Top 100 Batman VILLAINS

4 - Joker

#4 - Joker
First Appearance: Batman #1 (Apr 1940)

"Any man can have one really bad day and end up just like me." ~Joker

The personification of chaos.

That's my definition of the Joker. He's not a polar opposite of Batman, because at the end of the game the two are ultimately unrelated; they just don't mix. They're clashing because they cannot possibly conceive leading life like the other, and that's really all there is to it. Joker has become a force that moves in and amongst the lives of all Gotham-based characters, throwing a monkey wrench into almost every storyline in the Batman mythos. And, frankly, it's starting to wear thin.

Don't get me wrong; some of the most amazing performances out there are Joker-based. Mark Hamill naturally is the very definition of the Joker; you can't possible compare anyone else to him at this point. Heath Ledger took the chaotic concept of the Joker to a new extreme, tripping lightly throughout The Dark Knight and introducing a little anarchy into the rest of the story. And from there, you can point out so many iconic Batman stories that try to and excel at depicting utter insanity clashing with societal norms in tales like The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum by Morrison, the Joker graphic novel by Brian Azzarello... the Joker is in all honesty a serious contender if not the winner of the best stories ever told category. I mean, these are all amazing stories and I STILL didn't list any of my personal top three yet.

So what's the deal? Oversaturation is the deal, people. Like Doctor Doom, Magneto and Green Goblin (although still not quite as whored out as those guys), Joker seems to be one of those villains that you introduce as the bad guy when you can't think of anything else to do. "I need someone to murder Robin... hmm, Joker I guess. Even though Two-Face actually had a strong tie to Robin, let's just drop Joker." "Let's see, running out of ideas here... how about I just pump Joker into the end of No Man's Land for another superfluous death." "Let's tear apart the Batman family... I know! The Joker can do it."

Eventually, you get worn out, okay? Eventually you've diluted the magic by overextending the Joker, pumping him into all sorts of situations that he likely wouldn't care about or allowing less-than-acceptable Joker stories to be told, miring him in crappy-quality tales.

Still, it's the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime. One of the greatest villains in any form of media, and an icon of comic books.

Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told:
1. Batman #663 - We've talked about it in Harley's write-up, by in my book this is the best Joker story ever told, hands down. I'm not going to stick with the obvious choices; granted, The Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum are damn amazing comics, but as JOKER stories, I don't find them to be the best of the bunch. As all-around comics themselves, they're better contenders.

2. Going Sane - The story of the Joker if he actually succeeded at killing Batman (or at least thinking he killed Batman). A really unique, loopy and fun story that I think highlights the Joker in a way no other story ever has.

3. Joker: Devil's Advocate - In one of the most unique and unrecognized graphic novels out there, Batman must prove a man's innocence for a crime he didn't commit... although this time around, it's the Joker. And the Joker doesn't make it easy for Batman to defend him.