Who is the Joker? For those who are not good at comics

Joker - Character History

Joker (character)

Art by Alex Ross
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance: Batman #1 (April 25, 1940)
Created
Bill Finger
Bob Kane
Jerry Robinson

Capabilities

• Criminal mastermind
• Experienced Chemist
• Uses military-grade props and toxins

The Joker is a fictional supervillain created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson who first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book Batman (April 25, 1940) published by DC Comics. The rights to create the Joker are disputed; Kane and Robinson took credit for the Joker's design, acknowledging the contributions of Finger's writing. Although the Joker was planned to be destroyed during his initial appearance, he was spared editorial intervention by allowing the character to endure as the arch-enemy of the superhero Batman.

One of the majority cult characters In popular culture, the Joker has been listed among the greatest comic book villains and fictional characters ever created. The character's popularity has seen him appear on a variety of merchandise such as clothing and collectibles, inspire real-life structures (such as theme park attractions), and be referenced in many media. The Joker has been adapted to serve as Batman's adversary in live-action film, animated, and video game incarnations, including the 1960s Batman television series (played by Cesar Romero) and in Jack Nicholson's film The Batman (1989), Heath Ledger's The Dark Knight (2008) , and Jared Leto in Suicide Squad (2016). Mark Hamill, Troy Baker and others provided the character's voice.

Creation and development

1940 sketch of Jerry Robinson's character (left behind) The Joker. (correct) Actor Conrad Veidt in character as Gwynplaine in The Man Who Laughs (1928). Veidt's grinning visage inspired the Joker's design.

Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson are credited with creating the Joker, but their accounts of the character's concept differ, each providing his own version of events. Finger, Kane, and Robinson's versions acknowledge that Finger produced actor Conrad Veidt's portrayal of the character as Gwynplaine (a man with a disfigured face, giving him an endless grin) in the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs as the inspiration for the Joker's appearance, and Robinson produced the play's sketch Joker cards (right).

Robinson claimed that it was his 1940 map sketch that served as the character's concept, and which Finger associated Veidt's image. Kane hired 17-year-old Robinson as an assistant in 1939, after he saw Robinson wearing a white jacket decorated with his own illustrations. Starting out as a letterer and background inker, Robinson quickly became the primary artist for the newly created Batman comic book series. In a 1975 interview in The Wonderful World of DC Comics, Robinson said he wanted a supreme arch-villain who could test Batman, but not a typical crime lord or gangster, designed to be easy to locate.

He wanted an exotic, enduring character as an ongoing source of conflict for Batman (similar to the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty), designing a devilishly sinister-but-buffoonish villain. Robinson was intrigued by villains; his studies at Columbia University taught him that some characters are made up of contradictions, leading to the Joker's sense of humor. He said the name came first, accompanied by an image of a deck playing card he often had on hand: "I wanted someone visually exciting.

I wanted someone who would leave a lasting impression, would be quirky, would be memorable like the Hunchback of Notre Dame or any of the other villains who had unique physical attributes. “He told Finger about his concept over the phone, later providing character sketches and images of what would become his iconic Joker playing card design. Finger thought the concept was incomplete, ensuring Veidt's image with a terrible, permanent mouth-hole grin.

Kane countered that Robinson's sketch was produced only after Finger had already shown the Gwynplaine image to Kane, and that it was only used as a card design owned by the Joker in his early appearances. Finger said he was also inspired by an image at Steeplechase Park in Coney Island, which resembled a Joker head he sketched and later shared with future publishing director Carmine Infantino. In a 1994 interview with journalist Frank Lowes, Kane stated his position:

Bill Finger and I created the Joker. Bill was a writer. Jerry Robinson came to me with a Joker playing card. That's the way I sum it up. The Joker] looks like Conrad Veidt – you know, the actor in The Man Who Laughs, the 1928 movie based on the novel] by Victor Hugo…. Bill Finger had a book with a photo of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, 'Here's the Joker.' Jerry Robinson had absolutely nothing to do with him, but he will always say that he created him until he dies. He brought in the playing card that we used for several problems for him Joker] to use as his playing card.

Robinson credited himself, Thumb and Kane to create the Joker. He said he created the character as Batman's unlikely nemesis when additional stories were quickly needed for Batman No. and he received history credit in a college course:

At that first meeting when I showed them the Joker sketch, Bill said it reminded him of Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs. This was the first mention of him... Bob himself can acknowledge him, we all played a role in him. The concept was mine. Bill completed that first script from my outline of the person and what should happen in the first story. He wrote the script for it, so he really was a co-creator, and Bob and I did the visuals, so Bob was too.

Although Kane adamantly refused to share credit for many of his characters (and denied Robinson's claim until Kane's death), many comic historians credit Robinson with creating the Joker and Thumb with character development. By 201 Thumb, Kane and Robinson had died, leaving the story unresolved.

Golden age

The Joker debuted in Batman #1 (1940) as the first villain of the same name, shortly after Batman's debut in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The Joker originally appeared as a ruthless serial killer, modeled after the Joker playing card with a bleak grin, who killed his victims with "Joker Venom": a toxin that left their faces smiling in a grotesque manner. the character was intended to be killed off in his second appearance in Batman No. by being stabbed in the heart. Finger wanted the Joker to die due to his concern that recurring villains would make Batman seem unsuitable, but was overruled by then-editor Whitney Ellsworth; a hastily drawn panel, indicating that the Joker was still alive, was added to the comedian. The Joker went on to appear in nine of the first twelve Batman issues.

The character's regular appearances quickly established him as the archenemy of the dynamic duo, Batman and Robin; he killed dozens of people, and even derailed a train. By issue #13, Kane's work on the syndicated Batman strip left him with little time for comics; artist Dick Sprang took over his duties, and editor Jack Schiff collaborated with Finger on the stories. At the same time, DC Comics found it easier to sell his stories to children without the more mature pulp elements that spawned many superhero comics. During this period, the first changes to the Joker began to appear, portraying him more as the Joker than a threat; when he kidnaps Robin, Batman pays the ransom by check, implying that the Joker cannot exchange it for money without being arrested. Comics writer Mark Waid suggests that the 1942 story "The Joker's Walk, The Last Mile" was the starting point for the character's transformation into a goofier incarnation, a period that Grant Morrison believed would last the next thirty years.

The 1942 cover of Detective Comics #69, known as "Double Gun" (with the Joker emerging from a genie's lamp, aiming two guns at Batman and Robin), is considered one of the largest Golden Age superhero comic covers and the only depiction of the character using a traditional weapon . Robinson said other modern villains used guns, and the creative team wanted the Joker - as Batman's adversary - to be more resourceful.

silver Age

The Joker was one of several popular villains continuing to appear regularly in Batman comics from the Golden Age into the Silver Age, as the series continued during the rise in popularity of mystery and romance comics. In 1951, Thumb wrote an origin story for the Joker in Detective Comics No. 168, which introduced the feature of him formerly being the criminal Red Hood and his acquiring a physical defect the result of a fall into a chemical vat.

By 1954, the Comics Code Authority was established in response to increasing public disapproval of comic book content. The backlash was inspired by Frederick Wertham, who hypothesized that the means mass media(especially comic books) were responsible for increasing juvenile delinquency, violence, and homosexuality, especially among young men. Parents banned their children from reading comics, and there were several mass arson attacks. The Comics Code banned gore, innuendo and excessive violence, stripping Batman of his menace and transforming the Joker into a stupid, thieving trickster without his original homicidal tendencies.

The character appeared less often after 1964, when Julius Schwartz (who disliked the Joker) became editor of Batman comics. The character risked becoming a vague indicator of a previous era until this goofy version of the Joker character was adapted into the 1966 television series Batman, in which he was played by Cesar Romero. The popularity of the show led Schwartz to keep the comics in the same vein. While the show's popularity has waned, however, so have those of the Batman comics. After the series ended in 1968, increased public visibility did not stop the comedian's sales decline; Publishing director Carmine Infantino decided to turn things around, moving the stories away from school-friendly adventures. The Silver Age introduced several of the Joker's defining character traits: lethal joy horns, acid-squirting flowers, trick guns, and stupid, elaborate crimes.

Bronze Age

Cover Batman #251 (September 1973), featuring "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge", which returned the Joker to his murderous roots. Art by Neal Adams.

