- NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Joker from the Arrowverse. The mainstream version can be found here: Joker (DC).
| “ | Batman brought out all the crazies in Gotham. If it weren't for him, there wouldn't have been a Joker! | „ |
| ~ Jacob Kane ranting about Joker's tainted legacy. |
| “ | You think you're the only one? Ever wonder why the Joker hasn't reared his head in five years? He's not in Arkham, Kate. Both you and Bruce stared into the abyss. The question is... how long are you gonna let it stare back at you? | „ |
| ~ Luke Fox explaining Joker's current fate to Kate Kane, heavily implying that he's dead. |
Jack Napier, better known as the Joker, is one of the two overarching antagonists (alongside Safiyah Sohail) of the 2019-2022 TV Series, Batwoman.
He is an infamous psychopath and criminal who had terrorized Gotham City for years in the past and is widely remembered as Batman's greatest foe and archenemy.
He was portrayed by Nathan Dashwood.
Biography[]
Original multiverse[]
Nothing is currently known about Jack Napier's early life before he became the mysterious criminal known as "the Joker". What is known is that upon beginning his criminal streak, he became the archenemy of the similarly half-mythical Gotham City vigilante known as Batman. Over the years, the Joker became fixated with Batman and he would go on to terrorize the city and commit countless murderous attacks.
At an unknown exact date on January, 2003, Joker murders the driver of a school bus carrying 34 school children before hijacking the vehicle. While driving the bus, he ended up ramming a car carrying a mother named Gabi Kane and her twin daughters Beth and Kate Kane. The impact left the vehicle dangling on the edge of a bridge. Fortunately, Batman, who was pursuing the Joker, secures the dangling car with his grappling hooks before saving the school children and defeating his archenemy. Unfortunately, Batman was too late to save the Kanes' car, as because of an engineering mishap, it loosened from the hooks and fell into a river, which resulted in Gabi's death and apparently alongside Beth while Kate was left as the sole survivor, as she had crawled out of the car right before it fell into the river. Unbeknownst to Kate, her sister had survived and Beth would grow up to become one of the most infamous criminals in Gotham under the name "Alice."
Following his defeat, the Joker was captured and tried the following month of February. He was then brought to justice and prosecuted by District attorney Angus Stanton before being sent to and locked up in Arkham Asylum.
New multiverse[]
In the aftermath of the destruction of the original multiverse during the Anti-Monitor Crisis, the Joker's life in Earth-Prime in the new multiverse is similar to that of his original life.
At some point, he hired a teenage girl named Kiki Roulette as his "Toymaker". In his workshop. she designed and invented many of his gadgets, including the smiley-nerve gas and his signature acid-squirting flower and Joker buzzer, which were then hidden in the workshop. Following an encounter with Batman, Joker lost his acid-squirting flower, which has been confiscated by the former, who then stored it in the Batcave alongside other trophies he had gotten from villains he had defeated.
On January 26, 2003, Joker hijacked a bus carrying 34 school children after shooting its driver in the head. As nearly all of the children cowered in terror, one of them, a boy named Marquis Jet tried to stop the Joker, who just laughed at him and he tells Marquis that he was taking the children to Amusement Mile, where he had hidden a big chemical bomb that would rain chemicals that makes everyone look like the Joker. He then pressed his joy buzzer on the boy's head and sent an electric charge into his brain before driving the bus at full speed to evade Batman, who began pursuing him. As a chase ensues, the bus gets caught behind a car carrying Gabi Kane and her two daughters Beth and Kate.
The school bus Joker was driving in ended up ramming into the back of the car, causing the vehicle to balance over the side of a bridge. Batman was able to intervene by affixing the car to the bridge with his grappling hooks. This allowed Kate Kane to climb out to safety, unfortunately, the car would fall into a river below the bridge, due to an engineering mishap, which instantly killed Gabi while Beth was presumed to have died as well. She actually survived and would grow up to become the infamous criminal known as “Alice” in her later life. Meanwhile, the Joker was captured and arrested by Batman, who then took him to Arkham Asylum and store the former’s joy buzzer in the Batcave.
The Joker managed to escape from Arkham and with Kiki Roulette, they murdered Batman’s sidekick Robin with a crowbar. He also began working with Harley Quinn, another accomplice and Kiki’s therapist. At some point, Joker broke into the house of an unnamed man who owned a painting that holds the location of the Mediterranean island of Coryana, which grows a rare and mysterious type of flower known as the Desert Rose, which acts as a universal-panacea. After murdering the painting's owner, Joker used the latter's intestines to modify the painting with his own "work", which concealed the map. It ended up being put on display, with it being titled as "Gore on Canvas".
Eventually, in 2015, the Joker finally pushed Batman so far that the vigilante snapped and killed him, although most people aren't aware of this and it is widely believed that he remains locked up in Arkham Asylum.
