In a corner of Gotham City.
"Hang in there." Joker held a hero wearing a fly-themed suit, pressing a towel against his bleeding abdomen.
"Jester, I'm not going to make it—run—"
"...I'll avenge you." Joker smiled savagely and buried his comrade in the Safehouse basement. Jester, the Joker of Earth-3, had been bullied since childhood. When he grew up, he became a clown at a circus, but nobody liked his jokes. Only the circus assistant, Harley Ann Queen, and the ringmaster appreciated him.
Later, Harley Ann and Jester mocked Gotham City's vicious police and their master, Owlman, in their performances.
Owlman's revenge was deadly. He killed Harley Ann and the ringmaster, then carved a permanent smile into Jester's face with a knife.
Jester put on a red hood and fought Owlman at the Ace chemical plant. But he was no match for Owlman and was thrown into a chemical bath.
His face was ruined, but he gained chemical resistance. All those crushing blows failed to drive him insane. Instead, he became the superhero Joker, playing theatrical tricks on villains.
Joker pulled open his shirt, revealing the bomb hidden underneath. "My friend, it's time for me to do what I must, too. They always said I was a failed clown because I wasn't funny enough."
"Now, let them taste my deadly joke!"
"Knock, knock, knock. Who's in there?" A cheerful voice suddenly came from outside Joker's Safehouse. "Is that Joker? I'm a fan of yours."
"They found this place, too?" Joker's expression hardened. He opened a hidden door nearby, activated the Safehouse's self-destruct mechanism, and escaped through the secret passage.
"You're far too cautious." The Batman Who Laughs appeared beside Joker. "Let's have a nice chat."
"You're—" Joker frowned at The Batman Who Laughs' strange, unnerving outfit and pointed a gun