FEATURE: 10 of the Joker’s Finest Moments

As we get closer to the release of Suicide Squad, we thought that now we be the perfect time to take a look at one of the be- I mean worst villains ever, the Joker. In this list we will be taking a look at some of the Joker’s finest moments.

Now, a character like the Joker has many memorable moments in his 75 year history; to make things clear, I should say these are 10 of my favorite moments. Your list might look completely different, and that’s okay! It should also be noted that spoilers will be in full force from here on out.

Ready? And here we go!

10. Injustice: Gods Among Us

Injustice: Gods Among Us is one of the best fighting games from the PS3/Xbox 360 generation of consoles. The story is about our favorite team of heroes [The Justice League] traveling to an alternate earth where Superman is an evil dictator. Now this game doesn’t seem like it’s about the Joker, but he’s actually the main reason for Superman turning bad in the first place. The Clown Prince hits Superman with his Joker gas (laced with Scarecrow’s fear toxin), causing Superman to lose control. Superman thinks he’s fighting Doomsday, but in reality he’s beating his wife Lois and their unborn child. Superman ends up destroying all of Metropolis and is driven insane. The Joker made Superman snap, and is later killed by the Man of Steel. If you can’t beat Batman, Superman is the next best thing.

9. Batman’s Eulogy (Batman: The Animated Series)

Mark Hamill is definitely the definitive Joker voice most people. Voicing the character for over twenty years, Hamill has turned in many incredible performances. One of his best scenes is when he’s eulogizing Batman. The Dark Knight is “presumed dead” and the Joker takes it upon himself to take out the one who killed him. Joker loses his desire to cause havoc without the Caped Crusader there to stop him. This is one of his funnier moments of the series and Harley playing ‘Amazing Grace’ on a kazoo makes it that much better.

8. Joker’s Introduction (Batman ’89)

Batman (1989) is full of memorable moments, but not many come close to the first time we see Jack as the Joker. As he creeps from the shadows we see him in his classic hat and coat. Top it off with that terrifying grin and menacing laugh and we have ourselves one creepy Joker. I think we can all agree that he went a little overboard with the bullets though, right?

7. Death in Arkham City (Batman: Arkham City)

Here we have Joker’s demise in Batman: Arkham City. The Joker is poisoned after the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum, and desperately needs a cure. The only one capable of completing such a task is of course Batman. Mister J poisons Batman, and Bats has to search for a cure otherwise they both die. Things get even more serious when Batman has the cure in hand. Joker tries to get the cure from Batman but it falls spilling on the ground. As the Joker tries to lick off the ground, Batman tells the Joker he would’ve saved him- even after all he’s done. Joker simply says “that is kinda funny” before he dies with a grin. It’s dark, shocking, and gutsy. One of the many reasons why we love Batman: Arkham City.

6. Why So Serious? (The Dark Knight)

In The Dark Knight, the late Heath Ledger delivered one heck of a performance. One of his best scenes is when he’s telling his origin story. He told many tales on how he got those scars, but which is true? Are they all false? I guess if the has to have an origin story – he wants to make it multiple choice.

Return of the Joker (Batman Beyond)

Batman The Animated Series has the most spin-offs in TV history [five to be exact], and one of those shows was Batman Beyond. Set in the year 2039, Bruce Wayne is mentoring Terry McGinnis, who now dons the cowl (sans cape). We flash back to Bruce’s final confrontation with the Joker. Harley and Joker have taken Robin and turned him into “Joker Jr.” – some pretty dark stuff. The Joker is eventually killed and Robin is cured; but somehow The Joker returned from the grave, and wants vengeance on Batman. This is a dark story for a kids film, but the level of drama along with Hamill’s older take on the Joker makes this some of his best work.

4. Mad Love (The New Adventures of Batman)

This episode from The New Adventures of Batman gives us the origin of how Harley Quinn and the Joker first met. We see Joker in Arkham Asylum meeting with the Psychiatrist Harleen Quinzel. The Joker uses his charm and boyish good looks to seduce Ms. Quinzel. Slowly turning her mad. After some time, the Clown Prince turned our lovely innocent doctor into Harley Quinn, The Clown Princess of Crime. This is some Joker’s finest work. He turned a good person just as mad as him. Something he wanted to prove ever since the graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke. Throughout the entire series run, we feel sympathetic for Harley, as she’s not as bad as the Joker, but she’s a woman in a abusive relationship. Joker didn’t just take a page out of Batman’s book, and create a new partner in crime that night; he also created one of the most popular (and tragic) comic book characters in recent memory.

3. Final Confrontation (The Dark Knight Returns)

The Joker and Batman are destined to fight each other until the end of time. They’re two sides of the same coin. Good and Evil, Order and Chaos, they’re intertwined forever. So, it’s kind of fitting that their final confrontation is in the tunnel of love. The last moments between the two are action packed and full of emotion, with Batman partially breaking Joker’s neck, and Joker’s finishing the job with his last words being “See you in Hell”. Their battle finally ended, and it didn’t disappoint.

2. The Red Hood Origin (Batman: The Killing Joke)

Batman: The Killing Joke is arguably the best Joker story of all-time. We see the Joker’s origin [I think?], he paralyzes Barbara Gordon, and he tortures Commissioner Gordon. While they’re all worthy of being on this list; we’ll be specifically talking about his origin story. We find out that he was a struggling stand-up comedian who just wanted to take care of his family. After getting involved with a the Red Hood mob, Joker is forced to go to Ace Chemicals and ends up running into Batman. This leads to him falling in the chemicals and becoming the man we know today. This is a tragic story and gives us a different look at the Joker. However we aren’t sure if this story is true, heck the Joker doesn’t know if it’s true. It’s kind of fitting really, the Joker is unpredictable, so his story should be unpredictable, unknown.

1. Death of Jason Todd (Batman: A Death in the Family)

At number one we have the death of Robin (Jason Todd). This is easily the Joker’s most memorable moment, and it changed Batman comics forever. Robin tries to save his mother from the Joker, but the Boy Wonder gets ambushed. Joker nearly beats him to death with a crowbar. Batman [not present during these events] tries to rescue Robin but is too late. Joker’s blows up a warehouse and kills the boy. Robin is dead, and Batman is scared for life. This is the biggest hit Batman has taken in his crime fighting career, and he has the Joker to thank for it. With Robin gone, this leads Batman down a dark path. This is a defining moment in the Batman mythos and is deserving of the top stop on our list.

Honorable Mention: Dehydration (Batman: The Movie)

Here we have the Joker (along with Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler) Kidnapping the United World Organization Security Council. The Joker and company dehydrate the Council, and have the world at their mercy. This deserves a mention because it’s one of the Joker’s craziest schemes in the series. While this is the Joker teaming up with the rest of Batman’s rouges gallery, it’s still an awesome moment. It’s also his first appearance in a feature film.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at the some Joker’s best moments. Did you agree with my list? What are your favorite Joker moments? We’d love to here from you over on our Twitter page @WatchtowerBabel. We’re not done yet with our Suicide Squad coverage. Come back tomorrow as we continue our Countdown to Suicide Squad!

Suicide Squad hits theaters August 5th.