Top 10 Craziest Joker Moments
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VOICE OVER: Adrian Sousa
WRITTEN BY: Mark Sammut
Want to know how he got those scars? He's the Joker baby! For this list we'll be looking at the most insane moments featuring everyone's favorite clown prince of crime.
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Top 10 Craziest Joker Moments
Redefined insanity since 1940. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Craziest Joker Moments.
For this list, we’re looking at the Clown Prince of Crime's crowning acts of madness in the comics. As some of these moments coincide with crucial story beats, please note spoilers are included.
Even super-villains take pride in their work and wish to be acknowledged by the public. When the Postal Service dedicates a set of stamps to deceased comedians, the disqualified Joker takes the snub somewhat poorly. How dare this federal agency refuse to commemorate the greatest prankster in Gotham's history? Naturally, the Joker heads to a Postal office to demand this oversight be correct, although a hostage situation is probably not the best way to file a complaint. As a comic, "Devil's Advocate" primarily revolves around the Joker being framed for a string of murders; despite being technically innocent, the devilish villain's craziness comes through crystal clear.
Gleefully murdering folks of all shapes and sizes without a second thought, the Joker contemplates mass genocide on a daily basis. Compared with such an expansive history of grotesque exploits, the villain's more trivial actions often came across as even crazier. During the Golden Age of Comics, the Joker conjured up a brilliant scheme to steal the signatures of Gotham's most powerful people; consequently, "Comedy of Tears" opens with the dastardly criminal confiscating a boy's report card before scampering away like a bully fearing the arrival of a stern principal. What's next? Is Joker going to steal candy from a baby? We certainly wouldn’t put it past him.
2008's graphic novel frames the eponymous Clown as a mob boss rather than a traditional comic book super-villain. During a stint in Arkham, Joker's gang falls under the temporary leadership of a henchman called Monty, who keeps the money flowing by turning Harley Quinn into an exotic dancer. Taking offense at Monty's commercialization of Harley, the newly released Joker skins alive and forces the gangster to pole dance in front of a shocked audience. Do not mistake the Joker's vile action as a misguided attempt to defend Quinn's honor, as the villain just hates sharing his property.
If there is one thing the Joker seems to detest more than perhaps even Batman, it is a lazy or boring scheme. Written by Kevin Smith, "Batman: Cacophony" sees the Clown Prince of Crime going on a rampage to punish Maxie Zeus for turning the Joker's venom into a street drug. Angered by this act of property theft, Joker elects to reduce Zeus' customer base. In other words, Joker destroys a school filled with students. This is a detestable action regardless of the context; however, Joker shows not even the slightest hint of hesitation, joking and laughing as the building burns.
The last thing Gotham needs is an army of grinning lunatics roaming the streets. Retelling the Joker's origin story, "Lovers and Madmen" sees a bored bank robber encountering a real sense of excitement following the arrival of Batman and a toxic chemical bath. Believing other people deserve to be freed from the chains of sanity, Jack detonates a blimp stocked with the changing agent and sharp glass over Gotham City, causing the mutation to spread through the populace. Even prior to the transformation, Jack is clearly unhinged and dangerous, the chemicals only push the criminal over the edge.
After committing one of his most irredeemable crimes, Joker stumbles upon an unlikely protector from Batman's enraged fists. Somehow, the Iranian government reach out and adopt the deranged villain as a sanctioned ambassador. Granted diplomatic immunity as an envoy of the nation, Joker cannot be arrested for any felonies perpetrated on home or foreign soil. As the cherry on top of this ludicrous sundae, the U.S. Government hires Superman to protect Joker from Batman. By this point, the Joker is beginning to seem like the sanest person in a mad world.
