn't Batman, his plan's gone to hell, and one too many criticisms from Creator/GeneSiskel and Creator/RogerEbert stand-ins, he kills the stand-ins.

* TheReveal: When Batman sat in Metron's chair in ''ComicBook/DarkseidWar'', one of the questions he asked was who the Joker was and the answer freaked him out. In ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', it's revealed why: [[spoiler:The Joker is a LegacyCharacter: the Joker responsible for ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily'' and ''ComicBook/BatmanEndgame'' is not the same man who [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke crippled Barbara Gordon]]--and neither of them are [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks the original Joker]].]]

* VillainSong: There's no other villain who has belted out as many memorable music moments, not even the Music Meister. Three of them incidentally were sung by Creator/MarkHamill behind the mic:
** Creator/AlanMoore's "I go Loony" from ComicBook/TheKillingJoke, an in-panel song-and-dance tune that was eventually made into an actual song belted out in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheKillingJoke''.
** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' has "Where's the Fun in That?" from the episode "Emperor Joker".
** ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' has him sing a cover of "Settin' the Woods on Fire" during his "night on the town" with Harley Quinn.

* VillainousHarlequin: He was this during the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]. He is also this in ''Series/Batman1966'' and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''.

* TooKinkyToTorture: The Joker has shown a proclivity for this over the years. At one point, the Joker berated a man who'd captured him for only hitting him in the face. ''ComicBook/SalvationRun'' had established the Joker's been in constant pain since he took his fateful dive into the vat of chemicals that altered his appearance and not only had gotten used to it, but grew to enjoy it. This quote from ''The Dark Knight'' sums it up perfectly:
--> '''Stephens''': I can tell the difference between punks who need a little lesson in manners, and the freaks like you who would just enjoy it.

* SecretIdentityApathy: In most continuities, he simply doesn't care about Batman's SecretIdentity, because his obsession is with Batman himself and not the man behind the mask; and occasionally, because he's of the opinion that Batman is the [[SecretIdentityIdentity true face]] anyway. Sometimes this goes so far as to actively avoiding finding out or being told by someone else, because for some reason knowing Batman's secret identity will somehow "ruin" their dynamic, and the Joker likes things just as they are. When Scarecrow pulls off Bruce's mask in ''[[WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019 Harley Quinn]]'', it practically triggers a VillainousBreakdown.
-->'''Joker''': Half the fun of our relationship was the mystery! Now I know Batman is just some boring, rich asshole with [[WellDoneSonGuy parental issues]]!

** In ''VideoGame/Injustice2'', the Red Lantern Atrocitus senses something specific happened that enraged the clown.

* PimpDuds: He sometimes accessorizes his purple suit with a very wide-brimmed hat, which makes the ensemble look like a stereotypical pimp costume. Creator/JaredLeto's turn in ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'' runs with this in his dynamic with Harley Quinn.

** He gets irate when Terry [=McGinnis=] [[BoringInsult openly mocks]] his fixation with Batman during their final confrontation in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker''.

The Joker first appeared in ''ComicBook/BatmanNumber1'' (25 April, 1940). He was created by Creator/BobKane, Creator/BillFinger and Jerry Robinson. Credit for the Joker's creation is disputed; Kane and Robinson claimed responsibility for the Joker's design, but acknowledged Finger's writing contribution. Comics scholars lean to Robinson and Finger as Joker's true creators owing to Kane's well documented history of swiping and hiring ghost-artists for his work. Originally he was to die at the end of his second appearance, but the comic's editor wouldn't allow it feeling it was a waste of a perfectly good villain. In his early days he was portrayed as a cunning criminal with a constant grin and an occasional sadistic streak, became a goofy prankster in the UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, and then in the 1970s evolved into the terrifying mixture of whimsy and malice that he's best known as today.

