Jack (last name unknown), known as the Joker, is the main antagonist of the 2007-2008 miniseries Batman: Lovers and Madmen, the second story arc of Batman Confidential, a run of sagas set primarily during Batman's early years, most of which, like Lovers and Madmen, are out of continuity. He is one of many alternate versions of the eponymous DC Comics supervillain, whose origin story and first encounter with Batman are revisited in this story, inconsistent with the previous stories, The Killing Joke and The Man Who Laughs.
In this version, the Joker is a ruthless professional hitman and bank robber, killing as much for work as for pleasure. He is completely unconcerned with danger and indifferent to the prospect of pain and death, but suffering from deep depression, he seeks murder and the thrill of crime as a way to live his life. However, his immense skill ends up making his work boring and causing him to fall into an increasingly deep depression, culminating in a desire for suicide. His encounter with Batman gives him new motivation to continue living, having made him experience emotions he had never felt before, leading him to decide to pursue the Dark Knight and choose him as his worthy adversary.
History[]
Nothing is known about Jack's past, although in one chapter of the miniseries he himself vaguely mentions abuse at the hands of an abusive mother. We know that he suffers from severe depression, which he tries to manage with psychiatric drugs, and that he is an uncommonly talented killer, precise, methodical, and cunning like few others, who kills primarily for pleasure, even more than for work. We don't know if it was depression that drove him to crime. What we do know is that his skill at committing crimes is so great that it bores him and worsens his depression, leading him to a desperate hunger for excitement and a desire for suicide. He also hangs out in bars, drowning his depression in alcohol. It's on one of these occasions that he strikes up a conversation with a girl named Leena, who's studying psychology and is paying her way through college by working in a bar. He lies to her about his job, and after listening to his explanations of why he feels so depressed, she reassures him that everyone has a gift, that everyone can do something better than others, and that he should be proud of his abilities and make the most of them. Encouraged by the young woman's words, Jack gathers some accomplices and embarks on a bank robbery, during which he comes face-to-face with Batman (who, investigating the boy's senseless massacres, had been tracking him). Initially bored by yet another robbery he'd pulled off so easily, Jack is on the verge of being killed by a police officer to put an end to his inner torment, but the encounter with the masked vigilante triggers something in him: that emotion, that thrill he was seeking, he felt when he met Batman. So he decides to abandon his suicidal intentions and, after killing the policeman he'd asked to kill him, he sticks a pencil in his chest with a taunting note to Batman, which reads mockingly: "Thanks, you made me day."
Reinvigorated by his encounter with Batman, Jack longs to meet him again and embarks on a series of crimes to attract his attention, throwing Gotham into a panic and leading Batman to realize he's dealing with a criminal far more dangerous than anyone he'd ever fought in his first few months in office.
Thanks to the construction of a new, highly sophisticated computer (the Batcomputer, affectionately nicknamed "Dupin" by Alfred in this version), Batman manages to create a more precise trail of Jack's movements, realizing with horror that his next crime will target the Gotham Museum of Art, where Lorna Shore, the girl Bruce Wayne is dating and with whom he has fallen in love, works as a curator and is attending a costumed charity party. In the ensuing clash, Jack captures Lorna by shielding himself with her body and, after being disarmed by Batman, draws a knife and seriously wounds Lorna, prompting a furious Batman to throw a Batarang at him, causing two deep gashes on the sides of his mouth, causing the madman's smile to appear to widen, and triggering Jack's desire for revenge (though he admits that "It's nice to feel something").
While Lorna struggles for life in the hospital, a furious Bruce, after consulting psychologist Jonathan Crane, who confirms that his new adversary is a madman acting without any real reason other than evil and violence for its own sake, decides to break his oath not to kill by ordering some criminals, eager for revenge for be mocked and robbed by Jack, to kidnap and kill him. The gang leader named Maletesta, however, decides to take Jack to an old pharmaceutical plant to amuse himself by torturing him. Despite being tied up, Jack manages to free himself and kill almost all the gang members, while Batman, regretting having sentenced him to death and betrayed his principles, breaks into the plant. The vigilante arrives in time to see Jack overwhelmed by the contents of a chemical mixing vat (used to make antipsychotics) and dragged by the current of chemical liquid into the belly of the plant. Even as he holds his breath, Jack realizes that death is near, regretting that he can no longer see Batman. However, he manages to enter a sewer pipe that leads to a lake outside the factory. Reemerging from the water, Jack notices that the chemicals have bleached his skin and dyed his hair electric green. Gazing at the moon, he thinks he sees the outline of a rabbit on his face. Reflecting on how life has "played a trick" on him, he bursts into hysterical laughter and his mind finally shattering, while Batman, horrified, watches him walk away into the woods, wondering what he has done.
A few days later, Jack, now completely insane and dubbed "the Joker" by the media, expresses his joy at having been awakened to the meaninglessness of life following the incident at the pharmaceutical plant. As a sign of gratitude for his persistence in finding his own path, he anonymously pays Leena's college tuition (whose full name is revealed to be "Harleen Quinzel"). He then resumes his terrorist attacks in Gotham, launching a blimp into Gotham's Twin Towers. James Gordon orders a police helicopter to pursue the blimp, but it explodes, raining poison gas and shards of glass on the crowd. Many citizens die, and their faces display a disturbing smile, similar to Jack's.
Informed by Alfred, Bruce chases Jack to the roof of police headquarters. The Joker is impressed that Batman has finally cared enough to pursue him and, to show his gratitude, lunges at him with a knife. After a disastrous fall during which the two injure themselves repeatedly, Batman is horrified to discover that the Joker has captured several hostages, hanging them from the building with ropes. He begins shooting at the ropes, sending the hostages plummeting into the air. Batman manages to save some of them, regretting that he couldn't have done enough to save them all, while the Joker blows up the building.
Batman then asks the Joker why he wanted to kill those men, to which the madman mockingly replies that Batman wanted to save them, and decides to test Batman by jumping into the air. Although tempted to let him die, Batman comes to the conclusion that even the life of a monster like himself is important, and saves him.
The Joker is arrested, while Gordon reveals to Batman that the media gave him that nickname, wondering if other dangerous psychopaths will follow him. Thanks to a generous donation from the Wayne Foundation, Arkham Asylum is reopened, and the Joker becomes its first prisoner.
Despite Batman's victory, the experience with the Joker will have unpleasant consequences: not wanting to endanger the people he loves, Bruce decides to break up with Lorna—who has since recovered and is on the mend—who, distraught over the attack, decides to leave Gotham.
In the story's epilogue, the Joker senses Batman's presence outside Arkham Asylum and promises him eternal enmity.
Trivia[]
- This version of the Joker is likely inspired by the Joker of the Burtonverse and the Joker of the DCAU , not only having never donned the Red Hood costume but also being a vicious criminal who was mentally ill even before his transformation.
- He is also one of the first comic book versions of the Joker to feature the Glasgow smile (made after Jack Napier from the Elseworld Gotham: Noir and before the Joker by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo), predating the Nolanverse Joker.
- Although the future Joker introduces himself to Leena as "Jack," it's possible he lied to her about his real name.