Byron Merideth (Prime Earth)

Merrymaker
Mainstream Universe‎‎, 2011‎-present
Gallery
Real Name	Byron Merideth
Main Alias	Merrymaker
Affiliation	League of Smiles
Base Of Operations	Gotham City
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Divorced
Occupation	Therapist for the Joker-Obsessed
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	6' 1"
Weight	194 lbs (88 kg)
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Grey
Origin
Universe	Prime Earth
Creators	John Layman · Jason Fabok
First Appearance	Detective Comics Vol 2 #16 (March, 2013)

I understood the influence Joker has. Something that affects people, on an almost subconscious primal level. For most people--regular people--he inspires fear. For the less stable people--he simply inspires.

— Merrymaker

Byron Merideth became obsessed with the Joker and became Merrymaker, the leader of the League of Smiles.

History

Dr. Byron Merideth was a crazed doctor at Arkham Asylum who used his own methods, including torture, to rehabilitate his patients. During his time working at Arkham, Merideth began to study the Joker more and more. He was one of the few doctors that could tolerate the criminal. Eventually getting fired, Merideth went into solo-practice. He based his therapy on Joker-obsessed cases. In Gotham, there was no shortage of crazies who loved the Joker. There were four people, however, who caught his attention: Philip, Annie, David, and Rodney. These four, he noted, desperately needed leadership and guidance.

Creating the costume for the Merrymaker, Merideth created the role so he could lead the four into criminal activity. Merideth's plan was to create this uncanny society so that the four would do his bidding. While the Joker-themed criminals attacked civilians, Merideth would sneak into a nearby building where one of his enemies (either his ex-wife, her lawyer, etc.) would be stationed. This way, he could perform an easy kill, while the members of the League of Smiles would attract Batman and the GCPD's attention.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

• Psychology
• Leadership: Merideth created the "League of Smiles", organizing his Joker-obsessed patients to systematically perform crimes.
• Deception: Merideth successfully faked his own death and began to develop his Merrymaker identity. Even his former patients didn't realize that they were being lead by their therapist.
• Medical Science
• Medicine

Related

• 5 Appearances of Byron Merideth (Prime Earth)
• 2 Images featuring Byron Merideth (Prime Earth)
• 1 Quotations by or about Byron Merideth (Prime Earth)
• Character Gallery: Byron Merideth (Prime Earth)

Footnotes

Batman Villain(s) This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."