Batman Lovers, Let's Stop Pretending the Joker Is DC's Evilest Villian

The Joker is an incredibly popular character, resulting in DC continually making stories that center on him and play up what a giant threat he is. The Joker is often portrayed as one of the most evil characters ever, one who truly tests people's ideas about morality and sanity. But there are many DC villains who are far more evil than the Joker.

When it comes to serial killers, the Joker is pretty bad. He has killed countless people in the DC Universe. His death count is in the thousands. Every time the Joker shows up, it's a near-apocalyptic scenario for the innocent people of Gotham City. The Joker has shown time and again that he has no regard for the lives of innocents or even his own life.

With all these things in mind, it's easy to think that the Joker is pure evil. He's killed children and thousands of adults. He's definitely a monster, but there are several DC villains - even Batman villains - who are far worse than the Clown Prince of Crime.

The Joker Isn't That Evil in the Grand Scheme of the DC Universe

DC Has So Many Evil Villains Who Go Beyond the Joker

There's no denying that the Joker is a horrific serial killer. But the DC Universe is a huge place. The Joker is just one serial killer on Earth; he's nothing compared to galactic killers like Mongul. Mongul has traveled the universe enslaving people and making them fight in his brutal Warworld, not to mention the time he completely obliterated Coast City, including its millions of citizens. There are also characters like Darkseid, who is the literal personification of evil. While the Joker is certainly evil, it's not like he's trying to remove all free will from the universe.

Some villains are motivated by pettiness. At the very least, the Joker has a life philosophy he believes in. He thinks that if anyone suffered a day just as badly as he did, they would become insane. While that's still a twisted ideology, it's at least something he believes in that motivates his actions. Characters like Eobard Thawne don't follow any ideology. He just wants to make Barry Allen suffer, and he doesn't care what he has to do to make that happen. Villains like Reverse-Flash are significantly more evil when they aren't trying to prove anything.

The Joker Isn't Even the Most Evil Villain in Gotham

There Are a Few More Twisted Than the Clown

The Joker has a reputation for being one of the worst villains in Gotham City, but that's not exactly the truth. He's certainly one of the most dangerous and the one who pushes Batman the most, but some villains are unquestionably more evil than the Joker, the first being Professor Pyg. Pyg is a horrific person who captures people and performs surgery on them, transforming them into one of his terrifying doll-o-trons. While the Joker has killed people, he doesn't usually rob them of their minds and turn them into mutilated slaves.

The next villain who's more evil than the Joker is unquestionably Ra's al Ghul. While the Joker has killed thousands of people, Ra's intends to kill billions. While one might argue that Ra's is only doing this to try and save the world, that begs the question of just how many deaths one finds justifiable. While saving the world is a noble goal, it's not exactly worth killing ninety percent of the planet's population to achieve. That's far too much blood to spill for any goal. But it's one that Ra's has tried to achieve several times, putting the Joker's body count to shame.

While the Penguin may not seem more evil than the Joker on the surface, it really depends on the definition of evil that someone uses. The Joker will kill people, and he'll do it happily, but he's not usually in the business of ruining their lives. The Penguin has demonstrated that not only is he happy to kill people, but he's also happy to destroy their lives for little reason. At one point, when the Penguin simply thought that someone was laughing at him, he orchestrated the failure of their business, the death of their family, and had them sent to prison for child pornography.

The Joker Has Proven That He Can Be a Hero

Few Other Villains Have Gotten Redemption

It seems silly to clarify, but the Joker also doesn't eat people. He'll kill them, sure, but he doesn't eat them afterward. The same can't be said for Flamingo or Cornelius Stirk, who are both terrifying serial killers who explicitly eat their victims. Flamingo prefers to eat the faces of his victims, and Stirk removes their organs to devour. The Joker has done so many awful things, but at least he doesn't eat people.

While some might argue that these villains aren't nearly as evil as the Joker, there's one undeniable thing that the Joker has that makes him undeniably less evil: the Joker has managed to be redeemed several times. When Bizarro cast a spell over the world in the "I, Bizarro" story by Jason Aaron and John Timms, the Joker was rendered sane and became one of the greatest heroes in the DC Universe. The Joker has demonstrated several times that he'd love to be a hero. When Martian Manhunter rendered him sane, the Joker immediately expressed extreme regret for all the lives he had taken and the crimes he had committed.

There is some semblance of good deep down inside the Joker. He's not pure evil. The same can't be said for villains like the Penguin or Professor Pyg. These characters have never been redeemed and are not capable of walking the path of justice. But the Joker has demonstrated that he could be a hero several times - if his madness were to be cured. By being redeemed in multiple stories, the Joker proves that he isn't nearly as evil as some people might say he is. He's certainly not the most evil villain Batman has.

The Joker Has More Good in Him Than Most Villains

Even If He Never Shows It

It's easy to view the Joker as just pure evil. He's done so many horrible things over the years, but there are just too many events that show that the Joker has more to him than being evil. When he gained reality-warping power, he argued that he was using it to fix the universe: to create a universe that wouldn't allow people like him to exist. Someone truly evil and malicious wouldn't care to do that. Even presuming he was lying, that still doesn't change that he has done something heroic. While the Joker is certainly one of Batman's worst enemies, he's not the absolute worst villain in the DC Universe.

The Joker

Created By

Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson

Cast

Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto, Joaquin Phoenix, Barry Keoghan

First Appearance

Batman (1940)

Alias

Red Hood, Clown Prince of Crime, Ace of Knaves

RELATIONSHIPS

Batman (archenemy), Harley Quinn (former psychiatrist, on-and-off girlfriend), Penguin (frequent collaborator), Two-Face (frequent collaborator)

Alliance

Injustice League, Legion of Doom, Injustice Gang

The Joker is a psychopathic criminal mastermind with a warped sense of humor. Initially introduced as a remorseless serial killer, the character evolved over time, often oscillating between a prankster and a homicidal maniac. His relationship with Batman is one of the most complex in comic book history, defined by their mutual obsession. Over the decades, the Joker has become an enduring icon of chaos and madness, embodying the antithesis of Batman's order and justice.

Movies

Batman: The Movie, Batman, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, The Dark Knight, The Lego Batman Movie, Joker, Joker: Folie a Deux

TV Shows

Batman (1966), Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Justice League, The Batman, Gotham, Harley Quinn, Batwoman

Video Games

Batman: Return of the Joker, The Adventures of Batman & Robin (SNES), Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Batman: Arkham Asylum (dupe), Batman: Arkham City, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Batman: Arkham Origins, LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, Batman: Arkham Knight, Mortal Kombat 11, Injustice 2, Gotham Knights

Franchise

D.C.

POWERS

Criminal Mastermind, Expert Chemist, Weaponized Props, Psychological Manipulation, Combat Skills, Unpredictability, High Pain Tolerance, Charisma, Escape Artist

HISTORY

The Joker's history has been depicted with various origin stories, the most common being his transformation into the Joker after falling into a vat of chemical waste that bleaches his skin white, turns his hair green, and lips bright red. This disfigurement drives him insane, leading him to become Batman's greatest nemesis.

NAME

Arthur Fleck

Age

Varies by portrayal; generally depicted as being in his 30s to 40s.

Height

Typically depicted around 6 feet (1.83 meters).

Comic Books

Joker #1, The Joker #5, Joker: Killer Smile #1, Batman: Three Jokers #1, Batman: The Joker War Zone #1, DC's Year of the Villain: Joker #1, Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1, The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #1, Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity Secret Files #1, The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1

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