Joker

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Joker’s identity is not confined to one original person. Brad discovers that an earlier Joker integrated his mad will into the information of the entire DC multiverse. Anyone whose thinking synchronizes with that will can become Joker, inheriting the memories, methods, and legacies of previous incarnations. Within any single observable universe, only one Joker exists at a time 241.

This continuity does not preserve each host’s awareness of being replaced. Every successor believes he is the original Joker, even as his own information density is overwritten. Brad therefore regards Joker’s apparent immortality as a loss of individual identity rather than a desirable form of survival 242.

Before meeting Brad, Joker shot Barbara Gordon, leaving her unable to feel her legs. The same incident severely traumatized Commissioner Gordon, who had not fully recovered after a month of therapy. Joker’s subsequent escape from Arkham intensified Barbara’s resentment toward Batman’s repeated failure to contain him permanently 209 210.

Appearance

• Hair: Messy green hair, which he attempts to smooth before discussing his plans with Brad 204.
• Face: Sickly pale skin, a pointed nose, bloodshot eyes, and mouth corners cut open with a knife 204.
• Build: Thin and scrawny, with pale, skeletal fingers 239.
• Disguise at Scarecrow’s house: Shabby work pants and a cheap clown mask, making him resemble a low-ranking Joker Gang recruit 204.
• Mannerisms: Shrill, grating laughter; exaggerated grins; nail-chewing; and theatrical gestures 204 239.

Personality

Joker treats murder and psychological torment as experiments. His proposed killing of Robin is intended to test whether Batman’s grief would make him abandon his code. Brad consequently identifies him as a philosopher whose crimes explore convictions and human behavior, rather than merely an indiscriminate killer 204 205.

His strongest attachment is to Batman. He is indifferent to repeated beatings and the destruction of individual bodies, but panics when Brad threatens to leave him in a future without Batman. Losing their “games” frightens him more effectively than physical punishment 242.

His search for amusement is unpredictable. He may wait until Batman finishes Justice League business, or become jealous enough to attack the entire League. Nevertheless, Brad distinguishes Joker’s irrational motives from his practical methods: evading surveillance still requires hidden phones, messengers, and other workable steps 254 257.

Abilities & Skills

Multiversal Identity Persistence

Joker survives through an informational imprint rather than an indestructible body 241 242.

• Successors inherit earlier Jokers’ memories, experience, methods, and stored legacies 241.
• Killing a host does not eliminate the recurring identity; even destroying its soul would not prevent a successor’s soul from being reconstructed 242.
• The identity can continue for as long as the DC multiverse exists 241.
• This does not give an individual Joker unrestricted control over information density or physical power comparable to Brad’s 241 242.

Successor Preparation

Brad deduces that Joker may prepare suitable hosts in advance to avoid waiting centuries for another incarnation 242.

• Proposed preparation methods include hypnosis, suggestion, and Laughing Gas exposure 242.
• Brad suspects that stored bodies can alternate between activity and dormancy, allowing Joker to confuse investigations 242.
• These mechanisms are presented as Brad’s deductions, not a fully demonstrated inventory of Joker’s hidden bodies 242.
• Harley Quinn is specifically rejected as a backup vessel after Brad studies her independent thoughts and incomplete surrender to madness 254.

Psychological and Informational Manipulation

Joker exploits vulnerabilities in a target’s thinking, including those of beings he cannot physically threaten 204 242.

• Recognizes immediately that Brad is not human and cannot be coerced through conventional violence 204.
• Arranges for Deathstroke to bring electrum to Brad, knowing Brad will investigate its information density 241 242.
• Hides madness in that information, nearly destabilizing Brad’s identity and reasoning 242.
• Reshapes the Injustice World’s Harley Quinn through drugs and philosophical ideas 253 254.
• Brad escapes the informational attack when Transdimensional Computation temporarily suppresses his vulnerable human thinking 242.

Intelligence Gathering and Improvisation

Joker maintains covert communications even while imprisoned and adapts his plans to available opportunities 239.

• Claims an intelligence network with knowledge of Gotham comparable to Batman’s 239.
• Tracks Batman’s patrol routes and his habit of sending Robin away during major incidents 239.
• Uses a hidden phone, coded instructions, and gang intermediaries to retrieve concealed property 239.
• Improvises using Deadpool’s apparent corpse as bait for Robin 239.
• His lack of information about Deadpool’s survivability causes the ambush to fail 239.

Chemical Resistance

Joker’s chemically altered nervous system gives him substantial resistance to drugs 240.

