Batman's ultimate adversary has a twisted -- wait, the most twisted -- criminal history in the DCU, a history loaded with crimes, pranks, bitch slaps and, to borrow some unfortunate 1940s slang, more than a few boners. But when the Joker really does best, what he excels at more than anything, is simple, cold-blooded murder. Even Zsasz -- who is a serial killer determined to kill as many people as possible -- has nothing on the Joker in terms of the deaths he's inflicted, both on Gotham in general and the Bat-family in specific. So take a break from that new Batman game (your PS3 is probably burning anyways) and take a walk down the blood-spattered memory lane of Joker's craziest killings, and remember why he's not just the Dark Knight's biggest foe, but the greatest villain in all of comics.
10) Jason Todd
Yes, Jason Todd is a whiny teenage turd as Robin, so the Joker kills him in Ethiopia, thanks to bloodthirsty Batman fans. They voted in favor of Todd's death, so the ass whipping here isn't a shocker. But it's still surreal, isn't it? Joker mangles Robin with a crowbar, leaving him for dead in a building rigged with explosives. It's a death in the family that haunts Batman, and one that turns Jason Todd into the a-hole he is today. (Batman #427-8)
9) Psimon
The Joker has the audacity to smash the brains of a villainous cohort in the presence of Mr. Freeze, Clayface and other inflamed rogues. It's an absolute bloodbath. Psimon, a boring orator, was asking for a death wish anyway. (Salvation Run #2)
8) A Significant Portion of Gotham
In the Batman Confidential storyline "Lovers and Madmen," The Glasgow Smiling Joker doesn't hesistate when exacting revenge on the Dark Knight. In fact, he designs a blimp that explodes over Gotham, dropping poisonous glass on civilians. You read it right - poisonous glass from the goddamn sky! (Batman Confidential #11)
7) The Nation of China
Reigning as Emperor Joker, the Clown kills Batman several times. Big surprise. But the most ridiculous yet comical moment of the storyarc takes place on one page: Joker devours China, a country reduced to Dim Sum in a to-go box. Of course, he doesn't make an entrée out of Batman - that would be too easy. (Emperor Joker #1)
6) Sarah Essen
Poor Sarah Essen, an amateur in No Man's Land. She confronts the Joker in Commissioner Gordon's office, which is crawling with babies. Dumb move: The Clown shoots her when she has no choice but to catch one. The babies crawl on the corpse, and one even sits aloof in the pool of blood flowing from her skull. Merry Christmas, Commish! (Detective Comics #741)
5) The Joker
Edited for youngsters or not, the Joker falls to his own insane mastery - specifically, the brainwashed and Joker-ized Tim Drake - in Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker. In the kid-friendly version, Joker slips on water and live wires; in the unrated one, he takes a metal rod to the chest from the traumatized Time. If you like blood, watch the latter.
4) Batgirl
The debate concerning whether the Joker raped Barbara Gordon when photographing her naked body is still burning. Barbara doesn't die in The Killing Joke, obviously, but a Batgirl does. Why hasn't DC given her new legs yet? You know Stephanie Brown can't handle the mantle for long. (Batman: The Killing Joke)
3) Alex Luthor
What a sucker. The alternate-world Luthor contributed to a major crisis, in which Superboy dies, Jason Todd returns and JLA Watchtower crumbles. But Lex Luthor and the Joker corner him in a dark alley mostly because he's screwing around on their own evil turf. The assault starts with face-melting acid, moves to an electric joybuzzer and ends with a shotgun blast for good measure. Hell yeah - consider this the Joker's antihero moment. (Infinite Crisis #7)
2) This Dude
"I'm gonna make this pencil disappear." Ta-da! The Joker jams a pencil in a henchman's eye. Fucking outstanding execution. It's martial artistry. His magic trick is so concise, so impressive, it doesn't petrify the surrounding thugs. Instead, they listen.
1) Monty
Fresh out of Arkham Asylum and thirsty for chaos, the Joker walks into a club filled with thugs, booze, drugs and busty women. Oh, and Monty, whose little respect for the recovering supervillain screws him.
Strike #1: He asks, "So why'd you bring them animals with ya?," dogging Killer Croc.
Strike #2: He says, "I don' want' you that way, boss" when the Joker kisses him.
Strike #3: He gawks at Harley Quinn's rack.
And so the Joker skins him alive ... and throws him on stage. And then the night's entertainment has truly begun. (Joker)
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Batman glares into the eyes of his arch enemy and growls to his former companion.
"I want to kill him... every day I think about the ways I could crush the life from him with my bare hands..."