What could possibly be worse than your run-of-the-mill Joker? How about a Joker with the ability to shape reality at the flick of a wrist? “Emperor Joker” grants the dangerous villain a touch of omnipotence, and the Joker instantly sets out to exact revenge on the Caped Crusader. Trapping Batman in an especially deranged version of “Groundhog Day,” Joker repeatedly kills the Dark Knight in various sadistic ways before reviving the hero to start the process from scratch. Batman is not the only victim of the super-powered monarch; along with brainwashing Lois Lane into serving as this mad world’s queen, Emperor Joker turns China’s population into literal Chinese food.
In a story centering around Bruce Wayne spiraling into madness, the Joker still finds a way to out-crazy the competition. “Batman R.I.P.” stand out moment of lunacy sees the Joker slitting his own tongue after being freed from Arkham Asylum. What is the point behind this act of self-mutilation? There is none. The story’s events trace back to Batman taking part in an isolation test in an attempt to understand the Joker's frame of mind. In retaliation, Mr. J shows the futility of searching for patterns where there are none to be found.
Next to some of the Joker's more destructive schemes, copyrighting a natural resource seems relatively tame. Tainted by the diabolical deviant's trademark face-altering venom, a school of fish unwillingly adopt the Joker's crimson lips and evil smile. Like any self-respecting super-villain seeking to protect their image, Joker files an application at Gotham's Copyright Commission to trademark the grinning fish. Once the request is rejected, the Joker sets out on a murderous spree to try and strong-arm Gotham into accepting the villain's request. Joker's plans do not always make much sense, but copyrighting fish may be a step too far.
DC reset the entire timeline as the “New 52," rebooting many characters with a darker shade. Faced with the task of out-crazying a villain famed for pushing the limits of good sense, "The New 52" settled on self-mutilation to ensure things got off with a bang. Joker arranges to have his face removed by the Dollmaker before leaving the fleshy mask as a souvenir for Batman. Jump forward a year and the returning Joker reclaims and wears his face as a disgusting mask. Putting aside the obvious shock value behind the face-off, Joker wanted to shed any potential lingering trace of humanity. With or without a face, the Joker is still the Joker.
Redefined insanity since 1940. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Craziest Joker Moments.
For this list, we’re looking at the Clown Prince of Crime's crowning acts of madness in the comics. As some of these moments coincide with crucial story beats, please note spoilers are included.
#10: Taking on the Postal Service
Even super-villains take pride in their work and wish to be acknowledged by the public. When the Postal Service dedicates a set of stamps to deceased comedians, the disqualified Joker takes the snub somewhat poorly. How dare this federal agency refuse to commemorate the greatest prankster in Gotham's history? Naturally, the Joker heads to a Postal office to demand this oversight be correct, although a hostage situation is probably not the best way to file a complaint. As a comic, "Devil's Advocate" primarily revolves around the Joker being framed for a string of murders; despite being technically innocent, the devilish villain's craziness comes through crystal clear.
#9: Stealing a Report Card
Gleefully murdering folks of all shapes and sizes without a second thought, the Joker contemplates mass genocide on a daily basis. Compared with such an expansive history of grotesque exploits, the villain's more trivial actions often came across as even crazier. During the Golden Age of Comics, the Joker conjured up a brilliant scheme to steal the signatures of Gotham's most powerful people; consequently, "Comedy of Tears" opens with the dastardly criminal confiscating a boy's report card before scampering away like a bully fearing the arrival of a stern principal. What's next? Is Joker going to steal candy from a baby? We certainly wouldn’t put it past him.
#8: Skinning Monty
2008's graphic novel frames the eponymous Clown as a mob boss rather than a traditional comic book super-villain. During a stint in Arkham, Joker's gang falls under the temporary leadership of a henchman called Monty, who keeps the money flowing by turning Harley Quinn into an exotic dancer. Taking offense at Monty's commercialization of Harley, the newly released Joker skins alive and forces the gangster to pole dance in front of a shocked audience. Do not mistake the Joker's vile action as a misguided attempt to defend Quinn's honor, as the villain just hates sharing his property.
