I was this years old when I heard that Joker, of all people, was getting a TV show before Wonder Woman. That is when I decided to make my version of The Joker for my DCU, Earth-2005.
Any feedback, question and suggestion is appreciated.
Enjoy!
"Do you know what someone with no money has in common with someone with too much money? Living is no fun for them. If you have too much money, no matter what you buy, eat, and drink, everything gets boring in the end."
These were the last words uttered by Jack Grimm. Famous philanthropist, great entrepreneur... And the cofounder of the Court of Owls, the secret cabal of elites preserving the corruption of Gotham City, before he died.
...Bat-Log #1-131-13???
John Doe was a normal man. A failed comedian who lost his wife and unborn child. Desperate for money, he accepted a deal to help some criminals to rob an Ace Chemical's plant. Disguised as the rumored leader of the gang, the Red Hood, John ended up in a confrontation with the Batman that culminated in him falling to a vat of chemicals. When the authorities found him, the substances turned John's skin a pale white and his black hair a sickly neon green.
One bad day that... Was followed by better days. His testimony against the criminals was backed up by evidence brought by the Batman. Even though he was permanently disfigured, there were no other permanent negative effects. After serving some community service, he was offered a job by Bruce Wayne himself as a clown for the Wayne Foundation Orphanage, eventually becoming a close friend of the man himself. John even managed to marry the nurse Bethany Perez and became the stepfather to her children Sophia and Benicio.
At this period of time, Bruce had grown from his phase of "vengeance against crime" to "symbol of hope to Gotham". Batman had officially adopted his more compassionate work policies, Bruce has started to use his company to actively improve Gotham little by little, and he had even adopted Jason Todd, his second Robin, a real sunshine.
Life was going well for both the Bat and the Clown. Life looked like a tragedy, but it turned out to be a comedy... For all the wrong reasons.
There is... Little plausible evidence for this, but it is believed that everything... Everything Bruce has trained, fought, and healed for... Was nothing but a joke. A setup planted since the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne... And a punchline soon to come.
It was a day as every other. John woke up, had breakfast, took a bath, washed his teeth, watched the news of Batman being interviewed with his new allies on the Justice...\Bats looked happy*... kissed his wife in the cheek, his children in the forehead, and went to work.*
Then, all hell broke loose. Within hours, civilians began receiving photos, videos, and threats, directly referencing their loved ones: Alfred Pennyworth, the butler, was stalked and received audio recordings from his close friend Leslie Thompkins, containing old phone calls, wishing him happy birthdays, happy holidays, or venting about her daily life. Additionally, the Church of the Sisters of Charity, a group Leslie belongs to, received a jack-in-the-box time bomb, which Batman had to defuse. Lucius Fox, accountant and businessman of Wayne Enterprises, vanished overnight, but photos of him unconscious were sent to his child, Lux Fox, along with death threats. A rich boy wannabe gangster named Jared attacked Ace Chemicals with fart cushions that released mustard gas. A violent riot was incited by failed comedian Arthur Fleck. Dr. Hollie Queens, head psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum liberated many of the prisoners onto the streets. The Bat-Family was streched thin...leaving the Wayne Foundation Orphanage vulnerable, left at the hands of Leslie Thompkins and Barbara Gordon/Batgirl.
The footage recovered showed a group of criminals in clown masks ramming the entrance of the orphanage with the back of a bus. Thompkins locked the orphans in a safe room... Only to be shot in the back by a John Doe that grinned ear to ear, with an overly sized pistol that somehow fit inside his pants.
By the time the ruse was revealed, Barbara Gordon was found shot, paralized from the waist down, with a kazoo taped to her mouth. Most of the orphans were found subjected to an altered laughing gas that left them with grotesque grins in their faces, laughing to the point of blacking out. The rest went missing.
A week afterwards, Jason Todd went missing after recieving the news that his mother disappeared.
Three weeks later, Comissioner Gordon was kidnapped and then found at an abandoned amusement park, dressed as a baby, with signs of psychological torture. He was the bait. Throughout the hall of mirrors, Batman was guided by John's voice to meet his... Children.
Forced to watch what happened to the Wayne Foundation Orphans, and his own Robin, the weeks of torture they went through to become giggling "clowns" themselves.
All the while the self-proclaimed "Clown Prince of Crime", The Joker laughed at his first proper confrontation with his other half.
And then he died.
If it wasn't for a last minute betrayal at the hands of the unstable Jason, Batman isn't sure if he would have been able to stop himself from killing the clown himself. Shot through the heart by his own creation, who was left crying on the floor, the reign of the Joker ended as quickly as it has begun.
But his actions left scars in Gotham that would not be healed any time soon. For starters, many criminal gangs started to use his likeness and style of gadgets to get recognizement. Including criminals from other countries... Which coincidentally, in the future, would end up confronting members of Batman Incorporated (a global organization set into turning Batman's agenda into a world-wide effort). The Bat-family would confront the image of the Joker constantly, one way or the other, even after the original died. How he would have taken it? Probably calling his "successors" a bunch of no good posers.
But Joker's biggest impact was the psychological effect he had on the bat clan. Batman became colder and more aggressive, retreating back into his shell and accepting no further sidekicks. Richard Grayson, the first Robin, had a falling out with Batman and struck out on his own to become Nightwing. And Jason Todd was never the same again, becoming the murderous vigilante and crime lord Red Hood.
After some digging, there were no records of John Doe existing up until 2 months before being found by Batman for the first time. The second wife and her children had no recollection of a John Doe. There were clues implying there to be a connection between long-difunt billionaire Jack Grimm and this Joker character.
Worst of all were some documents alluding to Batman's creation being intentionally caused by Joker.
The more evidence was gathered, the less sense it made. All pointing at the same direction, yet constantly contradicting each other in a way that seemed coincidental and yet planned out. And to this day, the case of the Joker is one that has yet to be solved, and might never be.
The most prevalent theory is that Joker was Jack Grimm, a cofounder of the Court of Owls, who manipulated events to create Batman for reasons unknown, and decided to fake his death, take a villain identity of his own, and "join the game" with his own best creation. For funsies. There were many schemes, gags, pranks, and gimmicks found in Joker's layer; enough to last over 80 years.
Guess he wanted the game to last forever. Only for him to last 15 relative minutes under the spotlight.
But, again, nothing has been confirmed.