"Oh, so you do think about me?" Batman's gauntlet slaps across the Joker's face.
"But it would be too easy... too easy."
A gun roars... the green haired head jerks sideways as a cloud of red and grey bursts from one side.
In the window a man with a gun, a big man in black, a white skull on his chest.
"I hate these f**king crossovers."
"Tell me about it. The last time someone put a bullet through his skull, he came back five months later. I hate these f**king retcons."
....clowns are scary. I love the Joker, but he's an evil psycho maniac and everyone knows it... some of those faces he pulls just remind me why I have somewhat of a phobia.....waaay too happy for reality. O.o x.x
I'm doing a paper on the Joker for school, and let me tell you, you got a lot of these right. however, there are some kills he has made that are even better than the magic trick, although that has to be in my top five. I also noticed the Joker has a lot of irony. He sets a fire truck on fire in TDK, you cant get more ironic than that!
The more I read it, the more it impresses me. I don't know how I ever worked without hilarious and funny things in our life, Life would be so much easier especially when there's a jokes here and there. Being funny is nice because a lot of serious people are lacking with this kind of behavior that is why they are much look older. I would like to thank you for your outstanding blog post. Keep it up! Awesome!
Sorry that this is going off subject, sorta. But is it me or does it seem that deep down inside, the Joker is kinda afraid of Batman? I'm serious. It seems that though he likes to taunt Batman, make him suffer through the aformentioned horrific crimes, and challenge his psyche, he's a bit freaked out by Batman's whole mood, persona, and feel to him. Matter of fact, I think both the Joker and Batman freak eachother out! He seem to imply throughout all of his history with the Caped Crusader that he's skittish around him, even when he(Batman) gets the upper hand over him when they're figthing.
Sorry. That was just out of the blue.
ZeroCorpse,"Greatest villain? Sure. I'll give him [The Joker] that if you consider he only ever fights Batman. If he had to fight other heroes (ones with powers, or worse, ones who don't mind killing) he'd be screwed."
By that logic Batman should be screwed when he fights opponents with real "powers", too, which is nonsense.
It's often said that Batman's power is his wealth and technology, but really that's inaccurate. Batman's nonlethal weaponry is a lot less effective than the guns and bombs that his opponents use. His real power is his mind. Batman is probably more determined, more intelligent, and more ready to sacrifice his own wellbeing for the success of his mission than any other superhero. Something similar can be said of The Joker in relationship to most other supervillains.
@Hibiscus He's not the "greatest villain" because he is the most powerful villain that can destroy the world with the tips of his fingers, bla bla bla. Being the most powerful villain is not the greatest villain. A flat character mary sue type villain is still a crap villain. The Joker is the greatest villain because he's one of the most entertaining, fascinating and (to some? disturbing) ones. He's the greatest villain because he kills many in an ironically funny ways- and finds it hysterically funny. Basically, he's the greatest villainous character because he's so delightfully twisted in a very unique way that not a lot of villains are.
Do yourself a favour and get a copy of "The Futher Adventures of The Joker." It's a book of short stories (probably not in continuity) that detail various killing sprees and some early days of the Joker. Some horrific stuff in it.
I have been looking for that book for way too long, and just can't seem to find it... :c
actully DreamWings. Batman has stated if he kills then he will become the bad guys he is fighting against even though the joker surely deserves to be pushing up daises espically after the killing joke. dc will never let batman kill for its against the characters estabilished core and they will never let the joker die. ying and yang
@Templar Absolutely. I tend to argue, very strenously, that the worst and vilest villain in Gotham City is quite possibly Batman himself. I mean think about it. He knows full well that killing the Joker and the rest of the freaks would fix a decent number of his cities' problems. But doesn't it seem he'd much rather just throw them in the 2 second revolving door of Arkham because they're crimes justify his sad, deluded existence? Plus he gets to feel all warm and fuzzy and morally superior. I'd love to see some sort of Elseworlds title that uses this take.
Well boys and girls, it is just so lovely to see so many people enjoying my work. Money and fame are for the birds after all...give me an adoring public and I'll be just giggling all day long.
So many young people these days are inspired to do things like "work" or "contribute" and it's really heart warming to know that a really good piece of terrorism inspired mass murder is still appreciated.
My fans actually make getting punched in the face by the ole' pointy eared stick the mud all worthwhile.
Now as for those of you who actually believe there's someone out there better then me, I'm a little disappointed! Perhaps we just haven't made that personal connection on an intimate level.