#7: Blowing Up a School
If there is one thing the Joker seems to detest more than perhaps even Batman, it is a lazy or boring scheme. Written by Kevin Smith, "Batman: Cacophony" sees the Clown Prince of Crime going on a rampage to punish Maxie Zeus for turning the Joker's venom into a street drug. Angered by this act of property theft, Joker elects to reduce Zeus' customer base. In other words, Joker destroys a school filled with students. This is a detestable action regardless of the context; however, Joker shows not even the slightest hint of hesitation, joking and laughing as the building burns.
#6: Using Poisoned Glass to Create a City of Jokers
The last thing Gotham needs is an army of grinning lunatics roaming the streets. Retelling the Joker's origin story, "Lovers and Madmen" sees a bored bank robber encountering a real sense of excitement following the arrival of Batman and a toxic chemical bath. Believing other people deserve to be freed from the chains of sanity, Jack detonates a blimp stocked with the changing agent and sharp glass over Gotham City, causing the mutation to spread through the populace. Even prior to the transformation, Jack is clearly unhinged and dangerous, the chemicals only push the criminal over the edge.
#5: Becoming an Iranian Ambassador
After committing one of his most irredeemable crimes, Joker stumbles upon an unlikely protector from Batman's enraged fists. Somehow, the Iranian government reach out and adopt the deranged villain as a sanctioned ambassador. Granted diplomatic immunity as an envoy of the nation, Joker cannot be arrested for any felonies perpetrated on home or foreign soil. As the cherry on top of this ludicrous sundae, the U.S. Government hires Superman to protect Joker from Batman. By this point, the Joker is beginning to seem like the sanest person in a mad world.
#4: Using his Omnipotence to Torture Batman
What could possibly be worse than your run-of-the-mill Joker? How about a Joker with the ability to shape reality at the flick of a wrist? “Emperor Joker” grants the dangerous villain a touch of omnipotence, and the Joker instantly sets out to exact revenge on the Caped Crusader. Trapping Batman in an especially deranged version of “Groundhog Day,” Joker repeatedly kills the Dark Knight in various sadistic ways before reviving the hero to start the process from scratch. Batman is not the only victim of the super-powered monarch; along with brainwashing Lois Lane into serving as this mad world’s queen, Emperor Joker turns China’s population into literal Chinese food.
#3: Splitting His Own Tongue in Half
In a story centering around Bruce Wayne spiraling into madness, the Joker still finds a way to out-crazy the competition. “Batman R.I.P.” stand out moment of lunacy sees the Joker slitting his own tongue after being freed from Arkham Asylum. What is the point behind this act of self-mutilation? There is none. The story’s events trace back to Batman taking part in an isolation test in an attempt to understand the Joker's frame of mind. In retaliation, Mr. J shows the futility of searching for patterns where there are none to be found.
#2: Trying to Copyright Joker Fish
Next to some of the Joker's more destructive schemes, copyrighting a natural resource seems relatively tame. Tainted by the diabolical deviant's trademark face-altering venom, a school of fish unwillingly adopt the Joker's crimson lips and evil smile. Like any self-respecting super-villain seeking to protect their image, Joker files an application at Gotham's Copyright Commission to trademark the grinning fish. Once the request is rejected, the Joker sets out on a murderous spree to try and strong-arm Gotham into accepting the villain's request. Joker's plans do not always make much sense, but copyrighting fish may be a step too far.
#1: Removing His Own Face
DC reset the entire timeline as the “New 52," rebooting many characters with a darker shade. Faced with the task of out-crazying a villain famed for pushing the limits of good sense, "The New 52" settled on self-mutilation to ensure things got off with a bang. Joker arranges to have his face removed by the Dollmaker before leaving the fleshy mask as a souvenir for Batman. Jump forward a year and the returning Joker reclaims and wears his face as a disgusting mask. Putting aside the obvious shock value behind the face-off, Joker wanted to shed any potential lingering trace of humanity. With or without a face, the Joker is still the Joker.