* ''The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing'' (2022)

[[Characters/BatmanBane Bane]] | Characters/{{Catwoman}} ([[Characters/CatwomanSelinaKyle Selina Kyle]]) | [[Characters/BatmanClayface Clayface]] | Characters/HarleyQuinn ([[Characters/HarleyQuinnTheCharacter Harleen Quinzel]]) | '''The Joker''' | [[Characters/BatmanLadyShiva Lady Shiva]] | [[Characters/BatmanLeagueOfAssassins League of Assassins]] ([[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's Al Ghul]] | [[Characters/BatmanTaliaAlGhul Talia Al Ghul]]) | [[Characters/BatmanMrFreeze Mr. Freeze]] | [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin The Penguin]] | [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]] | [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]] | [[Characters/BatmanTheScarecrow The Scarecrow]] | [[Characters/BatmanTwoFace Two Face]] | [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart1 A-H]] | [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart2 J-R]] | [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart3 S-Z]]\\

The Joker is a comic book supervillain owned by Creator/DCComics, who primarily appears as a member of ComicBook/{{Batman}}'s RoguesGallery. He first appeared in ''ComicBook/BatmanNumber1'' (25 April, 1940). He was created by Creator/BobKane, Creator/BillFinger and Jerry Robinson. Credit for the Joker's creation is disputed; Kane and Robinson claimed responsibility for the Joker's design, but acknowledged Finger's writing contribution. Comics scholars lean to Robinson and Finger as Joker's true creators owing to Kane's well documented history of swiping and hiring ghost-artists for his work. Originally he was to die at the end of his second appearance, but the comic's editor wouldn't allow it feeling it was a waste of a perfectly good villain. In his early days he was portrayed as a cunning criminal with a constant grin and an occasional sadistic streak, became a goofy prankster in the UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, and then in the 1970s evolved into the terrifying mixture of whimsy and malice that he's best known as today.

[[WMG:[[center:[-''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Batman}} Main Character Index]]'''\\

** He abruptly [[ComicBook/BatmanAndCaptainAmerica ends a partnership]] with Comicbook/RedSkull when his Nazi affiliation comes out. Red Skull [[EvilCannotComprehendGood simply wonders why he is so surprised when he thinks that the Joker would make a great Nazi]]. The Joker is ''NOT'' happy about this, proclaiming "I may be a criminal lunatic, but I'm an ''American'' criminal lunatic!" And yes, folks, even an equal-opportunity murderer like ''the Joker'' despises the Nazis![[note]]The Joker had originally thought that Red Skull was just dressing up as a Nazi as a sort of theme, which he approved of because it sounded like great trolling.[[/note]]

** He abruptly [[ComicBook/BatmanAndCaptainAmerica ends a partnership]] with Comicbook/RedSkull when the latter is revealed to be a Nazi, angrily proclaiming that he "may be a criminal lunatic, but he's an ''American'' criminal lunatic!"

* VillainousFriendship: No matter how bad things turned out last time, Comicbook/LexLuthor and Joker will ''always'' work together again. PlayedWith, as it isn’t just because of friendship. As Luthor himself notes in the ending of ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', you always "let the Joker play," lest he come after you for revenge later on for leaving him out.

* NoNameGiven: The Joker is the only Batman villain who doesn't have an official real identity. However, there are three occasions where names have been used. The Jack Nicholson version used the name "Jack Napier", which was briefly mentioned in the Animated Series episode "Dreams In Darkness" since the series was partially based on the movie, albeit the doctors list it as one of his aliases. The ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' version played by Creator/CameronMonaghan gives him the name Jeremiah Valeska. The Joaquin Phoenix version used the name "Arthur Fleck", though the movie raises the question that he doesn't know who his father is, so 'Fleck' might not even be his surname. The Telltale series plays with this by 'naming' him 'John Doe' - which is just a stand-in name police/hospitals use when they don't know someone's identity. While he still has no official name to this day, it's general fan consensus that it's either Jack Napier or just Jack.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Some of the Joker's victims fall into this.
** During ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'', once he realizes that Azrael isn't Batman, his plan's gone to hell, and one too many criticisms from Creator/GeneSiskel and Creator/RogerEbert stand-ins, he kills the stand-ins.
** In one of the issues for the ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' tie-in comic, ''ComicBook/TheBatmanStrikes'', he terrorizes a stand-in for Creator/ConanOBrien. Interestingly enough, the real O'Brien voiced Endochrine in the animated version of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns''. In the series proper, Harley's debut had the two of them terrorize a stand-in for Dr. Phil for the climax.