That's okay though because I just backtracked ALL your IP address and I'll be making a personal appearance to your home very soon...just as soon as I make parole (in 2059! LOL). Who knows? Maybe I'll be out sooner!*hint-hint*
Until then I've got plots to plot, dreams to dream, and guards to murder with a sharpened spoon when their back is turned!
TTFN...and if I don't see ya, LEAVE 'EM LAUGHIN'!HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... ;>
I'm a Marvel fanboy. I just like Marvel Characters better. But while I was playing Arkham Asylum the other day it dawned on me that Joker really is the greatest, coolest and most charismatic villain ever conceived.
If you want to get technical, there's an excellent possibility that Monty is actually Harley Quinn's kill. It is she who walks out holding the bloody knife, after all.
As for the debate about the greatest comics villain- the Joker all the way, baby. There are plenty of others who are awesome, but the Joker alone is every bit as iconic as any superhero. And he is, in fact, a meta. His survival is evidence enough of that, and he also has a form of extrasensory perception. They call it "super sanity".
I love how the marvel fanboys keep coming out to claim a marvel villan is better.Sorry but no. It is and will allways be a matter of opinion! Use that brain instead of being a total idiot! (and I say that as a person who likes Marvel + DC equally)! Go out on the high street, ask a 100 random people to name 1 comic book villan and I bet the Joker or Lex Luthor pops up more because they have both been around a lot longer.
Joker may be arguably the greatest villain, but Batman's greatest villain is Ra's Al Ghul. He's Batman's equal, they share a deep history and are more like family than anything else. Ra's is the only regular Batman villain who threatens the world on a global scale.
True, but Joker is one of the few Batman villains that has ever hit Bruce so close to home and caused him personally so much pain - and he's one of the only ones to do it repeatedly.
Thanos is another over-rated villain. Compare what Darkseid did to Superman at the end of Apocolypse Now. When has Doom or Thanos ever done that? Everything Thanos does is immediately undone.
But, this is another example of zombies talking about of both sides of their mouths. Joker isn't a supervillain cause he isn't powerful enough. Dr. Doom is soooo unbeatable, he's really smart, has iron-man armor, oh, and he's on par with Dr. Strange. Now why don't you all start cyring about how DC characters are too powerful.
I'm surprised that the Dark Knight Returns bit where Joker kills David Letterman AND his studio audience with the smiley gas didn't score a mention. The Joker's smiley gas killing spree in the Tim Burton Batman was pretty horrific, too.
What's even worse about the Joker's Smilex spree in Burton's Batman isn't the part with the parade. Nope, it's where he put all the components in different hygiene products so that when you used them together (like with a shampoo and a conditioner), you'd die laughing. Everyone has to shower sometime. Everyone needs to wear deodorant, or brush their teeth, or put on make-up. Everyone. The Joker put his toxin in innocuous items that people use every single day and fixed it so it's only when they're used in conjunction that it's deadly. If that's not terrifying, then I don't know what is, and it should have been on this list. That product tampering has scared me more than any other Joker crime - no, not even the shooting and paralysis of Barbara Gordon was as horrific to me as the product tampering (although it is still pretty horrific).
Nice article.
Still, the best?
Where's Dr. Doom? Or Thanos?!
Thanos, the Mad Titan! The guy who turned Galactus into a weapon (in Annihilation), and killed half the Universe (with the Infinity Gauntlet!) Not to mention a little something called, "Marvel: The End"?
Where Thanos destroys everybody in Marvel! And it's cannon!
Heck, his line in Annihilation is definetly on, or higher, than Joker level.
Background: Thanos has just turned Galactus into a planet busting weapon and helped the Annihilation wave annihilate a large part of the Universe.
Moondragon: You haven't anwsered my question. What's in it for you? Why did you involve yourself with Annihilus (leader of Annihilation Wave)
Thanos: I was bored with the regular life cycle. I was curious what a radical tilt in the Universe would play out.
Moondragon: You were curious?!
Thanos: You must admit, given the current circumstances, it is fascinating.
And that's after Thanos found out Annihilus was going to DESTROY TWO Universes! He was curious!
I'm siding with JOE and Portion of Foxes. No Jack Nicholson joker?He shot his own number one then replaced him in less than five seconds.The greatest villian in all comics: Jeph Loeb
Black Snow needs to take the "pencil trick" out of his ass so maybe he can enjoy some real comics, rather than lapping at the balls of Marvel Comics' stance on villainy. I agree Norman has become far more interesting lately, but the fact remains: He's been nothing but a Spider-Man villain for 50 years up until "Secret Invasion". Plus, he wasn't even alive for about, oh, 35 of those years.
So let's just forget about Osborn being a contender, here...
"Highly over-rated", indeed...
