Joker (DC Comics character)

Overview

Other Media

The Joker
Biographical Information
Real Name	?
Aliases	The Joker The Clown Prince of Crime A. Rekoj.
Home country	United States of America
Homeworld	Earth
Death	1942, electric chair
Resurrection	1942, resurrection serum
Physical Information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Skin colour	Pale white
Hair colour	Green
Chronological / Political Information
Citizenship	American
Base of Operations	Hotel Bockley
Fictional Information
Created by	Bob Kane Bill Finger Jerry Robinson
First Appearance	The Joker

“ I may be crazy, Batman, but I'm not stupid! He who fails and runs away, lives to win another day! ”

—The Joker, to Batman

The Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime, was a psychotic American crime lord from Gotham City. He became a perennial foe of the Batman, and was known for various outlandish criminal plots.

Biography

Background

By 1850, Joker's ancestors were famed clowns. In 1950, Joker would attribute this as a reason for his own behaviour. (COMIC: Batman in the Future!)

Early Life

Early Criminal Exploits

The Joker was sentenced to prison for a crime by Judge Drake. (COMIC: The Joker)

Death

Legacy

In the Gotham City of 2050, Joker's descendant Rokej served as Police Chief. Rokej made the choice to work with the law instead of in opposition to it, and by 2050 he had become Chief. (COMIC: Batman in the Future!)

Weapons and Abilities

Armaments

• Spray Gun: The gun used to disperse enough Venom Spray to incapacitate a room of eight people, and fired the venomous blow dart that killed Jay Wilde. (COMIC: The Joker)
• Pistol: The Joker carried a regular pistol on his person to carry out swifter killings than his other weapons might allow. (COMIC: The Joker)

Assets

• Intelligence: The Joker possessed a very high intellect that he devoted to criminal activities.
  • The Joker was very proficient at chemistry, producing various serums, solutions, and poisons to employ in his criminal enterprises. (COMIC: The Joker, et al.)

Concoctions

• Explosive Chemicals: The Joker kept two chemicals inside false teeth in his mouth, that when mixed formed a powerful explosive, which he used to escape jail after his first capture by Batman. (COMIC: The Joker Returns)
• Resurrection Serum: The Joker possessed a serum that could be ingested within fifteen minutes and resurrect a man killed by an electric chair. (COMIC: The Joker Walks the Last Mile!)

Joker Venom derivatives

• 24-Hour Solution: A poisonous solution that kills in exactly 24 hours when injected into a person. (COMIC: The Joker)
  • It induced a rictus grin alongside death. (COMIC: The Joker)
• Venom Spray: A venom that induced temporary paralysis when inhaled in gaseous form, but was instantaneously lethal when received as an injection, such as by blow dart. (COMIC: The Joker)
  • It incapacitated a group of at least seven GCPD officers in an enclosed room. (COMIC: The Joker)
  • It subsequently briefly paralysed Batman and gave him the Joker's trademark grin, but Batman's recuperative abilities were above that of the average man and he quickly recovered. (COMIC: The Joker)

Skills

• Mastery of Disguise: The Joker was proficient at disguising his appearance and assuming the identities of others.
  • The Joker easily assumed the identity of Gotham's police chief for several hours while playing a game of cards with Judge Drake. After murdering the judge, he also fooled a police officer guarding the judge's home, long enough to escape. (COMIC: The Joker)
• Combat Prowess: The Joker was a skilled hand-to-hand combatant who could match Batman in a fight. (COMIC: The Joker, et al.)
  • In their first fight, the Joker fought off Batman after the latter had pulled him out of a speeding vehicle. (COMIC: The Joker)
• Stealth: The Joker could be stealthy when he chose to.
  • The Joker broke into the home of Henry Claridge, stole the Claridge Diamond, and administered a lethal injection to Claridge in the latter's sleep. (COMIC: The Joker)
  • The Joker successfully broke into the home of Jay Wilde and concealed himself inside of a suit of armour, and subsequently shot Wilde to death with a dart gun while escaping the attention of at least seven police officers guarding Wilde. (COMIC: The Joker)
  • The Joker was able to elude Robin in the shadows long enough to knock the latter out with a truncheon. (COMIC: The Joker)

Notes

Behind the Scenes

• The Joker was created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson.
• American author Jeff Rovin referred to the Joker as "a powerful criminal force in the Batman comic books."

Trivia

• Joker has been featured on the web series "DEATH BATTLE!".

Appearances

• Batman
  • The Joker
  • The Joker Returns
• Detective Comics
  • The Joker Walks the Last Mile! (appearance of death, appearance of resurrection)

Links

• Joker on Wikipedia
• The Joker on Encyclopædia Britannica