That chemical vapor-- it turned my hair green, my lips rouge-red, my skin chalk white! I look like an evil clown! What a joke on me! 
- — Joker
Detective Comics #168 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 1951.
Synopsis for Batman: "The Man Behind the Red Hood!"
The state university invites Batman and Robin to be guest instructors. After a month of preparing a crime class in crime-fighting techniques, Batman decides to give the class a test case for a crime he never solved. The case was about a master criminal by the name of the Red Hood who escaped Batman and Robin by diving into a vat of chemicals from the Ace Playing Card Company and disappeared before he was ever caught.
The university crime class makes headlines by reopening the ten year old case which in turn prompts the Red Hood to come out of retirement and rob the campus payroll office. The Red Hood escapes Batman and Robin by exiting the campus through a gas main pipe. Batman and Robin deduce the Red Hood had a breathable gas mask that allowed him to survive the gas.
Later that night, the Red Hood strikes the university again by trying to steal from the museum exhibit. When Batman and Robin give chase, the Red Hood again appears to escape when Batman and Robin accidentally tackle the school gardener, Earl Benson, thinking it was the Red Hood in the dark.
Batman decides to set a trap for the Red Hood by planting a false school newspaper story to entice the Red Hood to rob the university again. When the Red Hood takes the bait, Batman and Robin blind the Red Hood with red beams of light and catch him to reveal his identity as Earl Benson.
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The Joker's origin
Batman explains to the college crime fighting class that Earl is only an imposter. Earl explains how he stole the costume from the real Red Hood after he caught him escaping the university from the gas pipe. He tied the real Red Hood up in the tool shed for a reward but instead decided to use the Red Hood identity to commit crimes and not get blamed for them.
Earl brings everyone to the tool shed where they discover the Joker tied up. The Joker reveals to everyone that he was a lab worker who decided to steal $1,000,000 and retire, so he became the Red Hood. After he dived into the vat of chemicals those many years ago, his hood helped him survive the swim, but the chemicals drastically changed his appearance to look like an evil clown. Realizing he could terrify people with his new appearance, and also paying tribute to the card company that helped the transformation, he called himself the Joker.
Appearing in Batman: "The Man Behind the Red Hood!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Red Hood/Joker (Origin)
- Earl Benson (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Dean Chalmers (Single appearance)
- Paul Wong (Single appearance)
- Jimmy Kale (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Ace Chemical Processing Plant (First appearance)
- Wayne Manor
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Roy Raymond: "The Electric Thinking Cap"
Appearing in Roy Raymond: "The Electric Thinking Cap"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Brack Davis (Single appearance)
- Homer Price (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Roger Churney (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Robotman: "The Return of the Iron Man"
Appearing in Robotman: "The Return of the Iron Man"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- Conlon Gang (Single appearance)
- Iron Man
Other Characters:
- Pedro Tafoya (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Pow-Wow Smith: "Ten Little Indians"
Appearing in Pow-Wow Smith: "Ten Little Indians"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Teleka (Single appearance)
- Little Turtle (Single appearance)
- Eight other children named "Pow-Wow Smith" (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Freddie Voorhees (Single appearance)
Locations:
Notes
- "The Man Behind the Red Hood" is reprinted in:
- Batman #213
- Batman: From the 30's to the 70's
- The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told
- Batman Archives Vol 8
- Batman: Secrets of the Batcave
- Limited Collectors' Edition #C-39
- The Joker: A Celebration of 75 Years
- The Joker: 80 Years of the Clown Prince of Crime: The Deluxe Edition
- Batman in the Fifties
- Batman in the Fifties New Edition
- Batman appeared last in Batman #63. He appears next in the first story in Detective Comics #369.
- The Joker appeared last in Batman #63. He appears next in Batman #66.
- Robin appeared last in Star-Spangled Comics #113. He appears next in Star-Spangled Comics #114.
- This issue includes a one-page "Peg" humor strip by Henry Boltinoff.
- This issue includes a one-page public service announcement titled "The World of Adventure in Books". It is written by Jack Schiff and illustrated by Win Mortimer. The feature includes the characters of Green Arrow, Tomahawk and the Shining Knight.
- This issue includes a one-page "Jerry the Jitterbug" humor strip by Henry Boltinoff.
Trivia
- The origin of the Joker is first revealed in this issue. Before the accident which turned him into a psychotic clown, the Joker was a small-time thief known as the Red Hood. An updated version of the Red Hood origin was provided in the 1988 Alan Moore one-shot special Batman: The Killing Joke. In recent years, former sidekick Jason Todd has retired his teen identity of Robin and adopted the guise of the Red Hood.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.