The end of the world is a regular occurrence in the DC Universe; some villains always want to destroy everything, but theJokerhas gotten a lot closer to succeeding than most. While Batmanhas done everything he can to foil the Joker’s crimes, there have still been a few times when he’s almost gotten the last laugh.
The Joker is a deceptively dangerous villain. Despite the fact that he is just a man, the Joker has proven himself to be a worldwide threat numerous times. The Joker has continually escalated his crimes from being simple murders with a prankster motif to very nearly bringing about the apocalypse. While all of Batman’s other villains have always been more than happy to just seek control over Gotham or financial gain, the Joker has consistentlycome the closest to destroying everything Batman holds dear.
10The Joker Nearly Succeeded in Driving Jim Gordon Insane
Batman: The Killing Jokeby Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
The Joker is a very inconsistent character, as his personality can often wildly change depending on the writer. But one of the most consistent things about the Joker is his philosophy of life.The Joker believes that nothing matters, that everything is all just one big joke. He believesthat if anyone had a significantly bad day, they would see things from his point of view. The Joker attempted to prove this by shooting Barbara Gordon in her spine and then kidnapping James Gordon.
Two DC Heroes Failed to Stop Joker’s ‘Killing Joke’ Attack on Batgirl
The Joker’s attack on Barbara Gordon was one of the most brutal things to happen in the DC Universe and it turns out, it was completely unavoidable.
The Joker hoped to drive Gordon insane by using pictures he had taken of his daughter Barbara in pain. Ultimately, theJoker’s philosophy was seemingly proven incorrect.While the story makes a great parallel between Batman’s worst day and the Joker’s philosophy, Jim Gordon ends up disproving the Joker’s point. Despite everything the Joker puts him through, Gordon insists that Batman has to bring the Joker in “by the book.”
9The Joker “Murders” Robin Tim Drake
Joker: Last Laughby Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty, Pete Woods, Andrew Pepoy, Tom McCraw, and Willie Schubert
It’s pretty obvious that the Joker has a death wish. The Joker has been trying for decades to get Batman to kill him, but so far, the Dark Knight has managed to resist the urge. But that hasn’t been true for all the Bat-Family members. During the events ofJoker: Last Laugh, theJoker attempted to destroy the world by unleashing a virusthat made everyone infected behave like him, resulting in the apparent death of Tim Drake.
When Dick Grayson finally caught up with the Joker, he ended up beating the Joker to death, much to his own horror. Thankfully, it turned out that Tim wasn’t dead. He survived and even arrived just in time to help revive the Joker using CPR. The Joker has always wanted to get Batman to break his no-kill rule, but failing that, he’d certainly have no issue with forcing one of Batman’s closest allies to do it instead.
8The Joker Succeeded in Killing Robin Jason Todd
Batman#426 by Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo, Mike DeCarlo, Adrienne Roy, and John Costanza
The Joker started out as a serial killer, but it was usually random people, and it always had a prankster motif to it. AfterThe Killing Joke, that all changed, as DC realized that the Joker could be a much more serious and intimidating villain. Possibly due tothe popularity boost he got from shooting Barbara Gordon, the decision was made to let the Joker kill Jason Todd. It was a pivotal moment in comic book history, and it changed the Batman books forever.
While killing someone seems like it should be a definitive win for the Joker, comic books are never so simple. While killing Jason did have a major effect on the Bat-Family at the time, Jason didn’t stay dead forever. Jason eventually revived as the Red Hood and has been trying to kill the Joker ever since.
7Nightwing Brainwashes Dick Grayson into Joining Him
Nightwing#72 by Dan Jurgens, Ronan Cliquet, Nick Filardi, and Andworld Design
The Joker has always had a fixation on Robin, and even taking on a new superhero identity didn’t save Dick Grayson from this obsession. During a period when the Court of Owls was trying to brainwash Dick Grayson into becoming a Talon, the Joker got his hands on the memory crystal the Court of Owls was usingand used it to transform Dick into his very own son.
Using the power of the memory crystal, the Clown Prince of Crime forcesDick to believe that he was raised by the Jokerunder the name Dicky Boy. Thankfully, this “status quo” doesn’t last long, as Dick’s memory is soon returned to him in full, marking the end of the Ric Grayson saga. Dick finally retook the mantle of Nightwing and rejoined the Bat-Family just in time to help during the events ofJoker War.
6The Joker Nearly Succeeded in Destroying the Bat-Family
Batman#13 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, Richard Starkings, and Jimmy Betancourt
The Joker has always desired Batman’s attention, and he’s always hated anything that takes it away from him. While the Joker was content to try and kill and brainwash the Robins, he eventually grew tired of this and longed for the days when he would be able to fight Batman alone, having the Dark Knight’s full attention. And so theJoker attempts to destroy the Bat-Family, capturing all of them and exploiting Batman’s paranoia.
While this was technically a Joker victory, it was short-lived, and he ultimately didn’t get what he wanted.
While the Joker was once again defeated and the Bat-Family was freed, it seemed that the Joker had ultimately won. While no one had died or was even hurt, theBat-Family no longer wanted anything to do with Batman. This wedge remained in the Bat-Family for a while, but they eventually overcame it and reunited. While this story was technically a Joker victory, it was short-lived, and he ultimately didn’t get what he wanted.