The Joker has done more damage then any other villain period. More trauma, more long lasting pain on the people he's faced off with, then the vastly over-rated Dr. Doom (and you can put Lex Luther in that class as well).
If you are going with a Marvel villain, Namor is a much better villain, as is Magneto.
Doom is a so-called super genius and socerer supreme that couldn't beat Luke Cage and Dazzler. He loses all the time. He puts the FF through some challenge, stands there like a complete dummy, while they figure a way to beat him, and at the end of the day, the FF go on with their lives as nothing happened.
Can't say that about Batman though. Even when he captures the Joker, the damage he's done haunts Batman forever.
And, he is a supervillain. He isn't just a sociopath, he's also a genius. The Punisher wouldn't stand a chance against someone like him. He'd never be able to find him, never be able to anticipate what he'll do next.
The craziest kill came from a book from the golden age.
The scene starts with a a bus driving along side of the mountain in the middle of the night. There aren't any street lights and a young boy asks the bus driver how he's able to see anything since it's pitch black outside. The bus driver tells him that he just follows the yellow line in the middle of the road.
The bus suddenly drives off the edge of the mountain and kills everyone inside. The Joker re-painted the road so any oncoming traffic would drive off the mountain.
He did it for a good laugh. I happened on that issue as a really young kid and it freaked me out.
... why can't the Joker kill more like this in the modern comics? I'm a rabid Joker fan and even I'm sick of it being all about the murder. I want to see him use that dangerous charm and quick wit to his advantage; I wanna see the Joker warp and twist people and psychologically mess with them. I wanna see him mastermind things, too. Lately DC's been all about the killing with Joker, and that really bugs me, because it takes out the fact that he is still supposed to have a clown gimmick. That is his thing. He is supposed to be morbidly funny and scary at the same time, and if he isn't making you laugh at least a little bit, then he is being written wrong. Then again that might speak volumes about how I like my Joker, but still. There's a reason he is so often called the CLOWN Prince of Crime.
@The Man With Two Brains: Go back. Read the title again. Now read the entry. Done? Ok. Get it yet? No? It's Batgirl he's saying was killed, not Barbara Gordan. For all intents and purposes, the Joker killed Batgirl here because he ended Babs' career as Batgirl.
I'd argue that the Joker is not a supervillain. There's nothing particularly "super" about him; He's just a normal guy who happens to be a grade-A sociopath. Oh, he does have a deformity (white skin, green hair) but that's hardly a super power. He's not even a decent fighter; His only realy weapon is being completely unpredictable and immoral. Therefore, you can't call him the greatest SUPERvillain.
Greatest villain? Sure. I'll give him that if you consider he only ever fights Batman. If he had to fight other heroes (ones with powers, or worse, ones who don't mind killing) he'd be screwed.
If the Punisher lived in Gotham, he'd have killed the Joker years ago, and would be dodging Batman for it ever since.
No, the greatest supervillain is probably Doctor Doom. He operates on a level beyond just being a random psycho, or a greedy crook. He doesn't NEED anything; He's lord of an entire nation. He is a supervillain because he goes beyond petty criminal, beyond crime boss, beyond billionaire industrialist, and even beyond head of national security-- He's a despot. He's everything the greatest villains aspired to be. He rules a nation with an iron fist, and enjoys the protection of international laws. He's the RIGHTFUL lord of Latveria, and there ain't jack-shit anyone can do about it.
He has the magical knowledge and skill to stand against the Sorcerer Supreme (and indeed, when Doctor Strange gave it up, he was worried that the Eye would pick Doom as the new Sorcerer Supreme).
He has the genius to match wits with anyone. He is one of the eight most intelligent people (mortals) on Marvel Earth, and the only villain to share that honor with the likes of Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Hank Pym, Henry McCoy, Amadeus Cho, The Leader and Bruce Banner. (Valeria Richards doesn't count, because she's 2 years old, and she pretends to be a normal 2-year-old when adults are around).
He has armor that is a match in every sense for Iron Man's own designs, as well as an army of robots in his image that are almost as tough as the armor he wears.
He has personally defeated Galactus, Morgan Le Fey, The Watcher, and a slew of cosmic entities that most people don't even know about. The man damn near succeeded in stealing the Beyonder's power.
He's dangerous and powerful enough to hold sway over any villain whom he chooses to recruit. None refuse Doom, if they know what's good for them. He kills without concern because he considers most people beneath him, and what 'side' you're on doesn't matter to him, because Doctor Doom is on Doctor Doom's side; No one else, save maybe for Richards or Stark, are considered worthy to be on the same side.
