The Joker is one of comics’ most infamous villains, a monster of a man who’s plagued Batman for many years. But who is he really? If you’re wondering what Joker’s origin story is in the Batman comics, here’s the answer.
What Is Joker’s Origin Story in the Batman Comics?
DC Comics has often avoided giving The Joker a solid origin story, but currently, they’ve settled on his origin as a failed comedian, as seen in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke.
Does that sound familiar? It should, since it’s similar to his Arthur Fleck origin in the Joker movie. Moore wrote the story years before, but comic companies have a habit of making their comic runs mirror, in some way, recent or current movies. One notable example is the MCU turning Ms. Marvel into a mutant.
In The Killing Joke, The Joker, who remains unnamed, is a struggling comedian who, desperate to make enough money to support his pregnant wife, agrees to help a group of criminals rob a chemical plant that he used to work next door to. His wife tragically dies due to a faulty baby bottle warmer, and he tries to back out, but the criminals insist he goes ahead.
Dressed as “The Red Hood,” the group’s gimmick, he encounters Batman during the robbery and is knocked into a vat where his skin is bleached, and that physical/mental damage, coupled with the loss of his wife, turns him into The Joker. Just one bad day was all it took.
At least, that’s how Moore’s comic originally painted it. DC has recently retconned things, not by erasing this origin but by putting a new spin on it. Yes, this was how he became The Joker, but before that, he was an abusive husband. His wife isn’t actually dead – the police faked her death to let her get away from him.
Related: Pregnant Joker Was the Silliest Batman Controversy
Does The Joker Need an Origin Story?
The Joker has a line in The Killing Joke, “Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another.. if I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!” And, in a lot of cases, comics and other media do play fast and loose with The Joker’s origin.
Why? Well, because the Joker’s origin isn’t necessary – it’s what he’s become that matters, a maniac who’s so unpredictable and deranged that Batman can barely keep up. DC has muddied the waters on multiple occasions, offering up multiple origins.
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is a perfect example of how to handle The Joker’s backstory. He takes great pleasure in telling people how he got his scars, but none of his stories tally. Joker aside, movies have their own take on the character’s origin.
In 1989’s Batman, he’s Jack Napier, a career criminal who also killed Bruce Wayne’s parents (the name Jack Napier has been associated with the character in the comics, too). In Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, he’s an unnamed criminal who, with his former gang, killed the Phantasm’s father. And in the Gotham series, he’s a pair of brothers, Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska. The show wasn’t allowed to actually call him The Joker, but they found a creative way around that.
Even though The Killing Joke appears to be the current “official” origin, there was also a tale where one of The Joker’s former henchmen started thinking he was the Joker. The ending to that story was ambiguous, leaving readers wondering who had won, the real or faux Joker.
A lack of a concrete origin also means that Batman can’t easily “help” The Joker, and it adds to his menace. It’s part of the messed-up appeal of the character. Whatever trauma he suffered remains shrouded in mystery. Or it did. Making him an abuser adds an extra dose of nastiness to the character, but you can bet Moore isn’t happy about DC meddling with his tale.
So the answer to what Joker’s origin story is in the Batman comics is that, generally, he doesn’t have a concrete backstory. Right now, they’re suggesting he was a failed comedian, but a year or even a month from now, that origin could be wiped away.
