10 Times The Joker Was The Most Evil Batman Villain

For nearly as long as Batman has been around, the Joker has consistently been considered his greatest enemy. While his fame as a comic book villain certainly helps, it’s important to remember that his position isn’t just based on popularity – he truly is a formidable foe.

The Joker is known as Batman’s greatest enemy because he constantly commits terrible crimes. He does this to control Gotham City, torment Batman, or simply because he enjoys causing chaos. His history of villainy is well-documented in movies, television series, and DC Comics.

Joker Takes Away Barbara Gordon’s Ability To Walk

Many consider the Joker to be at his most terrifying in the 1988 graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke, created by acclaimed writer Alan Moore (known for Watchmen) and artist Brian Bolland. This single-issue story delves into the Joker’s tragic past and is so disturbing that the 2016 animated film based on it marked the first time an adaptation was made.

The comic book is best known for a shocking scene where the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon, resulting in permanent paralysis. This devastating injury ultimately leads her to become Oracle, Batman’s information and intelligence expert. The Joker’s goal was to break Barbara’s father, Commissioner James Gordon, and he nearly succeeded, but Barbara’s survival prevented him from achieving his aim.

Joker Skins A Man Alive

Brian Azzarello, a comic book writer, says he finds himself connecting more with villains than heroes. This is why he created a 128-page graphic novel entirely focused on the Joker, without Batman making a single appearance. The story, simply titled Joker, offers a complex and often disturbing look at the character, particularly in one notably frightening scene.

The 2008 comic follows Jonny Frost, a thug who drives for a particularly cruel and unpredictable criminal. Through Jonny’s eyes, we see just how evil his boss is – for example, he brutally punishes a former partner named Monty by skinning him alive in the back of his strip club after Monty allows Harley Quinn to perform there. The artwork by Lee Bernejo doesn’t shy away from the violence, showing the horrific consequences, including Joker forcing a nearly naked Monty to dance onstage.

Joker Murders Sarah Gordon-Essen In A Room Full Of Infants

1999 brought terrible times to Gotham City. The city was isolated, and gangs quickly took over. But the worst of it may have been for Sarah Gordon-Essen, who found herself targeted by the Joker.

Man, I was reading Detective Comics #741, and it was rough. Jim Gordon’s wife gets into this crazy standoff with the Joker – seriously, the Joker! – and it’s happening in a room full of just… babies. She actually tries to shield one of them from a bullet, but she ends up getting hit herself. The Joker’s done awful things before, but this? This felt different. All those helpless kids just made it unbelievably disturbing, even for him.

Joker Blows Up A School Full Of Children

A surefire way to gauge a supervillain’s wickedness is to consider their stance on harming children. The Joker has demonstrated a willingness to kill children several times, but the three-issue comic series Batman Cacophony – created by writer Kevin Smith and artist Walt Flanagan – shows him doing so on an unusually large scale.

To prove his dominance over Maxie Zeus, the Joker detonates a bomb at an elementary school, knowing Maxie’s nephew is a student there. This act, resulting in the deaths of multiple children simply to make a statement, is unimaginably cruel.

Joker Commits Suicide To Frame Batman For Murder

Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is considered a landmark achievement, not just within Batman stories, but in storytelling overall. It’s famous for its complex, adult themes and surprising plot twists, many of which are orchestrated by Batman’s greatest enemy.

There’s this one scene from a classic Batman comic back in ’86 that still gets to me. Old Man Batman and the Joker are fighting in this creepy Tunnel of Love ride at an amusement park, and it ends with the Joker… well, he basically engineers his own death, making it look like Batman did it. It’s a seriously messed up moment, and it just proves how much the Joker hates Batman. He’d rather kill himself than let Batman have a good name! It really cemented their rivalry for me.

Joker Convinces Superman To Kill His Wife And Unborn Child

Honestly, The Joker is scary for a lot of reasons, but his ability to mess with people’s heads is the worst. I think the most messed-up example of this comes from the comic book series tied into the Injustice: Gods Among Us game – Tom Taylor and Brian Buccelato really nailed how terrifying he can be.

The story begins with a shocking event: the Joker poisons Superman with a special toxin. This toxin combines Scarecrow’s fear gas with Kryptonite, making Superman believe Doomsday is attacking Earth. He fights and defeats the creature, but it’s a terrible illusion. Superman actually killed Lois Lane, his wife, who was pregnant with their child. This devastating discovery destroys him, leading him to kill the Joker and ultimately establish a ruthless, controlling government.

Joker’s Abuse Of Harley Quinn

Okay, so after seeing Suicide Squad back in 2016, I couldn’t believe how many people were shipping Joker and Harley. Seriously? Anyone who thought that was a healthy relationship clearly hadn’t read the comics or seen any other DC stuff with those two. It was way more like Harley was a victim of Joker’s craziness, not his girlfriend. He was a total manipulator, and she was caught in it, plain and simple.

He’s committed many cruel acts, like throwing her out a window after she briefly captured Batman, as seen in the classic Batman: The Animated Series episode, “Mad Love.” But perhaps his most damaging act happened at the start of their relationship, when he manipulated psychologist Harleen Quinzel, ultimately driving her to fall in love with him.

Joker Erases Most Of The World’s Population

Thanos is known as one of Marvel’s most terrifying villains, and for good reason – he eliminated half of all life with a single snap. But The Joker once challenged even Thanos by taking that idea to an extreme.

The story arc “Emperor Joker” from 2000 depicts the Joker manipulating the powerful Mr. Mxyzptlk into giving him the power to warp reality. He then uses this ability to wipe out all of humanity, leaving only Batman and Superman alive. This was essentially the Joker’s greatest ambition – to commit mass murder instantly and on a worldwide scale.

Joker Implants His DNA Into Tim Drake

I’ve been thinking about Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker lately, and honestly, it doesn’t get enough credit for how awesome it was when it came out. It started as a spin-off from the Batman Beyond series, and the story is really gripping. Basically, it’s about Bruce Wayne and his successor, Terry McGuinness, trying to figure out how the Joker is back even after supposedly being dead. Mark Hamill’s performance as the Joker is still chilling, and the whole mystery of how he returned is just so well done.

The heroes eventually learn that, before Tim Drake defeated him, The Joker secretly implanted a microchip containing his DNA into Robin. This chip allows The Joker to completely control Robin’s body – a truly awful, but surprisingly clever, plan.

Joker Murders Jason Todd

Among all the awful deeds committed by The Joker, the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin, is arguably the most infamous. In a 1988 story arc by writer Jim Starlin, The Joker brutally beats Jason with a crowbar, then leaves him to die in an explosion.

The heartbreaking death of this popular character understandably caused a lot of debate among fans. However, it’s important to remember that the outcome wasn’t the decision of any single writer or artist. DC Comics actually let readers vote on Jason Todd’s fate using a 900 number, and most people chose for him to die.

2025-11-09 06:42