Top 10 Worst Things the Joker Has Done
"Some men aren't looking for anything logical like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn." - Alfred Pennyworth, The Dark KnightAlso known as the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker was created by Bill Kane, Bobby Finger and Jerry Robinson and made his first appearance in Batman #1 which hit stores on April 25th, 1940. During his 80+ criminal career and counting, the Joker has done numerous horrible things to Batman, his friends and family and many people in Gotham City and beyond. He's very intelligent and completely crazy, probably the worst combination in a criminal you can imagine. Here's a list of the worst things he's done throughout the years and I'm very certain people will add more. And there will be spoilers.
What's the worst thing that can happen to a superhero? Probably the main bad guy finding out who you are. After Joker finds out that Barbara Gordon is really Batgirl, he goes to her home and shoots her at point-blank range in the abdomen, rendering her unable to walk. He then takes her and James Gordon to an amusement park where the fun truly begins. It's unknown what happens in the end, but let's just say that Batman can take a joke from time to time.
The Joker is very proud of his laughing gas and also very protective of it. In this comic series, a Greek criminal, Maxie Zeus, uses it as an ingredient with ecstasy and calls it "Chuckles." Joker doesn't take kindly to this and threatens Zeus by blowing up a school full of children. This definitely showed Zeus that Joker wasn't above anything to get what he wants.
"New and improved Joker products with a new secret ingredient. Smylex." While Michael Keaton proved himself worthy of donning the cape and cowl, Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Joker practically stole the limelight in every scene he was in. After taking over Carl Grissom's business, he taints all the beauty products in Gotham so that victims die laughing, as demonstrated during a news broadcast.
What's even more fiendish about this is that no one product contains all the ingredients for the Smylex gas. Rather, the ingredients are in different products. Therefore, using certain products together would create the Smylex gas that causes victims to laugh to death. Definitely one of the most fiendish things he's done.
While Batman Beyond had some awesome villains, you just can't beat the classics, and this movie gives Mr. J one more chance to shine in this continuity. When the Joker reveals himself at a press conference, Terry demands answers as to how the Joker is back. During a conversation with Barbara Gordon, who's now the police commissioner, she tells how Tim Drake was kidnapped and brainwashed by Joker and Harley Quinn in Arkham Asylum to be a miniature version of Joker.
Even though Tim was able to kill him, Joker knew that something like that was bound to happen and hid a special DNA microchip behind Tim's ear so that when the time was right, Joker could gain control and make a comeback. While his resurgence was short-lived, it definitely made an imprint.
This is easily one of the Joker's most bonkers schemes. For whatever reason, he wants to copyright fish, and his first attempt is to give the fish his trademark evil smile. When city officials refuse to meet his demands, he goes on a killing spree. It's unknown why he wanted to copyright fish, but this is the Joker we're talking about. He commits these crimes just for the fun of it.
Many consider the late Heath Ledger's performance as Joker the best one, and when you watch this film, it's easy to see why. He does more bad things in one film than most villains do in an entire trilogy. In fact, he does enough to warrant his own list.
But I believe the worst thing he does in this film is dress up some hostages on a construction site as terrorists. By making them wear clown masks, sticking firearms to them, and binding and gagging them with tape, the police are convinced that they're the terrorists and almost open fire on them. Thankfully, Batman realizes this and is able to defuse the ordeal without any casualties. This shows that figuring out the Joker isn't always as straightforward as you'd hope it would be.
Even though the Son of Krypton has a set of morals, even he has his limits, and in this alternate continuity, Joker finally pushes the Man of Steel too far. After a pregnant Lois is kidnapped, the rest of the Justice League tries to rescue her from a submarine but is attacked by Doomsday. When Superman grabs Doomsday and takes him to outer space, he discovers that it was actually Lois in disguise and that he killed his own pregnant wife.
To make matters worse, her heartbeat was linked to a nuclear weapon in Metropolis, and when she died, the nuke detonated, destroying the entire city. This caused Superman to snap, kill the Joker, and take control of Earth. Even though this isn't canon, the way Joker turns Superman into a dictator is too evil to ignore.
Taking place 18 months after Arkham Asylum, Batman is able to get inside Arkham City to investigate Protocol 10. But he's soon captured by the Joker and, while he's in an unconscious state, is given a blood transfusion from the Joker, thus poisoning him with the mutated Titan formula. To make matters worse, samples of his blood are now in hospitals all around Gotham, and Batman has no choice but to find a cure not only for himself but all of Gotham.
Another thing that makes this game awesome is the ending. When Batman is able to concoct an antidote and cure himself, the Joker ambushes him and makes him drop the other dose. Despite what Joker has done, Batman would've cured him anyway. Now this is poetic justice.
One of the worst tortures of all time. The man died of shock.
What's interesting about Harley Quinn is that she wasn't introduced in the comics but rather in Batman: The Animated Series in the episode Joker's Favor. She falls in love with Joker during her time at Arkham Asylum, and despite everything she's done for him, like breaking him out, he continues to abuse her in every way possible. This forms probably the most toxic relationship in comic book history. It's no wonder the two break up and Harley destroys Ace Chemicals.
Being a crime fighter is always dangerous, and Batman learns this the hard way. After holding a poll to see if the Jason Todd Robin should be killed off, the majority said yes, and this is what happens. Joker kidnaps Jason and takes him to an abandoned building where he beats him with a crowbar before escaping the building just as a bomb detonates with Jason still inside.
Batman arrives a few minutes too late and carries Jason outside. While Jason was revived by Ra's Al Ghul in Batman: Under the Red Hood, what Joker did can never be erased from his memory, or the memories of the readers.