Doctor Doom would squash the Joker before the clown could trigger any gadgets or do anything unexpected. Doom would recognize the Joker as a chaotic, dangerous fly in the ointment, and would use him to his advantage until he became a nuisance-- Then the Joker would be dead, sent to another dimension, frozen in time, or just disintegrated.
And while I love Batman, I have to think a confrontation between Batman and Doctor Doom would end in the Batman needing to call for backup; Probably from Doom's dungeon.
Ah yes but thats the problem, everyone thinks they can use the Joker to their advantage, and then it completely backfires on them. The joker would become a giant 'nuisance' before doctor doom ever saw it coming. Thats exactly what happened to the criminals of gotham in TDK, and they were the heads of the major crime syndicates in what is the most fictionally corrupt city in the world, so i'd say they were pretty smart themselves.
And the fact that you think anyone beats Batman makes me think that you are not even qualified to speak. Superman is quoted once while introducing Batman saying "He is the most dangerous man in the Universe"
The Joker has insane strength and agility, he is also a highly skilled fighter able to hold his own against Batman.
That's still not a superpower. In the sense of abilities, no, the Joker is not a supervillain. In the sense of sheer number of crimes and the lengths to which he will go as a villain, then yes, he IS a supervillain. It depends on how you define the term.
"@Templar: Whoa whoa whoa, so you're saying Batman's "no killing" rule is immoral? I would suggest that your understanding of that term might be flawed, dude. Refusing to kill a homicidal maniac is exceptionally moral, surely?" Batman doesn't just have blood on his hands, he's fucking swimming in it. He's even saved The Joker's life on multiple occasions, iirc.
There's no good non-meta reason The Joker didn't die long ago (even if Batman didn't do it, you'd think a police officer or some relative of one of The Joker's victims would have)...
No, there's not a good reason. However, this type of mass-murdering is exactly why I think the Joker needs to do LESS killing in the comics and lie low for a bit. He needs to be a bit less MurderDeathKill and a bit more about twisting people for the sheer pleasure of twisting them. The Joker's a killer, yes, but he's also a master of manipulating people.
Er, the title is CLEARLY a lie since he only PARALYZED and (probably) RAPED Barbara Gordon. She didn't die. This is called "the Joker's 10 Craziest KILLS". Also, I can understand mixing the movies, main continuity, and the DCAU on this list, but tossing Elseworlds stuff on feels like a bit of a stretch.
Agreed. Barbara's paralysis and (possible) rape shouldn't be on this list. There are far nastier kills out there, and even though Barbara being paralyzed is up there as one of his most heinous crimes, it's not a kill. This is about KILLS.
Osborne? Please. Magneto? I agree, more antihero than villain. The Joker?
The man is a homicidal artist (didn't Jack say that in the Burton Batman?). His canvas is pain, his brush is agony, and his pigment is death. He kills solely for the joy of killing, for the lulz, for the...well, simply to kill. He can do it, and he does it, in every flavor, in every mood, in every style. And really, saying he does it for..." anything is pointless, because he has no actual reasons. He just kills.
Show me one other supervillain like this. The Joker has murdered every sort of people in every sort of combination and quantity, just to kill them. He has destroyed heroes, and villains, and common folk, and world leaders, and he enjoys every single one, regardless.
If it fucks with the Bat, so much the better.
While I would be glad to agree that both Magneto and Osborn are great characters Magneto being somewhat of a more antihero than a true villain, no one in all comics can even touch the Joker. There is no limit to his madness. He continues to reinvent the true meaning of psycho on a daily basis. For example, Joker, the most prominent villain in the entire DC Universe even got the honor of bludgeoning Lois Lane to death in Kingdom Come, taking away what should have been Lex Luthor's right. Oh and not to mention Wizard Magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Villains of All Time ranked the Joker as #1.
I mean whoever plotted the story, not the actual book villain(s).
Man, I blew that lame joke.
@Black Snow: First off, Joker an't nuts. He's super sane. Literally. If you look at some of the depates over time it has been proposed that the joke is so completely aware of his surroundings that he losses he possible sense of self. He is all the intellect of a genius without any motive to act in self preservation. I mean, look at how close he comes to death in some of his stunts. Unless it furthers his goals, likely fucking with Batman's day, then he doesn't care.
The super-sanity thing is debatable, since Harley was the one who wrote up that theory in canon, but still a viable theory.
Osborne is boring, and while I'll agree that Magneto is the best villain in Marvel, he can't hold a candle to almost anyone in the rouge gallery of Batman. Plus, there's been multiple times where's he sided with the good guys, which is serious point off for real villians.