A-F | G-N | O-Y
- Obfuscating Insanity: Oh, I'm flattered, but it's really Depending on the Writer.
- Good ol' Paulie said I was this in Batman: Black and White - Case Study. Here, some docs find a file where a certain doctor said I was actually completely sane and that before I took that chemical bath, I was a mob boss who reveled in my anonymity. However, I then became the clown we all know and love so I could waltz in and out of Arkham whenever I please...
- But the best part? They found that it was dear Harley who wrote it, before she began counseling me. That's right kids, I may have driven dear Harley insane to invalidate her findings once I caught wind. And who left that file? Yours truly. After all, I gave them the truth yet there's nothing they can do about it to stop me. It was priceless.
- Good ol' Paulie said I was this in Batman: Black and White - Case Study. Here, some docs find a file where a certain doctor said I was actually completely sane and that before I took that chemical bath, I was a mob boss who reveled in my anonymity. However, I then became the clown we all know and love so I could waltz in and out of Arkham whenever I please...
- Oh, Crap!: There was that one time I ran into a skull-wearing nut with even less of a sense of humor than the Bat.
Skullface: I've got all the therapy you need right here, comedian.
Me: You're really going to do it. - Older Than They Look: What can I say? A chemical bath wipes the years right off! Now, I'm not wary to tell you my age, you rude little scallion, but I'm around 20 years older than Batsy in several continuities, such as Batman (1989), Batman: The Animated Series, and Joker (2019), which places me between 45-65 during his prime fighting years.
- Older Than They Think: A lot of fans think that my famous Venom - poison that not only kills, but puts a grin on the victim's face - is relatively new, started in that Tim Burton movie. Actually, that can be traced back to my very first appearance. Yes, it was a brilliant plan... I publically announced that I would murder a millionaire at precisely midnight and steal a priceless diamond he owned; naturally, the police surrounded him with armed guards, but at midnight exactly, he collapsed, dead, with a gruesome smile on his face, even though I was nowhere to be seen, and when they checked his wall safe, they found the diamond had been replaced with a fake one. I guess it's safe to tell you how I did it now. (It's been what, almost eighty years??) I snuck into his house the previous midnight, stole the diamond, and gave him a dose of my Venom while he was asleep that would take exactly twenty-four hours to kick in. A lot of work, but worth it to give those cops the scare of their lives!
- Omnicidal Maniac: ...Look, if the world's sick and broken enough to spawn someone like me, then clearly it's time to clean house.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Anatomy, and of course good old Engineering, Psychology and Chemistry; all the stuff at boring old school that actually makes life fun for a prankster like me. The only subjects a genius like me has trouble with is that boring old inter-ma-whatchyacallit-net, too much logic. Oh no, I wasn't a teacher's pet, it's quite the other way round actually. As a matter of fact Ms Crabtree over there has been licking water from her dish since I put her "facing your childhood fears" lecture to practice... on a roller coaster showing the "movies" her daddy made with her back in sweet-16..... I wonder if it will work on Sheriff Gordy...
- And Jacky Boy likes to imply that I'm also a fella who is gifted in poetry, theatre, literature, and all that lovey dovey, boring pansy stuff... Tell anyone I read that Shakespeare sonnet to my dear Harley and I'll tear your lungs out, buddy boy!
- One Phone Call: I know my rights, and I'm going to make sure I get my phone call when I'm visiting the slammer. Of course, I might not be making a call to anywhere outside the lockup. Or outside a person, for that matter.
- One-Winged Angel:
- Not really my schtick, but when the chips are down, I think a change of looks would work! Like when I took that shot of TITAN...though that one proved to be a real killer. Whoopsy-daisy!
- Believe it or not, this actually happened to me again when Batsy teamed up with those multi-colored reptilian ninjas. I tried out that goop that mutated them, resulting in me becoming a mutant snake! I kinda liked it, but the worst part was that I never got to try out whether my new brand of home-made venom would've given the ol' Joker toxin a run for its money, and just when I was gonna make a break for it, Batgirl knocked out all my brand-new pointy teeth AND took a selfie with me! I swear, that Cassie girl is a bad influence to all the young ladies of today, I'm gonna to have to teach her a lesson on proper social media conduct.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: The Bat is mine. Capiche? And yes, I have enforced that. Violently.
- That also includes Robins and Batgirls, understand? Black Mask learned that the hard way...
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: I quit laughing? As the kids say these days, shit just got real. Either that, or that little punk got under my skin.
- This actually pops up when ol' Anton Arcane and his hellish underlings returned to Earth. Even I didn't think it was very funny!
- As much as I hate to admit it, Batman reaching out to me at the end of The Killing Joke is one of the few times I stop laughing and actually let myself be human for a bit, I'm even pretty sincere in my apology, but I knew I couldn't redeem myself after all I'd done. I know, I thought it was weird too.
- The Batman Who Laughs...yikes, hardly an enticing fella. When I heard word of Lex trying to sell him on jumping into the Legion, I made it crystal-clear that all smiles were out the damn door.
- Our Vampires Are Different: I decided to give the whole bloodsucker routine a shot. Reviews were good. Real good.
- I'm not above playing dress-up as one either. Especially when my fellow villains don't invite me to their party.
- I've even heard tell that off in the glittering cosmos, on Earth-Eleventy-Whatever, I led a whole army of Dracs, even though I never got switched! Of course, the poor fella's dead as disco now, buuuut... he was bumped off by Bat-Fink, so points for effort!
- I'm not above playing dress-up as one either. Especially when my fellow villains don't invite me to their party.
- Out-of-Character Moment: I'm not sure why, but... Killing Gordon's wife during the earthquake... Well, it just wasn't as fun as I thought it would be...
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- Outside-Context Problem: In The Dark Knight, Bats and the police are in a fight against the mobs. Neither side sees me coming...
- Painful Transformation: And it's been hurting ever since.◊
- Pay Evil unto Evil: My ultimate goal: To make Batsy stop with all this no-kill nonsense and gimme the ultimate finale! Can't see why he's so stubborn. Ol' Big Blue Bonehead didn't need as much convincing. Ow.
- The Pen Is Mightier: I demonstrated this rather pointedly back in '89 with my quill pen.
- And then there was my famous Pencil Trick...
- Perpetual Smiler: What can I say? Life's... been good to me.
- Pet the Dog: Alright, alright! There have been occasions (very infrequent occasions) where I might throw ol' Batsy a bone (shut up) and played nice. But keep your fat mouth SHUT about it! I have a reputation to maintain!
- The novelization of The Dark Knight has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment where I slipped an old lady a hundred-dollar bill. Of course, that may have been me practicing for my big confrontation with Bats down the line, to try to imitate his every move so as to confuse him, which would help to drive an ordinary person mad... wait a second, Bats is no ordinary person! That, or I got tired of waiting around for my henchmen to pick me up and had nothing better to do to pass the time.
- Photo Doodle Recognition: When Ol' Brucey was looking over an old photo of Valestra's gang, he thought there was something familiar about the last member, so he drew a big red grinning mouth on it. And got quite a shock. That's right. That gangster was ME!
- Physical God: There have been a few occasions where I became an omnipowerful force to be reckoned with, most recently in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold's version of Emperor Joker. You boys shoulda seen the original... I managed to break the Bat's spirit, and reduce his soul to mere confetti scraps!
- Pie in the Face: Batman's favorite present had to be the pie I gave him in the Christmas episode of the animated series.
- Pietà Plagiarism: Sure, the Bat and I are Vitriolic Best Buds, always mean to each other from time to time. But there are some times when even the Bat-Freak felt a little pitiful and looked on me in sadness, holding me in this way. One example is the time when Bat-Cop shot me in the face, and even then, the poor Bat had to save me, carrying the unconscious me to an ambulance, bleeding face and all, through the pouring rain. Not a pretty sight, I can tell you that.◊
- And towards the end of Arkham City, after I breathed my last from Titan poisoning, the poor Bat-Jerk had to carry my body out of the Monarch Theatre and Arkham City in this manner◊. Also in the comic incarnation.◊ Oh, if I could have seen it while I was alive instead of viewing it from the afterlife...
