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“ | The Legion of Doom used to stand for something: top tier evil. But now, they’ll let in any, say... second rate clown with a cheap dye job. The Legion is no more. Gotham, you deserve better, someone with vision, someone who speaks French, moi of course. I'm calling it!: RIP Gotham City, time of death... Right now! | „ |
~ The Joker rising to power. |
“ | No! No! Are you shi--ing me! What is wrong with you?! Don't you think I would have done that had I wanted to?! Half the fun of our relationship was the mystery! Now I know Batman is just some boring, rich a--hole with parental issues! | „ |
~ The Joker furious response to Scarecrow unmasking Batman. |
The Joker is the main antagonist of the adult animated series Harley Quinn.
He is Gotham City's greatest criminal, Batman's arch-nemesis and the partner turned arch-nemesis of the titular main protagonist Harley Quinn, whom he never treated as his equal, before finally abandoning her to Arkham Asylum, which led Harley to become an independent villain and prove to herself that she is better than the Joker. Eventually, he becomes even more ruthless than he already is in his attempts at "getting back" at Harley.
He is voiced by Alan Tudyk, who also voiced Lenny in Ice Age, Ben Chapman in 42, Turbo in Wreck-It Ralph, the Duke of Weselton in Frozen, Duke Weaselton in Zooptopia, Ludo in Star vs. the Forces of Evil and Iago in the 2019 remake of Aladdin.
Personality[]
“ | Joker: What is wrong with me? Batman: You're a sociopathic narcissist. Joker: It was rhetorical, assh*le! |
„ |
~ Joker and Batman. |
Joker is a sadistic man who loves to kill, torture and abuse people. He is also extremely rude to his own allies. According to Batman and Harley, Joker is a sociopathic narcissist.
He is very arrogant and has an oversized ego, refusing to let Harley leave him for the simple reason that he is Gotham's greatest criminal, and that this gives him the right to decide for her, even daring to say that it is he who creates her. After that, he has never lost a moment when he could have to discount her to the lowest level.
When learned Batman's true identity as a billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne, he doesn't feel to want to torture or killing him anymore due to wanting WayneTech's electric car and money.
“ | Harley: So you gonna give up the criminal life? Go to PTA meetings and go for ice cream? Joker: Heavens no! Little Leticia is lactose intolerant. Plus plenty of fathers are serial killers. I'm not giving it up. I just found a better reason for killing. |
„ |
~ Joker decides to balance his old and new lives. |
However, a key difference with this version of Joker is that he can actually feel love. He admits that he feels a form of love for Harley, though in this case, Joker views it as a weakness, and he attempts to rid himself of this weakness by turning Harley back to normal so she can get out of his life. Then, when Joker loses his memories, he spends several months living a new identity, and during that time, he meets a woman and starts a family. Despite regaining his memories, the time he spent with his family has come to change him, and he grows to feel actual, genuine love for his wife and his adopted kids. Though he does not stop his criminal life, he still decides to stay with his family and live with them. Joker also was upset about Gotham city's underfunded public schools and public healthcare systems so much, when he was in the middle of robbing a bank, he announced that he was running as Mayor of Gotham city on a progressive platform.
Biography[]
Season 1[]
Til Death Do Us Part[]
As Gotham's unscrupulous wealthy people celebrates their greed, Harley Quinn disembarks and demands that they give her their ticket mountains but they aim at her with their guns, declaring that she should not have coming here on her own until that the Joker does reveal himself after posing as the captain of the ship, which he had literally put on the face.
The Joker then proceeds to the massacre of the rich, while Harley expresses her dream of becoming a great villain and being part of the Legion of Doom. The Joker mocks her ambition and dismisses her as "only a sidekick," this which Harley finds very offensive and insulting. Batman then arrives to confront the two bad guys until the Joker flee into a submarine while promising Harley that if she is sent to Arkham, he will return for her. He does not keep his promise, however, and Harley remains locked up in Arkham for a year.
In his lair, Joker watches the news about the escape of Harley, Poison Ivy and Riddler, who is called Gotham's funniest villain; this angers the Joker to the point that he shoots his TV. Harley then shows up and then declares that she has had enough of his lies, and breaks up with him. Joker uses reverse psychology to make Harley believe that he had abandoned him for the protégé of Batman who attacked everyone he loved (Of course another lie), which pushes Harley to return to him.
