How did the Joker really become the joker. I was wondering because, there are so many origin stories for him. Maybe he was always that way. Or maybe he was always insane. Possibly it does only take one bad day, to fuck your life up. Tell me how did he become the clown prince of crime? I think that he fell into a vat of acid. And he used to be Jack Napier and also, he was a mobster.
Joker origins.
- Thread starter DethFan666
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DC is notorious for inconsistencies. In fact, it sort of defines them. The main point is that it doesn't matter. But if you're interested, there's always the Batman comic "The Killing Joke" which does one. Or you could pick the one from the Batman animated series (90s). Personally, I think he's a cooler villain if you don't know.
yeah no one really knows, i think it's better to have various versions of it, kinda adds to his mystique
I can't help but agree with you there. That's part of why I liked The Dark Knight's Joker so damn much.windfish said:
Mysteries tend to lose their appeal when you don't have an answer. But there's always my ace in the hole trump card...wikipedia. There is no definitive origin, but there are theories.
The first known backstory to the joker is he fell into a vat of chemicals, his face got deformed. The hideousness of his face led him to go insane.
my mother actually came up with a cool theory for the dark knight joker.
"He was just a regular criminal who ticked off some really bad dudes. once they where done with him, it was just like he said in the movie. what ever doesn't kill you makes you stranger..."
it's not complex but it really resonated with me.
as for the "Batman" joker
"He was just a regular criminal who ticked off some really bad dudes. once they where done with him, it was just like he said in the movie. what ever doesn't kill you makes you stranger..."
it's not complex but it really resonated with me.
as for the "Batman" joker
what he said.4thegreatergood said:
It really just depends on what cannon you want to get into. It's not a mystery per say, but just that D.C. runs several different universes that aren't really connected. So there's several back stories for all of their characters.
Here's one version, according to Wikipedia: "The most widely cited backstory, which the official DC Comics publication, Who's Who in the DC Universe, credits as the most widely believed account, can be seen in The Killing Joke. It depicts him as originally being an engineer at a chemical plant who quits his job to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife, Jeannie, the man agrees to help two criminals break into the plant where he was formerly employed. In this version of the story, the Red Hood persona is given to the inside man of every job (thus it is never the same man twice); this makes the man appear to be the ringleader, allowing the two criminals to escape. During the planning, police contact him and inform him that his wife and unborn child have died in a household accident.[13][14]
The Joker emerges from chemical-ridden water and goes insane in The Killing Joke. Art by Brian Bolland.
Stricken with grief, he attempts to back out of the plan, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his promise. As soon as they enter the plant, however, they are immediately caught by security and a shoot-out ensues, in which the two criminals are killed. As the engineer tries to escape, he is confronted by Batman, who is investigating the disturbance. Terrified, the engineer leaps over a rail and plummets into a vat of chemicals. When he surfaces in the nearby reservoir, he removes the hood and sees his reflection: bleached chalk-white skin, ruby-red lips, and bright green hair. These events, coupled with his other misfortunes that day, drive the engineer completely insane, resulting in the birth of the Joker"
But there are several more.
Here's one version, according to Wikipedia: "The most widely cited backstory, which the official DC Comics publication, Who's Who in the DC Universe, credits as the most widely believed account, can be seen in The Killing Joke. It depicts him as originally being an engineer at a chemical plant who quits his job to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife, Jeannie, the man agrees to help two criminals break into the plant where he was formerly employed. In this version of the story, the Red Hood persona is given to the inside man of every job (thus it is never the same man twice); this makes the man appear to be the ringleader, allowing the two criminals to escape. During the planning, police contact him and inform him that his wife and unborn child have died in a household accident.[13][14]
The Joker emerges from chemical-ridden water and goes insane in The Killing Joke. Art by Brian Bolland.
Stricken with grief, he attempts to back out of the plan, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his promise. As soon as they enter the plant, however, they are immediately caught by security and a shoot-out ensues, in which the two criminals are killed. As the engineer tries to escape, he is confronted by Batman, who is investigating the disturbance. Terrified, the engineer leaps over a rail and plummets into a vat of chemicals. When he surfaces in the nearby reservoir, he removes the hood and sees his reflection: bleached chalk-white skin, ruby-red lips, and bright green hair. These events, coupled with his other misfortunes that day, drive the engineer completely insane, resulting in the birth of the Joker"
But there are several more.
Most people tend to accept 'The killing joke' origin, though as far as I know DC have done at least one if not two different origin stories since. There have also been at LEAST 2 universe changing events where DC have attempted to bring clarity to its jumbled chronology, so its all fair game (though when it comes to inconsistencies marvel come out top, they just pretend they don't exist and invent more expecting fan boys to suck it up).
That some of the events of killing joke still happened have been shown in comics such as booster gold and the gotham knights series. Joker himself in the comic stated that he could never remember clearly himself and that it changed from day to day or perhaps even each time he though about it. Yes I am a big comic book geek ;D
Myself I prefer The killing joke origin just out of preference as it helps illustrate the two sides of the coin that batman and the joker are and just how similar they are.
That some of the events of killing joke still happened have been shown in comics such as booster gold and the gotham knights series. Joker himself in the comic stated that he could never remember clearly himself and that it changed from day to day or perhaps even each time he though about it. Yes I am a big comic book geek ;D
Myself I prefer The killing joke origin just out of preference as it helps illustrate the two sides of the coin that batman and the joker are and just how similar they are.
The short version:
Used care saleman. Has an elongated face.
Horrible comedian, fails every night.
To get money for his family he puts on the mob's "red hood". Becomes a night crook.
Batman chases him into a food coloring plant. He falls into a tube.
He comes out and is the Joker.
His wife and unborn child die.
He OFFICIALLY becomes the Joker.
Used care saleman. Has an elongated face.
Horrible comedian, fails every night.
To get money for his family he puts on the mob's "red hood". Becomes a night crook.
Batman chases him into a food coloring plant. He falls into a tube.
He comes out and is the Joker.
His wife and unborn child die.
He OFFICIALLY becomes the Joker.
Not that order, but right on all accounts.Arsen said:
Oh, and used to work for the chemical plant that he tried to rob as the Red Hood.
Theres Just something about Mark Hamill playing the Joker that makes that one of my favorite versions of the Joker's backstory. I have heard a bunch of theroys about the Joker, and I like the character more because no one knows the truth, his story is different every time. A personal favorite is this, which I took from ComicVine.com's Joker pagewindfish said:
[link]http://www.comicvine.com/joker/29-1702/[/link]
"The Arkham Asylum story arc suggests that he is 'super-sane'; that he sees how the universe really is, without any personal illusions, and that his entire personality can alter to fit the circumstances."
And the fact that he breaks the forth wall alot in the comics makes him an interesting character, like he knows he is just a comic book character.
Considering DC's habit of multi-universal crises every couple of years or so that sweep the past clean, so that whatever you thought you knew no longer holds, and then generally having multiple universes again anyway, I doubt if even the people at DC could tell you anything definitive.
This all stems from them not originally having a unified Universe, where they just had different books with different canon. So when it came time to create a Universe of their own, with all the different writers the different books have had, the DCU just became a huge mess. The entire DCU doesn't make all that much sense, even in the event books. Props to Marvel of the 1960's for giving Stan Lee free reign to create the Universe, DC should of done the same thing.iamnotincompliance said:
Anyway, the widely accepted origin of Joker (as far as I know) is the Killing Joke. It was dramatic and fitting beginning for the best villian DC has ever (arguably) had.