The Joker is undeniably one of the worst criminals in the DC Universe, and he’s demonstrated his endless capacity for evil countless times. From sinister, yet well-formulated plots to spur-of-the-moment decisions, the Clown Prince of Crime has hurt a lot of people in his time as Gotham’s number one menace.
But of all the horrid things he’s done, what stands out the most? What insidious actions define him as DC’s most sinister villains ever to be created? The following ten items are almost certainly the worst things the Harlequin of Hate has ever done in the DC Universe.
10 Tricked Superman Into Killing Lois Lane
murder the Joker, but establish a regime that plunges the world into all-out war.
9 Blew Up a School with Children Inside
No one ever said Joker is beyond hurting children. In Batman: Cacophony #1, Maxie Zeus and Joker are in the middle of a dispute after Zeus begins creating a designer drug with Joker Venom to fund his own criminal empire. Not one to be taken lightly, Joker shows up at the school Zeus’ nephew attends, and gives Zeus a warning to stop what he’s doing. When Zeus challenges him, Joker immediately blows up the school, killing Zeus’ nephew and dozens of other children, all to prove a point that there’s no line he won’t cross.
8 Tortured Jim Gordon to Prove His Theory Correct
Few of the Joker’s actions are as infamous as his ‘One Bad Day’ plot. Wanting to prove that anyone could be driven to see the Joker’s point of view with enough torment, Joker spends an entire night physically and psychologically torturing Commissioner Gordon in an attempt to drive him mad. Joker kidnaps Gordon, has him dragged through a decrepit amusement park, taunting him and showing Jim pictures of a bleeding and stripped down Barbara Gordon. Despite the events, Gordon holds on to his sanity and values, but the ordeal showed that the Joker was ratcheting up his work as a villain.
7 Jokerized the Justice League
The Joker may be Batman’s nemesis, but that doesn’t mean the Justice League shouldn’t worry about him. The “Endgame” arc of Batman sees the entire League turn on their ally, and by the time Bruce starts facing off with a grinning Superman, he realizes his friends have been turned by Joker Venom. Not only did he dose each member with his toxic concoction, he individualized the Venom for each member of the League (such as rubberizing the microbes in Cyborg’s dose). Such an attack makes one realize the Joker could be a League-level threat if he really wanted to be.
6 Killed Batgirl and Robin in Front of Batman
While the Joker has shown no qualms about maiming or even killing Batman’s sidekicks before, his actions in JLA: The Nail are arguably worse than his canon crimes. In a much darker timeline without the guiding light of Superman, Joker liberates Arkham Asylum thanks to a new pair of energy gauntlets he’s gotten hold of. He suspends his archenemy and forces Batman to watch as the Joker uses his gauntlets to brutally murder Batgirl and Robin. Batman breaks his ultimate rule and kills the Joker in response, sending him into a deep depression while the Justice League begins to crumble.
5 Killed Sarah Essen
If there’s one thing that’s blatantly apparent, it’s that there’s nothing off-limits to the Joker. In Detective Comics #741, the Clown Prince of Crime has kidnapped a group of babies and the entire Bat-Family is after them for their safe return. As Nightwing, Robin and every able-bodied hero scours the city looking for them, the Joker is at Gotham Central where he’s discovered by Jim Gordon’s wife, Sarah Essen. The two enter a standoff that ends with Joker throwing a baby at Sarah, forcing her to drop her gun to save it, giving the villain an opening to murder her in cold blood.
4 Stole Mxyzptlk's Powers and Reshaped Reality
In one of his most daring escapades, the Joker actually stole Superman villain Mxyztplk’s powers and used it to bend reality to his will. With godlike power at his fingertips, the Joker fashioned an upside-down hell-scape. The “Emperor Joker” arc finally turned the entire world as mad as he is. Not only did he trap Superman in a loop where he was a villain, he also ate the entire population of China for a pun. The Joker also squandered his power by murdering the Dark Knight every single day, only to revive him and find new, more horrifying ways of ending his enemy’s life.
3 Physically and Mentally Abused Harley Quinn For Years
Harley Quinn gave up everything when she fell for the Joker. A promising career was tossed to the side to become the villain’s gal Friday. And all she got for her troubles was abuse by the Joker’s hands. Whenever he wasn’t using her as a scapegoat for his crimes, he was battering her or throwing her out of buildings. And despite not reciprocating the feelings she felt for him, Joker kept Harley around with just enough affection to keep her as his assistant. Thankfully, Harley was able to get away and begin building a life completely independent of the Joker.
2 Shot and Paralyzed Barbara Gordon
It may have been a part of the Joker’s plan to drive Jim Gordon mad, but one can’t discount the trauma Barbara Gordon suffered in The Killing Joke. Despite having retired from the costumed life, the villain changed her life forever. She was shot by the Joker and assaulted by being stripped of her clothing, and photographed. As a result of the shooting, Barbara was paralyzed for years. Though she did manage to become the crucial Bat-Family member Oracle, and even return to her former life as Batgirl, the encounter was one of the most chilling moments in comic book history.
1 Beat Jason Todd with a Crowbar and Blew Him Up
Arguably the worst thing the Joker ever did, to Jason Todd, to Batman and to the entire Bat-Family. The villain viciously beat the young man with a crowbar and locked him in a building that was wired to explode. Jason Todd’s death shook Batman to his very core. Bruce Wayne swore off the idea of Robin for years and fell into a dark space that took him quite some time to recover from. While Jason eventually made his way back, his death hung over the Bat-Family for years, a reminder that even Batman can’t keep his allies safe from the Joker.
The list of awful crimes committed by the Joker is ever-growing, but these events may stand out forever as some of the worst things he’s ever done.