In 1973, after disappearing for four years, the Joker was revived (and revised) by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams. Beginning with Batman #251's "Five-Path Revenge of the Joker", the character returns to his roots as an impulsive, homicidal maniac who matches wits with Batman. This story started a trend in which the Joker was used, sparingly, as the central character. O'Neill said his idea was to "just take it back to where it started. I went to the DC library and read some early stories. I tried to get a sense of what Kane and Thumb were after." O'Neill's 1973 Run introduced the idea of ​​the Joker being legally insane to explain why the character is sent to Arkham Asylum (introduced by O'Neill in 1974 as Arkham Asylum) instead of prison. Adams altered the Joker's appearance, giving him a larger-than-average figure, elongating his jaw, and making him taller and leaner.

DC Comics was a hotbed of experimentation during the 1970s, and in 1975 the character became the first villain to feature as the title character in the comic book series, the Joker. the series followed the character's interactions with other supervillains, and the first issue was written by O'Neill. The stories balanced between emphasizing the Joker's criminality and making him a likable protagonist that readers could root for. Although he killed thugs and civilians, he never fought Batman.

This made the Joker a series in which the villainy of the character prevailed over rival villains instead of a fight between good and evil, as the Comics Code Authority mandated punishment for the villains, each issue ending with the Joker being arrested, limiting the scope of each story. The series never found an audience, and Joker was canceled after nine issues (despite advertising a "next issue" for an appearance by the Justice League). The complete series became difficult to obtain over time, often commanding high prices from collectors. In 2013, DC Comics republished the series as a graphic novel.

When Genette Kahn became DC editor in 1976, she rebuilt the company's struggling titles; during her tenure, the Joker would become one of DC's most popular characters. While O'Neill and Adams' work were critically acclaimed, writer Steve Englehart and penciller Marshall Rogers ran an eight-issue run in Detective Comics #471-476 (August 1977 - April 1978) have defined the Joker for decades to come with stories emphasizing the character's madness.

In "The Laughing Fish", the Joker disfigures a fish with a mouth-hole grin reminiscent of his own (anticipating copyright protection) and is unable to understand that copyrighting a natural resource is legally impossible. Englehart and Rogers' work on the series influenced the 1989 film Batman and were adapted into 1992's Batman: The Animated Series. Rogers elaborated on Adams' character design, featuring the Joker with a fedora and trench coat. Englehart outlined in general outline how he understood the character, saying that the Joker "was this very crazy, scary character. I really wanted to go back to the idea of ​​Batman fighting mad killers at 3:00 under full moon like clouds destroyed."

Nowadays

In the years following the end of the 1966 television series, Batman's sales continued to decline and the title was almost cancelled. Although the 1970s re-established the Joker as Batman's mad, lethal adversary, it was during the 1980s that the Batman series began to turn around and the Joker achieved recognition as part of the "medieval" era of comics: mature tales of death and destruction. The change was ridiculed for moving away from tame superheroes (and villains), but comic audiences were no longer primarily children.

Months after Crisis on Infinite Earths began the era, killing off Silver Age icons such as the Flash and Supergirl and undoing decades of continuity, Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (1986) re-imagined Batman as an older retired hero and the Joker as a lipstick-wearing celebrity who cannot function without his adversary. The late 1980s saw the Joker exert a significant influence on Batman and his supporting cast. In the 1988–89 story arc "A Death in the Family", the Joker kills Batman's sidekick (the second Robin, Jason Todd). Todd was unpopular with fans; rather than changing his character, DC decided to let them vote on his fate, and the 28-vote plurality had the Joker beat Todd to death with a crowbar.

This story changed the Batman universe: instead of killing anonymous witnesses, the Joker killed a major character in Batman fiction; this had a lasting effect on future stories. Written at the height of tensions between the United States and Iran, the story's conclusion had Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini appoint the Joker as his country's ambassador to the United Nations (allowing him to temporarily escape justice).

Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's 1988 graphic novel The Deadly Joke expands on the Joker's origins, describing the character as a failed comedian who takes on the identity of Red Hood to support his pregnant wife. Unlike The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke takes place in the mainstream continuity . the novel is described by critics as one of the greatest Joker stories ever written, influencing later comic stories (including then-Batgirl Barbara Gordon's forced retirement after she is paralyzed by the Joker) and films such as 1989's Batman and 2008's The Dark Knight Grant Morrison's 1989 Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth explores the psychosis of Batman, the Joker and other rogues in the eponymous vehicle.

The 1992 animated series introduced a female sidekick to the Joker: Harley Quinn, a psychiatrist who falls in love with—and ends up in an abusive relationship with—the Joker, becoming his supervillain accomplice. The character was popular, and was adapted into comics as the Joker's romantic interest in 1999. That same year, Alan Grant and Norm Breifogle's comic Anarky came to the conclusion with the discovery that the titular character was the Joker's son. Breifogle conceived the idea as a means to expand on Anarky's characterization, but O'Neill (by then the editor for the Batman series of books) was opposed to it, and only allowed it to be written under protest, and with the promise that the discovery would eventually be revealed wrong. However, the Anarky series was canceled before a retraction could be published.

The Joker's first major storyline in the New 52, ​​DC Comics' 2011 reboot of the story continuity, was 2012's "Death of the Family" by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capallo. The story arc explores the symbiotic relationship between the Joker and Batman, and sees the villain destroy the trust between Batman and his adopted family. Capallo's Joker design replaced his traditional outfit with a pragmatic, dirty, and tousled appearance to convey that the character was on a mission; his face (surgically removed in 2011's Detective Comics #1) was reattached with belts, wires and hooks, and he was outfitted with a mechanic's jumpsuit. The Joker's face was restored in Snyder and Capallo's Endgame (2014), the final chapter to Death of the Family.

Biography of the Joker character DC comics

The Joker has undergone many revisions since its 1940 debut. The most common interpretation of the character is that he disguises himself as the criminal Red Hood and is being pursued by Batman. The Joker falls into a vat of chemicals that bleaches his skin, dyes his hair green and his lips red, and drives him insane. The reasons why the Joker was disguised as Red Hood and his identity before his transformation have varied over time.

The character was introduced in Batman #1 (1940), in which he announces that he will kill three of Gotham's prominent citizens (including Mayor Henry Claridge). Although the police protect Claridge, the Joker poisons him before making his announcement, and Claridge dies with a terrible grin on his face; Batman ultimately defeats him, putting him in prison. The Joker commits bizarre, brutal crimes for reasons that, in Batman's words, "make sense to him." Detective Comics #168 (1951) introduced the Joker's first origin story as Red Hood: a criminal who, during his final heist, disappears after jumping into a vat of chemicals to escape Batman. His resulting acquisition of a physical defect led him to take the name "Joker", from a playing card it is believed he came to remind. the Silver Age transformation of the Joker into an object of ridicule was established in 1952's "The Joker's Millions".

In this story, the Joker is obsessed with maintaining his illusion of wealth and celebrity as a criminal folk hero afraid to let the citizens of Gotham know that he is poor and has been cheated out of his fortune. The 1970s redefined the character as a murderous psychopath. "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" has the Joker taking violent revenge on the former gang members who betrayed him; "The Laughing Fish" has the character chemically add his face to Gotham's fish (hoping to profit from the copyright) by killing bureaucrats who stand in his way.

Batman: The Killing Joke (1988) was based on the 1951 origin story of the Joker, portraying him as a failed comedian who is pressured into committing a crime as Red Hood in order to support his pregnant wife. Batman's intervention causes him to jump into a chemical vat, which disfigures him. This, combined with the trauma of his wife's earlier accidental death, causes him to go crazy and become the Joker. However, Joker says that this story may not be true and prefers his past to be a "varied choice." In this graphic novel, the Joker shoots and paralyzes Barbara Gordon and tortures her father, Commissioner James Gordon, to prove that it only takes one bad day to lead. normal person crazy.

After Batman rescues Gordon and subdues the Joker, he offers to rehabilitate his old foe and end their rivalry. Although the Joker refuses, he shows his gratitude by sharing a prank with Batman. After the self-mutilation of Barbara's character, she became a more important character in the DC Universe: Oracle, a data miner informant and superhero who has her revenge on Birds of Prey by destroying the Joker's teeth and ruining his smile.

