DC’s 6 Most Disturbing Jokers, Ranked

Joker has always been one of the most disturbing characters in DC Comics, and what is even more problematic is that the mainline Joker isn’t even the worst of his different variants in comics. Joker was the first villain to appear in Batman comics, and while he died in his first appearance, he was so popular that DC Comics felt the need to retcon the death and bring him back. Since then, he has become one of Batman’s greatest villains, the anarchist to Batman’s law-and-order vigilante. Joker remains one of the most unredicatable villains in comics, and his different variants take this to the extreme.

From the regular Joker to versions from alternate Earths, here is a look at the most disturbing versions of Joker, ranked.

6) The Joker

The main Joker from DC Comics is disturbing enough as it is. If the concept behind the Three Jokers storyline is accurate, there have been different versions of Joker. However, canon states that there is only one main Joker, changing over the years. He has done some terrible things over his existence, with the most notable being paralyzing Barbara Gordon with a gunshot and beating Jason Todd to death before blowing the young Robin up.

Those sins alone put Joker over most DC Comics villains, and they show he is as disturbing as they come. However, while the mainline Joker is bad, several versions of the character have gone even further and remain among the most disturbing villains in DC Comics history.

5) Joker From Dark Knight Returns

The Joker from Dark Knight Returns is a possible future for the character, and this is one of the most disturbing versions of Joker for a few key reasons. This version of Joker (on Earth-31) went catatonic during his last stay at Arkham Asylum, mostly remaining in this state because Batman was gone and retired, so he had no reason to exist. When Batman returned, Joker came to and tricked his psychiatrist into claiming he was cured, and he was only evil because of Batman’s psychosis.

This led the Joker to do things even worse than he did in his younger days. He murdered an entire studio audience and his psychiatrist when they planned to reveal he was sane. Joker then did the unthinkable when he went to a carnival and poisoned an entire troupe of Boy Scouts, murdering them all. Finally, he snapped his own neck while fighting Batman to frame him for his murder. Joker has killed a lot of people, but his appearance and actions here took it one step further.

4) Flashpoint Joker

What makes the Flashpoint version of Joker so disturbing has little to do with killing people or wreaking havoc. Instead, this version is extremely disturbing because Joker here is Bruce Wayne’s mother. In this universe, Bruce Wayne was the only one who died the night the burglar approached the family. As a result, Thomas Wayne became a violent, destructive Batman, while Martha Wayne became the deranged Joker.

When Thomas said he missed her smile, he left to kill Joe Chill. When he returned, she had sliced open her cheeks to show a faux smile, and Thomas had her institutionalized. Martha escaped, turned into Joker, and even paralyzed Catwoman after Thomas had taken her in as a father figure. She went much further than the main Joker, tricking Jim Gordon into murdering Harvey Dent’s daughter before killing him. Martha finally took her own life when she learned Bruce had become Batman in an alternate world.

3) New 52 Joker

The New 52 Joker was the same as the mainline Joker, but in a storyline that showed him at his worst. The story here was called Death of the Family, a play on Death in the Family, where Joker killed Jason Todd. Joker had been gone for a year after escaping from Arkham Asylum. Horrifically, Joker allowed Dollmaker to cut off his face, and he fled from Arkham without a face and went into hiding.

When Joker returned, he was more brutal than ever. He showed up at the GCPD headquarters and killed several police officers, all while taunting Jim Gordon. Joker then announces his intention to kill every member of the Bat Family to get his revenge on Batman. This Joker was so disturbing and deranged that Batman taunted him with the knowledge of who Joker really was before the accident, which led the madman to jump from a cliff to his apparent death.

2) The Batman Who Laughs

The Batman Who Laughs is another Joker variant that might be the deadliest of any version of the villain. That is because this Joker is Bruce Wayne. In the Dark Multiverse, Joker began a killing spree, murdering all of Batman’s enemies and Jim Gordon. Joker then blew up a hospital, murdered several parents of young children, and then injected the kids with Joker Venom. Angered beyond control. Batman killed Joker. However, Joker’s death released a toxin that turned Batman into the new Joker.

If it looked like Joker here was disturbing and violent, Batman was worse. He had Bruce’s intelligence and Joker’s unpredictability. He became the Batman Who Laughs and murdered the Bat Family, Superman, Wonder Woman, and anyone else in his world who got in his way. After running over his Earth and turning it into a living hell, he crossed over to the multiverse and tried to continue his rampage before this world’s Justice League finally stopped him. Batman had to team with the real Joker just to have a chance against this deranged villain.

1) Absolute Joker

What is most horrifying is that the Absolute Joker hasn’t even taken the form yet that looks like the most disturbing version of the character. However, if Batman’s other horrific enemies in the Absolute Universe, like Mister Freeze and Killer Croc, are any indication, Joker should be terrifying. When Joker first showed up, he was one of the wealthiest men in the world and looked more normal than he ever had.

However, he also had appearances where he looked more like his usual self, though something inside him seems to literally want to get out. He also had Bane working for him, and he had turned Bane into a monstrous man who towers over even his main DC counterpart. The advertising for Joker’s upcoming transformation appears to turn him into a horrific monster, which will easily allow him to join the other Absolute Batman villains as nightmare-inducing monstrocities.

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