- Then there was the time that I hid a bomb without telling anyone about its location and got sprayed in the face by my own toxin. Batsy had to carry me◊ into the ER◊ so he could interrogate me before the thing blew up.
- And towards the end of Arkham City, after I breathed my last from Titan poisoning, the poor Bat-Jerk had to carry my body out of the Monarch Theatre and Arkham City in this manner
- Pirate: The actual pirate, not those illegal downloading kinds. And in my expert opinion, I looked damn good.◊
- Pistol-Whipping: Guns aren't too quick in this case, Heathy boy. I'm indiscriminate when beating someone with a gun, even if it's my dear Harley.◊
- Plagiarism in Fiction: Look, I can take a certain pride in being a Fountain of Expies and inspiring so many baddies that I named the trope for it. But I'll tell you right now...DON'T! STEAL! MY! ACT! In one comic story where it seemed like my Joker Immunity finally ran out and I went down to that big comedy club beneath the earth, some two-bit hack named Curtis Base tried to make a name for himself by dressing as me and swiping my routines. Needless to say, I took exception to his thievery, and soon he was melting, melting!
- I was not impressed with the schmuck with the magic "turn-you-into-a-supervillain" pills in Child of Dreams either. Honestly, if you wanted something to spice up your evening, the blue pills are cheaper and less likely to turn your DNA into gumbo.
- Though to be fair I did rip-off Eddie's schtick one time all because he stole my food.
- Playing Card Motifs: What were you expecting? I didn't pick the Joker card for nothing, ya know.
- Poke the Poodle:
- I'm not above stealing a kid's report card when I'm feeling down. Just as long as it makes someone else feel worse.
- Behold, if you dare... the time I lowered Bruce Wayne's property values! HAHAHAHAHAHA!
- Y'know, for the life of me, I can't imagine why people think I'm always a crazy murderer. I've certainly proven I don't need to hurt a single person to punt you straight into the Despair Event Horizon. Why, I once drove half the nation to utter horror with just a normal playing card, a squirting flower full of ginger ale and pure gift of gab! All those Practically Joker wannabes out there - bleh! Corpses and Mind Rape may be incredible goldmines of comedy, but if those second-stringers don't get the basics of showbiz (even, or should I say, especially the cheap jokes), they're never gonna get their Walk of Fame star!
- I'm not above stealing a kid's report card
- Police Are Useless, unless his last name is Gordon.
- Politically Correct Villain: Let me give you my personal assurance that I hold all of your lives as equally meaningless. If I seem to be lavishing you with personal attention, you're either the Bat, his kids, or someone I hate enough to warrant it. Race, creed, age, gender, orientation or tax bracket have absolutely nothing to do with the fact I happen to occasionally need a prop and for the most part one corpse is as good as any other.
- Posthumous Villain Victory:
- Me dying at Superman’s hand, causing him to go as insane as me, and splintering the Justice League was, and always will, be one of my greatest triumphs ever.
- I also managed to drive a wedge between batsy's whole family apart after driving Tim Drake insane before shooting me dead, at least that's a nice consolation prize with Batman being old and lonely.
- Practically Joker: Some say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I say it's the sincerest form of Plagiarism! Why waste your time with second-rate ripoffs of me when the real thing is right here?!
- Pragmatic Villainy: I'm the Clown Prince of Crime, not the Clown Prince of Stupidity! I never put my venom on postage stamps, because that's just too goofy even by my standards. I'm also not invited whenever my fellow villains team up, saying that I'm too unprofessional and untrustworthy. (Hey, I Resemble That Remark!) Lexy on the other hand thinks it's safer to have me on their team, than have me angry at them. Can't say I blame them though... You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!
- Predecessor Villain: In Batman: Arkham Knight I influence the actions of almost every character! This is burned into the players' mind through the completely unsubtle method of putting me in the very first scene and some cop guy talking about me and my effects on Gotham. In fact, during that very first scene, my dead body is shown burning inside of a blazing incinerator. Get it? Also, there's the teensy, tiny fact that I'm torturing Bats from beyond the grave, plotting to take over his body and mind.
- Pre-emptive Declaration: "I Kill The Bus Driver" In The Dark Knight. Oh, did I fail to mention that part of the plan? So sorry. NOT!
- Pretender Diss:
- "Batman"? That glorified errand boy? Pu-leease! Take it from me, that's one bad joke.
- Have you seen what that young punk calling himself the new Red Hood is wearing? No taste at all! When I wore that number it was classy. More flashy maître d' than motorcycle fetish. Oh, these kids today...
- Just a warning for any aspiring young punks out there, there's only one Joker and that's me. The multiverse has a One-Joker Limit, and I suggest you youngsters, little wannabe boy scouts and future evil-doers alike, heed it unless you want to become a part of my act. Some of you are higher up on my list than others, lookin' at you faker!note
- Pretty Boy: Not... usually, I mean, popular opinion is I'm not the most conventionally handsome guy (to their eternal loss). That said, my latest outing from the lands of the rising sun has made me one of the pretty boys for once. Gonna have the ladies all over me! Aw, c'mon, Harls, it's just a joke! You're a one-man loon, I'm a one-gal kook! Aw, phooey...
- Pre-Violence Laughter: I do this a lot. Also post-violence laughter. And during-violence laughter. Let's face it—I'm just a barrel of laughs, and violence!
- Prima Donna Director: I still think the movie "The Death of Batman"◊ would be a smashing hit.
- Product Placement: Sure, I may be crazy for not loving the great taste of a Hostess fruit pie, but I'm not that crazy all of the time.
- Promoted Fanboy: Turns out Mark Hamill and Richard Epcar grew up reading Batsy's many stories before voicing me. Why I'm really happy about that.
- Psycho Knife Nut: You know why I like knives? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the little emotions. You'd be surprised at what people reveal at their last moments. Also, soup tastes better when it's difficult.
- Of course, if I need must soil my pinkies with a dirty ol' firearm - and I must, I absolutely must — I stick with the classics.
- Psycho for Hire: Even though I got into the super villain biz more for the fun of it than the money, I do take the occasional odd job from other villains. Even the best criminals have to keep bread on the table too, you know. That said, one, please don't think money will stop me if I decide to stop playing your game. and two, you should be really specific on what you want me to do. I'm good at improv, but I don't read minds.
- Psychopathic Manchild: In the end, I'm just somebody who enjoys a good joke or a game or two! I don't need a reason, it's just fun!
- Psycho Psychologist: Now, now. Dr. Eric Border is entirely dedicated to the good of Arkham and its patients. The fact he's a mask to hide me until my reveal has absolutely zilch to do with his expertise and career.
- Punch-Clock Villain: One short comic had me and Batman before a comic book "shoot", rehearsing our lines before the performance. You can see it in the What Ever Happened To The Caped Crusader omnibus.
- Pungeon Master: I happen to like jokes. In case y'know, you hadn't figured it out by now.
- The Purge: Timmy Burton and Jack Nicholson made me do this in their 1989 movie (not that I'm complaining, mind you). After I put on my happy face and got revenge on Carl Grissom, I took over his entire organization and had all his loyalists killed. I wasn't entirely to blame here, though. When I gave Tony Rossetti the shock of his life, he advised me to grease them all. He was an evil bastard-I'm glad he's dead!
- Purple Is the New Black: And how! Honestly, can you imagine me dressed in any other color?
- Put on a Bus: I appeared in the very first issue of Detective Comics published in our brave DCNu world, only to let the Dollmaker cut off my face and hang it on a wall. Suppose I should get around to having that sucker stapled back on one of these days...
