John Doe (Telltale)

"I can feel someone...a few layers deep. Pacing, like an animal in a cage. Just looking for something to start it..."

- John hints at the monster within himself

John Doe (Real Name: Unknown), is an enigmatic man who looks vaguely like a clown that appears in Telltale's interpretation of the Batman mythos. He is their version of the Joker, but unlike most other depictions, is shown here to be a sympathetic and insecure man who is looking for direction in his life, and has not yet turned into the homicidal madman the Joker is generally portrayed as.

He is voiced by Anthony Ingruber

history
John is first introduced to the audience (and Bruce Wayne) in Episode 4 of the first season, being an inmate of Arkham Asylum who does not remember his past or who he is, and not even any of the doctors know the truth. He appears an outwardly friendly and laid-back man, but one who also possesses a violent and savage side as well, as shown when he viciously beats down two inmates threatening Bruce Wayne. The two connect whilst both being imprisoned at Arkham, John revealing some facts about Vicki Vale's past that Bruce previously did not know (such as her having been born Victoria Arkham).

John agrees to help Bruce escape from Arkham in exchange for a favor, which Bruce can choose to promise to grant or not. Either way, John helps Bruce get out of Arkham. He later shows up in Episode 5 gleefully witnessing the battle between Batman and the Children of Arkham's forces before then appearing in the very last scene in the fifth episode, now out of Arkham.

Come Season 2 (titled "The Enemy Within"), it is revealed that John has been released from Arkham and listed Bruce as his emergency contact. He later meets with Bruce at Lucius Fox's funeral and tries to call in the favor Bruce owes him. He also reveals that he's fallen in with some "interesting people" who turn out to be the group of criminals Bruce is after called "The Pact". Using his "friendship" with John, Bruce tries to get into the Pact, with John being Bruce's primary supporter (especially if Bruce continues to treat him well).

In Episode 3 of Season 2, John helps Bruce and Catwoman break into Riddler's now abandoned lair looking for information on how to get into his laptop (which Harley has possession of and wants decrypted). During this adventure, John shows a willingness to beat officer Harvey Bullock with a crowbar if Bruce does not intervene, and later, when Bruce and John have drinks together outside a coffee shop, John admits that he can feel "someone" inside him that is trying to get out. The words John uses in describing this "someone" makes it clear that it is a darker and more violent side of him, one that Bruce can urge him to suppress (or not). As Batman he can also meet with John Doe and teach him how to throw a batarang (but only if John has gotten Harley's laptop for him and not Catwoman).

Later, when both Bruce and Catwoman are in hot water with The Pact, John urges Bruce to give up Catwoman to save himself, which Bruce can choose to do nor not do.

trivia

 * The character has received a great deal of attention and praise, with many critics noting how this is one of the first truly sympathetic portrayals of the Joker to ever come along.
 * As a friend of Bruce Wayne's with a dark side that the player can try to help him fight against or else mistreat him to bring it out faster, he is in some ways similar to Harvey Dent/Two Face.
 * Unlike most depictions, where Joker is the abusive manipulator and Harley the more sympathetic villain pining for love, in this version the roles are reversed; John Doe craves in vain Harley's approval, while Harley is an unloving psychopath who is only using him.
 * His willingness to hit Harvey Bullock over the head with a crowbar references Joker's crowbar beating of Jason Todd in the comics and the animated movie adaptation Under the Red Hood.