Joker (Earth-One)

The Joker must have the Batman! Nay, the Joker deserves the Batman! What fun would there be in humbling mere policemen? I am the Greatest Criminal ever known! HA HA HA HA! And for anyone else to destroy the Batman would be unworthy of me!

— Joker ^src

History

The Joker was once little more than a lab worker turned petty criminal who committed crimes using the masked identity of the Red Hood, planning to steal $1,000,000 and then retire back into obscurity. His career as the Red Hood ended after an altercation with the Batman, which resulted in the Red Hood diving from a catwalk into a vat of chemicals. The oxygen system built into the large red metal headpiece he wore enabled the Red Hood to swim under the surface of the chemical wastes, but when he arrived home he discovered on looking in a mirror that he had not escaped unscathed. The chemicals had changed the Red Hood's appearance by bleaching his skin white, dying his hair green, and contorting his facial muscles into a perpetual malignant grin. The incident also drove the man irrevocably insane. Dubbing himself the Joker, he became the Batman's most notorious adversary. Not only did he prove himself to be the most dangerous of foes, but he also proved to be the most mysterious. Even after countless battles with one another, the Batman never discovered the Joker’s true identity.

Joker (Earth-One) 005 — The Origin of the Joker

Initially, the Joker appeared to be little more than a colorful crook with a penchant for gimmicks, but as the years passed, his crimes became ever more gruesome, a possible reflection of his own increasingly downward spiral into insanity. Although the Joker preferred working alone (a ubiquitous horde of henchmen not withstanding), he occasionally teamed up with criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, and together they matched wits against the "World's Finest" team of Batman, Robin and Superman.

The Joker even managed to give the Justice League of America trouble on more than one occasion.

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): The Joker's entry in the 1980s series Who's Who in the DC Universe states that: "An average athlete and hand-to-hand combatant, The Joker is occasionally possessed of almost-superhuman strength within the heat of battle-madness, thus making him more than a match for the physically superior Batman." Several instances in the comics have backed this notion, such as in Batman #251, where The Joker is able to actually beat Batman in physical combat (though he had caught the Dark Knight off-guard, and Batman had sustained a head injuries mere minutes ago). In Batman #366, The Joker is driven wild by the heat of an enormous shootout occurring below him, and nearly kills Batman with a machine gun. The Joker has been known to match Batman punch for punch in fights and has even bested him from time to time. His insanity gives him frightening strength agility and savagery. He has a near superhuman tolerance to pain.
Firearms
Chemistry
Gadgetry
Disguise: Sometimes, his disguises could fool even Batman.
Tactical Analysis

Weaknesses

Mental Illness
- Psychosis: The Joker is unrepentently psychotic
- Obsession: He is also obsessed with not only becoming Gotham's greatest criminal, but also with eternally foiling the Batman.

Paraphernalia

Transportation

Jokermobile

Weapons

Joker Venom, and any number of weapons disguised as props, such as exploding fish or lapel flowers that spray acid. Famously, in Batman #321, he uses a gag gun that at first only shoots out a small flag that says "BANG! YOU'RE DEAD!", lulling his victim into a false sense of security, but on the trigger's second pull fires the sharp-tipped flag out like a spear and kills the man.
Joker Fish: The Joker used his Joker Venom to turn all of the fish in Gotham Bay into maniacally, grinning Joker-Fish. Consuming a Joker Fish had the same effect as one who had been subjected to the Joker Venom directly. In one instance, a house cat ate a Joker Fish, was Jokerized, then attacked its master, transmitting the venom, ultimately killing him. ^[1]

Notes

The Earth-One Joker shares many similarities with his Earth-Two and New Earth counterparts. Their origins, career history, personalities and physical appearance are nearly identical to one another. The establishment of the Earth-One Joker is the result of retroactive alteration to the character’s established published history (colloquially known as a Retcon). The Joker’s actual first appearance as an Earth-One character is a matter of interpretation as there has never been an actual distinction between when the Golden Age Earth-Two Joker ceased making regular published appearances and when the Silver Age Joker was introduced. It is commonly accepted that most appearances made by the Joker from the early-mid 1950s until 1986 are attributed to the Earth-One Joker. The Red Hood origin was revisited for the Modern era Joker in Alan Moore's 1988 one-shot special Batman: The Killing Joke. It is also unknown how much of the Joker’s Pre-Crisis history survived into his Post-Crisis chronology. While many of his earlier appearances from the 1950s and 60s are likely apocryphal, it is reasonable to assume that many of the Joker stories presented in the 1970s-80s are still considered canon as per current continuity.

In June of 1985, the dimension-spanning catastrophe known as the Crisis on Infinite Earths resulted in the collapse of the Multiverse. Earth-One and all of its denizens, including the Joker, ceased to exist and were merged into the restructured Post-Crisis continuity commonly known as New Earth.

See also: Joker (New Earth)

Trivia

The Joker is the first DC Comics super-villain to receive his own ongoing comic book series.

The earliest canonical appearance of the Earth-One Joker is Batman #85 though it has also been established that Batman has fought the Joker on many occasions prior to that issue. ^[2]

The Joker is often called the Clown Prince of Crime and/or Harlequin of Hate.