Later, Joker continues his vendetta against Riddler. Harley offers to watch a movie with Reese Witherspoon if she kills the Riddler. Joker accepts but is still upset when he learns that the film is Sweet Home Alabama. Unfortunately, Harley gets captured with Batman by Riddler and gets suspended above an acid tank.
Riddler then invites Joker to his lair where he offers the Clown Prince of Crime to choose be the life of Harley or Batman. Refusing to let the Riddler have the honor of killing Batman, Joker chooses his old enemy and abandons Harley once again to her fate, before being chased by Batman out of the den.
Finally enough of the Joker's abuse, Harley confronts him at home, finally realizing that he never loved her and leaving him for good. The Joker declares that she can never break up with him because he is Gotham's biggest villain. The Joker orders his goons to kill Harley, but she beats them all and destroys the lair. She then vows to him that she will take his place as Gotham's greatest villain.
A High Bar[]
In the Hall of Doom kitchen, Joker has coffee with Bane and Scarecrow, who try to console him about Harley leaving. He laughs and says that he doesn't care, although his hand tremor seems to indicate that he is very upset.
On the ruins of his lair, Joker is angry that the construction manager asks him for a permit when no one is expected to know where he should be. Bane then calls to tell him that Harley is at the Penguin's nephew's Bar Mitzvah; angered, the Joker heads over there immediately.
Finding Harley at the table with Bane, Scarecrow, and Two-Face, Joker tells his former henchgirl to leave. Harley tries to encourage the three bad guys to rally to her, but the Joker bullies them until they (reluctantly) side with him, and Harley leaves, dejected.
Harley ruins the Bar Mitzvah by robbing a nearby bank, which the Penguin had filled with "play money" for his nephew. The Joker takes advantage of the opportunity to belittle her, telling her that she will never be anything but a sidekick; he then threatens to kill her unless she admits that she is nothing without him. Harley refuses, so the Joker orders his men to kill her. When he sees Bane beating up Kite Man, the Joker orders him to stop fooling around and deal with Harley and Ivy.
Harley asks Bane and the other villains why they let the Joker talk to them like that, and says that they have no reason to fear him, as he has no superpowers and he only intimidates others to get what he wants. Bane and the others realize she is right, and turn their backs on the Joker. Exasperated, the Joker decides to kill Harley himself, but is interrupted by a phone call from the contractors rebuilding his lair. He says he has to leave to deal with a construction problem, but promises Quinn he will deal with her later.
So You Need A Crew?[]
Joker and his goons infiltrate a Russian weapons transport train that Harley was already trying to rob and steal the weapons by using the three keys simultaneously for unlocking the door. Harley criticizes him that he only succeeded because he has minions at his command. Joker denies this before ironically and mockingly ordering his goons to throw Harley off the train. However, when he later learned from the news that she might soon become "Joker's biggest competitor", this infuriated Joker, causing him to crush his drink and shot his TV.
Finding Mr. Right[]
Joker attempts to rob a credit union but was stopped by Batman. This failed heist is what prompted Harley Quinn to go find an enemy of her own but she ended up becoming enemies with Robin. Bewildered, Joker sends her pregnancy decorations as an act of mockery before sending her a mocking recording note card, which congratulated her before exploding. Later, he was able to rob Gotham City Bank since Batman was busy defending Robin from Harley Quinn and King Shark.
L.O.D.R.S.V.P[]
When Harley was recruited into the Legion of Doom, Joker appears before her and lets out maniacal laughter.
A Seat at the Table[]
Wanting to exact revenge on the Legion of Doom for accepting Harley, Joker decided to set up an anti-environment trap to trap Poison Ivy so that she could be taken by Scarecrow, which would be used in a scheme to destroy the Legion of Doom and all of Gotham City. Joker also plots to trick Harley into believing that she had gained his respect in order to have her double-crossed. During a speech, he pretended to praise Harley to the entire legion and when he caught her eye, he encouragingly nods at her, which had a strong effect on Harley. During a meeting between the members of the Legion of Doom, Joker requested millions of dollars for a tower with his face on it, which nearly required $800 million. Although, most of the legion swiftly agree to support it, only Harley and Lex Luthor were against it, since for Harley, she believed that it is excessive while Lex knew that Joker couldn't justify the cost of such an unwarranted project, much to Joker's anger, and he is forced to accept the fact that he needs to put in more and complete details on the tower.
