Almost everyone, both readers and characters, wants to know the origin of the The Jokerand DC finally gave readers enough information to find out who he really was. Even though the Joker is one of the most mysterious characters out there, he’s still just a man and he does has a past. Although DC tried to avoid giving direct answers about his identity for a while, they did offer some hints about his true identity and went even further and explained exactly as the Joker became the mysterious maniac he is today.
The Joker’s origin is something that fans and characters have been trying to figure out for decades. The mysterious Clown Prince of Crime simply showed up in Gotham City one day and began causing absolute chaos, with an apparent fixation on the caped crusader. For decades, people have tried to figure out who the Joker is and where he came from, hoping that this information would provide some answers to his madness. Although DC has tried to avoid answering that question, over the decades enough information has been accumulated to tell readers everything they need to know about the Joker.
One of the first elements of the Joker’s origin was revealed a long time ago. Detective comics #168 by Bill Finger and Lew Sayre Schwartz. In this story, Batman reveals the story of the only criminal who escaped him, the Red Hood, while teaching at a college. It was here that the college was surprisingly attacked by the Red Hood himself. Eventually, Batman not only captured him but also unmasked him as the college janitor. Since it was impossible for this to be the same Red Hood from so long ago, Batman forced the janitor to reveal who he stole the costume from, which was none other than the Joker.
The Joker’s first identity was as a chemical engineer
Detective comics #168 by Bill Finger, Lew Sayre Schwartz, Win Mortimer and George Roussos
This shocking revelation was the first important information about who the Joker was. It is revealed that Joker was a chemical engineer at the Monarch Playing Card Company. He was dissatisfied with his life and ended up deciding to retire after stealing a million dollars from the company. This led the Joker to create the Red Hood identity, a mask that obscured all of his features, making him impossible to identify. While trying to escape Batman, the Joker dove into a vat of chemicals, which bleached his skin and dyed his hair green, transforming the disgruntled engineer into the Harlequin of Hatred.
The Red Hood was a scapegoat identity, always someone innocent or unfortunate that the real criminals could blame and call the gang leader if they were caught.
This backstory would be touched upon and expanded upon famously in The killing joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. This story would attempt to further explore the Joker’s history by explaining that the Joker was a failed comedian with a pregnant wife. Having no money to support his growing family, Jack was forced by a group of criminals to assume the identity of the Red Hood and help rob his former employer, Ace Chemicals. The Red Hood was a scapegoat identity, always someone innocent or unfortunate that the real criminals could blame and call the gang leader if they were caught.
Batman always knew the Joker’s true identity
Batman: Three Jokers by Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok, Brad Anderson and Rob Leigh
The Killing Joke, for a long time, it was the strongest look readers had at the Joker’s backstory, and it is widely considered canonical. The killing joke goes to great lengths to show that the Joker is an unreliable narrator. He openly states in the story that he doesn’t always remember his backstory correctly and prefers it to be multiple choice. Despite this, the story was canonized mainly in comics as Batman: Three Jokers by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok. In this story, Batman reveals that he has always known the Joker’s identity, and this fits perfectly with The deadly jokes backstory.
Another interesting excerpt from the Joker’s origin, in a comic book by the same writer, was in Batman: Flashpoint Beyond #5 by Geoff Johns and Tim Sheridan. In this story, Martha Wayne reveals the Joker’s real full name as Jack Oswald White, a failed comedian who was never involved with the Red Hood gang and became the Joker. Although his life is not easy, he is happy with his family. This finally gives readers the Joker’s full name, which is supported by both The killing joke and Detective comics #168 from previous decades.
The Joker’s real name is officially Jack Oswald White
Batman: Flashpoint Beyond #5 by Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan, Jeremy Adams, Xermanico, Mikel Janin, Romulo Fajardo Jr, Jordie Bellaire and Rob Leigh
Although this explains exactly Who the Joker is, DC went even further and officially explained as the Joker emerged. There are many alternate universes, but almost all of them have a Joker. No matter the difference in the universe, it always seems to arise. This was explained in Batman #132 by Chip Zdarsky and Mike Hawthorne. This issue revealed the existence of Darwin Halliday, a man who never became the Joker. Darwin is someone who was destined to become the Joker, but since there is no Batman in his universe, he never did.
This resulted in Darwin desperately trying to become the Joker by using a machine to visualize alternate universes. Darwin hoped that upon witnessing the moment of madness that broke other Jokers, he too would become mad. Instead, it is revealed that Darwin’s attempt to see these moments is the moment that drives the Jokers mad. Because of this detail, DC finally revealed everything there is to know about the Joker. Readers now know exactly how he became the Jokerwhich is from the Red Hood incident, they know his real name as Jack Oswald White, and they know that he went crazy because of Darwin Halliday’s interference.
The Killing Joke, Batman: Flashpoint Beyond, Detective Comics #168, and Batman #132 are now on sale at DC Comics!