In the 1988 story "A Death in the Family", the Joker hits Jason Todd with a crowbar and leaves him to die in an explosion. Todd's death haunts Batman, and for the first time he considers killing the Joker. The Joker temporarily escapes justice when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appoints him Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, giving him diplomatic immunity. However, when he attempts to poison the UN membership, he is defeated by Batman and Superman.

In the main storyline 1999's No Man's Land The Joker kills Commissioner Gordon's second wife, Sarah, as she shields a group of babies. He taunts Gordon, who shoots him in the kneecap. The Joker, lamenting that he may never walk again, dies laughing when he realizes that the Commissioner was taking revenge for Barbara's paralysis. This story also introduced the Joker's girlfriend, Harley Quinn.

The 2000s began with the crossover story "Emperor Joker", in which the Joker steals the reality-altering power of Mister Mxyzptlk and remakes the universe in his image (torturing and killing Batman daily before reviving him). When the supervillain then tries to destroy the universe, his reluctance to eliminate Batman causes him to lose control and Superman defeats him. Broken by his experience, the events of Batman's death are transferred to Superman by the Specter so he can heal mentally.

In "Joker's Last Laugh" (2001), doctors at Arkham Asylum convince the character that he is dying in an attempt to rehabilitate him. Instead, the Joker (between an army of "Jokerized" supervillains) begins the final crime spree. Believing that Robin (Tim Drake) was killed in the chaos, Dick Grayson beats the Joker to death (although Batman revives his opponent to keep Grayson from being the killer) and the character succeeds in getting a member of the Bat-Family to break their rule against murder .

In "Under the Hood" (2005), a revived Todd attempts to force Batman to avenge his death by killing the Joker. Batman refuses, claiming that if he allows himself to kill the Joker, he will not be able to stop killing other criminals. The Joker kills Alexander Luthor in Infinite Crisis (2005) to expel him from the Secret Society of Super Villains, which deems him too unpredictable for membership. In Morrison's Batman and Son (2006), the deranged policeman who impersonates Batman shoots the Joker in the face , scratching and maiming him. The supervillain returns in Clown at Midnight (2007) as a brutal, mysterious force who awakens and attempts to kill Harley Quinn to prove to Batman that he has become more than human. The 2008 story forms the arc "Batman R.I.P." "

The Joker is recruited by the Black Glove to destroy Batman, but betrays the group, killing its members one by one. After Batman's near-death experience in "Final Crisis" (2008), Grayson investigates a series of murders (which leads him to the Joker in disguise). The Joker is arrested and then Robin Damian Wayne hits him with a crowbar, finding something similar to Todd's murder. As the Joker escapes, he attacks the Black Glove, burying its leader Simon Hurt alive after the supervillain considers him a failure as an opponent; The Joker is then defeated by the newly returned Batman.

In DC's New 52, ​​the 2011 reboot of his post-Flashpoint titles, the Joker has his face cut off. He disappears for a year, returning to launch an attack on Batman's extended family in "Death of the Family", so he and Batman can be the best hero and villain they can be. At the end of the storyline, the Joker falls off a cliff into a dark abyss. The Joker returns in the 2014 "Endgame" storyline, in which he brainwashes the Justice League into attacking Batman, believing that he betrayed their relationship. The story implies That the Joker is immortal - having existed for centuries in Gotham as the cause of tragedy after exposure to a substance the Joker calls 'dionesium' - and is able to recover from mortal wounds. "Endgame" restores the Joker's face, and also reveals that he knows Batman's secret identity. the story ends clinical deaths Batman and Joker in each other's arms.

Origin of the Joker

“They gave a lot of the origin of the Joker, how he turned out. It doesn't seem to matter - as he does now. I never intended to explain his appearance. We discussed it and BillFinger and I never wanted to change it at the time. I thought - and he agreed - that this removed some of the essential mystery."

Although many backstories have been given, a definitive one has not yet been established for the Joker. An unreliable narrator, the character is ambiguous about who he was before and how he became the Joker: "Sometimes I remember him one way, sometimes another...if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be a varied choice!" "The Joker's origin story appeared in Detective Comics #168 (February 1951), nearly a decade after the character's debut. Here, the character is a lab worker who becomes Red Hood (a masked criminal) to steal a million dollars from his employer and retire. He ends up in a vat of chemical waste when his robbery is thwarted by Batman, who appears with bleached white skin, red lips, green hair and a permanent grin.

This story was the basis for the most often cited origin story, Moore's one-shot The Killing Joke. The Joker quits his job as a Lab assistant, becoming a stand-up comedian to support his pregnant wife. Unsuccessful, he agrees to help the bandits with the robbery and dons the Red Hood. The robbery gets confused; the comedian jumps into a chemical vat to escape Batman, emerging disfigured. This, combined with the earlier accidental death of his wife and unborn child, drives the comedian insane and he becomes the Joker.

This version has been cited in many stories, including Batman: The Man Who Laughs (in which Batman deduces that Red Hood survived his fall and became the Joker), Batman #450 (in which the Joker dons Red Hood to aid his recovery from the events in Deaths in the Family, but finds the experience too traumatic), and “Death of the Family.” Other stories have elaborated on this origin;" Pushback" explains that the Joker's wife was killed by a corrupt cop working for mobsters, and "Payback" gives the Joker's name as "Jack".

However, the Joker's unreliable memory allowed writers to develop a different origin for the character. "Case Study", Paul DiniAlex Rossitorie, describes the Joker as a sadistic gangster who creates the Red Hood identity to continue thrill petty crime. He has his fateful first meeting with Batman, which leads to him acquiring a physical defect. It is suggested that the Joker be sane, and feign insanity to avoid death penalty. In Batman Confidential (#7–12), the character, Jack, is a talented criminal who is bored with his job. He encounters (and becomes obsessed with) Batman during a robbery, embarking on a crime spree to get his attention.

After Jack injures Batman's girlfriend, Jack scars Batman's face with a permanent grin and betrays him to a group of bandits who torture him in a chemical plant. Jack escapes, but ends up in an empty vat as gunfire punctures the chemical tanks above him. A flood of chemicals (used in antipsychotic medication) changes his appearance and completes his transformation. The superhero Atom sees the Joker's memory of burning his parents alive (after they find him killing animals) in The Brave and the Bold #3, and Snyder's Zero Year (2013) suggests that the pre-mutilated Joker was the criminal mastermind leading the gang Red Hoods.

The Joker has stated many origins, including being the child of an abusive father who broke his nose and a long-lived buffoon of an Egyptian pharaoh. As Batman says, "Like any other comedian, he uses whatever material will work."

Alternate versions of the Joker

Many alternate universes in DC Comics publications allow writers to introduce variations on the Joker in which the character's origins, behavior and morals differ from the mainstream setting. The Dark Knight Returns depicts the final battle between an aged Batman and the Joker; others depict the aftermath of the Joker's death at the hands of many characters, including Superman. Still others describe distant futures in which the Joker is a computer virus or a hero trying to defeat the era's tyrannical Batman. In some stories, the Joker is someone else entirely; "Flashpoint" features Batman's mother Martha Wayne as the Joker in response to her son's murder, and in Superman: Bullets Flying Lex Luthor becomes the Joker in a world where Superman is Batman.

Characteristics

Known as Batman's greatest enemy, the Joker is known by many nicknames, including the Clown Prince of Crime, the Jester of Genocide, the Harlequin of Hatred and the Ace of Dodgers. During the development of the DC Universe, interpretations and versions of the Joker have taken two forms. The original, dominant image is that of an extreme psychopath, with a genius-level intellect and a warped, sadistic sense of humor. Another version, popular in comics from the late 940s to the 960s and in the 960s television series, is the eccentric, harmless Joker and thief.

Like other long-lasting characters, the Joker's character and cultural interpretations have changed over time, however, unlike other characters who may have to accommodate or ignore previous versions to make sense, more than any other comic book character, the Joker thrives on his changeable and contradictory personalities. The Joker is typically seen wearing a purple suit with a long tail, padded shoulder jacket, ribbon tie, gloves, striped pants and spats on sharp pointe shoes (sometimes with a wide-brimmed hat). This appearance is such a fundamental aspect of the character that when the 2004 Batman animated series placed the Joker in straitjacket, this quickly redesigned him into his familiar suit.