- The Bus Came Back: I might have not shown my face in Gotham again for a while, but I've been back since October 2012, kids!
- Put the "Laughter" in "Slaughter": Deary me! Is this a Trope Namer I see? Also, my dear little Harley says I put the "fun" back in funeral.
- Pyromaniac: Look I do love a good campfire as much as Garfield does, but what about acid, electricity, pliers, I have an open mind.
- Rags to Riches: One time, when I had hit rock bottom and was destitute, I received an Unexpected Inheritance from King Barlowe, a rival mob boss. Naturally, I was overjoyed and started living it up. Unfortunately, I later found out that the inheritance was a final joke the old kook pulled on me when it turned out that the majority of the fortune was all fake and that I had spent all the real money I had. Even worse, the IRS was on my back to pay a huge tax and I couldn't tell them the reason I couldn't pay otherwise I wouldn't be able to show my face to the rest of the Rogues Gallery ever again. Let me tell you, if Barlowe hadn't been dead, I'd kill him!
- Rape Leads to Insanity: Oh I love it when people force this trope onto others.
- Reality Warper: Emperor Joker, huh? Why so formal? Simply call me Your Maniacal Majesty Who Hijacked Ol' Mxy's Powers And Almost Caused The Multiverse To Snap In Half Like A Dry Twig...
- Red Baron: Ooh, it seems my reputation precedes me! Let's see here... I've been called The Clown Prince of Crime, The Harlequin of Hate, The Thin White Duke of Death, The Ace of Knaves, Maurice...
- Redemption Rejection: *beat* No, no, I'm sorry, but it's too late for that... far too late. Pffthahaha, you know, this reminds me of a joke...
- Red Right Hand: My green hair, white skin and ever-present grin, of course! Usually attributed to a chemical bath, although Jacky's take on me added bullet wounds to the cheeks and bad surgery to help explain the grin.
- Averted with Heathy's take on me, who just slaps on dye and makeup over a Glasgow Grin.
- Referenced by...: Many people just love to make Shoutouts to yours truly.
- Removed from the Picture: It would be interesting to know exactly how many times I've "died" over the years.
- Repulsive Ringmaster: As much as I love clowning around, it's also fun to be the ringleader every once in a while! There was this one time back in the good old days when ol' Batsy thought I was deadnote , so some friends and I took the opportunity to start our own little circus! We would go to the homes of rich folk to perform, just for them... and then steal their riches.
- Retirony: My father was a cop, who was one week from retirement when the mob killed him. At least, that's what I told Doctor Young...
- The Reveal: Hands up. Who was expecting me to be Oberon Sexton in ol' Grant's Batman and Robin, eh? See, I like people who get the joke...
- Over in one particularly lovely little hellhole, I'm dear old Martha Wayne. I like the way this world thinks.
- One day, Bats was in the dumps and went to talk to the newest addition to the Arkham workforce. Dr. Border gave him the best reason ever to smile again.
- Robot Buddy: Good old Captain Clown!◊
- Robotic Spouse: Honey, I'm home!◊
- Room Full of Crazy: Oh, come on! Who hasn't indulged in a little defacement of city property from time to time? The boys at Arkham have pretty much given up entirely when it comes keeping my walls clean.
- Rule of Three: All good things come in 'em, and apparently, so do I, as of DC Rebirth! Ha, what a hoot! Well, at least that's what Geoff Johns intended, though he felt it vauge if it was true; Chip Zdarsky had other ideas.
- Rugged Scar: The The Dark Knight's version traded in my Frozen Face for a Glasgow Grin. Probably something about being Darker and Edgier but they still wanted to make it clear that I'm not going anywhere.
- Sad Clown: You ever hear of the one about that loser who lost his wife, his baby and his face all in one day? You too? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! I...I just wanted to make people laugh...
- Sadist: Of course! From this comes my sense of humor!
- Sadistic Choice: In Arkham Origins, I made a master plan in forcing Batsy to break his "one rule" by strapping myself to an electric chair that's wired to the heart of a Spanish muscleman, then taunted the Bat-Freak to try to force him to make a choice: either kill Bane or let him live, so that his heartbeat can charge up the chair until it's at its full power to kill me! I even added that if the Bat tried to remove the heart monitor from the muscleman, the bomb that I had planted within Blackgate Prison would explode and blow everyone up real good! And to make matters worse, when Gordy the Lieutenant tried barging in to save the day, I subdued him by grabbing him and transferring the shock crown from my head to his in the hopes of taking the old fart with me! After a while, when Batsy used the Shock Gloves left by the Electrocutioner on Bane, I thought for sure that the so-called Dork Knight would break his moral code after all. It was later revealed, though, that he Took a Third Option by temporarily stopping the muscleman's heart, then taking off the monitor from his Only Mostly Dead body and using the same Shock Gloves as Magical Defibrillators to restart his heart again, thus saving all three of us! Boy, was I shocked when I found out! And I knew that that wasn't even funny AT ALL!... well, actually, I realized it was hilarious after thinking about it, because it meant I had a new playmate and it would be a fun ole time trying to Break the Haughty.
- Sanity Slippage: Depending on which story you believe, a slip is what caused my sanity slippage.
- Sarcastic Clapping: At Chief Jimmy's promotion.
- Scaled Up: There was this one time I made a trade with old Ra’s. I gave him my patented Joker Venom recipe for a canister of mutating ooze he got from some tin-plated tourist. After taking over the Asylum, I made sure the inmates and I took our medicine, and I ended up turning into a giant cobra man! Hahah! The only thing that would have made that night better was if I actually got to bite someone. I never did get to see what kind of venom I produced.
- Scary Teeth: Why, thank you, I do my best with them. All the dental work Ol' Batsy gives me certainly gives plenty of opportunity to try them out.
- Though, seriously, what was Monkey-Me doing to get jigsaw-patterned teeth?
- According to my second outing with LEGO, my teeth aren't yellow because of my acid bath, or however my skin got bleached. I just don't brush them enough.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: When my old boss, Sal Valestra, thought that Ol' Batsy was after him, he offered me a Briefcase Full of Money to finish him off. My response?
"What do I look like? Pest control?"
- And of course, I made it perfectly clear in The Dark Knight...
"All you care about is money. This town deserves a better class of criminal; and I'm gonna give it to 'em.""It's not about money, it's about sending a message; everything burns." - Secondary Color Nemesis: I've always liked purple, green, and orange...because any other color would just be crampin' my style! Wouldn't it bother ya seein' me in, say...red, blue and yellow? Everyone's favorite Man of Tin Foil seems to love 'em! Ah, well...at least it's better than Batsy's boring monochrome!
- Secret Identity Apathy: Yes, I've had the occasional opportunity to unmask Batsy, but why should I ruin his mystique? He's much more enjoyable a challenge as he is as his charmingly mysterioso self. What's that? BRUCE WAYNE?! Who've thunk that beneath all the beatings and batarangs was Gotham's least interesting citizen, crying for Mommy and Daddy. It'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic...Oh, what the heck, I'll laugh anyway! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Eh? He'd break me in two if I said all of that to him?! Oh, please. If he had the guts for that kind of fun, he would've done it years ago! I, on the other hand... Besides, that reminds me, WayneTech promised an electric car by this year. I put a deposit down, where's my goddamn electric car, Bruce?!
- Alright, to be fair, as demonstrated by me apparently going back and forth about it here, I may or may not know already, but I just can't see him or his little rodents as anyone else. Because, again, reduce my primal enemy to a mere man? Where's the fun in that? Take one of my more recent outings, for instance. Me and Bats talk about how he knows I know, but I don't care. If the world really knew about Brucey, he might give it up before I do. Trying to make Joe Chill another Joker was really just my way for him and Bat-Bum to work things out so I could finally take the spotlight myself. I don't know why, but I can't help but feel like Bat-Bro would have done the same for me...