Later, in the break room, while Bane appreciates Harley for standing up to Joker, the latter himself arrives and rips out one of Bane's tubes, which sent Bane sprawling out of the room. Now alone with Harley, Joker continues to trick her by thanking her for standing up to him and agrees that he his project needs work and that he needed to put enough time to flesh it out. He then invites Harley for a work drink so that they could work on the plan together and in exchange he will help her learn how to "game the system". Harley silently rejects it and Joker leaves her alone so that she could think about it. A little while later, Harley decided to agree to Joker's offer so that she wouldn't have to work for Bane and after a while, Joker begins to regain her trust. He and Harley then went out on a romantic yacht dinner.
When Harley came up with the idea of having Joker's tower built underground and then having it launched through the ground like a "jack-in-the-box", Joker, for once, agree. After stating his gladness to her for having struck out on her own, their dinner was interrupted by Batman's arrival, causing Joker to throw a gas grenade at him, which pushed Batman away. Just as he is about to escape on his helicopter, the Joker invites Harley to escape with him this time, much to her delight. As they continue to escape, they share a passionate kiss, but when Batman, who is riding on his ship is catching up, Joker reveals his true colors and shoves Harley out of the helicopter but she was saved by Batman, who broke her fall. However, because he was forced to abandon the chase to save Harley, this allowed the Joker to escape.
Bensonhurst & Harley Quinn Highway[]
Though he was physically absent in those two episode, Joker continue to remain active and furthers his plans for vengeance on the Legion of Doom. As Scarecrow succeeded in capturing Poison Ivy, Joker began finalizing his plans while behind the scenes. At that time, the construction of his tower had already begun and once it is finished, he would use it to destroy the Legion of Doom's headquarters, which will allow the Joker to seize power over all of Gotham.
Devil's Snare[]
Joker is revealed to be working together with both the Scarecrow and the Queen of Fables to overthrow the Legion of Doom and take over Gotham City. When the Justice League (without Batman) arrive, the Joker has the Queen of Fables trap them in her book while she sends Harley and her crew to the clouds and to leave them to die at the hands of the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. Joker then exacts his full vengeance on the Legion of Doom by having his newly built tower rise through the Legion of Doom's headquarters, completely destroying it. After mocking the Legion via broadcast from his tower, he began celebrating his triumph with the Queen of Fables until he realized that Harley and her crew had survived.
Eventually, after Poison Ivy takes the combination of her pheromones and Scarecrow's gas to mutate herself into a giant (but still in control) and destroys the tree monsters that defended the Joker Tower, she reconciled with Harley and began repairing their friendship. It proved to be short-lived, however, a flagpole was launched from the Joker Tower and it went through Ivy's chest, seemingly killing her. As Harley's crew mourn Ivy's apparent death, Joker burst into sadistic laughter, saying "oops", before continuing as Harley screams in rage and grief.
The Final Joke[]
Harley, full of hatred and vengeance, forms an alliance with a reluctant Batman to help in taking down the Joker. Their plan to work together to take out Joker nearly succeeded but it proved to be a failure because of the stupidity of Harley's henchman Clayface. Joker gasses Batman to unconsciousness, and kidnaps Harley's crew, placing a bounty on Harley's head to have her brought to him. For the next week, with no superheroes to stop him, Joker rules Gotham like a tyrant, killing those who don't laugh at his jokes, and torturing both Harley's crew and Batman.
Joker eventually gets bored and he began reminiscing of the time he had with Harley and became disruptive on whether they both finished causing some evil or another. A captive Batman then mocks him by suggesting that he is a sociopathic narcissist, much to Joker's anger. When the latter asks him on who he is, the Scarecrow decided to remove Batman's mask to find out. When Batman is unmasked, he is revealed to be billionaire Bruce Wayne, much to Joker's bewilderment. The latter was then angered that Scarecrow had revealed Batman's true identity, as Joker liked the mystery. Joker then kills Scarecrow in a fit of rage when the latter continue to talk about Harley, which made Joker spray acid from his squirting flower onto Scarecrow's head, causing it to explode, though it didn't cheer Joker up.
Harley shows up at his door and threatens to kill herself if Joker doesn’t release her crew. He lets them go, but mainly out of spite and that she doesn’t want her to die on her own terms. He demands that he puts her old outfit on when she was with him or he will kill her crew. He tried to seduce her one last time, even saying he needed her more than she needed him. Harley intended to stab him when they came close together. She does, but Joker does too. They fight with Joker winning, and saying that he does not intend to kill Harley, but to erase her completely. His men take her into the vat of acid that she came out of before the show’s events, and says that this acid will not only take away her enhanced abilities, but will also erase her memories as Harley Quinn.