The Joker is obsessed with Batman, the pair representing the yang of the opposition against the dark and light force; although it is the Joker who represents humor and color and Batman who lives in the dark. Murder, theft and terrorism, no crime outside of the Joker, and his deeds - theatrical performance, which are funny to him alone. Spectacle is more important than success to the Joker, and if it's not exciting, it's boring. Although the Joker demands indifference to everything, he secretly craves Batman's attention and validation.

The character was described as having killed over 2,000 people in Joker: The Devil's Advocate (996). Despite this body count, he is always found not guilty due to insanity and sent to Arkham Asylum, avoiding the death penalty. Many of the Joker's actions attempt to force Batman to kill; if the most organized and self-governing of people can kill, anyone is capable of becoming a monster like the Joker. The villain shows no instinct for self-preservation and is willing to die to prove his point. The Joker is "the personification of an irrational number" and represents "everything that Batman stands against."

Individuality

Joker co-creator Jerry Robinson in 2008; he conceived of the Joker as an exotic, resilient arch-villain who could repeatedly challenge Batman.

The Joker's main characteristic is his apparent insanity, although he is not described as having a specific psychological disorder. Like a psychopath, he lacks empathy, conscience and concern for right and wrong. In Serious House on Serious Earth, the Joker is described as being capable of processing non-sensory information only by adapting to it. This allows him to create a new personality every day (depending on what would benefit him), and explains why he is a mischievous clown or a psychopathic killer at various times. In "Clown at Midnight" (Batman #663, 2007), the Joker enters a meditative state where he evaluates his previous self to consciously create a new personality, effectively changing himself for his needs.

The Deadly Joke (in which the Joker is an unreliable narrator) explains the roots of his madness as "one bad day": losing his wife and unborn child and being disfigured by chemicals, finding something similar to Batman's origins in the loss of his parents. He tries (and fails) to prove that anyone can become like him after one bad day by tormenting Commissioner Gordon, physically and psychologically. Batman offers to rehabilitate his opponent; The Joker apologetically shrinks away, believing that it is too late for him to be saved.

Other interpretations show that the Joker is fully aware of how his actions affect others and that his madness is simply an act. Comics scholar Peter Coogan describes the Joker as attempting to bend reality to fit himself, superimposing his face on his victims (and fish) in an attempt to make the world understandable, creating a twisted parody of himself. Englehart's "The Laughing Fish" demonstrates the illogical nature of the character: trying to copyright the fish that bear his face, and not understanding why threatening the copyright clerk cannot achieve the desired result.

The Joker is alternatively depicted as sexual and asexual. In Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth, the Joker seduces Batman; it's questionable whether their relationship has homoerotic overtones or if the Joker is simply trying to control his nemesis. Frank Miller interpreted the character as fixed on death and uninterested in sexual relationships, while Robinson believes the Joker is capable of romantic relationships. His relationship with Harley Quinn is offensively paradoxical; although the Joker keeps her on his side, he inadvertently harms her (such as by throwing her window without seeing if she survives). Harley loves him, but the Joker does not reciprocate her feelings, reproaching her for distracting him from other plans.

"Snyder's Death of the Family" depicts the Joker as loving Batman, although not in a traditionally romantic way. The Joker believes that Batman didn't kill him because he makes Batman better, and he loves the villain for that. Batman comic book writer Peter Tomasi agreed, saying that the Joker's main goal is to make Batman the best he can be. The Joker and Batman represent opposites: the extroverted Joker wears bright clothes and embraces chaos, while the introverted, monochromatic Batman represents order and discipline. The Joker is often portrayed as defining his existence through his conflict with Batman.

In "Move 994 Normal", the villain tries to lead a normal life after Batman's (apparent) death, only to become his old self again when Batman reappears; in "Emperor Joker", the apparently all-powerful Joker cannot destroy Batman without canceling himself. Since the Joker is simply "The Joker", he believes that Batman is "Batman" (with or without the costume) and has no interest in what is behind Batman's mask, ignoring opportunities to learn Batman's secret identity. Given the opportunity to kill Batman , villain hesitation; he believes that without their performance, victory is meaningless. the character has no desire for typical criminal goals like money or power; his crime is designed only to continue his game with Batman.

The Joker is portrayed as having no fear; when fellow supervillain Scarecrow doses him with fear toxin in Knightfall (993), the Joker simply laughs and says, "Boo!" the villain was temporarily rendered normal by several means, including telepathic manipulation by Martian Manhunter and being revived in the restoration of life by Lazarus Pete (an experience typically causing temporary insanity in the subject). During these moments, the Joker is depicted as expressing remorse for his actions; however, during a medically induced period of partial sanity in Batman: Cacophony he tells his opponent: “I don't hate you 'cause I'm crazy. I'm crazy 'cause I hate you" and confirms that he will only stop killing when Batman is dead.

Joker Skills and Abilities

The Joker has no innate superhuman abilities. He commits crimes with a variety of military themed props such as a razor-tipped card playing deck, marble spins, Jack in the Box with nasty surprises and a cigar explosion capable of leveling a building. The flower in his lapel sprays acid, and his hand often holds a lethal joy buzzer, conducting a million volts of electricity, although both points were introduced in 952 as harmless joke points. However, his chemical genius provides his most famous weapon: the Joker's venom, liquid or gaseous a toxin that sends its targets into fits of uncontrollable laughter; higher doses can result in paralysis, coma or death, leaving its victim with a ghoulish, distressed grin at the mouth.

The Joker has used poison since his debut; only he knows the formula and is shown to be gifted enough to produce the toxin from common household chemicals. Another version of the poison (used in "The Joker's Last Laugh") causes its victims to resemble the Joker, susceptible to his orders. The villain is immune to the poison and most poisons; in Batman #663 (2007), Morrison writes that, being "an avid consumer of his own chemical experiments, the Joker's immunity to poison concoctions that might kill another person instantly was developed over years of ad hoc abuse. »

The character's arsenal is inspired by his nemesis' weaponry, such as batarangs. In "The Joker's Utility Belt" (952), he emulated Batman's utility belt with non-lethal items such as Mexican jumping beans and sneeze powder. In 942 "The Joker Follows Example", the villain built his versions of the Batplane and Batmobile, the Jokergyro and the Jokermobile (the latter with a large Joker face on its hood), and created a Joker signal with which criminals could call him for their robberies. The Jokermobile lasted for several decades, evolving with the Batmobile. His technical genius is not limited by practicality, allowing him to hijack Gotham's television airwaves to release threats, transform buildings into death traps, go on a gas offensive on the city, and rain poisoned glass shards on its citizens from the airship.

The Joker is portrayed as skilled in melee combat from his initial appearances, when he defeats Batman in a sword fight (almost killing him), and others when he overwhelms Batman but refuses to kill him. He is talented with firearms, although even his weapons are theatrical; his long-barreled revolver often fires a flag reading "Strike" and a second trigger pull starts the flag to pierce his target. Although formidable in battle, the Joker's greatest asset is his mind.

We all love conspiracies, theories and hidden details in films that can shed light on the true intentions of the creators. Surely you remember my sensational videos about film theories Batman v Superman, sage Star Wars, Matrix and Pixar cartoons, well, this time I’ll try to turn Christopher Nolan’s picture on its head - The Dark Knight, proving to you that the most main villain The movie isn't really the villain. In this video I will tell you that the Joker is the hero of Gotham City, so don't switch.

I’ll start by asking you to pay attention to the fact that I took the basis for this theory from Reddit, but reworked it from beginning to end, adding a lot of new things. You will find a link to the original theory in the description. Well, that's enough introductions, or, as they say - Cut The Crap, let's go.

As we know, the Joker is a manic psychopath who was the main villain of the filmChristopher Nolan - The Dark Knight, However, by the end of the film it becomes clear that behind all his chaotic villainy there is a clear and meticulously planned plan.

And if we consider this plan in detail, we understand that all his atrocities were in the name of a common good goal.He's like a cure for Gotham, which even though it had by-effect, but was able to cure him.

Gotham City is known to everyone as one of the most criminal cities in the DC universe, teeming with a variety of villains and living according to corruption schemes.

