Jerome

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Jerome (车姬以)
Alias(es)	Katarina Jhin; Joker 68 89
Species/Race	Human 68
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Arkham Asylum (former patient); The Artists; League of Heroes (boss); Criminal Alliance 68 88 250
Occupation/Role	Mentally ill criminal, performer, gang leader, and supervillain 88 89
Status	Alive; he was destroyed in a hospital explosion during a confrontation with Batman, then later resurrected and placed under Hugo's control 254 265
First Appearance	Chapter 68 — admitted to Arkham Asylum under Gordon and Harvey's supervision 68

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Katarina Jhin Hero Template fusion	80	Li Wei grants Jerome the template, enhancing his physique and granting Whisper along with knowledge of marksmanship, assassination, and performance art.
Khada Jhin template merge	81	Li Wei further merges Jerome with the Khada Jhin template, increasing his power and artistic cultivation. Jerome embraces the prospect of creating “mad art” in Gotham.

Background

Jerome's biological parents repeatedly beat and scolded him rather than showing him affection. The abuse contributed to his distorted personality, severe antisocial traits, and self-destructive tendencies 91.

Gordon and Harvey deliver Jerome to Arkham Asylum, where he submits without resistance and watches Warden Li Wei with an increasingly wicked smile 68. Li Wei considers Jerome the origin of Gotham's coming age of madness, but judges him not yet mad enough to be the Joker; he begins drafting a personal “script” to shape Jerome into one 68 69.

While confined, Jerome undergoes Li Wei's “advanced training,” beginning with daily dark jokes. Dr. Hugo studies both Li Wei's influence and Jerome's psychological condition 71 73. Jerome later receives the Katarina Jhin Hero Template in Indian Hill Hospital, greeting the agonizing fusion with delight rather than fear 80.

Appearance

Following his Hero Template fusion, Jerome remains physically human rather than transforming into a heavily muscular form. His altered gaze reflects calmness, madness, coldness, and fervor at once 80.

• Usually wears a persistent, manic smile that functions like a mask 124.
• Carries Whisper, which rests on his shoulder after his transformation 80.
• Has appeared in a wine-red suit and mask while leading The Artists 88.
• Alternates between a Katarina Jhin-style mask and a Joker mask during public performances 89.

Personality

Jerome is severely antisocial, self-destructive, fearless of his own death, and fascinated by violence as performance art 73 87. He treats murder, riddles, and public terror as components of a theatrical “show,” seeking an audience as much as victims 80 89.

His madness does not prevent him from planning ahead. He uses disguises, public broadcasts, gang discipline, hostages, explosives, and Gotham-wide surveillance to control events 90 250 253. He can also be unexpectedly pragmatic: when Scarecrow deploys Fear Gas, Jerome orders his crew to retreat rather than sacrifice them needlessly 93.

Abilities & Skills

Hero Template Physiology

Jerome's fusion with the Katarina Jhin template enhances his body beyond ordinary human limits 80.

• Breaks free once his restraints can no longer contain him 80.
• Breaks through a military-grade bulletproof steel interrogation-room door 94.
• Survives five consecutive shots of Russian roulette, aided by firearm-performance techniques and his enhanced durability 87 88.

Marksmanship and “Mad Art”

The template grants Jerome knowledge of marksmanship, assassination, and performance art, which he combines into theatrical killings 80.

• Shoots victims into “flowers of flesh and blood,” arranging bodies to spell ARTIST during the Wayne Enterprises attack 89.
• Uses firearms with precision even against officers behind cover 93.
• Uses riddles, masks, broadcasts, and staged executions to turn crimes into public spectacles 89 95.

Mass Infatuation

Jerome can manifest a purple lotus that transmits its surroundings directly into his mind 94.

• Its vision is not blocked by walls or doors 94.
• Allows him to locate the Police Commissioner and Chief inside a sealed interrogation room 94.

Gotham-Wide Vision

Jerome establishes a visual network covering Gotham through his Katarina Jhin-derived abilities 250 253.

• Detects Gotham PD mobilization toward the Criminal Alliance's warehouse and deduces that their location has been exposed 250.
• Notices police movements before Edward Nygma's Destiny-based vision does 253.
• Uses this awareness to prepare ambushes, retreats, and confrontations 250 253.

Leadership and Criminal Strategy

Jerome commands criminals through fear, charisma, and demonstrated lethality 87 250.