Harley jumps into the vat, only to be saved by Poison Ivy, who was regenerated by being buried in soil. The two manage to defeat Joker and throw him into the vat, but out of one last act of spite, he activates bombs to level Gotham City, nearly killing Harley and Ivy before Batman saved them both.
Season 2[]
All the Best Inmates Have Daddy Issues[]
Months after the events of the first season, the Joker is found working at Noonan's bar, but with normal features and no memory of his past as the Joker. At the end of the episode, however, he laughs maniacally at a funny photo of his girlfriend's children, who are covered in sauce (which resembles blood), hinting that he will return to being the Joker eventually. His first meeting with Harley is shown, where he (likely) fakes a dramatic backstory for Harley and ends up kidnapping her, but being thwarted by Poison Ivy.
Dye Hard[]
Depressed due to having her romantic feelings rejected by Ivy, Harley goes to a fancy bar where "Normal" Joker just happens to be working due to Noonan's likely being too unsafe due to the Parademons Harley released. The two end up bound together and are forced to work together in order to survive some armed goons attempting to rob the place. While "Normal" Joker initially dislikes having to fight, he is forced to stab a goon through the eye with a pencil (referencing Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight) and laughs madly after doing so, revealing traces of the Joker beneath. Fleeing from Dr. Psycho's force field together with him and Commissioner Gordon, Harley takes Joker to Ace Chemicals and throws him into acid once more due to needing the real Joker's memories back to stop Psycho and his Parademons.
A Fight Worth Fighting For[]
The acid has worked and Joker is back to normal. He works together with Harley after she threatens to make his head explode with bombs she apparently planted in his head. He is seemingly horrified when he discovers how normal and good he has been lately. He goes to his girlfriend's house, but after she discovers him being the Joker and due to his words and actions, she angrily throws the book the Justice League is trapped in and a Parademon grabs it instead. Joker and Harley go to the Parademons' nest, where Joker mocks Harley for not being with Ivy. However, surprisingly, he admits he actually loves his girlfriend and her kids and Harley ends up encouraging him to try again and get back with them. With her and Batman's help, he successfully reconciles with his girlfriend and gets the book back.
Lover's Quarrel[]
Joker first witnesses the fight between Harley and a mentally controlled Poison Ivy, claiming that violence was a habit for him and Harley as well. Later, he watches Doctor Psycho’s mental broadcast of Ivy and Harley having sex, obviously enjoying it and laughing
Quotes[]
“ | TV Presenter: The authorities are still on the hunt for escaped Arkham inmates Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Gotham's funniest villain, The Rid...[Shooting in the TV] Joker: Screw that guy! Name someone funnier than me, Stan. Stan: Harley? Joker: What? No! Sta...Women aren't funny! [He shoots on Stan] Stan: She's standing behind you. Joker: Oh, hey, Harley. Ragweed. Harley: That's it? Just "Hey, Harley"? You left me in Arkham for a year! You abandoned me, you lied to me! But this is the last time. I am here to break up with you! Stan: Oh, shit! She's dumpin' you. Joker: No, she's not! She doesn't call the shots! Harley: Yeah, 'cause I'm callin' a cab. See ya never. Joker: Oh, shit. |
„ |
~ Joker meeting Harley a year after leaving her to rot in Arkham. |
“ | Joker: Oh, uh, thank goodness. She's finally doing exactly what I prayed she would. Harley: What? Poison Ivy: Oh, for fuck's sake. Joker: Much as it destroys me to say it, Harley, I was going to insist on breaking up, because it's the only way to keep you safe. Harley: What the hell are you talkin' about? Poison Ivy: Yes, no, please continue with your bullshit. Joker: The world's gone mad since you've been in Arkham. Have you seen Commissioner Gordon? He's lost it. He wants revenge because I "paralyzed" his "partner." He and Batman are hell-bent on destroying everyone I care about. Harley: That's why you didn't come get me? Joker: Keeping you away from me was the only way to protect you. And still is. So, I'm afraid, my dear, this is a...Oh, it's a heartbreaking goodbye. Harley: Uh, no, no wait! Poison Ivy: No! No "wait". This is what you wanted, Harley! Harley: Is it? Poison Ivy: It is, yes. You came here to do this. Joker: Yes! Listen to your awful friend. Harley: So, this is really the end? Poison Ivy: Yep. This is it. Let's go. Joker: Unless... Harley: Unless what? Joker: Unless our love is so powerful even the threat of death can't keep us apart. Oh, screw it! I'll die for you any day. I'm in! Harley: Really? Me too! |