At the very beginning of the film, we learn that entire areas of the city are closed due to unrest, criminal activity and high level crime.And most officials and politicians are corrupt.The city authorities even turned a blind eye to the fact that a vigilante in a rubber suit was committing lynching in the city. Well, his suit is made of carbon fiber, but that doesn't change anything.

And in this dark time, a nameless character appears who calls himself Joe Kerr, which is certainly an anagram of the Joker and very a short time There are massive changes happening throughout Gotham.

Almost all organized crime has been eliminated, many of the corrupt top government officials are either dead or behind bars, and a vigilante in a rubber suit has been missing for 8 years.

And this is all part of the Joker's incredible plan. Let's take a closer look at it.

Despite the fact that the Joker claimed the opposite and was the embodiment of chaos and anarchy, we cannot help but notice that he did have a plan throughout the events of the film.

At the very beginning of the film, we see the Joker robbing a mafia-controlled bank, killing an entire team of real professional robbers hired by him. Firstly, in this way he instantly rids the city of a gang of dangerous robbers, and secondly, he gains access to the savings of the city’s influential mafia clans. But he does not pursue greedy and selfish goals - bloody money obtained by criminal means is contemptible for him, gaining access to mafia money further in the plot of the film, he sees no other way to wash off all the blood from it and therefore burns it. Before that, however, he executes the next part of his plan. This money helps him reach Lau and find his place of refuge.

However, Lau is in China, and China does not extradite its citizens, and here, according to the plan, Batman comes to the aid of the Joker. Who rushes to Hong Kong and rescues Lau.

Now Lau is in a safe place that the Joker can easily infiltrate. Which is exactly what he does, and with the help of Lau he goes to the head of the Chechen gang, kills their leader and takes control of it.

This, of course, is just part of the plot of the film, but then the Joker does everything right - he kills the main crime bosses and small corrupt officials who could cover up their large corrupt political leaders.

And although Dent argues that to cleanse the city of petty thugs you need to start from the political top, the Joker sees a long-term perspective for his method, eliminating puppets to get to
their puppeteers.

At this moment, three people are fighting for the soul of Gotham - Joker, Batman and Dent. However, the latter two only play roles in the Joker's larger plan.

With the help of Batman and Commissioner Gordon, the Joker manages to track down all the corrupt cops, and Dent even kills some of them at the end of the film.

Gordon's promotion also plays a big role for Gotham. Viewers of the film thought that the Joker's applause in the scene with Gordon's promotion was filled with sarcasm, but most likely the Joker truly believed in Jim, who was the only real man of honor and dignity.

Well, it turns out that now the Joker has dealt with the two main problems of Gotham - Organized Crime, depriving them of funds and killing their leaders and Corrupt Officials, but there remains one more - a mysterious vigilante in a bat suit who is committing lynching.

But why is Batman a problem if he is a hero who saved Gotham at the risk of his own life?

Well, as we borrow from the comics, not everyone approved of his methods, since his demonic image inspired fear not only among bandits. Many believed that Batman himself was the root of all evil and that it was because of him that there was a high crime rate in Gotham.

He was a myth, a legend that not everyone believed in, and for many thugs it was a kind of challenge, to become as big a threat to society as possible, to see the famous Dark Knight with their own eyes, and for some it was also an attempt to test their abilities. It was precisely this challenge to bandits that was the reason for the high crime rate.

The situation in the film is similar. We learn early on that Batman has inspired other crime fighters to mete out justice, which is naturally not acceptable in a civil society. Therefore, this symbol of fear, unbridled cruelty and retribution, which inspires new crimes and the fight against them, as the Joker sees it, must be stopped, but not killed. If he dies, he will instantly become a martyr and this symbol will take on even greater meaning.

However, the Light Knight - Harvey Dent - was definitely a symbol for the inhabitants of Gotham, and after death he would have been an even greater martyr and his truly good goals and ideals would have become saints for the city.

Although it remains a mystery how the Joker managed to change Harvey's mind so much, it is obvious that he influenced his psyche through a series of events in the film, namely the explosion at the factory and the death of his lover. The Joker deliberately misdirected Batman to save Harvey. These terrible torments from the loss of his beloved and self-hatred for being alive, together with such frightening injuries that completely changed his appearance, could drive him crazy, forcing him to follow the path of vengeance. However, the loss of Rachel also affected Batman, because he was also in love with her and such a psychological shock was able to break the basic principle of the Dark Knight, forcing him to kill Dent. This was able to break him and force him to hide for many years, remaining only an urban myth of Gotham until the events of Return of the Legend.

Revival of the Legend show us the events that occurred 8 years after Batman's disappearance. All these years the city lived in peace and security and did not need a punishing hero, well, until Bane appeared. The Joker managed to show Batman the errors of his methods through his own methods, causing quite a bit of destruction along the way.

Even the scene with two boats at the very end of the film serves one purpose - to show that the people of Gotham City will not harm each other. Joker managed to prove that in the heart of this city, saturated with crime and crime, goodness and hope still live.

In the end, Gotham was completely cleansed. And this is not the merit of Harvey, who died before he did anything really good, except that he became a martyr and a symbol of the city. And not even the merit of Batman, who was expelled from society as a notorious criminal for 8 years.

Gotham was cleansed by the Joker, who managed to expose corrupt police officers and senior officials, destroy organized crime by bankrupting its treasury and removing the leaders of the groups, raise the spirit of the city by giving it a symbol in the form of the martyr Dent, and even rid it of the flying punisher who violated the principles of the legal civil society by organizing lynching and inspiring others to commit crimes.

It is also noteworthy that among the deleted scenes of the film there is one that could shed light on his true motives at the very beginning of the film. Judging by the words of the filmmakers, a very touching scene was cut from the final version, in which the Joker, before being picked up by his partners, met an elderly woman who was trying to cross the road next to him. The Joker wanted to push her under the wheels of a bus rushing along the road and had already raised his hands to do this. However, at the last moment he stopped, took a hundred dollar bill out of his pocket and gave it to her. This scene could show us a symbolic struggle between his two essences, a dangerous and unpredictable psychopath and a good Samaritan - in which the second one won.

It is also noteworthy that Heath Ledger, the actor who played the Joker, created his behavior model almost from scratch using the hyena behavior model as a basis. We can pay attention to his appearance - he was specially made to look like an unkempt homeless man, who has a characteristic laughing grin and timbre of voice. There really is an external resemblance to a hyena, she also wanders through the desert in search of carrion, like a tramp rummaging through a garbage dump, her evil grin looks like a crazy smile and even her howl sounds like laughter. Hyenas have always symbolized evil and deceit, and it seems that in this film the Joker, like a hyena, is the same symbol of evil, but this is wrong. The fact is that in nature the hyena does not personify evil, but quite the opposite, the hyena is the orderly of the savannah. She rids the savannah fauna of the viruses of sick animals and the bacteria of decaying carrion, committing moderate evil in the name of a common good goal - the well-being of the entire habitat in which they live. This is remarkably similar to the Joker's pattern of behavior - by committing moderate crimes, mainly choosing criminals or corrupt officials as his victims, he rid all of Gotham of the spreading infection of crime.

And this was precisely the main plan of the Joker, who, as befits a real hero, did not require recognition and remained one of the most dangerous criminals for the city. A real hero does not require applause and approval, he does not even need a name. After all, the main phrase of the entire trilogy is: “Everyone can be a hero.” And perhaps we are talking about the Joker as well.

That's why Joker is the hero this city doesn't need, but the one it deserves.

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Most people in the CIS countries know this character only from the film “Batman” (1989), where he was brilliantly embodied by Jack Nicholson. Many believe that the supervillain clown outshone everyone, including the main character, and found himself at the center of Tim Burton's sci-fi blockbuster thanks to the amazing performance of the three-time Oscar winner; some even accused the actor of “stealing the picture” and “pulling the blanket over himself.” In fact, that's not the trick - it's the character's character itself. It has always been this way - or almost always.
No matter what modern cultural scientists say, the mass culture of the 20th and (already) 21st centuries provides many more opportunities for myth-making than at any other time. Now, more than ever, a mythological hero, an archetypal embodiment of Evil or Good, can exist in a hundred different forms (in films, television series, cartoons, computer games, etc.), which complement and reject, correspond and contradict each other, but nevertheless, they create in the mass consciousness a single - at the same time one-dimensional and multifaceted, artificial and living, impossible and reliable - truly mythological image. This creation, existing in the imagination of its authors and consumers, is projected in a special way onto each era, into each type of art and each author’s concept, becoming a reflection of the ideas and trends of the time.
The purpose (let me call it that) of the study posted on this site is to illustrate the development of one character popular culture for more than six decades, rather than simply listing the “exploits” of a villain who never existed. I just want to first warn the faint of heart: HE IS NOT EXACTLY THE SWEET MAN THAT NICHOLSON PICTURED ON THE SCREEN.

