The Joker Has Plenty of Origin Stories, But These Are the 3 Best

The Joker is quite possibly the most iconic supervillain of all time, and it’s easy to see why. He’s a bed of terrifying contradictions, a clown with a permanent smile that cackles as he chokes the life out of anyone who has the misfortune to cross his path at the wrong time. Yet despite his popularity, his origin has remained forever a mystery. This was by design, as even his creator Jerry Robinson said that to reveal too much about the Joker takes away some of the essential mystery from his character. Still, there have been several attempts to explain who the man was before the Clown Prince of Crime, though each one has an element of doubt to it, given that by his very nature the Joker is an unreliable narrator. 

Sometimes he’s a normal man who had one bad day, and other times he’s a demon who’s risen from hell to stalk Gotham’s streets. Still, there are some elements that people can generally agree on for the Joker’s origin. Most people agree that Joker was once a criminal named Red Hood, and that he was disfigured when he fell into a vat of chemicals during a scuffle with Batman, which originated in Detective Comics #168. Beyond that, everything is fair game. Was he a master criminal who snapped beyond belief, or a man whose mind was broken by an alternate version of himself interfering at the worst time? There are plenty of origins for the Joker, and although almost none actually stick, let’s take a look at three of the best ones that writers have suggested over the years.

1) Leader of the Red Hood Gang

This origin first appeared in Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV’s “Zero Year” crossover event, which was the New 52’s take on Bruce becoming Batman. The infamous Red Hood Gang ruled Gotham City’s underworld with force and numbers in their identical uniforms, led by the unknown Red Hood One. He was a criminal mastermind that the GCPD and early Batman were entirely unprepared to fight, and acted as the Riddler’s muscle in taking over the city, and had their own reasons for trying to assassinate Bruce Wayne. Eventually, Red Hood One was cornered by Batman in ACE Chemicals, and he chose to leap into a vat of chemicals to swim into the sewers and escape. What makes this version of his origin so intriguing is how it shows him operating as a true high level costumed criminal before his skin-bleaching. Joker’s ruthlessness is at its peak, alongside his love for theatrics that most origins usually don’t attribute to him until after his transformation. This feels like the perfect origin for the Harlequin of Hate in a Gotham that is unabashedly weird long before Batman arrives, which Snyder and Tynion IV’s Gotham certainly is.

2) Terrifyingly Sane

The short “Case Study” comic by legendary duo Paul Dini and Alex Ross begged to ask the question; what if the Joker was only pretending to be insane? Released in the beautiful Batman: Black and White volume two, this story features two doctors in Arkham who happen upon an old file about the Joker, featuring tales from people before he was disfigured. The old acquaintances questioned say that they never knew the Joker’s real name, but he was a mobster who always had his fingers in the various gangs and illicit practices, but couldn’t be nailed down. He was private and dangerously smart. At some point he started an affair with the head of Gotham’s biggest gang, only to trick said big boss into shooting his own girlfriend who was dressed in Joker’s coat. The boss got death row, and Joker took over his gang. Wanting a real challenge, he decided to invent the Red Hood persona and try costumed crime, where he jumped into the vat of chemicals to escape Batman and was bleached. 

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His new look permanently removed the anonymity he used to rule his empire from the shadows, so he vowed eternal revenge on Batman. He pretends to act insane to avoid the death penalty, but actually deeply researches and plans all of his crimes specifically to spite Batman as much as possible. The file attests that the Joker isn’t insane at all, but so deeply sane that he can plan out all of these intricate crimes with an unmatched evil genius. In the end, although the file convinces both doctors that Joker is actually only pretending to be insane, it is revealed that Harley Quinn wrote it when she first started treating the Joker. The doctors throw it out, knowing that it would never hold up in court, and that Joker left it in Arkham knowing that, but it would give the doctors hope for the briefest of moments before the truth swiped it away. Sane or not, it showed the depths of the Joker’s evil. What makes this origin so great is that it really plays up the mob persona that so many modern versions of the Joker throw away, and gives the most definitive way Joker could be sane. Sometimes it seems that no person who has truly lost their mind could actually plan what Joker does, but this one beautifully answers that question while letting Joker retain all of his terrifying charisma that makes him Batman’s number one enemy. If the Joker actually is sane, DC should use an origin similar to this one for sure.

3) The Failed Comedian

Definitely Joker’s most famous origin story, this one originated in Alan Moore’s classic The Killing Joke. Here, Joker was a down-on-his-luck comedian with a pregnant wife, who turned to crime to pay their bills. However, his wife died right before the heist, but the others wouldn’t let him back out. Forced to don the Red Hood attire and pretend to be their boss, the gang robbed ACE Chemicals, only for Batman to appear, with the terrified man falling into a vat of chemicals. The bleached-white skin and green hair were the straws that broke his mind, and this one bad day turned him into the Joker. This one is a classic because of the story it comes from, which perfectly encapsulates the pathetic and pitiable nature of the Joker. He constantly tries to break good people like Batman and Jim Gordon because he wants to prove that anyone can be like him. If they can, then he can’t be blamed for any of the atrocities he’s committed. However, if they can’t be broken, then he’s just a weak, sad man, and he cannot accept that all of his murder has a point. The Joker can only exist if nothing matters and everyone is one step from being insane.

This origin humanizes the Joker in a very real feeling way. He wasn’t always a master criminal or even a monster waiting to be unleashed on the world. He was a normal man who broke. Of course, another reason that this one has stuck so well is that it insists even it might not be the truth. It’s in The Killing Joke that the Clown Prince of Crime says that if he’s forced to have an origin story, he’d want it to be multiple choice. This origin gives a plausible explanation for why the Joker is doing what he’s doing, while also acknowledging his own status as an unreliable narrator. Maybe he believes all of this to be true today, but maybe he’ll forget it all tomorrow and he’ll have a new origin on his lips. Embracing this really elevates its impact.

At the end of the day, the Joker shouldn’t have a true, definitive origin. Where Batman works because his origin is simple and everyone can relate to it, Joker works so well because nobody really knows who he is or where he came from. He is an agent of pure chaos, with even his past being contradictory and nonsensical, making him a man who has come from chaos bent on inflicting chaos on the world around him. Joker’s origin really does work best as a multiple choice test, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Like Robinson said, the mystery is essential to his character. Still, these takes on his origins are all pretty great.

What is your favorite origin for the Joker? Let us know in the comments.