• Ordinary anesthetics have little effect 240.
• Batman uses an anesthetic intended for zoo elephants before transporting him 240.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Laughing Gas: Carried in a rubber-bulb spray bottle and traded to Brad. Number One later uses an attack amplified by Joker’s Laughing Gas to infect Tony Stark and his forces with uncontrollable laughter 204 220.
• Fear Toxin: Obtained from Crane through Brad’s deal; Joker must process the extract into gas himself 204.
• Repulsive Force Field 2: Brad grants ten activations, triggered by speaking or mentally saying its name. Brad describes it as defensive technology and explains that Joker received a means of cutting off a target’s external power source 204 205.
• Crowbar: Carried during his disguised visit to Crane and later used in the attempted attack on Robin 204 239.
• Dagger: Used to stab Deadpool through the heart from behind 239.
• Antique key and electrum: Given to Deathstroke in exchange for a distraction in Gotham. Tracing the metal’s information density exposes the discontinuity between individual Joker hosts 239 241.

Relationships

• Batman / Bruce Wayne — Central adversary and the focus of Joker’s psychological experiments. Joker seeks to break his principles but cannot tolerate the prospect of a world without him 204 205 242.
• Brad — Initially a trading partner, later the target of an informational madness attack. Brad retaliates by placing Joker in temporal stasis 204 242.
• Jason / Robin — Intended kidnapping and murder victim. Jason survives with Deadpool’s intervention and helps capture Joker 239 240.
• Barbara Gordon — Shooting victim whose paralysis and anger are lasting consequences of Joker’s violence. She weeps with relief after Brad seals him away 209 210 243.
• Commissioner Gordon — Traumatized by Joker’s attack on his family; repeatedly invites Brad to dinner after Joker’s confinement 210 243.
• Scarecrow / Jonathan Crane — Source of Fear Gas sought for the Robin plot. Joker loses interest in Crane after seeing his submissive behavior around Brad 204.
• Deathstroke — Transactional associate employed to occupy Batman. His delivery of Joker’s electrum also serves the attack on Brad 239 242.
• Deadpool — Temporary driver whom Joker stabs after becoming irritated by his chatter. Deadpool survives and stops the ambush on Robin 239.
• Joker Gang — Henchmen who search for Scarecrow, retrieve hidden property, and relay covert messages 203 204 239.
• Harley Quinn, Injustice World — A former psychiatrist psychologically reshaped by that world’s Joker. Brad considers her an entertaining “toy” to Joker, not a successor vessel 253 254.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Deal with Brad

After escaping prison, Joker orders his gang to locate Scarecrow and approaches Crane’s house disguised as a minor thug. Brad identifies his extraordinary information density, which rivals that of the Creator, and invites him inside 203 204.

Joker explains his plan to kill Robin and torment Batman. He exchanges Laughing Gas for ten uses of Repulsive Force Field 2 and Crane’s Fear Toxin, only to be knocked unconscious by Batman upon leaving. Brad subsequently reveals the Robin plot while continuing to withhold the product’s name 204 205.

Failed Robin Ambush

Following another escape, Joker is rescued from the sea by Deathstroke and Deadpool. He supplies Deathstroke with payment for a Gotham distraction, then has Deadpool drive him toward the next stage of his plan 238 239.

Joker stabs Deadpool and leaves him where Robin will investigate, intending to knock Jason unconscious with a crowbar and later record his murder. Deadpool unexpectedly rises, shields Robin, and strikes Joker. Jason and Deadpool capture him, and Batman returns him to Arkham 239 240.

Discovery and Temporal Confinement

The electrum passed through Deathstroke leads Brad to discover Joker’s multiversal identity. Investigating it nearly infects Brad with madness, revealing that the transaction itself was a trap 241 242.

At Arkham, Brad confronts Joker and identifies his fear of losing Batman. Instead of killing him, Brad alters his local passage of time: one second for Joker corresponds to a hundred years for everyone else. The effect will gradually fade, but Brad states that Batman will have died of old age before Joker returns to normal 242.

Batman confirms that Joker remains alive and nearly motionless, securing several decades without his threat. He objects that the measure leaves a danger for future generations and recognizes it as Brad’s personal revenge. Barbara, Gordon, and Nightwing welcome the immediate relief; Batman later uses his freed time to investigate Joker’s past 243 249.

Multiversal Counterparts and Legacy

Notable Quotes

“No one can take Batman away from me, and no one can stop my games with Batsy!” 242

“Why so serious? Smile. Give us a smile.” 242

“Bats went even crazier than me! Hahahaha! I succeeded, too! Nobody can withstand one bad day!”
— Joker manifesting within the elderly Batman’s merged body 237