The Joker is a DC Comics supervillain and Batman's main enemy. Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson created him, and he debuted in Batman #1 in 1940. DC has never locked down his real name or his origin, so each writer gets to reinvent him.
Who created the Joker and when did he first appear?
Batman #1 reached newsstands in 1940, one year after Batman's own first appearance in Detective Comics #27. The Joker led that issue as a killer who murdered victims on the page, which was rare for comics of the time.
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Three men share credit, and they disagreed about who did what.
- Bob Kane: the credited Batman artist and the name on the contract.
- Bill Finger: the writer who shaped the first Joker script.
- Jerry Robinson: the artist who said he drew the playing-card look and named the character.
Robinson said he pulled the design from a joker card in a deck and from Conrad Veidt in the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs. Kane and Finger told other versions of the same story. The details stay in dispute.
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What does the Joker look like?
His look has held steady since 1940: white skin, green hair, red lips, and a wide grin. The purple suit came later and became his default outfit.
- Skin: chalk white, from a chemical bath in most versions.
- Hair: green, slicked back.
- Suit: purple, often with an orange vest and a green tie.
- Signature props: acid flower, joy buzzer, razor playing cards, and a revolver with a flag that says bang.
What are the Joker's powers and abilities?
The Joker has no superhuman powers. He is a man with a sharp mind, a chemistry habit, and no fear of dying.
- Genius-level planning and improvisation.
- Chemistry and engineering skill, which he uses to build Joker venom and bombs.
- High tolerance for pain, though the level changes by writer.
- Immunity to his own venom in most stories.
- Hand-to-hand skill with knives and handguns.
Joker venom is his best-known weapon. It locks a victim into a grin and kills them with laughter. He also uses plain guns and bombs when the joke calls for it.
Does the Joker have a real name?
No. DC has never given the Joker a canon name in the main comics. The 1989 film Batman used "Jack Napier," and that name leaked into a few tie-ins, but the comics ignore it.
What is the origin in The Killing Joke?
Alan Moore and Brian Bolland published The Killing Joke in 1988. It shows a failed stand-up comedian whose wife dies and who falls into a chemical vat after a robbery. The Joker tells that story as a possible memory, then says he prefers his past to be "multiple choice." Even his best-known origin is a maybe.
Did Three Jokers explain anything?
Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok published Batman: Three Jokers in 2020. The premise is that three different Jokers have been active for years. DC placed the story outside main continuity, so it answered the question with a shrug.
What is the Joker's relationship with Batman?
Batman and the Joker are built as opposites: order against chaos, a man who refuses to kill against a man who kills for fun. The Joker treats Batman as his audience and targets the people Batman protects to force a reaction.
The Killing Joke states the core argument. One bad day, the Joker says, turns any man into him. Batman's whole life is the counter-argument.
Which Joker comics should you read first?
- Batman #1 (1940): the first appearance.
- The Killing Joke (1988): the origin question.
- Mad Love (1994): Harley Quinn's origin and the Joker as an abuser.
- The Man Who Laughs (2005): Batman and the Joker's first meeting in modern continuity.
- Joker (2008) by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo: a street-level crime story told by a henchman.
- Death of the Family (2012): the Joker returns to cut at Batman's allies.
- Batman: Three Jokers (2020): the three-Joker mystery.
Who has played the Joker on screen?
- Cesar Romero, Batman (1966 TV series). He refused to shave his mustache and painted over it.
- Jack Nicholson, Batman (1989).
- Mark Hamill, Batman: The Animated Series (1992) and later video games.
- Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight (2008). He won a posthumous Oscar for the role.
- Jared Leto, Suicide Squad (2016).
- Joaquin Phoenix, Joker (2019) and Joker: Folie a Deux (2024). He won an Oscar for the first film.
- Barry Keoghan, The Batman (2022), in a short scene.
Cameron Monaghan played a Joker-like pair of characters, Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, across the Gotham TV series.
Quick answers about the Joker
Who is the Joker's greatest enemy?
Batman. The two have fought since 1940, and no other rival comes close to that history.
Is the Joker insane?
Comics call him insane, but some writers play him as sane and aware of what he does. Arkham Asylum holds him in most stories.
Why is he called the Joker?
Jerry Robinson said the name came from the joker card in a deck. The card fits the character: a wild piece that changes the game.
Does the Joker ever die?
He dies in a few out-of-continuity stories, such as The Dark Knight Returns and Endgame. In the main timeline he keeps coming back.
How old is the Joker?
Unknown. His age shifts with the art style and the era, and DC has rebooted the timeline several times.
That is the short version: an unnamed man in a purple suit, first seen in Batman #1, reinvented by every generation of writers since.