„ |
~ Joker brings Harley back to him with insincere lies. |
“ | Joker: So you don't have a riddle so funny it makes people's brains explode? Riddler: No. Joker: I knew it! Batman: You won't get away with this, Riddler. Harley: If there's no riddle, why are we here? Riddler: To play a little game. Choose one to live and one to die and in the acid, the loser will fry. Harley: Is it the good kind of acid that gives you super powers? Riddler: No. Choose! Harley: Aw... Go ahead. Tell him, Mistah J! Deep fry that bat. Joker: Yes, well, yes, yes. It would seem an easy choice, Harley, but... [Joker stars to laugh] Harley: Puddin'? Even for you that's a lot of maniacal giggling. Joker: Sorry, my little strung-up pheasant, but I couldn't possibly let this punctuation prick... Riddler: Hey! Joker: ...Get credit for k*ll*ing Batman, now, could I? Free the bat, drop the broad. |
„ |
~ Joker chooses Batman over Harley, unaware that it was a trick by Poison Ivy. |
“ | Joker: I need a permit for a trap door? The whole point is no one is supposed to know about it! Especially the City. I need this lair rebuilt now. [Cell phone ringing] Knock, knock, who's there? It's me, Joker. Bane: You will never guess who's at the bar mitzvah. Joker: Jesus, Bane! I don't have time for a guessing game. Hang on. [To the workers] Those shoes have black soles! Put plastic booties on. Bane: Harley is at Penguin's nephew's bar mitzvah. Joker: She crashed the stupid thing? Bane: Yeah, seems like she's doing pretty well. Brought a tiger. Pretty cool. Joker: What? Anyone can buy a tiger. You know she has HPV, right? Bane: Most sexually active adults do. Joker: Shut up! I'm on my way. |
„ |
~ Joker to Bane. |
“ | Harley: Glad you're here, J-Man. Pull up a chair. Doesn't bother me. So, who's goin' beef and who's goin' chicken? Joker: You are going somewhere else. Because this is the Legion of Doom table! Why don't you go find the Crazy Bitch table? Bane: Spoiler: It's not a real table. Joker: THAT WAS IMPLIED! |
„ |
~ Joker incrusting himself only to demean Harley. |
“ | Joker: So, I want to build a giant tower with my face on it. Loving this. My quote unquote "mouth" opens up...Boom! Reveals a giant TV. What's on it? Me! I open with a joke, threaten Gotham, you get the rest. I need 800 million, but I can do it for six. Scarecrow: Six hundred million! I mean, that's a bargain. Bane: I... I'm still trying to get a chair. Lex Luthor: Shall we move to approve? Harley? Harley : I don't get it. Joker: You don't... Get it? Harley: Well, for starters, why do you need a tower? Right? If you want to get on TV, why don't you just take over the airwaves like everybody else? Joker: Because everyone else has already done it. Fucking Bane's done it. Bane: Yeah, I done it. Harley: Okay, well then, why not just take over an existing tower? Why are we building a new tower? Joker: Because a regular tower doesn't have a fire pole that goes from top to the bottom, that's why. Scarecrow: That's a bit garish, innit? Why do you need that? Joker: Because I'm the Joker! |
„ |
~ Joker during the Legion of Doom meeting. |
“ | (Laughs) She's still limber. | „ |
~ Joker |
“ | You wanna know how I got these emotional scars? | „ |
~ Joker to Harleen Quinzel. |
Trivia[]
- This version of the Joker is much more of a bully than his comic book counterpart, as he takes pleasure in intimidating his fellow villains, especially Bane. He is also much less affable and is willing to boss them around. Because of this, the show treats the way he treats his fellow villains more seriously than normal.
- In addition to the above, he's much pettier as shown during his attempts at getting back at Harley. He also goes as far as to kill Scarecrow after the latter unmasks Batman although that was because, as with most incarnations, he desires to be the one who finds out.
- He hates raisins.
- Unlike other incarnations, this Joker doesn't have a pointy nose and doesn't wear gloves.
- Part of his origin story seems to have been revealed in Season 2; it seems that he was a caring man toward his girlfriend and her children before he became the Joker. However, it is still unknown what ended up happening that made him become the villain that he is.
- This Joker is much more prone to profanity as a result of the show's setting.
- In a flashback of Harley's origin, the Joker resembled his Nolanverse incarnation until in the present, he resembles his classic incarnation.
- Even directly parodying a line said by his Nolanverse incarnation: "You wanna know how I got these (emotional) scars?".