- For that matter, how do we know Bats really isn't just his roommate?
- Secret-Identity Identity: Averted by me that time (Going Sane) when I thought I really killed The Batman, And Then What? Bored with Insanity! I tried to be... Joseph Kerr... I met a woman... eh... What in the world am I talking about? That's funny, for a moment there I thought I remembered... Ah well, whatever it was... it's gone now.
- Self-Made Orphan: Depending on my past du jour. ...And then there's little J.J. ...Okay, maybe that one wasn't really funny.
- Serial Killer: Really? I'm so much more than just some bozo with a knife, like Zsasz! I don't kill people randomly. I only kill people when it's funny.
- Sexy Jester: Sure, Harl's more famous for this one, but I'm sure we all agree I look better in tights and ruffles.
- For some reason, the version of me appearing in The Dark Knight gets this reaction from female fans a LOT. Oh well, no accounting for taste, I suppose.
- Shadow Archetype: Oh yes. I'm the yin to Batsy's yang. He's just as crazy as I am, he simply refuses to admit it!
- Sharp-Dressed Man: I'm not just a Serial Killer, Mad Artist and Misanthrope Supreme, I'm also a fashion plate par excellence.
- Shooting Superman: Not with the Trope Namer. I swear if I see another idiot try that I will kill them myself. But I did by accident with that kid with electical powers. I tried to get Batsy to grab my hand while I had an Electric Joybuzzer ready to zap him. The kid saw what I was doing and took my hand instead. Since he had electrical powers, I was the one in for the shock.
- Shoot the Television: I did this after seeing King Barlowe's Video Will and learning of the mess he'd got me into.
- Shoot Your Mate: I even had one of my Mooks crush another with a school bus!
- Oh, I do this all the time. Why, I remember poor Bob, him I shot for talking to me when I was in a bad mood. Sometimes I do it if my men ask stupid questions, or if I'm just bored. Really, they take it so personally when I kill them. I kill and torture because I love.
- Shout-Out: Oh you know me, a quick reference is always good for a gag. Like that one time I got mixed up with those kung fu whackos. When I found out who was behind it, well, I just couldn't resist.
- During my laughing fish incident, I pointed out to Mr. Francis that Colonel What's His Name could copyright his chickens, and they didn't even have mustaches!
- If Bats happens to bite the dust while I'm stuck in his head, there's a chance you'll see moi screaming his name thrice.
- Shout-Out Theme Naming: Have you met my hyenas Bud and Lou?
- Show Some Leg: I wanted to make sure Harley saw me, 'kay? I was due to have a very important business meeting with Lex Luthor, you know. Who was trapped, I mean, waiting in the back of the limo she was driving.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: I've been on the receiving end. Most often from the Crazy Chiroptera, the Turd Migratorius, and the Cute Chiroptera; but more than once from a criminal! I just don't get it. How can anyone honestly believe good and evil exist when I've proven beyond reasonable doubt that they don't?
- Shut Up, Kirk!: Did you really believe I would go straight?
- Sidekick: Mostly my cartoon incarnations — me, I stick with regular mooks. So much more convenient. (I'd prefer if you didn't mention Gaggy.)
- This guy started it all, with his very own "hench wench" Harley Quinn. Well, she was so fun I just had to get one of my own.
- Monkey-Me, on the other hand, really went overboard. I mean, running around with two mute bruisers in clown-puppet get-up called Punch and Judy?note Trying to get his own Harley Quinn (out of a radio pop-psychiatrist)? And then there was that wanna-be Kid Sidekick Prank! Nothing sadder than chickening out at the chemical high dive...
- Nowadays, Harley's been a thorn in my side ever since she joined with old Batsy... but no worries! I've got a new main squeeze by the name of Alexis Kaye. She's the Punchline to my Joke...r. Quite the polar opposite of Harley too, which is just the way I like it! I was more into Brainy Brunettes than Dumb Blondes anyways...
- Signature Laugh: I've had a few iconic laughs across my various incarnations. Of course, ol' Hammy Hamill's is probably the one you're most likely to recall.
- Sissy Villain: I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, darling.
- Miller Time, God bless 'is heart, took this simple little concept and ran it into the freakin' end zone. Poison lipstick? Balls nasty. Did he get me mixed up with Ivy, I wonder?
- Slasher Smile: See this cheerful fellow?◊ My very own dashing good looks were modelled on him.
- Detective Comics #880◊ shows what I look like when I'm high off my own joker gas.
- Detective Comics #880
- Smug Smiler: Mostly around Bats and Jimmy. Especially Jimmy◊.
- Snuff Film: What, you think I wouldn't try my hand at something like this? My attempt at becoming a cinematic auteur was to be entitled The Man Who Killed Batman, although unfortunately I had a number of "creative differences" with my star. Old Batsy can be such a prima donna at times... and one of those "creative differences" was it wasn't bloody him, but Azrael. Thanks, Bane.
- There was also this one time I tortured one of Batsy's Boy Blunders to insanity...ahh memories. The little birdie had let me in on Bats' deepest, juiciest secret: his secret identity. I was having quite the field day showing his little brat getting much needed electrotherapy and digging at how he's nothing more than a big manchild crying out to Mommy and Daddy. And let me tell you, Bats was NOT happy about it at all.
- The Sociopath: I never feel any shame about torturing and murdering people, because their pain and suffering are all just fun and games to me.
- Solar-Powered Magnifying Glass: In one old cartoon, I pulled a bunch of Red Herring crimes to get the plans to build a giant solar mirror so I could give Gotham the ultimate hot foot! The Dynamic Dumdums had to spoil it though.
- Sold His Soul for a Donut: Harrumph. Don't think I don't see you sniggering there. Joke's on you, pal! I got my Cubans! Really, whatever my soul's worth these days, I'm pretty sure I ended up with the best part of the deal anyway...
- Someone to Remember Him By: So the titan incident ended badly for me, but apparently I left a little present cooking inside of Harley. Or maybe she's just imagining it. Fun!
- Played straight in Injustice 2! Apparently, before Supes punched a hole through me, I knocked Harley up! And then an alternate version of Yours Truly paid that 'verse a visit just to meet the little squirt. How 'bout that?
- Sore Loser: I'm the funniest comedian in Gotham! ME! And any comedy club judges who refuse to believe that will suffer most dearly!
- Spell My Name with a "The": Folks usually call me The Joker (except during my barefoot-and-dreadlocked phase).
- Split Personality: One of the many theories as to why my actions are so random and varied is because I have Multiple Personality Disorder, like good old Denty. Ol' Chippy decided to confirm this in his run with the story "Joker: Year One", which ignores Batman: Three Jokers (though even Geoff said it wasn't necessarily canon long before that point) and actually said the whole "three Jokers" bit was really just this, not a case of Collective Identity.
- Spring Coil: I once loaded one into the prison yard to get me out of the clink, in the middle of a ballgame, no less.
- For some reason, Lexie didn't think the whole "booby-trap the coffins of your latest rampage's victims with springs to turn them into Jack-in-the-Boxes at their funerals" was funny at all. Can't imagine why.
- The Starscream: I'm not usually one to go about a power play, but I think since old tin-can thinks he's hot stuff for getting a trope named after him, he'd better pay attention to a more...well thought-out resume. Maybe he can properly bump off old Megsy after a little lesson or two from moi?
- Lexy's boy thought he was playing it smart. He didn't let me join his little league team because he thought I'd be unpredictable. ME? UNPREDICTABLE?... To be honest he does have a point, but out of all the mistakes he made, the biggest one was not letting me play. See Screamer? That's how you make sure you always get invited to the parties!
