Well, compared to Batman/Joker, Superman/Joker hardly gets any real attention, for obvious reasons, but there are occasions where the two do get some real interaction; mainly AU stories, such as Kingdom Come, or Injustice. In both cases, Joker finally decided to go after Superman because he thought he was an easier target. (At least in Injustice; I don't think his reason in Kingdom Come was explicitly stated.) It actually makes for an interesting comparison between Batman and Superman. Batman has no Superpowers whatsoever, yet he doesn't have much in his personal life to hit at, and when there is, he just keeps on trucking. Even if Batman lost Alfred, Dick, Selena, etc., he would still keep fighting crime, even if his path took a somewhat darker turn towards that end.
Superman, on the other hand, isn't as 'hardcore.' Mind you, in normal circumstances, he just keeps on going also, but if his loved ones were killed, such as Lois, he'd actually be more likely to lose it then Batman. In Kingdom Come, he just lost faith and went away for 10 years. In Injustice, he became Furher Superman. Of course, I'm not sure if either of those would be the most likely action for Superman to take, but any case, Superman takes personal losses harder then someone like Batman, and this is what makes him an easier target, as far as Joker's concerned. Superman is Joker's go-to- punching bag when he wants to take a break from Batman for a bit.
edited 13th Apr '13 6:37:31 AM by kkhohoho
In my view, the idea of Superman being more effected doesn't really hold up. He's a very psychologically balanced character. He has friends, both "civilian" and meta-human. He often has a family too. He'd, to me, be far more able to cope. But Superman-gone-bad is an interesting story, so it gets more play.
Batman, on the other hand, has wrapped his entire life around the death of his parents. Not to under-sell the effect that would have on a child's life, but it's the core of his entire life. He does not deal with loss well.
As for the main topic, you're going to find parallels between any sufficiently multifaceted character, but honestly, I'd say there aren't a whole lot between Supes and Jokers.
edited 13th Apr '13 9:53:11 AM by Anteres
I guess I'll try my hand at it(since I had the OP). Superman and Joker both seem more like forces of nature than people sometimes. For Joker it's more figurative but for Superman...well he's a super-powerful alien. Joker's pretty alien in his chaotic disposition and unpredictability, and his utter mystery of backstory.
I think it requires some piecing together. Superman and Lex Luthor represent mostly Lawful Good and Evil Respectively(though that's debatable), while Bats and Joker operate outside of the law.
Maybe Joker is like a complete antithesis to Superman. The Lawful all powerful alien, vs the powerless but unbound human who is far removed from any sanity.
I treat all living things equally. That is to say, I eat all living thingsYou could make the point that they are both "pure". There's no motivation for their behaviour outside it just being who they are.
Superman helps people because he likes to help. It's not vengeance, or angst or guilt. He'd be volunteering in a homeless shelter if he had any free time.
And the Joker has no Freudian Excuse, not really. He's not out for greed or power or revenge. He's just bad.
In the hands of bad writers, they are both just flat but shine when someone gets it.
Well, Superman is the alien who is incredibly human, while Joker is the human who acts all too alien. That and, while Luthor can seem to be Superman's reminder that of the darkness in man, at least he has a redeeming human aspect to him, in that he will do good from time to time. Joker would only do good if he could get a laugh out of it (and good just isn't funny to him).
The main theme in Supes vs Luthor is altruism vs. greed. Supes was handed pretty awesome powers and uses them to help people. Luthor had to work for everything he has but now that he has it he's only interested in hurting people to further his own ends.
Bats makes a good foil for Luthor because shows you can be a successful human "super-human" without being a psychopath. It empathizes that Luthor's problem is his greed, not his lack of meta-human abilities.
One of the main themes in Batman vs. Joker is Order vs. Chaos. Batman is trying to keep Gotham "working" and bringing out the good in people. Joker is trying to promote a base anarchy and bring out the worst in people. (I.e. Killing Joke Gordon.)
So, what is Supes's relationship with Chaos? I'm not really sure he has one. Kingdom Come and Injustice suggest that Supes can't handle chaos but that seems like a cope out to me. Joker isn't any more prepared for Superman than Batman is for Anti-Flash. No one can be prepared for all scenarios.
I honestly think Luthor is a better foil for Joker since Luthor depends on elaborate plans.
Luthor and Batman being similar is a coincidence. Luthor was not conceived as a billionaire industrialist; he was just a criminal genius. Batman was a billionaire from the start.
Please help out our The History Of Video Games page.i can think of one similarity between Supes and Joker: both are darn near impossible to kill.
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
I think the idea of Supes and Joker being pure in a way works. Both do what they do because they can, and because they enjoy it.
And with that note, and this thread I present this.![]()
edited 30th Apr '13 6:10:34 PM by Handsomerob
One Strip! One Strip!

Now here's a comparison that people don't seem to talk about as much. Superman and Batman are Shadow Archetypes, Superman/Lex Luthor and Batman/Joker are Arch-Enemies, and Batman has a fair number of parallels with Luthor as well; the two are opposites in business perspectives, defined by their intelligence and of course the ways they constrast Superman.
So is there a way we can compare Superman and Joker? It seems like an utterly pointless comparison, it's not like every character needs some relationship, but I just thought it was worth trying out, just for fun
I treat all living things equally. That is to say, I eat all living things