Note: the following description concerns primarily the Joker in the comic book source and in a number of points (this will be mentioned separately) contradicts the plot and interpretation of the character in Tim Burton's film.

Name: The Joker. Real name unknown.
Also known as: Jack Napier, Jason Reapan, Johnny Trape, Joseph Kerr, Tromp Mercury, Johnny Jape, Slappy, Red Hood, Mr. Genesius, Sir Reginald Harlequin, J. Columbine, H. A. Laughlin, etc., etc.
Place of residence: Gotham City. He spends most of his time in the Arkham psychiatric hospital for criminals.
Occupation: Career criminal.
Weight: 86 kg.
Height: 189 cm.
Eyes: Green.
Hair: Green.
External signs: White skin; ruby lips, forever stretched into a wide smile; long nose, elongated chin.
Voice: Tenor (when not screaming at a high pitch). He knows how to perfectly manipulate his voice, putting his victims into an almost hypnotic state or scaring them to death.

Age: Somewhere from 35 to 45 years. Like all comic characters, he does not age. One American fan scoured all the comics to find out the Joker's date of birth, and in the end, in some roundabout way, found out that it was around the end of February 1955. (Ha-ha. In comics, the Joker has been active since 1940. Problem!) The guy was incredibly happy, since he himself was born on February 20th.

Sexual orientation: Hetero. Claims that he was married and that his wife died in an accident. He sincerely rejoices when he has to deal with female opponents (which does not prevent him from treating them with no less cruelty than everyone else). He is partial to some of the inhabitants of Arkham, which, as a rule, terrifies them. Since the 90s, his constant girlfriend is Harley Quinn, a former Arkham psychiatrist who sacrificed her career and sanity for the Joker and became his obedient slave (more about her in the review of the animated “Jokeriad”). He periodically throws her out of the window, but otherwise they have an almost perfect relationship.

Favorite clothes: Purple suit and hat, yellow vest, yellow or green shirt, white gloves.
Favorite food: Fish.
Favorite animal: Hyena.

Weapon: A poison that makes victims laugh until they die and leaves a creepy smile on their faces (exists in countless forms). A flower on the lapel of a jacket that sprays acid, as well as police badges with the same “secret”. Razor sharp playing cards. A 500-volt electric shock on the hand is a surprise for anyone foolish enough to shake the Joker's hand (he once knocked out Mr. Freeze this way); sometimes instead of an electric shock on the arm there is a needle with poison. Fake and at the same time deadly pistols. Small balls that, when exploding, form a smoke screen. All kinds of bombs (usually with his trademark - a smile). Canes that shoot rockets and other killer toys.

Story: ...One terrible night, a gang of criminals, led by a man in a red cap, entered the Ace Chemical Processing Inc. factory to rob a card company that was located in the same building. Within minutes they were discovered and confronted by the police and a mysterious vigilante in a bat suit. All the bandits, except Red Hood, died from police bullets. The leader was able to find a way out of the hopeless situation: jumping over the railing, he jumped into a vat of chemicals, flew through the sewers and found himself in the river where Ace Chemical dumped its toxic waste. The criminal successfully escaped from pursuit and, having climbed ashore, took off his cap. It turned out that swimming in the poisoned liquid had left its traces: a nightmarish clown stared at the unfortunate man from the reflection in the river. face. Chalk white skin, hair the color of artificial grass and ruby ​​lips stretched into a creepy toothy smile - that's what the unlucky robber saw. And from that moment he disappeared... his personality dissolved into madness.
NO ONE knows who this man was before this day. NOBODY, not even himself - in his inflamed brain the true and the imaginary, truth and lies, reality and fantasy were mixed. Was he a cold-blooded thug or an ordinary loser who risked breaking the law to get money for his family? One thing is certain: something bad happened before his visit to Ace Chemical, and the physical transformation was only the last straw for him. (This in no way justifies what that person THEN did.)
The silence of the night was broken by insane laughter: the disfigured criminal appreciated the joke that fate played on him. And I decided to joke back. “I look like an evil clown... Clown? Not a clown, but... JOKER!!!” And the reborn got down to business.
Very soon the newspapers called him nothing less than the Clown Prince of Crime. Operating with incredible ingenuity and ruthlessness, the madman has gained a reputation as the most dangerous creature in Gotham City. Robberies, mass murder, nuclear terrorism, alliances with other supervillains, as well as (brief) world domination and a near-end of the world are just some of the Joker's deeds. He even managed (I'm not kidding) to serve as the UN ambassador for Iran and serve time in a Soviet concentration camp.
The Joker commits his crimes in a special style. Making the phrase “die of laughter” a reality became his life's goal. He loves to turn his atrocities into sinister performances, accompanying absurdly cruel actions with buffoonery and clowning. His criminal plans are carefully thought out, but at the same time leave room for improvisation and include many different escape options.

Batman: What do you want from the city?
Joker: I want a new bike... I want to go to Florida... I want...
Scene from the film script "Batman" Tim Burton, not included in the film itself.

Crime target: Potentially everything and everyone. The Joker trusts no one and treats victims, enemies, allies, helpers and those who simply “passed by” with equal cruelty. He is a “wild card” in any human deck, an outcast in any company, not controlled by anyone and not subject to any influence. Those who consider him an ally tend to die first. Those who hire him for “dirty work” must be prepared for unpredictable results. His assistants had better keep their mouths shut (“Learn not to ask stupid questions,” says the Joker, throwing one of his subordinates under the wheels of a passing car to the rest of the gang in one of the comics). Decent people...

Decent people have no place in this city. They are better off living somewhere else.
Joker in "Batman" Tim Burton.

The maniacal jester also has a circle of favorite victims. First of all, of course, Batman is the superhero of Gotham, a mysterious night avenger, protector of the innocent. It was from him that the Red Hood ran away, jumping into chemical waste. But we're talking about not about trivial revenge. In most of his comic and screen “incarnations,” the evil harlequin does not consider Batman to be the culprit of his misfortunes; he thinks that fate struck him by chance, and strikes back in exactly the same way - at random. But competing in cunning with the Man-Bat quickly became the very essence of the criminal clown's existence. He needs a worthy opponent on whom he can play deadly tricks, and constant defeats only stimulate him. The Joker always says that he will kill the Bat, that he hates the Knight of the Night, etc., but in reality everything is much more complicated - without an opponent his life will lose meaning, because there will be no one to “play” with him.

Joker: Haven't you figured out why I haven't killed you yet?
Batman: No.
Joker: I've been meaning to tell you for a long time... eh-he-he-he-he... I LET you win. This is the game, you know? I make a mess, you catch me... If you win, there's another round, but if I win... BOOM! KAPUTT! Game over. And who needs it?
From the comic “Batman: Gotham Adventures. No. 1”.

That is why the Joker, although he had many opportunities to put an end to the Black Avenger forever, always delayed the reprisal until last moment or gave a chance for salvation to his enemy. And he never took the chance to find out the true identity of the mysterious opponent. However, according to many fans, he recognized her a long time ago - it just doesn’t matter to him.

One of the inhabitants of “Arkham”: I say, let’s take off his mask. I want to see his real face.
Joker: Oh, don't be so predictable, for God's sake! THIS is his true face.
From the comic “Asylum “Arkham”.

Next on the list are the Bat's allies. They are the ones in the greatest danger - the Joker only needs them as a way to hurt Batman. Then - policemen, lawyers, politicians- everyone who personifies law and order so hated by him (the more famous, the better - the mayor or the police commissioner, for example). Finally, the doctors treating the Joker in the Gotham psychiatric hospital “Arkham” - after another escape, he sometimes visits his doctors to communicate at home (of course, with a fatal outcome).