- Tim and Jack's take on me in 1989 implied that Carl Grissom had me killed not only for banging his girlfriend Alicia, but because I also had an eye on taking his position. He was right...and unlike that talking rustbucket, I actually succeeded!
- But wait, there's more! One time, Lexy hired me to bump off old Boy Blue, so I was willing to handle the job for a fair price. Then he decided to act like he was the boss of me and—well, let's just say the real estate values in Metropolis went down a bit!
- Stealing the Handicapped Spot: Not me personally, nope, never. But one of my favorite little acts when Batsy's not around is to find some punk who parks where he shouldn't, and grant him a lifetime spot there.
- Straw Nihilist: Nope, not Craney. I learned an important lesson a long time ago, one that makes this whole crazy, screwed-up world make sense: nothing makes sense. It's all just one big joke! But you guys, you don't get that — so I've got to show you. One way or another. And those times that people didn't take to the lesson don't count!
- That one time Luthor was searching for some cosmic mumbo jumbo that I somehow had at Arkham, I saw a bit of the future of what could happen with the thingies when he got the complete set, and I saw the most awful, terrible choice he could probably make, and I begged him not to make it. At the end, when he finally got all of 'em, he ascended to true godhood and banished all pain and sorrow from the Universe, and was given a choice: to embrace The Power of Love and become as he was for ever and ever, or flush it down the toilet in a miserable final attempt at killing Supes. Thankfully, dear old baldo chose the door to Hell and allowed the program to continue. Sheesh, talk about dodging a bullet there! Can you imagine what would it be like if we all lived in a world without suffering? Brrr!
- Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: No one can say I don't give my all to the joke. Unfortunately, it's easier said than done. Pesky moral compass. My Injustice version had much more success though, in a way even I didn't imagine! I not only got the Blue Boy Scout himself to kill me, but the fallout of him killing me resulted in a day so horrible for him, he took over Earth! And got the entire customed party they supposedly call "the Justice League" beat the crap out of him!
- Success Through Insanity: I don't have Lex's piles of money or the kinda genius to make his toys or even Bats' training. Hell, my rep should make it impossible to get any sort of decent help. Guess what? I don't need any of that. Just enough skill to twist the rules into a pretzel, a complete disregard for pain, mine or others', and style. That's all I have and all I need. Being me is enough to make the clown the star of the show.
- Suicide by Cop: Case in point. During the Last Laugh storyline, Nightwing (Robin #1 for those keeping score) did me in. However, Batsy ruined the fun bringing me back because he didn't want his boyfri-I mean, ex-sidekick to be a murderer. Still, wished I'd filmed it though.
- Superhero Sobriquets: I've got so many I don't even know if I can remember them all! Let's see... The Clown Prince of Crime, the Thin White Duke of Death, the Harlequin of Hate, the Mountebank of Menace, the Lord of Laughs, the Ace of Knaves, and old Grant added a few special ones too, the Laughing Leper, the Dandy of Death and the Clown Prince of Pain. Almost makes "the Joker" seem a little passé nowadays. (Well, almost, that is.)
- Taking You with Me: Think I won't do it? I can and I would have, along with all of Gotham, when Carnage tried to kill Bats. (And he almost wet his pants, too. All I ever got from that guy was a big laugh.)
- Talking to the Dead: Okay, I admit I was thinking about killing all of Grissom's loyalists when I took over his gang in the 1989 movie. But it was Antoine who confirmed that I should grease them all after I gave him the shock of his life.
- A Taste of Defeat: While I agree Supes' stroll on the dark side is one of my more memorable outings, there's a reason I generally won't try this in the main continuity. I once tried, and somehow Big Boy Blue... well, we don't work too well together. It's hilarious to see Batsy taking shot after shot to the jaw, but Supes... he just rolled with the punches and... laughed. He made me a joke. I brought my A-game, over and over, and he just laughs at me and makes me the punchline! At the very least, he and Bats had a nice heart-to-heart afterward. Even if it means next time I visit Metropolis he's promised to send me home in matchboxes. See how much easier this is on all of us when you don't have that stupid no-kill rule, Bats?
- Tattooed Crook: Jerry Leto's version of me in Suicide Squad (2016) has got more ink than the Sunday Funny-Papers.
- Tear Off Your Face: Thanks for being such a doll, Marty! Great to have a new start. Endgame sees me having my face back!
- Terms of Endangerment: Bit of free advice, sweetcakes: just because I've got a pet name (or seven) for you, doesn't mean I like you.
- Thanatos Gambit: Sure, I may never have pulled it off, but it's always been a dream of mine that one day I could finally push the Bat far enough that he'd break his one rule. Because if I can make him kill me, I win.
- That Man Is Dead: "Jack is dead, my friend. You can call me... Joker. And as you can see, I'm a whole lot happier."
- Themed Aliases: I generally use either re-arrangements of my name, such as Rekoj, J. Reko, Joe Kerr, or famous clowns like Bozo, Krusty or Pagliacci.
- Thememobile: My very own Jokermobile◊.
- Theme Serial Killer: I've done this on occasion, when it seemed like a fun thing to do.
- They Were Holding You Back: If only Bats would stop worrying about his so-called "Bat-Family" and focus more on little old me.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Take it from someone who knows: when I'm on your crosshairs, don't hesitate. One of these days, I should add up how many of Gotham's nobodies I've bumped and ask Bats how nice his code looks when staring down that glorious number.
- To Create a Playground for Evil: In Emperor Joker, all I want to do is turn the world into a giant amusement park! Okay, I admit that my idea of "amusement" isn't to everyone's taste. Take ol' Batsy; even I got tired of killing that caped cretin over and over after a while! But it was fun while it lasted...
- Together in Death: My dear wifey Harley herself had said, while I was still alive, that she would want to be with me in the afterlife should my own demise from a deadly disease befall me. If only!
- Too Kinky to Torture: You're welcome to try. But! If I'm not satisfied, I reserve the right to make sure you learn the proper way to inflict pain, and there is no better teacher than experience...
- Tough Act to Follow: You remember that time when ol' Supes gave me a death by FATALITY? Well, I was happy with it for a number of reasons. First of all, I had just succeeded in a) tricking Big Blue into killing his wife and brat, b) nuking Metropolis via a trigger I wired to the heart of dear Lois that went off when she died, getting all the boy scout's other friends killed in the process and c) pretty much shattered his faith in humanity as a worthy-of-self-governing species. I didn't know, and still don't, how I was going to top that, so it was just as well he killed me when he did. Besides, look what happened next because of me! I made Superman go off the deep end! I made him and Batsy hate each other! I split their little League down the middle! And even more! And on top of all that, he proved what I've always told you: One. Bad. Day. It's just like what that crazy old coot in outer space said: Death is nothing compared to vindication!
- Track Trouble: Yes, villains blowing up train tracks is cliche, but you've never seen anyone pull it off quite like yours truly! Around good old jolly time, I had Gotham's airwaves (and a few innocent victims) hostage to give Batsy the ultimate gift, and he has the gall to try and peak at it early! So I just had Donner and Blitzen blow up the President's Bridge to make sure the 11:30 express would be taking an early trip down south! Lousy Bats had to spoil my fun and not only rescue the passengers, but the engineer too, before the train could jump the tracks! I guess wholesale slaughter by train wreck just doesn't fly these days!
- Tranquil Fury: I won't lie to you. It's pretty impressive when someone manages to bring me here. And trust me, if I've reached this point, I will feel compelled to top it. If any of you could graciously point me to a Mr. Oliver Hammet? A little bird told me he was once a bit of muck stuck in the heels of Gotham's finest. I believe he took something from me... and I'd like to arrange some restitution. Likewise, my old Metropolis acquaintance discovered to his and his club's detriment my personal displeasure when he thought he could pull a fast one on me and seek the services of the third-rate, ahum, "Batman who Laughs". Honestly, Lex. For the world's smartest man, you can be a real moron sometimes.
