The Joker is DC Comics' most iconic supervillain and Batman's ultimate arch-enemy, debuting in Batman #1 in 1940. Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, his timeless design features bleached white skin, emerald-green hair, ruby-red lips, and a permanent, sinister grin. As a chaotic criminal mastermind, the Joker serves as the ultimate philosophical and physical foil to Gotham's Dark Knight across comics, film, animation, and collectibles.
La Scena
The generic Joker represents the classic, enduring emergence of DC Comics' Clown Prince of Crime across media. First appearing in Batman #1 in April 1940 as a cold-blooded serial killer who announces his victims on the radio, his origin was defined in 1951's Detective Comics #168, where he fell into a vat of chemical waste at the Ace Chemical Processing Plant while fleeing Batman as the Red Hood. Emerging from the chemicals with bleached skin, green hair, and an irreversible smile, this definitive moment created Batman's greatest nightmare. Whether orchestrating city-wide chaos, cutting off his own face in Death of the Family, or launching full-scale assaults in Joker War, this classic portrayal captures the character in his purest state: an unpredictable criminal mastermind locked in an eternal, codependent philosophical conflict against Gotham's Dark Knight.
Significato
The Joker's classic appearance holds unmatched significance in comic book history as the ultimate embodiment of chaos operating against Batman's rigid order. Over eight decades, the character has reflected the evolving landscape of comic storytelling: starting as a lethal killer in the Golden Age, sanitizing into a goofy trickster during the Comics Code era of the 1950s and 1960s, and returning to dark, homicidal roots in Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams' 1973 bronze-age milestone Batman #251. The Joker is responsible for the most devastating tragedies in Batman's history, including paralyzing Barbara Gordon in Alan Moore's The Killing Joke and murdering Robin (Jason Todd) with a crowbar in A Death in the Family. His sheer narrative impact extends from reality-warping cosmic threats in Emperor Joker to Grant Morrison's exploration of his 'super-sanity' in Arkham Asylum.
Design
The visual design of the Joker was directly inspired by Conrad Veidt's performance as Gwynplaine in the 1928 film adaptation of Victor Hugo's The Man Who Laughs. His aesthetic features mottled, bleached-white skin resulting from chemical exposure, vibrant emerald-green hair, ruby-red lips, and an exaggerated, permanent grin. Traditionally dressed in a sharp purple suit complemented by green, orange, or yellow garments, the character blends theatrical flamboyance with deadly danger. His arsenal includes dark gag props such as joy buzzers, acid-squirting lapel flowers, and fatal Joker venom that leaves victims with a ghastly smile. The design has seen iconic variations, from his horrifying face-less look in Scott Snyder's New 52 run to his upcoming 'Patient 10' Arkham redesign by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez.
Per il Collezionista
**Golden Age Joker (1940)**: Represents his cold-blooded serial killer debut in Batman #1.
**Silver Age Joker (1950s-1960s)**: Captures his sanitized prankster era equipped with theatrical props.
**1966 TV Series Joker (Cesar Romero)**: Features white makeup painted over Romero's un-shaved mustache.
**Bronze Age Neal Adams Joker (1973)**: Recreates his dark revival from 'The Joker's Five-Way Revenge!'.
**1989 Cinematic Joker (Jack Nicholson)**: Captures Jack Napier's theatrical crime-boss look from Tim Burton's film.
**Animated Series Joker (1992)**: Represents Mark Hamill's definitive voice appearance from Batman: The Animated Series.
**The Dark Knight Joker (2008)**: Recreates Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning cinematic performance.
**Lego Batman Joker (2008-2018)**: Minifigure iterations across Lego DC sets and building play lines.
**Arkham Video Game Series Joker (2009-2015)**: Detailed figures based on the acclaimed game franchise.
**Death of the Family Joker (2012)**: Represents the horror design with his severed face strapped to his head.
**Joker Feature Film (2019/2024)**: Recreates Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck character from the theatrical films.
**DC: Three Jokers (2020)**: Figure line covering The Criminal, The Clown, and The Comedian variations.
**Patient 10 Joker (2025-2026)**: Collectibles based on Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez's Arkham redesign.
Dietro le Quinte
💡Cesar Romero refused to shave his mustache when playing the Joker in the 1966 Batman TV series, forcing makeup artists to apply white face paint directly over it.
💡Two actors have won Academy Awards for playing the Joker in live-action feature films: Heath Ledger (Best Supporting Actor for The Dark Knight) and Joaquin Phoenix (Best Actor for Joker).
💡The character's iconic visual look was directly inspired by actor Conrad Veidt in the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs.
💡In the 2000 storyline Emperor Joker, the villain tricked 5th Dimensional imp Mister Mxyzptlk into granting him 99% of his reality-altering powers.
💡Bizarro Joker, created on a cube-shaped planetoid, speaks entirely in reverse dialect where saying 'I hate you' expresses affection.
💡The Joker's visual appearance was inspired by Conrad Veidt's character Gwynplaine from the 1928 movie The Man Who Laughs.
💡Cesar Romero refused to shave his mustache for the 1966 Batman TV series, simply painting white makeup over it.
💡Both Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix won Academy Awards for playing the Joker in live-action movies.
💡In Emperor Joker (2000), the Joker tricked Mister Mxyzptlk and stole 99% of his reality-warping power.
Cronologia
1940
Introduced in Batman #1 by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson.
1951
Detective Comics #168 introduces his Ace Chemical vat origin as the Red Hood.
1966
Cesar Romero plays the Joker in the live-action Batman TV series and movie.
1973
Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams return the character to homicidal roots in Batman #251.
1975
Stars in his first solo comic book series, The Joker.
1988
Paralyzes Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke and murders Jason Todd in A Death in the Family.
1989
Jack Nicholson plays Jack Napier / Joker in Tim Burton's Batman.
1992
Mark Hamill debuts as the voice of the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series.
2000
Acquires cosmic reality-warping powers in the Emperor Joker storyline.
2008
Heath Ledger portrays the Joker in The Dark Knight, winning a posthumous Oscar.
2009
Appears as the primary antagonist in Batman: Arkham Asylum.
2012
Cuts off his own face in the Death of the Family storyline by Scott Snyder.
2019
Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck in Joker, winning the Best Actor Oscar.
2020
Geoff Johns reveals three operating Jokers in DC: Three Jokers.
2024
Stars in Joker: Folie à Deux and joins the playable roster of MultiVersus.
2026
Redesigned as 'Patient 10' in Batman #7 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez.
