The Joker is the most recognizable comic book supervillain of all time, but pinning down
the facts is harder than it sounds.
You've probably always believed these misconceptions about the Joker.
Put a smile on that face and learn the truth.
Most people think they know the Joker's origin: he was a gangster called the Red Hood who
one day ran afoul of Batman, fell into a vat of toxic chemicals, and came out with his
skin dyed chalk white and his mouth twisted into a grin.
The classic narrative first showed up way back in 1951, but was enhanced by Alan Moore
and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke, which added even more tragic details.
It's a popular origin story, but calling it "definitive" is a bit of a stretch.
"Wait'll they get a load of me."
As we saw on the screen in The Dark Knight, the Joker often tells contradictory stories
of his past.
The Red Hood tale was meant to be a secret origin in the beginning, but he's also told
different stories over the years.
He's claimed that his white skin was caused by his abusive aunt scrubbing him with bleach
as a boy, or that his trademark smile was actually the result of Batman's batarang slicing
his lips open.
All these origin stories might be complete lies, and that's the point.
The less we know, the creepier he is.
Despite what you might've heard, Gotham's scariest criminal has no confirmed origin
and no confirmed name.
"Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint.”
You've probably heard the name "Jack Napier," but that was created for Tim Burton's 1989
Batman movie.
It's actually the combination of two different influences.
Not only is it a pun on "Jackanapes," another term for a loudmouth fool - or, you know,
a joker - it's also a tribute to Alan Napier, the actor who played Alfred in the campy 1960s
TV series.
Outside of the film, however, the Joker's name is almost always listed as "unknown."
It's worth noting that in 2017, writer Sean Gordon Murphy elected to use the Jack Napier
identity for his comic book Batman: White Knight, a story about the Joker being "cured"
of his insanity and dedicating his life to helping Gotham City by ridding it of Batman.
As interesting as it is, White Knight is not considered an official part of continuity,
and is heavily influenced by Batman: The Animated Series, where "Jack Napier" was once used
as one of the joker's many aliases.
The Joker has always been a popular villain, but Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark
Knight definitively reinvented the character for the 2000s, and earned Ledger a posthumous
Academy Award for best supporting actor.
When Ledger tragically passed away from a sedative overdose in the months leading up
to the film's release, plenty of moviegoers were willing to accept the idea that the actor's
death was due to him feeling "haunted" by his sinister performance.
The truth is neither that simple nor that sensational.
In the documentary I Am Heath Ledger, among other places, Ledger's sister Kate has directly
spoken out against claims that the Joker role killed her brother, saying,
"He had an amazing sense of humor, and I guess maybe only his family and friends knew that,
but he was having fun.
He wasn't depressed about the Joker!"
Ledger had struggled with insomnia for years, long before his Joker days, and it's believed
that his overuse of sedatives to treat it may have actually begun after his breakup
with Michelle Williams.
By all accounts, his overdose was a tragic accident.
Batman definitely hates the Joker.
How could he not?
The "Clown Prince of Crime" is the antithesis of everything Batman stands for, and has made
a habit of killing Bruce Wayne's loved ones.
However, what makes their rivalry so interesting is that the Joker absolutely loves everything
about Batman, maybe even to a romantic degree.
In Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, Batman hangs up his cape for a decade, and
Joker is so depressed by the retirement of his "partner" that he falls into a nearly
catatonic state.
When Batman returns, Joker's life is given purpose again, and he goes on a new streak
of mass murders.
The Joker's crimes aren't done despite Batman's interference, but because he wants Batman's
attention.
He's even gone as far as saying that he hopes his conflict with Batman goes on forever.
There's a reason this was the entire plot of the LEGO Batman Movie.
"You're the reason I've given up a life spent with Russian ballerinas and lady activewear
models."
Aside from the fact that real-life bats never really fight real-life clowns, the dynamic
between Batman and the Joker is unbelievably perfect.
Batman is a dark hero who creeps in the shadows, facing off against a bright, colorful villain
who walks in broad daylight.
Batman has dedicated his life to preserving and restoring order through intense training
and planning, and the Joker, well…
"Some men just want to watch the world burn."
It's so perfect that it must've been planned that way from the very beginning, right?
Wrong.
At the beginning, Joker was never supposed to be Batman's archenemy.
When the clown first showed up in the pages of 1940's Batman #1, the original plan was
to kill off Joker after only two appearances, both within the same issue.
Bizarre as it might sound today, the villain was rescued by intervention from above.
When the creative team drafted Joker dying from a knife wound in Batman #1, editor Whitney
Ellsworth thought the character had too much potential and instructed the artist to insert
an additional panel, depicting the villain being rescued by an ambulance.
Considering how popular this killer clown has become in the decades since, it seems
like Ellsworth made the right call.
One of the most enduring elements of the Batman mythos is the idea that his secret identity
is absolutely necessary.
"Bruce Wayne?
Why are you dressed up like Batman?"
Not only is he acting outside of the law himself, but it also stands to reason that if the bad
guys knew who he was and where he lived, Wayne Manor would be a crater within 24 hours - 22
if Harvey Dent was involved.
With that in mind, it seems like it would be catastrophic if Batman's arch-nemesis,
the Joker, learned who it was beneath the mask.
Don't be fooled, though.
Joker might not invade Wayne Manor every week, but he knows many secrets about the man behind
the mask.
While it was hinted at before, the Joker's knowledge of Batman's secret identity came
to light in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Endgame storyline.
The thing is, Joker neither cares about nor wants to engage with Bruce Wayne's life: It's
Batman he wants to play with.
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