Causes and purposes of crimes: There is no reason as such. Everything the Joker does is for his own pleasure, experiencing psychotic ecstasy from his sociopathic deeds. His main goal is to prove to everyone that he is both the greatest comedian and the greatest criminal of all time. The Clown Prince of the Underworld is sure that he can achieve this in only one way - by defeating the Bat, and always with the help of some witty trick (a banal shot in the heart is not suitable in any case!). Of course, in many stories the villain pursues mercantile goals, but still money is not the main thing for him. He can rob a bank, and the next day buy 20 thousand “jacks in a box” for, to put it mildly, an obscure reason.

Powers: The Joker has no superhuman abilities, no international criminal empire, no millions in a Swiss bank, not even very developed muscles. And yet, in the DCU (DC Universe - a universe that exists in the imagination of thousands of authors and artists working for the DC comics company), he is the most terrible and dangerous psychopath, striking fear into the hearts of much more powerful and physically strong villains. The Joker likes to say that his strength is madness, and this is true. He is ready to do anything in order to achieve his goals and realize his plans; dangers and even death do not frighten him (at least in many stories), although the instinct of self-preservation always kicks in at the right moment, saving the psycho from imminent death. His madness manifests itself in an uncontrollably frivolous attitude towards life and reality: he ridicules everything in his path and, having ridiculed it, destroys it. Therefore, he is ready to laugh at both mortal danger and a formidable opponent. Some comics directly state that the Joker is not very aware of what is going on both around him and in his own head (in films, this point is usually not emphasized).

Dr. Ruth Adams, psychiatrist at Arkham: The Joker is a special case. Some of us feel that he is beyond treatment. In fact, we're not even sure if he can be called insane... We're starting to think it's some kind of neurological disorder like Torett's syndrome. It is possible that what we are actually seeing here is a kind of super-sanity, a brilliant new modification of human thinking, more suitable for urban life in the late twentieth century. Unlike you and me, the Joker seems to have no control over the information he receives from his senses from the world around him. He can deal with this chaotic clutter at the entrance only by going with the flow. So on some days he is a mischievous clown, on others he is a psychopathic killer... He reinvents himself every day. He considers himself the lord of chaos, and the world- theater of the absurd.
Batman: Tell that to his victims.
From the comic “Asylum “Arkham”.

However, without really delving into the essence of what is happening, the sinister jester navigates a dangerous situation much better than healthy people and knows how to turn the tide of a fight with a seemingly predetermined outcome: his sick brain always suggests unexpected and witty solutions. He has no equal in his ability to find the weak points of his opponents and use their own weapons against them. Finally, the Clown Prince of Crime never cared about such nonsense as the fairness of the fight.
Madness gives him a number of other abilities. As you know, the physical strength of crazy people increases due to the adrenaline reaction of the body. The Joker has never studied martial arts or hand-to-hand combat and in a fight he has nothing much to boast about, but sometimes insane rage gives him the strength to rush at the enemy like an animal and fight on equal terms even with Batman, an expert in all possible martial arts. In addition, the permanent phase shift gave the killer jester unusually agile nervous system: no psychotropic, intoxicating, etc. drugs have any effect on him (though they are often then affect the doctors who give them), as well as the “fear gas” invented by a mad scientist named Scarecrow, and the botanical charms of the villainess Poison Ivy.
Over the years of his criminal life, the Joker has acquired a number of practical skills: he is a good shooter (his favorite tactic is to shoot at every living thing indiscriminately), has a good command of bladed weapons, is well versed in explosives and toxic substances, not to mention various cunning tricks and dastardly tricks, often demonstrates undoubted acting talent and mastery of disguise, and is an expert in all kinds of torture and sadistic methods of brainwashing. But still, his main weapon is ingenuity, unprincipledness and... madness.

Survival: Almost superhuman. He was shot, drowned, blown up, burned, electric current was passed through him, and still he survived.

Relations with the underworld: As already said, complex. He has no friends or permanent accomplices, because he denies any laws and rules - including those of the criminal world. The Joker has repeatedly joined forces with other supervillains (Penguin, Scarecrow, Lex Luthor, Carnage); every time it all ended in mutual betrayal and fight. However, his eerie aura and nightmarish reputation inspire respectful fear and almost reverence among most criminals, and his power within the walls of Arkham is limitless. The Joker has never lacked help, as he pays well and his plans always work (until the Bat interferes). As a rule, a maniac clown takes into his team two or three strong and stupid thugs who do not ask unnecessary questions and do not think about what they are doing. But, unlike most crime bosses, he loves to do all the dirty work himself.
The Joker is a member of the Unjust Gang, a secret society of supervillains led by Lex Luthor. He is also a member of the Council of Nero (that is the name of the Devil in the DCU), was one of his five lieutenants; however, he later teamed up with Luthor to steal the power of the ruler of hell.

Current state: Healthy, cheerful, crazy, energetic and ready for action.

Date of birth: Unknown

Real name: Unknown

Aliases: Red Hood, Clown Prince of Crime, Oberon Sexton, Domino Killer, Joseph "Joe" Kerr

Relatives: Wife (deceased) - Jeannie; Unborn child(dead)

Gender: Male

Height: 182 cm.

Weight: 73 kg.

Eye color: Green

Hair Color: Green

Skin color: White

Position: Evil

Universe: New Earth(New Earth)

Place of origin: Gotham City

First appearance: Batman #1, 1940

Publisher: DC Comics

Creators: Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson

Description of the Joker

The Joker is a homicidal maniac, Batman's sworn enemy. On this moment The Joker's real name and date of birth remain unknown. However, it is known that he got his white skin and green hair by falling into chemicals. Because of this incident, he had a permanent smile on his face.

The Joker enjoys killing and maiming. The phrase “die of laughter” became his calling card. He committed many crimes, and the number of his victims is in the thousands. The Joker's lack of principles and unpredictability make him a dangerous opponent for any living creature. Anyone can become a target for his crimes. He trusts no one and treats enemies and temporary allies with equal cruelty. The Clown also has a favorite victim - Batman. In him he sees not only a quenching thirst for revenge, but also a worthy opponent with whom he can compete in cunning and play deadly games.

The Joker first appeared in March 1940 in Batman #1. Created by Finger and Robinson, the character was distinguished by great skill in hand-to-hand combat, agility, dexterity and a sophisticated genius-level intellect. Most of the Joker's equipment is stylized as clown props, emphasizing the Joker's image as a clown of the underworld.

Biography of the Joker

At the moment, there are many options for the origin of the Joker. He himself told several stories about his past, each of which was new and contradicted other stories. It is known for certain that the Joker had a wife, Ginny, who is presumably already dead. Otherwise, his past is vague.

The character of the Joker originates in one of the nights in Gotham City, when a group of criminals led by a man in a red hood enters the Ace Chemical Processing Inc. factory to commit a robbery. The gang's plan failed and they encountered police officers and a mysterious man in a bat suit. A firefight began, as a result of which all members of the group were incapacitated, with the exception of Red Hood. The gang leader decided to escape and jumped into a vat of chemical waste. There he swam through sewers and ended up in a river where chemicals were being dumped. The red cap on the fugitive's head helped him survive and escape persecution. Having reached a safe place, the unknown leader removed the red cap and saw the consequences of swimming in the chemicals. His face was disfigured. The skin faded and became chalk white, the hair turned green, and the lips turned ruby ​​and stretched into an eerie smile. From that moment on, the already weak mind of the criminal was shaken, and the old personality ceased to exist. A mad maniac-killer was born in the night, christening himself the name Joker.

The Joker considers the tragedy that happened to him to be an accident of fate. In a similar way, he strikes back, choosing random victims for his crimes. He has no principles, his actions are often unpredictable. It is useless to cooperate with him, since at any moment an ally can suffer death at his hand. The Joker recognizes the power in madness, and this makes him one of the most feared villains in the DC Comics universe.
The Joker doesn't have superpowers, he doesn't have millions of dollars. However, his insanity sometimes gives him an inhuman burst of physical energy, allowing him to fight evenly with Batman in hand-to-hand combat. Madness also gives the Clown the ability to resist the effects of various psychotropic substances, which he constantly uses in the comics. The Joker's main weapon is a mixture of brilliant intellect and madness. Thanks to these qualities, he is able to shock his opponent with his actions at any time. In addition, he has leadership qualities and excellent knowledge in the field of explosives, bladed weapons and firearms.

