The Jokeris one of the most complicated villains in fable because he never seems to be the same person . DC has explored this aspect of the Joker a ton over the decades , with a late story concretely confirming that the Joker utterly has three disjoined personalities . But I still think that there ’s a fourth Joker personality , and DC has given us plenty of hints about it .
There have been tons of different interpretations and exploration of the Joker ’s different personalities . Some stories , likeThree Jokersby Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok , have situate the idea that the Joker is actually three separate citizenry .
Chip Zdarsky took a different direction in hisBatmanrun , explaining thatthe Joker ’s different personality are from breeding with Dr. Daniel Captio , the same person who helpedBatman craft his Zur - En - Arrh personality . While Bruce only create one back - up personality for himself , the Joker forthwith see the potential drop in having multiple and created three separate ones , as explore in theThe Joker Year Onearc by Zdarsky , Giuseppe Camuncoli , and others .
The Original Version of the Joker Wasn’t a True Supervillain at First
Art fromBatman: The Killing Jokeby Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
The three personalities most often seen in the comics arethe implike hoaxer , the brutal sequential Orcinus orca , and the sadistic planner . Their shared creation excuse how the Joker is sometimes a whole harmless prankster and sometimes a terminated monster , one of the bad serial killers that DC has to offer . It ’s easy to see why most people would think that these three personalities are all that there is to the Joker . After all , having more than three personality is quite a lot , and often times the three personality are how readers see the Joker presented . But I feel that DC has bequeath a few clues that show that the Joker is hiding another personality .
Only after one horrible event was the Joker stand .
The Joker was n’t always the Joker , of trend : there was a man before the madness . The Joker used to be a even guy , and while DC is usually pretty tight - lipped on exactly what that past was , the most commonly accept solution is that the Joker used to be a man identify Jack . This man know enough of a liveliness that he had a wife and kid , which was detailed both inBatman : The Killing Jokeby Alan Moore and Brian Bolland andBatman : Three Jokers . While DC has avoided confirming that this backstory is the truth , it is the most wide assume among fans , so I think it can be moderately much treated as canon .
Jack married a woman and loved her enough that the two had a child together . Only after one frightful event was the Joker turn out . So this implore the question of what happened to the Joker ’s original personality . If his confrontation with Batman drove him to madness , readers have to need where that original adult male who had a married woman and kids went . Well , after learn a ton of comedian , I intend I have some resolution . Before the Joker met Daniel Captio , The Joker Year Onereveals that the Joker was terrorise of Batman , which is in stark contrast with his current three personalities .
The Joker Definitely Has a Hidden Personality Inside Him
I’m Convinced a Fourth Joker Exists
After being trained by Captio , the Joker symbolically down his original self , genuinely dedicating himself to becoming the Joker . But killing one ’s original personality is n’t exactly easy , even for someone like the Joker . While the Joker may have pushed the man he once was as deeply down as potential , I do n’t think he ’s really gone , and there are a few instances that prove my point . Whilethe Joker ’s villainous personalitiesare for certain most often in control , they have faded away on affair , unremarkably after Batman has disappeared , and the Joker becomes once again the man he originally was .
No matter how many times that Batman put the Joker in Arkham Asylum , he always escape . DC really excuse how he does it 10 ago .
InBatman : Going Saneby J.M. DeMatteis and Joe Staton , the Joker really believes that he succeeded in stamp out Batman . Because of this success , the Joker does n’t go on a rampage across the metropolis of Gotham ; instead , he simply gives up his criminal path . He settle down , gets a job , meets a cleaning woman , and has a life . It ’s remarkably faithful towhat the Joker originally had before he fall back his mind . I do n’t think it make sense why the personality , described as a clown , a demon , and " cold death , " would bother with a relationship , even if Batman was dead . But the Joker ’s original personality would .