Legacy[]
The Joker is remembered as one of the worst criminals to have plagued Gotham City, as well as one of Batman's most noteworthy unhinged adversaries. His death (as described by Luke Fox) seemed to have had a profound impact on Batman, who apparently broke his moral code upon killing him. Due to this experience, Batman disappeared from the public eye (possibly going into retirement), remaining out of Gotham ever since. Because of this, the city's crime rate skyrocketed and is left in a state worse than ever before.
Joker's actions had a deep impact on Jacob Kane, Gabi Kane's husband and Kate & Beth's father, who blamed Batman for being the reason the Joker existed in the first place. In addition, the latter’s involvement in Gabi's death inspired him to create a private security agency called Crows Security. Though despite trying to be better at protecting the citizens of Gotham more than what Batman did, the agency, however, proved to be corrupt and far from being effective in their goal, as they only gave protection to those of the upper-class (the wealthy and elite). Jacob showed deep anger towards the Joker and even began comparing him to Alice (formerly known as Beth Kane) by saying she was fixated on Batwoman the same way Joker was fixated on Batman. It is most likely that Jacob blames the Joker for being partly the reason that his daughter would go on to become Alice, alongside his late second wife Catherine Hamilton-Kane and August Cartwright.
Before her disappearance and presumed death, Kate took a photo in her phone of the painting that Joker had made because it had a subliminal reference to Coryana's queen Safiyah Sohail. While investigating Kate's phone, Jacob found the picture and asked Sophie Moore about its significance. He then sent his Crows to find the original painting after learning that the displayed copy was a fake. Safiyah's agent Ocean burned away Joker's modifications to the painting and revealed the map that had the location of Coryana.
While under Black Mask's control, Kate (as "Circe Sionis") stole Joker's acid flower from the Batcave along with other items belonging to Batman's enemies. During her final fight with the Black Mask, Alice pointed out that the Joker was a great villain before using it to spray acid on his face and quickly putting his skull mask on, permanently welding it to his face.
Following the school bus incident, Marquis Jet, the same boy who was electrocuted by Joker, was hospitalized. Because the electric shock from the Joker’s joy buzzer had caused serious psychological damage to his brain, he began to display signs of anger and sociopathy; He burned a colony of ants with a magnifying glass, had displayed fits of rage, sadistically murdered his own father by putting peanut butter in a burger (knowing he was allergic, but recorded it as an innocent prank), and violently stabbing Professor Pyg to death. This shows that the Joker's encounter with Marquis had changed him to a point where Marquis even made a blood frown on himself in the mirror, possibly creating a new Joker.
Alternate variants[]
Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two[]
Prior to Earth-96's destruction by the Anti-Monitor and the creation of the new multiverse, an alternate variant of the Arrowverse Joker living in Earth-96 arrived at Metropolis and launched a deadly gas attack on the Daily Planet's headquarters, resulting in the death of 48 employees working for the newspaper, with Superman's lover Lois Lane amongst the casualties. The tragic loss of Lois drove Superman to wear a new version of his outfit so as to remind himself that hope could lift him out of darkness, even in the worst moments.
Following the creation of the new Multiverse, the Joker's attack on the Daily Planet never occurred while Lois Lane and the Daily Planet employees that died in the Pre-crisis continuity are still alive.
Supergirl[]
The Joker was mentioned in a 2019 newspaper issue published by the Gotham Gzzette. The article mentioned that the Joker was captured by Batman. Whether this was the same Joker from the 1989 Batman film or is another person donning the persona is unknown.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Although Joker hasn't physically appeared in any capacity, his actions set up the entirety of the series; he is inadvertently the one responsible for Beth Kane going missing and transforming into Alice, his involvement in the Kane family's car crash inspired Jacob to create Crow Security, he pushed Batman so far to killing him that would cause him to leave and allow Gotham to plunge into chaos once more, and is also indirectly the reason that Kate Kane became Batwoman.
- Also, because Joker unintentionally created Alice, he is inadvertently responsible for Ryan Wilder becoming Batwoman since Alice killed her mother during his rampage.
- In addition, due to him electrocuting Marquis Jet and turning him into a sociopath, he was responsible for creating a new Joker.
- He finally makes a physical appearance during a Flashback in the penultimate episode of Season 3.
- In The Chronicles of Cisco, Heath Ledger's iteration of the Joker from the 2008 film The Dark Knight was referred to by Cisco who said Zoom made the villain look like Santa Claus. Given the in-universe reference, it is possible that in the Arrowverse, Ledger portrayed a fictionalized version of Joker and the film was based on events that actually happened.
- Harley Quinn briefly appeared in Season 2 of Arrow as a member of the Suicide Squad. However, it is unknown if she and Joker have any connection like they do in the comics.
- In the show, Joker's real name was identified as Jack Napier (which is a reference to the Joker from the 1989 Batman film) and it would be used again for the display of his painting.
- The fact Batman finally killed Joker after nearly two decades of failed imprisonment or curing his insanity proved Joker to be just as irredeemable as Eobard Thawne.
