Origin of the Joker....

[babyblob]

I just watched Batman The Killing Joke on Dvd. In it they show the origin of The Joker. I always thought that jokers origin was something they never explained. I always liked that the comics never explained the origin of The Joker. Making him into a sympathetic figure kind of takes away from the evil things that he does somehow.

What do you think? Does knowing the origin of The Joker take away from his stories for you?

[Nine Crocodile]

The Killing Joke graphic novel gave him an origin, so that part of the DVD was faithful in that respect.

While I don't believe they gave him a name in the story, Joker's origins as the Red Hood date back to the early '50s.

[Clark_Kent]

I just watched Batman The Killing Joke on Dvd. In it they show the origin of The Joker. I always thought that jokers origin was something they never explained. I always liked that the comics never explained the origin of The Joker. Making him into a sympathetic figure kind of takes away from the evil things that he does somehow.

What do you think? Does knowing the origin of The Joker take away from his stories for you?

In the comic (and I believe in the film, as well), Joker says "if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!" The Joker is our narrator for the "origin", and he's highly unreliable...just as in "The Dark Knight", perhaps the story is true or perhaps it's just one of many, and in this story he chose the "dead pregnant wife/red hood" version. At any rate, I've always looked at it as Alan Moore's Joker origin, but not necessarily DC's Joker origin as they have tended to leave it mostly ambiguous. He was once the Red Hood (as Nine Crocodile said, this part goes back to the 50's or so) , but the details of how & why he was the Red Hood are pretty foggy.

DC did attempt to make the "dead pregnant wife" canon at one point, during the storyline "Hush Returns", in which someone gives Joker intel that the gas leak in the apartment wasn't an accident, but was instead on purpose. But I don't think anything from Hush Returns stuck around too long.

[Electricmastro]

I just watched Batman The Killing Joke on Dvd. In it they show the origin of The Joker. I always thought that jokers origin was something they never explained. I always liked that the comics never explained the origin of The Joker. Making him into a sympathetic figure kind of takes away from the evil things that he does somehow.

What do you think? Does knowing the origin of The Joker take away from his stories for you?

Assuming you’re willing to believe that’s his origin to begin with, I don’t think it’s meant to take away from the evil things the Joker has done. Sympathy can invoke reactions towards him of his situation being pitiful, even tragic, but that in no way is it meant to be approving of his atrocities.

At any rate, I suppose the feeling it invokes is that even at his worst, the Joker is still objectively a human, and that it was a human that committed the atrocities he committed, and that anyone is capable of being driven far enough to go off the edge, so do your best in keeping yourself sane.

[Restingvoice]

By the way, in a New 52 issue that I haven't read, there's a Joker origin where he had an abusive aunt who bleached his face as a child. Is that really his origin in New 52 as the preview of the book implied? I mean before Snyder reestablishes the red hood thing in Zero Year.

[jb681131]

I just watched Batman The Killing Joke on Dvd. In it they show the origin of The Joker. I always thought that jokers origin was something they never explained. I always liked that the comics never explained the origin of The Joker. Making him into a sympathetic figure kind of takes away from the evil things that he does somehow.

What do you think? Does knowing the origin of The Joker take away from his stories for you?

But what you have to know is that it's not really the Joker's origins.
The Joker's history is unknown. This story is just a suposition.
There are several stories telling his origins, and they are all different.

[Emanresu]

In the comic (and I believe in the film, as well), Joker says "if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!" The Joker is our narrator for the "origin", and he's highly unreliable

That's the way I always saw it.

Could be, could not be. Reader's (Joker's) choice

[dancj]

I like the old issue of Secret Origins which gives The Phantom Stranger four different origins, but doesn't commit to any of them being correct.

The Joker could have a similar treatment.

[TheKryptonMan]

I went to watch Joker last night. And I came to the conclusion that Joker should not have an origin story. It's better to leave it ambiguous . I think that it works better for the character.

[Tzigone]

I went to watch Joker last night. And I came to the conclusion that Joker should not have an origin story. It's better to leave it ambiguous . I think that it works better for the character.

I haven't watched it, but I agree on mysterious past. Same for Phantom Stranger.

[Heavunion]

I always took it that what The Joker told wasn't true or to be discussed but that everything in red like the Red Hood helmet or the Shrimp actually happened for real, the Joker just builds around it. After all, the Red Hood part is actually canon

[FBarnhill]

I went to watch Joker last night. And I came to the conclusion that Joker should not have an origin story. It's better to leave it ambiguous . I think that it works better for the character.

Saw the movie, too. Ledger remains undefeated as the best Joker ever, film or otherwise.