Who better to give tribute to on the month of pranksters and tricksters than the most notorious one of all – The Joker.
Fake “I’m pregnant” Facebook statuses, and phoney news articles don’t hold a candle to the pranks The Joker has done in the name of ‘humor’ (or at least, his twisted definition of it). Here are some of the most evil, most horrendous, most sadistic schemes the Clown Prince of Crime has ever pulled. (Although I wouldn’t recommend you copy them for the next April Fools!)
(Mega Spoilers to follow! So if you’re just interested in finding good, Joker reads, then just read the titles and skip to the end.)
SPECIAL MENTION: Harley Quinn Abuse
Joker and Harley is the poster couple for unhealthy relationships. Joker ignores her, angers her, beats her, even flat out tries to kill her, and yet she still sticks around for all that physical and emotional abuse! I don’t know what she sees in Mr. J, but I guess that’s what makes their union so “special”.
9 Extreme Food Poisoning (The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan)
Gone are the days of shark tank traps and electric handshakes. In The Dark Knight, Joker blew up Batman’s love interest, blew up a freaking hospital, and, if people didn’t 'believe in GOOD', would have also blown up a couple of Gothamite-filled yachts. But his craziest, but least appreciated stunt was when he planted a bomb in a prisoner’s stomach to aid his eventual escape from custody. Sure it was a weaker bomb by comparison, but seeing the bomb sown in a guy’s belly and realizing that this was all somehow preordained, established this Joker to be both vicious and terrifyingly smart.
8 Attempted Baby Murder (No Man’s Land)
Do I even NEED to say more? JOKER. WAS. GOING. TO. KILL. BABIES. If that doesn’t send a chill up your spine, I don’t know what will.
But don’t worry; the babies were saved by Commissioner Gordon’s then wife, Sarah Essen-Gordon, but at the price of her own life. Joker used a baby to disarm Sarah and then shot her in the head! He then icily walked away like nothing happened; leaving the kidnapped infants crawling all over the commissioner’s wife’s bleeding body.
Sarah may have stopped Joker from killing those babies, but that’s still some serial killer-making trauma right there.
7 All sorts of evil (Joker By Brian Azzarello)
In this one-shot graphic novel, Joker is seen as an unhinged mob boss who tries to reestablish himself as a major player in the Gotham underworld. No bombs, no comic schemes, no grand orchestration, just some downright revolting deeds:
a. He skins a guy alive and shows him off on stage
b. He rapes the wife of one of his henchmen just to teach him a lesson
c. He kills old people and lies on their corpses
Lesson here: never cross the Joker.
6 Neck Breaker (Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller)
In DKR, Joker stands off with Batman one last time. They trade blows until Batman breaks Joker’s neck, enough to paralyze but not kill him. Joker, disappointed that Batman still couldn’t break his vow not to kill, resorts to framing him for murder. In one last, stubborn act of defiance, Joker laughs as he twists and BREAKS his own neck!
Joker just won the most badass way to go award!
5 Bon Appetit (Death of the Family by Scott Snyder)
Joker’s not all bad. Sometimes he throws dinner parties too! In the end of Death of the Family, Joker prepares a nice, cozy meal for Batman and his family. The problem is, they weren’t really into it. Alfred is joker toxin-ed, Batgirl and the Robins are tied up, with faces bloodied and bandaged, and Batman, forced to sit at the head of the table. But the real punchline is when Joker serves the main course: EACH OF THEIR FACES ON A DISH!
Something tells me a Joker restaurant wouldn’t be a hit. Especially not their specialty - Face Platter.
4 Joker Tortures and Brainwashes Tim Drake (Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker)
Who doesn’t live the 90’s Batman: The Animated Series? And by association, who doesn’t love the legendary voice Mark Hamill gave to its Joker? That maniacal laugh will forever be the standard all Jokers will be judged.
Anyways, back to topic! In Return of the Joker, it’s revealed how the TAS Joker ultimately went out, and MAN DID HE GO OUT! Joker kidnapped Tim Drake, aka Robin, and tortured and brainwashed him into becoming Joker Jr!
Drake would eventually fight though the brainwashing but little did he know that Joker implanted a sleeper programing deep in his psyche. This Joker personality lied dormant for years. Tim was a full grown man when the programming finally took over his body. In classic Mr. Hyde fashion, Joker returned to wreak havoc in Gotham once again!
Drake would eventually fight though the brainwashing but little did he know that Joker implanted a sleeper programing deep in his psyche. This Joker personality lied dormant for years. Tim was a full grown man when the programming finally took over his body. In classic Mr. Hyde fashion, Joker returned to wreak havoc in Gotham once again!
3 Jason Todd’s Murder (Batman: A Death in the Family by Jim Starlin and Under the Red Hood)
One of the most atrocious things Joker has ever done to hurt Batman is KILL Robin.
Joker beat Jason Todd with a freaking crowbar! Then Joker, because overkill is not in his vocabulary, leaves him for dead beside a ticking time bomb. Batman rushes to save Robin, but it was too late. The bomb goes off and all he’s left with is a mountain of rubble and Jason’s lifeless body. Batman carrying a dead Jason instantly became one of the lore’s most striking images.
Jason will eventually get resurrected (as all comic characters do), but the ramifications of Jason’s death would haunt Bruce for years to come. Not to mention Jason himself.
.
2 Killing Lois Lane…and her baby! (Injustice: Year One by Tom Taylor)
In the Injustice universe, Joker kidnapped Lois Lane. When Superman went to rescue her, Doomsday suddenly appeared. He flew Doomsday into space to protect his family without knowing that right before Doomsday appeared, he was gassed with Kryptonite-laced, mind-altering Joker toxin! And who he flew into space wasn’t Doomsday …it was Lois!
JOKER MADE SUPERMAN KILL LOIS. And…THEIR UNBORN CHILD.
I kid you not; when I was reading this, I unconsciously uttered a deep, horrified, “Oh my god…”
1 Paralyzing Barbara and then some (The Killing Joke by Alan Moore)
It was a home invasion. Joker shoots Barbara, aka Batgirl, at point-blank range, and her father, kidnapped. Barbara doesn’t die, but this effectively paralyzes her for years in the Batman universe. She still manages to fight crime as the tech wizard, Oracle, so, at least, right?
But this comic wasn’t about Barbara as much as it was about Jim Gordon. Joker wanted to break Jim. So he stripped Jim naked, dragged him across a circus, and sadistically forced him to look at photographs of his bloody. NAKED. daughter. It’s even implied that Barbara was raped.
Man.
Think about that for a second.
Talk about going too far.
***
Okay, I’m sorry. That went a little too dark, too quickly. Heh.
April celebrates the feast of fools. And while the Joker is certifiably INSANE, his insanity has always been built around the idea of putting a smile on Batman’s face. In the end, that’s the spirit of April Fools – pranking and joking, not for the sake of malice or harm, but to entertain, to delight, to put a smile on someone’s face. So this April, go smile, go be happy, go crazy!
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