Joker's abilities

Thanks to immersion in chemical waste, the Joker acquired a unique physiology, different from all people. He has various advantages over an ordinary person.

Pain Resistance

It is speculated that after being exposed to the chemicals, the Joker increased his resistance to pain. It is also implied that he is a masochist by nature. All this makes applying pain to him ineffective.

Poison Immunity

The Joker is immune to various poisons, toxins and psychotropic substances. It is also known that his blood is poisoned and can cause harm to another living organism.

Cheating Death

The clown has cheated death many times. Even in a seemingly inevitable, deadly situation, the Joker survives. Throughout the character's existence, he was shot at many times, blown up, electrocuted, and fell from great heights, but always returned to wreak havoc again.

Character Awareness

From time to time the Joker communicates with readers and he seems to be aware that he is a comic book character. However, most characters ignore this as they consider him to be a mentally ill criminal.

Genius level of intelligence

The Joker is portrayed as a very intelligent expert in the fields of chemistry, mechanical engineering, and he is also an expert in explosives, bladed weapons, and firearms.

Master of hand-to-hand combat

Joker has some knowledge of hand-to-hand combat techniques. Over the years of character development, the Joker has become more dexterous and faster, his attacks are chaotic and difficult to predict. It is worth noting that the Clown's level of skill in close combat varied. In various reincarnations, the Joker was either defeated by one blow from Batman, or competed with him, and sometimes defeated him. There is a version that the Joker's strength depends on the degree of his madness. Sometimes he is so crazy that he receives an inhuman surge of physical energy and can fight in hand-to-hand combat with Batman on equal terms.

Joker Equipment

Joker Venom

One of the Joker's calling cards from the first issue is a deadly poison, the victim of which begins to laugh uncontrollably until he dies with a smile on his face. Death is believed to be due to suffocation. There is also a non-lethal version of the poison or a lethal one with a slower effect. The Joker prefers to use such “safe” versions in rare cases. The Clown himself is immune to poison and actively uses it in various forms(liquid, gaseous).

Joker teeth

One of the Joker's favorite gadgets is wind-up teeth. Used for bullying and as a calling card. The Joker often leaves them at crime scenes for Batman. At first, the teeth were not hostile and were an element of the image of a clown. Later, the teeth became explosive and often detonated at the most unexpected moment.

Various Joker gadgets

Razor-sharp playing cards, an acid flower and other terrifying clown gadgets are the Joker's constant weapons. Such devices amuse him and make him unpredictable.

Joker's electric buzzer

The Joker often uses a modified non-palm buzzer. The device sends a lethal dose of electricity to anyone who comes into contact with it.

In contact with

In this article you will learn:

Joker is a villain and psychopath from DC comics. The DC Comics universe is diverse and multifaceted. It has hundreds of characters, multiple timelines and physical spaces. Movies are made based on comic books, full-length books are written, and computer games are created. And it all started in 1940. Then the first comic book about Batman was written, in which one of the most recognizable villains of all time, Batman's sworn enemy, the Joker, appeared.

Story

Almost nothing is known about the past of the man who later became the Joker. Here are some facts: he lived in Gotham City, was a member of the Red Hood gang, and participated in gangster raids.

During the robbery of the Ace Chemicals card factory, the gang was discovered. One of the bandits (for an unknown reason, most likely from fear) fell into a cauldron with a toxic substance. The result of this incident was the appearance of such a character as the Joker.

The ordinary gangster underwent irreversible changes: his skin became bright white, black circles appeared around his eyes, his hair turned green, and a permanent smile was fixed on his lips. But the main thing is that the Joker has become completely crazy.

After this incident, a new villain appeared in Gotham City. His first crime was the murder of many people (corpses were found in an abandoned warehouse, all of them smiling from ear to ear).

The Joker was no ordinary criminal. He talked about the future crime in advance, appearing on television.

Among the Joker's atrocities were the following: the murder of the owners of that same card factory, the release of prisoners of Arkham Asylum and attempts to poison the city's reservoir.

The result of the feud between Batman and the Joker was the arrest of the latter and his placement in that same institution for the mentally ill.

History after restart

The New 52 version, which is a de facto reboot of the DC Comics universe, left the Joker virtually unchanged. The appearance of the villain has not changed, but his story has become a little different.

So, the reader met the Joker while the entire city police was chasing him. Here the antagonist was caught again and imprisoned in Arkham.

The Joker was not left alone in the hospital. One day, a character called the Puppeteer came to him, who, according to him, was the biggest fan of the Red Hood (one of the Joker's nicknames). The visitor, after communicating with the prisoner, cut off his face, after which rumors about the death of the Joker began to circulate around the city.

The villain's partner, a girl named , hopelessly in love with her crazy friend, lost her mind from such gossip. She assembled a team of villains (the Suicide Squad), and together with them stormed the Gotham City police department. Thus, the girl hoped to receive the cut off face of the Joker and, possibly, revive her beloved. However, the Joker soon appeared again.

The villainous prankster began his criminal activities again. He killed several city policemen and regained his face. The Joker regained his appearance, only now his face was attached to his head with special belts.

Red Hood once again began killing the citizens of Gotham City and carving smiles on their faces.

Soon, the villain lured Batman to a card factory, where he was captured by Harley Quinn. At the same time, the antagonist himself kidnapped Alfred, Batman's servant, and the entire Bat-family.

Later, the Joker gathered together all of Batman's enemies, but the hero defeated them, and not without the help of the Joker himself (this inconsistency is explained by the Red Hood's manic desire to kill Batman himself). The result of the rivalry between the characters in this episode was another “death” of the Joker - he flies into the abyss near the waterfall.

In one of the latest issues, the Joker returned and infected Batman's allies with a dangerous virus, forcing them to fight against the hero. Residents of Gotham City were also infected and attacked all unsmiling people.

The shocking news was the latest developments of the city police - the Joker is older than Gotham City itself, and is also, most likely, immortal.

Features and abilities

The Joker is a typical crazy maniac. He is confident, very smart, and has many unusual skills and knowledge (in particular, in the field of chemistry). The villain is wary of both opponents and partners (temporary, because he doesn’t have permanent ones). The Joker's main goal is Batman, in whom the maniac sees the root cause of all his troubles. At the same time, the Joker respects his opponent, considers him smart and worthy.

The Joker is mad. He is merciless and uncompromising. To achieve results, he is ready to do anything. Red Hood is fearless, but deftly avoids dangerous situations and escapes from the clutches of death. He rarely understands the situation meticulously, but, relying on instincts and intuition, he is perfectly oriented at any moment. And madness prompts the villain to make completely unexpected moves and actions.

The Joker's powers and abilities include:

• Highest IQ level.
• Excellent knowledge of chemistry.
• Amazing ingenuity.
• Unique willpower - immunity to torture and influences on the mind.
• Immunity to poisons and acids of various kinds.
• Detective flair and talent for planning.

Special devices and mechanisms of the Joker:

• A toxin that makes a person laugh until they die.
• The acid found in the flower on a jacket or police badges.
• Playing cards with sharp edges.
• On the hand - an electric shock or a poisonous needle.
• Balls with smoke inside.
• Bombs of different sizes and shapes.
• A cane from which rockets fly.

• Already in the second issue of the original universe (in 1940), the Joker was supposed to die. The fact is that most of Batman's opponents then appeared for 1-2 issues and were “disposable”. But the editor-in-chief of DC Comics then decided that the image of the Joker was incredibly colorful. The villain remained in comics for many years.
• The Joker has appeared several times in various lists characters and villains. In 2006, Wizard magazine voted him the top 100 villains of all time. In 2009, the character was ranked second in the TOP 100 comic book villains from the Internet portal IGN. In 2012, the Joker was ranked eighth in the TOP 50 comic book characters by Empire magazine (the highest achievement for a villain).
• In the 2008 film The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger played the Joker. For this role he received an Oscar (albeit posthumously). This performance, by the way, took third place in the TOP 100 movie characters of all time from the same Empire magazine. And MTV completely gave the victory to this role in the “Best Villain” category.

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