| “ | You and all these other nobodies will always be my playthings. | „ |
| ~ John Kane gloating to Harleen. |
John Kane aka The Joker is the main antagonist of the 2019 one shot Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass. He was an arrogant young man at Gotham High and the son of the powerful Kane Family.
Biography[]
John Kane was a member of the wealthy Kane family and a student at the same school as Harleen Quinzel. Bored with his privileged life, he adopted the persona of the Joker and masterminded a spree of street vandalism and corporate terrorism with his crew of masked hooligans. Though their actions appeared to be senseless destructive acts on the surface, John was secretly engaging in them in order to assist his parents’ business; the acts would allow the Kane family to purchase property and drive out locals, including Harleen’s friends.
At school, John served as head of the film club, manipulating it to uphold his family’s conservative values and his own misogynistic views on cinema. As John, he was Harleen’s rival and counterpart, but in his masked, colorful guise, he earned her sympathy, especially after helping her escape the police by hiding in the sewers. There he revealed himself and his gangs activities, getting her intrigue. Unaware of his true identity, Harleen was persuaded to join his supposed noble mission to take down Gotham’s corrupt corporations. In reality, John was setting her up to take the fall for his ego-driven scheme to eliminate his rivals in a single night.
After convincing and radicalizing her into embracing her rebellious persona Harley Quinn, John led her to break into the main Kane residence, claiming they would cripple the business once and for all. In truth, he planned to blow up the tower’s large sign and drop it onto a protest below, where activists were opposing the Kanes’ efforts to buy out their neighborhood.
The plan failed, though part of the building was destroyed, leading to both John’s and Harleen’s exposure and arrest. John used his family’s wealth and influence to secure a lighter sentence, leaving Harleen to take most of the blame and serve time in prison. Placed under house arrest, John eventually escaped, leaving behind his trademark Joker graffiti tags as he vanished into Gotham’s underworld. Meanwhile, Harley Quinn escaped her cell as well, determined to finish what they had started. Alongside a young Bruce Wayne, she began tracking John down, though the fate of all three remains open-ended.
Trivia[]
- Unlike most incarnations, he has a confirmed public persona and name, being related to the Kane family.
- In this interpretation, the Joker symbolizes privilege hiding behind chaos. His power to cause destruction comes from the advantages of class and race, making him a reflection of how privileged people can break the law and face fewer consequences than others.
- In this comic series, he seemed to have never met or dealt with Bruce Wayne directly. This is similar to the Criminal Sanity Comic Series, where the Joker is written to be the archenemy of Harleen.
- This interpretation of the Joker isn't portrayed as directly or indirectly insane, like most interpretations. Though, he is shown to be just as eccentric and manipulative, claiming to be "an enigma".