** The white suit he wears in Miller's ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' is also quite notable.

** ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' sees him kill David Endochrine and Ruth Weisenheimer, who were clearly based on Creator/DavidLetterman and Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

* TooKinkyToTorture: The Joker has shown a proclivity for this over the years. At one point, the Joker berated a man who'd captured him for only hitting him in the face. He also enjoyed his and Bruce's final fight in ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns''. ''ComicBook/SalvationRun'' had established the Joker's been in constant pain since he took his fateful dive into the vat of chemicals that altered his appearance and not only had gotten used to it, but grew to enjoy it. This quote from ''The Dark Knight'' sums it up perfectly:

* TheHeavy: Usually giving Batman some trouble in a most series.

* HijackedByGanon: As he's Batman's ArchEnemy, he has a habit of pulling this on his fellow Bat-Rogues in the comics and other media, such as [[spoiler:him deposing of and impersonating Black Mask in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins''.]]

* HairTriggerTemper: A consistent amongst various incarnations, especially in the DCAU and the Arkhamverse; while he often hides it under his jovial persona, Joker is easily set off by any slight, real or perceived, and the object of his rage will always receive some sort of violent retribution.

* GuestFighter: Of all mobile games, he, along with Batman, Harley Quinn and Catwoman appear in ''VideoGame/{{SINoALICE}}'' with the Joker being a Sorcerer. Players can pull him in the same banner as [[spoiler: a Joker-fied Pinocchio]].

* GuestFighter: After making appearances in [[VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse the previous crossover]] and being a major player in [[Creator/NetherRealmStudios [=NetherRealm's=]]] other [[VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs big]] [[VideoGame/Injustice2 series]], Joker shows up in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' all on his own, [[BloodierAndGorier freed from the restrictions of a Teen rating and able to showcase the true depths of his depraved bloodlust]].
** Of all mobile games, he, along with Batman, Harley Quinn and Catwoman appear in ''VideoGame/{{SINoALICE}}'' with the Joker being a Sorcerer. Players can pull him in the same banner as [[spoiler: a Joker-fied Pinocchio]].

* GlasgowGrin: Heath Ledger's portrayal features very noticeable scarring from such wounds and tells two conflicting stories of how he got them. Sometimes, DependingOnTheArtist, the Joker has one in the comics, usually in out-of-continuity stories.

** The purple suit and matching pants with either an orange and/or green shirt with a bowtie or tie, remains the definitive Joker look one that many artists and costume designers have given spin on. He is sometimes known for wearing a cool hat but other times goes hatless. Heath Ledger's custom-designed purple long-coat, trousers, blue shirt and green WaistcoatOfStyle with a tie has likewise become iconic and famous for its contemporary and downright stylish update on the classic look.

** The white suit he wears in Miller's ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' as well as the white nurse maid outfit with red wig in ''The Dark Knight'' is also quite notable.

* NotAMask: Sometimes he pretends to wear makeup, but it ain't makeup. Jack Nicholson's version wore flesh-tone makeup over his pale skin several times after his transformation. Though, this is DependingOnTheWriter, as Heath Ledger's depiction ''does'' wear makeup. It's unclear if this is the case for Caesar Romero's depiction, as Romero's mustache is visible at times (he refused to shave for the part).

* FountainOfExpies: The Joker is so iconic, and so often copied we have a trope for it: PracticallyJoker.