If there’s one thing more terrifying than the Joker himself, it’s the mystery of how he came to be. While the mainstream DC Universe keeps his origin intentionally vague—his past “multiple choice,” as he says—the multiverse offers no such restraint. Across alternate timelines and parallel Earths, the Clown Prince of Crime has been reimagined in wild, often grotesque forms. Sometimes he’s still a failed comedian. Sometimes he’s a warped hero. Sometimes, he’s something inhuman altogether. These origin stories aren’t just dark—they’re shocking, disturbing, and unforgettable. Each version offers a unique lens into what happens when tragedy, trauma, and insanity twist a person beyond recognition.
#10: The Killing Joke’s Failed Comedian (Earth-99, loosely based)
Arguably the most influential Joker origin, The Killing Joke presents a man whose descent into madness is both tragic and horrifying. In this version, the Joker was once a struggling stand-up comedian trying to support his pregnant wife. Desperate for money, he agrees to help criminals infiltrate a chemical plant—but on the day of the heist, his wife dies in a freak accident. Distraught but forced to go through with the plan, he ends up being pursued by Batman, falls into a vat of chemicals, and emerges disfigured and insane.
While this origin is technically from the main universe, it’s considered a potential origin rather than definitive canon—hence its treatment as Earth-99 in some multiverse interpretations. What makes this origin so shocking is its emotional fragility. The Joker wasn’t born a monster—he was broken. It paints him as a victim of cruel fate, who found freedom in madness. The idea that the worst villain in Gotham may have started with the best intentions is one of the most disturbing thoughts in Batman lore.
#9: Martha Wayne as the Joker (Flashpoint, Earth-Flashpoint)
In the brutal world of Flashpoint, the gunman in Crime Alley kills young Bruce Wayne instead of his parents. The trauma sends Thomas Wayne down the path of vengeance, becoming a ruthless Batman. But Martha? Her grief drives her mad—and she becomes the Joker. Her laughter at Bruce’s funeral morphs into a chilling psychosis, and she adopts the Joker’s persona not out of evil, but as a coping mechanism for unbearable pain.
This version is horrifying because it flips everything. The Joker isn’t a stranger, but Bruce’s own mother. Her crimes are laced with tragedy, and her relationship with Thomas becomes one of sorrow, horror, and violent confrontation. When she learns in the final issue that, in the restored timeline, Bruce becomes Batman, she breaks down—laughing through her tears before falling into the Batcave’s abyss. This is an origin born from parental grief, and it hits harder than any acid vat ever could.
#8: The Batman Who Laughs (Dark Nights: Metal, Earth -22)
In this dystopian universe, Bruce Wayne finally breaks his no-kill rule and murders the Joker after a particularly vile crime. But the Joker had the last laugh—his heart was rigged to release a toxin that infects Bruce, turning him into the next Joker. Thus, is born The Batman Who Laughs: a hybrid of Batman’s tactical brilliance and the Joker’s unhinged insanity.
What makes this origin so shocking is the idea that Batman is just one bad day away from becoming the Joker. This version embodies that theory—literally. He quickly eliminates his allies, corrupts other Batmen across the Dark Multiverse, and becomes a multiversal threat. It’s a chilling look into Batman’s darkest possible self, and a horrifying commentary on the thin line between order and chaos. The Batman Who Laughs doesn’t want to watch the world burn—he wants to reshape it into his own warped vision of “freedom.”
#7: Joker the Trickster God (Emperor Joker, Earth-1)
In this bizarre yet unforgettable storyline, the Joker tricks Mister Mxyzptlk into giving him his reality-warping powers. With near-omnipotence, Joker reshapes the universe in his image, killing and resurrecting Batman endlessly for his own amusement and turning the entire world into a twisted joke. In this version, Joker isn’t a man—he’s a god. And the cosmos is his punchline.
What makes this origin so shocking isn’t just the power scale—it’s the insight into Joker’s psyche. With the ability to do anything, he doesn’t conquer or save. He torments. He plays. He turns Superman into a coward, Lois Lane into a monster, and himself into emperor of madness. The only way the world is restored is through the sacrifice of Joker’s own sense of self, tricked back into powerlessness by Superman and Mxyzptlk. It’s a surreal, hilarious, and horrifying glimpse into what happens when the Joker’s imagination is unchecked by any moral force.
#6: Jack Napier in White Knight (Earth-White Knight)
In Sean Murphy’s White Knight universe, the Joker undergoes a miraculous transformation: he’s cured. As Jack Napier, he becomes a Gotham City Councilman and tries to undo the chaos he caused. But beneath the surface, his darker persona still lurks—manipulating and threatening to resurface.
This origin isn’t shocking for its violence—it’s shocking for its humanity. Jack Napier wants redemption. He genuinely loves Harley Quinn. He wants to build a better Gotham. But he is also the Joker, and that duality makes him one of the most tragic figures in the multiverse. Watching him wrestle with his inner demon is like seeing Jekyll vs. Hyde—with Gotham caught in the crossfire. It’s not a fall into madness—it’s a climb toward sanity, with the abyss never far behind.
#5: The Joker as Immortal Clown God (Dark Nights: Death Metal, Earth-Prime Multiversal Edge)
In the mind-bending saga of Dark Nights: Death Metal, the Joker’s legacy takes on cosmic proportions. Though not the central antagonist, his influence lives on through The Batman Who Laughs and his transformation into the Darkest Knight—a godlike entity shaped by the Joker’s madness and Bruce Wayne’s strategic brilliance. But what truly shocks readers is the subtle revelation that Joker’s essence is woven into the multiverse’s chaos itself.