- Troll: It's fun making people mad! And then dead!
- Troperiffic: It got to the point that, wouldn't you know it, my Self-Demonstrating Article was the very first EVER to be split up into sub-pages!
- Trapped in Another World: All good comedians got to know when to get with the times kiddos! No idea what the heck an "Eee-say-kie" is, but it's popular with the nerds these days so it looks like I'm going on a trip with Harley and her friends.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: Would you believe that in the Spin-Off series featuring Harl, I actually became mayor of Gotham? Talk about being a Villain with Good Publicity! Eat your heart out, Pengy!
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Harley and I are like Beauty and the Beast. Of course, if anyone else calls her beast, I'll rip their lungs out.
- Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: Oh look! I've been invited to a show to fight with ol' Needles Kane. I think I'll put a wider smile on that face of his. Oh wait, yours truly did one better and gave that miserable excuse for a clown a good laugh he'll never forget!
- The Unapologetic: I really have to tell you that the one thing I hate more than everything is apologies.
- Underestimating Badassery: Flyboy thought it'd not take more than a radiation-proof suit to prevent me from using his Kryptonite Factor on him. If at least Batsy didn't get in the way. And Lexy saw my inability to handle Bats as a reason to believe I couldn't kill Supes. Well, that's what allowed Batsy to stop me, so Lexy wasn't completely wrong. For once.
- Sometimes I suffer from this with Supes. When he brings his A-game, oh boy does it not end well for me.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: Batsy may not be First-Person Shooter material, but that doesn't mean I can't indulge from time to time!
- Unexpected Inheritance: I didn't expect to inherit Barlowe's money. It changed once I learned the catch.
- The Unfettered: There's nothing I can't do that I've already done. Name one: torture, mass murdering, bombings, arson, poisoning...I could name hundreds of 'em, pal!
- Unhand Them, Villain!: Ohhh, very poor choice of words...
- Unpopular Popular Character: I'm one of the most hated people in not only Gotham, but on my version of Earth as well! Most of Batsy's fans wonder why he doesn't just snap my neck already, either that or want one of the Kombatants to do the deed instead. On the Earth of you little tropers, I'am one of the most popular characters to have ever hit comics!
- Utility Belt: I tried using one of these during a story in the Silver Age. (What? "The Joker's Utility Belt!"note Duh!) I figured, if guys like Bats can use them, why can't guys like me? (Well, seems the reason was, guys like him can use them pretty well, no matter whose they are... I guess that's why he never tries using my stuff...)
- Unlimited Wardrobe: Sure, you all know about my affinity for purple suits, but at any given moment I may show up in anything from combat fatigues to a Mister Rogers sweater.
- Victory Is Boring: A lot of folks say that I could have killed Bats a long time ago, but I never have because this whole thing is fun. What can I say? IT IS!
- Villain Ball: Yes, even I make mistakes occasionally.
- Villainous Breakdown: I admit it. Even the greatest among us can't keep from going a little crazier from time to time.
- My most notable one was probably when Bat Fake mocked me. But can you blame me? Ol' Bruce never said anything like what that punk said!
- There was this one time... I was holding the Philosopher's Stone... just waiting to remake the world in my glorious image... and then that damn green guy did something to me. Something 'orrible. Something I don't want to remember. Methinks he may have made me — gasp! SANE! Fortunately, it didn't last.
- When you're trying to prove that evil's stronger than good, it's really off-putting to be derailed by a criminal who's gone straight while in the jug.
- One of my lowest points was when, after Jason's murder by ballot and the surrounding hoopla, my usual and patented immunity began failing, and I stopped more and more to consider things I would never have given a second thought were I properly off my rocker. It was humiliating to get shot by that creep Curtis Base and being forced to remember pain hurting and caring what others thought of me. Thank goodness Fatman dragged me back home to Arkham with the weirdos and the crazies after Base went out the way of the duck. A few more days and I might have fallen to existentialism.
- Then there was the time I accidentally got all the powers of that freaky fanboy Bat-Mite, killed Batsy repeatedly, and finally decided to hop into his mind and loosen a few screws! Unfortunately, it all goes horribly wrong and Guanoman shows me my worst fear: not having an arch-nemesis to keep me company and therefore being... normal!. Oooooh, I hate to even THINK about it!
- And then, there's Arkham Knight, and with it, my worst fear EVER... Being forgotten by a city that was once caught off-guard by the mere mention of my name! When Bats had me down for the count (for good this time) I was BEGGING him not to forget me! — shudder... Oh well, who wants Chinese?
- Then there was the time when I was being particularly murderous, I demanded to know why the hell some guy tried to look like a nightmare even though he let people see his square, handsome jaw. It only took three words. THREE words.
Batman: To mock you.
- Villainous Crush: Ah, Miss Vale... she was gonna trade up, you know. And in issue four of my self-titled mag I fell for, of all people, Black Canary. Twas during a time she was more a damsel for that Batman wannabe to rescue, however.
- Another time I fell hard for supes cousin, you know the one. But in the end she picked my own mirror-duplicate over me.
- Villainous Friendship: Ol' Lexy makes a hoot of a straight man for the duo-act. Oh sure we've had our bouts and tried to kill each other plenty of times, what friends haven't? Batsy and Big Blue can come to blows and be chums, why can't we?
- Really I get along with the whole Arkham gang, we even have poker nights. Sure we try and kill each other once in a while but that's all just part of the fun.
- When I'm not commiting crimes or having fun with Batsy, I like to hang out at Palpatine's place with Loki, Voldemort, General Zod and all those guys. Sometimes you wanna go where everybody hates your fa-aa-ace.
- Even when I got sick of all my Gotham friends, I found a new group of friends in the Phantom Zone. One's who were as evil as me and know how important the hate of your Arch-Enemy is to a villain.
- Villain Has a Point: apparently Black Mask would inadvertently prove my point of how "all it takes is one bad day" right by torturing Catwoman's sister and brother-in-law to death by forcing the former to see Roman butchering her husband and forcing her to eat his eyeballs and snapped. Oh Roman I really want to thank you for proving me right.
- Villainous Harlequin: Less serious works like Batman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold depict me like this. Just so long as I have a smile on my face! Well, that and whats-her-name.
- Villainous Friendship: Me and Lexy get along extremely well, we're two peas in a pod and many times we have teamed up to take down both Batsy and Superham at the same time in so many video games, cartoons, and comics.
- Villainous Legacy: Hey, I had nothing to do with this! It seems some guys are admired, even years in the future.
- In Batman Beyond there were the Jokerz, a group of motorcycle punks. (Not the best group until yours truly decided to take over.)
- There was also Duela Dent, a would-be heroine who called herself Joker's Daughter. (No actual relation, by the way, although she claimed to be my daughter, and Two-Face's daughter, and Doomsday's daughter, and... Well, she was crazy, okay? Guess maybe she at least had the right idea.... All right! She was the daughter of an alternate good version of me! Happy now!?!)
- There's a guy way in the future where the folks from DC One Million came from too called the Laugher (kind of looked like a spitting image of myself but with a huge robotic set of toy teeth in place of legs); too bad we didn't see much of him...
- And who can forget Marquis Jet? Wanna know how to make an instant heir? Just zap a kid on a school bus with the old joy buzzer, and BLAMO! The kid did me proud. Wanted to make Gotham his playground in my name, and put a smile on everyone's face! 'Sniff', that's my boy.
- Villainous Underdog: Batsy can kick my butt almost any day of the week, and he's got all his wonderful toys. He really could kill me if wanted, and actually deep down he does want to kill me, but his ethics keep him from doing so. That's what makes our dynamic interesting, as I do evil trying to push him over the edge!
- Villain Protagonist: I had my own comic in The '70s! Sadly, it lasted only nine issues. I guess fanboys in the disco decade had No Sense of Humor...