• Becomes leader of Galavan's released inmates after the Russian-roulette challenge 87.
• Names his group The Artists and directs its attack on Wayne Enterprises 88.
• Maintains control of the Criminal Alliance by executing challengers with his magic sniper rifle 250.
• Deliberately remains behind with a detonator to cover the alliance's evacuation from the hospital 251 253.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Whisper — magical weapon gained through the Katarina Jhin Hero Template 80.
• Firearms / magic sniper rifle — used for performances, executions, and enforcing authority over subordinates 89 250.
• Purple lotus — focus used to activate Mass Infatuation's wall-piercing sight 94.
• Joker masks — used by Jerome, his crew, and surviving hostages to conceal the group's escape 89 90.
• Detonators and explosive devices — used in staged attacks on the Gotham PD, charity gala, and hospital confrontation 140 142 253.

Relationships

• Li Wei — Warden, trainer, and benefactor who scripts Jerome's development and grants him Hero Templates. Jerome is described as absolutely loyal to Li Wei despite his violence outside Arkham 69 80 145.
• Dr. Hugo — Studies Jerome's mental state, prepares his Hero Template fusion, and is later stated to control the resurrected Jerome 73 80 265.
• Theodore Galavan — Political sponsor and manipulator who arranges Jerome's release to create chaos for his mayoral ambitions. Jerome eventually shoots and kills him at the charity gala 87 99 137.
• Ian — Fellow Arkham graduate and explosive specialist who acts as Jerome's assistant during major operations 81 92 97.
• Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow — Fellow Arkham graduate and temporary ally. They recognize one another through a dark joke and cooperate in the Gotham PD massacre 93 95.
• Edward Nygma / Riddler — Rival performer and fellow Hero Template carrier. They compete over notoriety yet cooperate within the Criminal Alliance 137 138 253.
• Bruce Wayne / Batman — Jerome's principal target and enemy. He repeatedly attacks Wayne Enterprises, fixates on driving Bruce into madness, and eventually reveals that he knows Batman's identity 89 137 250 254.
• Jim Gordon — Law-enforcement adversary who first brings Jerome to Arkham and later faces him in multiple hostage and bombing standoffs 68 93 253.
• Jeremiah — Jerome's twin brother, whom he contrasts with himself as having had a better childhood 255.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arkham Admission and Transformation

Jerome enters Arkham under Gordon's custody, where Li Wei begins conditioning him through dark jokes and prepares him as the host of the Katarina Jhin Hero Template 68 71 79. The fusion gives Jerome the means to turn his innate cruelty into a public criminal persona 80 81.

The Artists and the Gotham PD Massacre

After Galavan engineers an Arkham breakout, Jerome wins leadership of the released inmates through Russian roulette and leads them as The Artists 87 88. He attacks Wayne Enterprises on live television, reveals himself as Katarina Jhin, creates a flesh-and-blood “ARTIST” display, and leaves Gotham a riddle 89.

Jerome and Scarecrow then attack the Gotham Police Department. They kill its senior officers, take the Commissioner and Chief hostage, and leave Ian's timed explosives to destroy the station during their escape 93 95 97.

Charity Gala and Conflict with Riddler

Jerome seizes a charity gala, demands Bruce Wayne appear, kills Galavan, and stages a human-roulette game 137. The event brings him into direct contact with Edward Nygma, whose competitive desire to surpass Jerome complicates the spectacle 137 138. Jerome later taunts the Gotham PD while wearing a bomb vest and detonates explosives simply to intensify the chaos 140 142.

Criminal Alliance and Batman

As leader of the Criminal Alliance, Jerome evades a police raid on the group's warehouse and discovers Bruce's involvement in exposing it 250 251. He stays behind with a detonator while the alliance withdraws from a hospital, using the standoff to provoke Gordon and summon Batman 253 254.

Batman forces Jerome's hand during their confrontation; Jerome detonates the hospital bomb, apparently destroying himself 254.

Resurrection and Mayoral Ambition

Jerome later returns from death under Hugo's control. With support from a city councilor, he considers running for Mayor of Gotham and seeks Hugo's approval for the campaign 265.

Notable Quotes

“Everyone wears a mask, I just made one myself!” 81

“Welcome, dear audience, to the Jerome Theater! From now on, I am the star!” 136

Trivia

• Jerome's five-shot Russian-roulette victory is not presented as mere luck; Katarina Jhin's firearm-performance knowledge includes techniques that can manipulate the final chamber outcome 88.
• Gotham repeatedly blames Jerome for crimes committed by imitators because his riddles and theatrical violence have become inseparable from his public image 121.