5The Joker Nearly Pushed Superman into Killing Him
Action Comics#719 by David Michelinie and Kieron Dwyer
The Joker has a big thing about pushing people to break their moral code. He’s been pushing Batman to break his no-kill rule for decades. But one story saw the Joker get tired of playing with Batman and instead turn his attention to Superman. TheJoker infects Lois Lanewith a poison thatwill seemingly kill her unless she’s given an antidote. Unfortunately, the Joker claims that the only way to get a cure is to inject the Joker with the same poison, killing him, but also mixing with his altered blood to create an antidote.
Superman very strongly considers this, but eventually, he just can’t do it. When Lois Lane flatlines, Superman thinks all hope is lost, but things are never so simple with the Joker. Instead, Lois turns out fine; it’s revealed that the poison was never lethal at all.
4Joker Succeeded in Corrupting Superman in One Alternate Universe
Injustice: Gods Among Us#1 by Tom Taylor, Axel Gimenez, Mike S. Miller, Jheremy Raapack, Diana Egea, Andrew Elder, and Wes Abbott
The Joker loves attacking people’s moral centers; he can’t get enough of it, and if there’s one character who’s ever the Boy Scout, it’s Superman. The Joker has tried to break Superman’s will a few different times, and in theInjusticeuniverse, he actually succeeded. After the Joker tricks Superman into murdering Lois Lane,who was also pregnant with Superman’s child, he then sets off a nuke that obliterates Metropolis. It turns out that this bomb was just one step too far, and Superman finally murders the Joker in response.
Joker’s New Form Is His Most Sickening Yet, It Isn’t Even a Competition
He’s been teased since the beginning but fans are getting another glimpse at Absolute Joker and his new form is sicker than anyone ever imagined.
The Joker’s murder resulted in a half-decade war between Batman and Superman. Superman believed that criminals like the Joker could never be allowed to rise to power again, and Superman tried to take over the world to enforce it. Batman, terrified of Superman’s new willingness to use lethal force, stood against him. While this might seem like a Joker victory, Batman did eventually prevail.
3The Joker Tried to Turn Everyone on Earth Insane
Doctors have been trying to cure the Joker for decades, and nothing has worked. Finally fed up with the Joker being a homicidal maniac, one of his doctors decides to tell him that he has a terminal brain tumor, completely inoperable. It was the doctors' hope that this sudden shock would make the Joker reconsider his life and the things that he had done. That’s not what happened.
The Joker instead decided that if he’s going to die,he’s taking the world with him. The Joker uses Stormfront and Mr. 104 to create “crazy rain,” a substance that blankets the Earth and infects nearly everyone. This plan would likely have destroyed the world if not for the intervention of Kirk Langstrom and Harley Quinn, two talented doctors who created a cure for Joker’s deadly poison.
2The Batman Who Laughs Was Nearly the Joker’s Greatest Victory
Dark Days: The Castingby Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Jim Lee, Andy Kubert, John Romita Jr, Scott Williams, Klaus Janson, Danny miki, Alex Sinclair, Jeremiah Skipper, and Steve Wands
The Dark Multiverse is made up of the worst fears of Earth’s greatest heroes. One of Batman’s biggest fears is what would happen if he ever ends up killing the Joker. This fear gave rise to a twisted Earth where the Joker, realizing he was dying, launched a sadistic attack on Gotham that finally broke Batman. With no other choice,Bruce killed the Joker, which released a toxin that infected Bruce, slowly transforming him into the next Joker.
This infected Batman became known as the Batman Who Laughs, who ended up slaughtering all the heroes on his Earth with ease. But he didn’t stop there. Batman Who Laughs made his way to the Prime Universe and became the Darkest Knight, very nearly succeeding in rewriting the multiverse into his own twisted image. This fate was prevented when a giant golden Wonder Woman threw him into the sun.
1The Joker Destroyed the Entire Multiverse (Kind Of)
Emperor Joker#1 by Joe Kelly, Jeph Loeb, Duncan Rouleau, Todd Nauck, Carlo Barberi, Scott McDaniel, Marlo Alquiza, Jaime Mendoza, Richard Bonk, Tanya Horie, and Richard Starkings
The closest that the Joker ever came to having the last laugh was during the events ofEmperor Joker. In this story, the Joker gained 98% of the power of Mr. Mxyzptlk. With his new reality-bending abilities, the Joker rewrote the world in his favor by locking up all the heroes, reducing the Justice League to bumbling idiots, and having Batman be murdered over and over again every single night. Then, when the Joker finally grew bored with his games,he simply erased existence - all of it.
As far as last laughs go, that’s the closest the Joker has ever gotten to having the final laugh in the multiverse.
With a simple snap of his fingers, the Joker wiped out everything in existence - except for himself, Superman, and Batman. Much to the Joker’s annoyance, it appeared that his obsession with Batman prevented him from erasing him, which meant that he couldn’t erase everything.Superman was then able to convince the Jokerto give up this power, restoring the universe. As far as last laughs go, that’s the closest theJokerhas ever gotten to having the final laugh in the multiverse.
The Joker
The Joker is a psychopathic criminal mastermind with a warped sense of humor. Initially introduced as a remorseless serial killer, the character evolved over time, often oscillating between a prankster and a homicidal maniac. His relationship with Batman is one of the most complex in comic book history, defined by their mutual obsession. Over the decades, the Joker has become an enduring icon of chaos and madness, embodying the antithesis of Batman’s order and justice.