- Villain Song:
- I finally had one in Batman: The Brave and the Bold's adaptation of Emperor Joker called "Where's the Fun in That?"
- And then there was the one Jimmy Steinman wrote for me in that musical they never got around to making.
- Some fan who was disappointed that the musical never saw the light of day also created this fabulous number for me, where I sing about adding some color to Gotham City by decorating it with "ribbons" of blood.
- Some fan who was disappointed that the musical never saw the light of day also created this fabulous number for me
- Then there's Harley and Monkey-Me, livin' it up and out on the town back when we first met in The Batman. What better way to celebrate than with a song called "Setting the Woods on Fire"? Notable for not actually being an original song—thanks, Hank!—and for being the last time a consummate professional like me does a friggin' duet.
- And then there was the number I sang for that old timer Gordon in The Killing Joke. (That's right, I sang an original song in a comic.) Fortunately, Mark Hamill got a chance to do it justice in the animated film adaptation. See for yourself.
- The Great Luke Ski wrote "House Party at Arkham Asylum" for me.
- Oh, and there's that one time I did my own spin on a certain Christmas carol. I'm sure most of you will sing along with me!
- And here's yet another one, same "Jingle Bells", which goes like this: "Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Gotham's quite a mess! Blackgate's mine and you're out of time, which means you'll soon be dead!" HOOHOOAAAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!
- And now I have this lovely number courtesy of Miracle of Sound.
- And "Deranged" by Coheed and Cambria is all about Bats and me!
- Even Cesar Romero did me justice with a sprightly little ditty worthy of me.
- This little number from Arkham Knight. Makes you wonder what that What's-His-Face ripoff was singin' while Bats was hallucinating me over him... probably something suckish.
- Also, in case the Bat finally wallops and forgets me, I have a sad, Dark Reprise of this one for those lucky enough to get a 100% Completion. Still, since that Marky was sad enough when he had to leave the final Arkham game with a send-off like this, I cry along with him. As we both say: Thank you. I'll be here all week... try the veal.
- Oh, and here's one more, to the tune of "Rock-a-Bye Baby":
Rock-a-bye Batsy, I'm getting free.
Soon you'll be the one trapped inside me.
So keep taking breaths, great lungfuls of fear.
Soon Bats will be gone, and I will be here.
- Oh, and here's one more, to the tune of "Rock-a-Bye Baby":
- Cover Version: As for myself, I had a heartwarming, yet haunting voice when I did a cover version of that Platters guy's original song "Only You (And You Alone)". And believe me, it still brings me to tears just hearing the sound of my own voice (well, my Mark Hamill one, anyway) at the end credits of Batman: Arkham City. Though, of course, many of you may think of it as creepy, Black Comedy Ho Yay when they hear my singing voicemail to the good ol' Bat-dude. But hey, that Country Music cowboy Travis Tritt's rendition would have been my choice, but I didn't wanna sound like a cowboy freak anyway, so what's the point?
- And here's yet another cover of a Hank Williams classic, this time "Cold, Cold Heart". I kinda admit, my Troy Baker voice kinda sounds a little like a sad cowboy at the end credits of Batman: Arkham Origins, even though it doesn't fit the holidays. Again, still brings me to tears.
- I finally had one in Batman: The Brave and the Bold's adaptation of Emperor Joker called "Where's the Fun in That?"
- Villains Do The Dirty Work: I'm always happy to indulge the writers with this, especially if they let me show any Smug Snakes out there what real villainy is like:
- When Wrath and Scorn were threatening Batmunch and and the Boy Blunder's secret identities but the heroes couldn't do anything because of their silly no killing rule, Monkey-Me made sure they suffered a severe case of Death by Secret Identity.
- When Grant Morrison was writing Butt-Man's comics, Dr. Hurt and the Black Glove thought that they were the greatest DC villains of all time. Needless to say, I took grave exception to their smug preening and showed them how gravely wrong they were. (And yes, even I can do the incredibly lame Puns every now and again.)
- As much as he hates me, old Cueball always makes a point of inviting me to his supervillain soirees. Even if I don't take him up on it, I'll appreciate the gesture and won't hold a grudge. When his inferior knockoff Alexander Luthor did not invite me, I was was rather offended by his snub and made sure he regretted it.
- Villains Want Mercy: Sometimes. Most of the time, I'm totally cool with the idea of dying. (And if it's at the hands of the Bat, that's the grand prize.) Buuut then again, if it's a particularly painful or humiliating way to die, I'm not above calling uncle.
- Villain Respect: Well, of course! Any self respecting villain and comedian ought to know when to give others their due credit!
- Even though he tosses me back into Arkham everytime I raise merry Hell across Gotham, I got nothing but respect for ol' Batsy! No matter what universe it's always a constant, although that future brat can go straight to hell. It's all part of this little song and dance of ours, I torment him physically and mentally and he surpresses his urge to finally just SNAP and break my neck like a twig. I'll be laughing all the way to my grave!
- Ledgy's version of me couldn't help but applaud the news of Gordy finally becoming Commissioner after he arrested me. Still waiting on that thank you! I mean it's not like I wasn't the one who nearly tore Gotham apart at the seams or anything.
- Cameron Kaiser actually had the gall to play me like a violin as part of his little insurance fraud scheme. Wasn't going to save his life, but it takes a certain kind of brute to think he can screw with me and live.
- I even show some of my graciousness on this very page! I've got nothing but respect for any actor who can portray little old me, Hamill and Nicholson are welcome at Casa de Joker anytime, I'll even have Harley clean up and put away the Joker Venom if either of you ever stop by! Also got to give other baddies some credit where it's due, be as crazy as I am as much as you want! Just don't you EVER steal my act...
- Villain Team-Up: For some reason, my fellow baddies don't like hanging with the J-man. Well, except maybe good ol' Lex, and he makes a great Straight Man. When other villains gather and try to scare each other, they tell Joker stories.
- Vitriolic Best Buds:
- Sure, we try and beat the crap out of each other whenever we get together, but truth be told, I consider ol' Batsy one of my closest pals.
- I suppose that one also fits me and Baldie. Sure, he tries to have me shot, and then I tie him up and make him watch as I blow up all his stuff, but we're working together again before you know it.
- Wasteful Wishing: Sold my soul for a box of cigars once! In my defense, they were really good cigars.
- Water Source Tampering: I frequently plot to slip Joker-venom into Gotham's water supply. Then there was the time I turned the water supply into jelly. You'd think they would have caught on and put a fence or something around the reservoir by now!
- We Will Not Use Stage Makeup In The Future: Every comedian should experiment a bit with the basics. You would be surprised how absurdly easy it is to change yourself with the contents of a bargain-bin makeup kit once you get some practice. While I may need a little bit more investment to get maximum results (boy, the muscle relaxants are just not my cup of tea, especially when you run through them as I do to suppress the reflex to smile), some hair dye and a dash of judiciously applied makeup mix are really all I need to be ignored as just some Gothamite in the street. Don't you worry, though... that just makes the eventual punchline even better. Why, Guanoman's screams when Dr. Border wiped the makeup off were just heavenly, I tell you!
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: I just want people to see the world as I see it! Just 'cause the way I see it is a little... disturbing doesn't make it wrong, does it?
- What Could Have Been:
- I could have been a part of the Legion of Doom in Challenge of the Superfriends, but as it turned out, I was in The New Adventures of Batman instead. Their loss as far as I'm concerned. I mean, they had Bizarro of all people! He's not a menace, he's a nuisance! And don't get me started on The Riddler. Why him as the Bat's counterpart? I mean really, riddles are boring, not to mention too easy for the Bat to solve. Where's the fun in that? Then again, in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, they wised up and included me among their ranks. THAT was one heck of a baseball game.