There ’s also the strange pattern of theJoker want to be a zep . Whilethere ’s no denying that the Joker is a sadistic sea wolf , there ’s also several moments in his story that I ’ve noticed the Joker trying to help people - which does n’t make any signified for the original Joker personality , who were crafted to be pure killers . But if the fourth personality , the normal valet de chambre who the Joker used to be , was regulate the other Joker personalities , that desire to be a hero would make a lot more sense .
The Joker Is a Legitimate Hero in at Least One Alternate Universe
Batman: White Knightby Sean Murphy
Though he live in an alternative universe , I reckon it ’s also worth pointing out the character of Jack Napier fromBatman : White Knightby Sean Murphy . Despite the alternate account , the characters still come , mostly , the same way of life . This creation make a point of exploring the Joker ’s personalities . Specifically , it splits the Joker character into two personalities : the Joker and Jack Napier .
Jack Napier is a good , righteous valet de chambre , and he even help redeem Gotham City , while the Joker is a frightful sadistic killer . I retrieve it ’s very interesting that Murphy start in this management with the iconic character . sure enough he must ’ve base this interpretation off of something - possibly the estimation that the Joker has always had a good personality inside him .
Another major piece of information that intimate that the Joker still has a good personality inside of him is showcased inJLAby Grant Morrison . When Martian Manhunter taste to rearrange the Joker ’s mind , he goes late into the Joker ’s subconscious mind . Deep down inside of him , the Joker holds onto a old memory of an former loving couple . It ’s never made clear exactly who these people are , but the Joker intelligibly holds them close . ConsideringHarley Quinn and other characters have stated that the Jokerhas no regard for anyone ’s living , it ’s odd that he ’d have this retentiveness stored deep inside him - unless it belonged to a fourth personality .
The Joker Is Mostly a Monster, But One Small Part of Him Isn’t
DC Needs to Explain Where This Fourth Personality Is
The Joker has often finish being a baddie when he regains his sanity , but there are net ton of times when he ’s stopped being the Joker without anything to goad him back to saneness . While theAction Comicsarc " I , Bizarro " by Jason Aaron and John Timms showed that the Joker would be a helpful man without his insanity , Batman : Going Saneshows that he does n’t need to be " cured " to be a regular somebody , proving thatthere is something more in the Joker than just his insanity . The Joker ’s personalities , which are born of insanity , do n’t need to be absent for him to become salutary , have in mind that there must be something else influencing him .
Looking for another recent account starring multiple Jokers ? curb outThe Joker : The Man Who Stopped Laughingby Matthew Rosenberg , Carmine Di Giandomenico , and Francesco Francavilla , uncommitted now both digitally and in call for editions from DC Comics .
One of the biggest complaints levied towards Batman is that he should just kill the Joker and be done with it . But if I ’m right , then the Joker has a victim that no one ever talks about : the gentleman’s gentleman he used to be . If Batman can reach that quaternary personality and work it back to the airfoil , then the Joker could lead a normal , healthy lifespan . He could be redeemed . I know this hypothesis is far - fetched , but all the clues and evidence are there . Whilethe Jokeroften exchange his personality to keep himself unsafe and irregular , there ’s one more personality hide inside that need to be saved .
Batman : The Joker Year Oneis available now from DC Comics !
The Joker is a psychopathological criminal mastermind with a warped sensory faculty of humour . Initially introduced as a remorseless nonparallel killer , the character evolved over time , often oscillating between a prankster and a murderous maniac . His kinship with Batman is one of the most complex in comical ledger story , delineate by their reciprocal obsession . Over the decades , the Joker has become an enduring icon of pandemonium and madness , embodying the antithesis of Batman ’s order and judge .
Summary
The Joker is one of the most iconic scoundrel in risible book history , known for his chaotic nature and as Batman ’s ultimate nemesis . He has been portrayed by multiple histrion in various sensitive , each bringing their unique interpretation to the character , from Cesar Romero ’s camp take in the sixties to Joaquin Phoenix ’s spirited depiction in 2019 . The Joker ’s influence extends beyond comic strip into films , telecasting shows , and video games , make him a cornerstone of DC ’s villainous pantheon .