Hints throughout the event, including in The Secret Origin one-shot, suggest the Joker is far more than a madman—he’s a recurring archetype of chaos across countless realities, one that the multiverse needs to remain unstable. In essence, he becomes an immortal idea, a personification of the DC Omniverse’s need for unpredictability. This “clown constant” origin stretches beyond biology, timeline, or even identity. Joker isn’t just a man anymore—he’s entropy given a grin.
The implication is terrifying: no matter how many times Joker dies, a version of him will rise again, born from the cracks in the world’s sanity. It reframes him not just as a villain, but as a cosmic necessity. The Joker doesn’t break rules—he is the break in the rules.
#4: The Three Jokers (Earth-Prime, Three Jokers Miniseries)
In Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok’s Three Jokers, Batman uncovers a horrific secret: there isn’t one Joker—there are three. Each represents a different archetype: the Criminal (cold and calculated), the Clown (chaotic and sadistic), and the Comedian (the classic killing-joke version, emotionally manipulative and cruel). Together, they orchestrate a series of crimes to create the ultimate Joker—one who would permanently scar Batman and redefine the mythos.
What makes this origin shocking isn’t just the multiplicity—it’s the implications. Batman knew for years and kept it secret. One of the Jokers brutally attacks Jason Todd again, reopening emotional wounds. And Barbara Gordon is forced to relive her trauma from The Killing Joke. The Comedian even implies he chose to become Joker to haunt Batman forever, targeting him from the start.
In the end, only one Joker survives—the Comedian—and he admits that the others were tools in a long game of psychological warfare. This origin doesn’t explain Joker—it fractures him. It turns his past into a kaleidoscope of cruelty and forces readers to question whether he was ever just one man—or a manufactured myth made to torment Gotham’s soul.
#3: Joker as Bruce Wayne (Batman: Injustice Gods Among Us Year 5, Alternate Timeline)
In one of the most jaw-dropping alternate realities tied to Injustice, a version of Bruce Wayne becomes the Joker after a catastrophic collapse of identity. Though not a fully developed storyline in the main series, this idea is hinted at in several multiversal expansions and fan-fueled speculation: what if Batman, after years of grief, loss, and failure, cracked completely and became his greatest enemy?
In this warped timeline, Bruce’s mind finally fractures after Superman’s descent into tyranny. Having tried everything to stop Clark and failed, Bruce abandons his mission. But instead of ending his crusade, he adopts the Joker’s philosophy—an ideology of chaos, cruelty, and freedom from rules. This Joker-Batman becomes a force of uncontrollable terror, turning his brilliant mind and combat training into a warped parody of the Joker’s games.
It’s the darkest twist on the old saying: “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This version is chilling not because he’s Joker in disguise, but because he’s Batman, finally broken by the weight of everything he tried to prevent.
#2: Joker the Cosmic Parasite (Batman: Endgame, Earth-Prime)
In Scott Snyder’s Batman: Endgame, the Joker hints that he may not be human at all—but something older, deeper, and far more terrifying. Throughout the arc, he displays an uncanny ability to survive mortal wounds, defy time, and manipulate others without being caught. When Batman investigates, he uncovers evidence that the Joker may have been active in Gotham for centuries—never aging, always watching.
He links Joker to a substance called diosmium, a chemical with regenerative properties tied to the Lazarus Pit. But more disturbingly, Joker shows Batman photos and documents suggesting he was present during Gotham’s earliest days, often appearing at the site of tragedies. The story flirts with the idea that the Joker is a kind of immortal parasite—a supernatural force bonded to Gotham’s darkest impulses.
This isn’t just shocking—it’s existential. It redefines Joker not as a man, but as a myth. A monster that keeps coming back, adapting, evolving. If true, it means Batman has never been fighting a man in makeup—but a metaphysical horror in the shape of one. And that war will never end.
#1: Joker as Alfred Pennyworth (Batman: Earth-43 and Various Elseworlds)
In some of the most shocking Elseworlds tales—including Batman: Nosferatu and Earth-43’s vampire universe—Alfred Pennyworth becomes the Joker, either due to vampiric infection, guilt-induced madness, or split personality. This concept—of Batman’s closest ally becoming his ultimate enemy—is perhaps the most emotionally devastating origin of all.
In these stories, Alfred often starts as the loyal butler, surrogate father, and moral compass. But exposure to tragedy (such as Bruce’s death or transformation into a vampire) shatters his psyche. He becomes the Joker not out of ideology, but out of grief. In Batman: Nosferatu, Alfred’s descent mirrors a twisted Dr. Caligari tale, his identity reshaped by loss and trauma. In Earth-43, his vampiric Joker is a literal bloodsucker, feeding off the city Bruce once tried to save.
What makes this origin #1 isn’t just the twist—it’s the emotional weight. Joker as Alfred is the ultimate betrayal of love, trust, and legacy. It’s not about chaos—it’s about grief turned into madness. The one-man Bruce thought would never abandon him becomes his deadliest foe. It’s a Joker origin that cuts deeper than any acid vat ever could—right into the Bat’s heart.
The Joker’s true origin may remain an enigma in the main DC universe, but across the multiverse, writers have explored every terrifying possibility. Whether he’s a fallen father, a cosmic force, or Batman’s own reflection, each version adds a new layer to the character’s myth. These stories don’t just shock us with their violence or surprise—they reveal how thin the line is between sanity and madness, tragedy and villainy, and justice and chaos. The Joker isn’t just a man. Across the multiverse, he’s a mirror. And every version we see is a dark reflection of what lies beneath Gotham—and maybe within us.