- Lotta fine actors sadly missed the chance to play me for any number of reasons. Tim Curry was gonna voice me in the cartoon before he got replaced by Luke Skywalker. In '89, the other Timmy originally wanted Chucky for the part of moi. Stupid Hollywood!
- Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?:
- HEY! I said that! I was going to add, "Well, don't just stand there! Ask him!", but the editor thought the movie was too long as it was. Damn execs... it woulda only taken a few more seconds! How much of a tightwad do ya gotta be to nix that?
- More generally, this trope could apply to me as much as it does to ol' Batsy. Where do I get my extended boxing gloves, razor-edged playing cards, electrified joybuzzers, acid-squirting flowers and all the other toys the writers give me, not to mention all the scientific gizmos and chemicals I use in my more complex schemes? That incident where I sent Fat-Man and Slob-In running all over town on Christmas is a textbook example. Despite being locked up in Arkham, I somehow rigged the asylum's Christmas tree with a jet engine to escape, acquired the technology to hijack every TV set in Gotham, turned an observatory into a giant cannon and created a bunch of killer robots with my happy face on them. Of course, that's probably half the joke right there!
- Who's Laughing Now?: Admittedly, only one time in my life (or rather my next life), did somebody get the better of me when it came to getting under other people's skin. And that ended up as quite a "shocker!"
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: What?!
- Just shoot him? The death of Batman must be nothing less than a masterpiece! The triumph of my sheer comic genius over his ridiculous mask and gadgets! Oh, what the heck! I mean, it's not like he's gonna wriggle out of... AAAAAAAAGH! Ow, ow, ow, OUCH!
- Just between you and me, I did try it once... It's not as easy as everyone claims.
- Wicked Cultured: As an artist and performer myself, I make a point of appreciating the cultural greats that came before me:
- I've taken a few aliases from the opera, where clowning is raised to a fine art.
- On the Justice League cartoon, I tried to fry the brains of anybody and everybody watching the idiot box one night. I used a front company called Gwynplaine Entertainment as part of the scheme. Besides being a fitting tribute to a great literary classic, it was a rather obvious clue to anybody with half a brain, like Bat-Munch...
- In Tim and Jack's 1989 movie, I led the boys in "improving" a lot of the works at a Gotham art museum. I also recognized true genius when I prevented Bob from slashing Francis Bacon's Figure With Meat. It was the one piece that wouldn't benefit from my special touch.
- Wicked Toymaker: I can sometimes came across as this. My base in the cartoons seems to be some kind of abandoned hideous toy factory that still haunts some viewers' dreams.
- Wild Card: What can I say? I like to keep people on their toes. For this reason, I'm not the most popular guy to work with, but I won't take 'No' for an answer.
- Wild Mass Guessing: My Multiple-Choice Past tends to do that. Hell, one of the best Epileptic Trees I've heard is that I used to be some kid named Calvin! Not that I'm giving you any hints....
- With Friends Like These...: I... might enjoy the company of a certain aquatic, flightless bird more than I let on. Don't tell Pengers I said that.
- Wolverine Publicity: My face was made for the spotlight! I can't help if I'm so marketable! They've even got my face on shoes for crying out loud!
- Woman Scorned: Huh? Where'd you hear that? Harley would never hurt me! Even if I did try to... Uh... Replace her......On more than one occassion... And even if she did, she'd never get away with it... And... (Guh, I'm a lousy liar...)
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: One bad day. That's all it took. That's all that separates good people like you from monsters like me. Way I figure things, any world that lets a guy like me live deserves to die. Assuming something actually did happen. I am crazy after all.
- Worthy Opponent: How I view Ol' Batsy, in case you haven't figured it out by now. (Seriously, we're in the W's. It really should be obvious by now.) What can I say? He's the only human being who can keep up with me.
- Would Hit a Girl: And with a smile, kiddies! Just ask dear ol' Harl if ya don't believe me.
- Would Hurt a Child: Why should adults have all the fun?
- At one time in the 1989 film I, as a teen, came pretty damn close to killing little Brucie along with his parents before he could become the Bat... right before my childhood partner showed up! Lucky Bat-Jerk.
- And in No Man's Land, I captured 36 cute, little babies and attempted to kill them in order to break Gotham's morale! However, Jimbo's wife Sarah offered to save the little brats at the cost of her own life, and so I wished her a "Merry Christmas" before giving her a Pretty Little Headshot. But when I saw those poor little babies gathered around her body, it kinda made me wanna cry for them. So I turned away with a frown, knowing that her death was not funny at all, not bringing myself to offing the little cuties. Oh well...
- And of course there's the way I had to... bring little Timmie Drake around to my way of thinking... You know what they say, spare the electroshock therapy and brainwashing, spoil the child! Though that time it backfired rather painfully on me. Kids, what can ya do?
- Xanatos Gambit: My entire rivalry with Batsy is one big one! If he kills me, he proves me right about everything. If I kill him, I prove myself right. And if neither of us kills the other, then we just keep on going like this forever. The only way for me to "lose" is if someone else were to kill me, but that would never happen.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Hey, what can I say? I'm an opportunist, and if I see a chance for a little mischief, I go for it. Especially if I'm in Arkham and need a little murderous vacation.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: Ya gotta hand it to good ol' Charlie Dickens, whose one short story on the True Meaning of Christmas has been adapted into two wonderful stories of ours:
- The first was the last Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Specials, which much like an episode of Roseanne, took place on Halloween in which the Bat-Scrooge plays the role of the stingy old man named... well... Scrooge; his dad is the Jacob Marley; the sneaky Poison Ivy as the Ghost of Christmas Past; yours truly as the modern-day Ghost of Christmas Present; and a skeletal version of Bats as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come! That said, it's unclear if it really happened or Bats has a food poisoning-induced fever dream.
- The second is Batman: Noël, in which the Bat-Scrooge is once again Scrooge, only this time it's the second Bird-Brain I had murdered who is the Marley; the sneaky Catwoman who is the modern-day Ghost of Christmas Past; the big, flying Blue Boy is the modern-day Ghost of Christmas Present; and I, of all people, make a spectacular, frightening appearance as the modern-day Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come!!! And I even demonstrated to the Bat-Jerk a Bad Future by burying him alive!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I truly scared him straight that time!
- You Have Failed Me: Sometimes my Mooks deserve it when I kill them. I mean, I didn't want to shoot Bob in the 1989 movie, but he should have told me Bat-Munch had one of those..."things"...when he stole my balloons! What choice did I have?
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: I really love it when Batsy does something un-heroic or letting people down, and in fact, I congratulated him when he Took a Third Option, and let poor Jason down.
Me: "I can't believe you've got him! You expert rootin' tootin' eagle-eyed goth-loving marksman! I love it! You managed to find a way to win, AND EVERYBODY STILL LOSES! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
- Of course, this happened to me of all people when the Red Numbskull told me that I'd make a great member to his army!
- You're Insane!: Ain't it glorious?
- Your Little Dismissive Diminutive: Ah yes, your little observation that I use this a lot is quite fitting, especially if you got it from The Dark Knight. I use it at least six times in that movie.
Me: (to the organized crime community) Look, I know why you choose to have your little group therapy sessions in broad daylight...
Me: (to the organized crime community) Soon little Gambol here won't be able to get a nickel for his grandma.
Me: (to Batman) You just take off your little mask and show us all who you really are, hmm?
Me: (to Batman) Does Harvey know about you and his little bunny?
Me: (to Harvey Dent) They're schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. (referring to the police and the organized crime community alike)
Me: (to Harvey Dent) I just took your little plan and I turned it on itself!
A-F | G-N | O-Y
So. You've made it to the end of my little carnival ride. Unfortunately, you're supposed to be dead by now. Will you excuse me while I just go shoot the architect? COME BACK, YOU LITTLE...! Oh, never mind. A loser like you isn't worth going after. Some people just can't take a joke!
