The Joker (Canon, DC Animated Universe)/Goulden1998

“	That's it! That's what I like to see! A nice, big... smile.	„
	~ The Joker

Summary

Little is known about the early life of Gotham's most demented menace - all of his explanations seem to contradict one another. However, two things are certain - he worked as an enforcer for the Valestra Mob, helping to murder Carl Beaumont, and years later, he fell into a vat of volatile chemicals during a fight with Batman. These chemicals would turn his skin a ghoulish white and his hair a haunting green, as well as finally breaking his already volatile psyche. He would take the name of "The Joker," and fight Gotham's protector Batman on many occasions - even being thought of as the Dark Knight's most dangerous archenemy by some.

Powers and Stats

Key: Original Body | Post-Resurrection

Tier: 9-A, possibly 8-C physically, High 8-C to 8-B with brief Prep Time, up to 7-B with Substantial Prep Time | 9-A, possibly 8-C physically, Low 7-C with Preparation

Name: Known primarily as The Joker - he has been referred to as "Jack Napier" on multiple occasions, but other times it seems as if his real name is unknown

Origin: The DC Animated Universe

Gender: Male

Age: Older than Batman to an unknown extent, so generally in his forties to fifties

Classification: Human, Former Leader of the Royal Flush Gang, Former Member of the Injustice Gang, Temporary Leader of the Meta-Breed

Powers and Abilities:

• Superhuman Physical Characteristics (See Attack Potency, Speed, and Durability)
• Genius Intelligence (See Intelligence)
• Social Influencing (Manipulated Harleen Quinzel into choosing a life of crime (“Mad Love”), and manipulated her into coming back to him no matter how many times he wronged her, as shown in episodes like “Harley’s Holiday” and her return to him as of the “Return of the Joker” flashback sequence. Manipulated the Royal Flush Gang into following him (“Wild Cards”), and did the same with the Meta-Breed in Static Shock’s “The Big Leagues”)
• Surprising Proficiency in Hand-to-Hand Combat (Fought a close battle with The Phantasm, whose combat skills have been compared to Batman's. Though weaker, has held his own against Batman, a martial arts master, on many occasions. Worked as an enforcer for the Mob)
• Weapon Mastery with several weapons (Has years of experience using firearms, knives and his razor-sharp playing cards)
• Preparation (Planted paralyzing gas in candlesticks. Planted bombs across Vegas. Turned a Christmas tree into a functioning rocket in order to escape Arkham. Filled twenty miles of tunnels with high explosives)
• Stealth Mastery (Snuck up on Batman, albeit the Dark Knight was distracted at the time)
• Sleight of Hand Mastery (Stored a knife in his sleeve and shunted it into his hand so smoothly the extremely observant Batman didn't notice)
• Limited Acrobatics (Did a flip)

His standard arsenal (give or take a few items) grants him:

• Acid Manipulation (His corsage fires acid potent enough to melt The Phantasm's blade)
• Electricity Manipulation (with his high-voltage Joy Buzzer)
• Explosion Manipulation (Is shown to always carry around some sort of explosive (though the exact explosive varies), such as a bomb inside a stuffed doll, this small explosive capsule, as well as explosive marbles)
• Sleep Manipulation with Knockout Gas (Joker's knockout gas, within his corsage, is potent enough to instantly incapacitate Solomon Grundy)

Given preparation time, The Joker can utilize:

• Flight (Can access a small plane and a jetpack)
• Situational Durability Negation and Statistics Reduction (Can come into possession of Kryptonite (as seen in STAS' "World's Finest"), which has these effects on Kryptonians such as Superman)
• Mind Manipulation (In BTAS' "Make 'Em Laugh", he stole The Mad Hatter's mind-control microchips)
• Adhesive Manipulation (Created an super-strong adhesive to keep Charlie Collins stuck to a door handle)
• Sound Manipulation (During TNBA's "Holiday Knights," Joker came into possession of a sonic bomb that would instantly kill anyone in earshot when it went off)
• Radiation Manipulation (In “Harlequinade,” came into possession of a nuclear bomb)
• Paralysis Inducement (Filled candlesticks with a gas that froze people in place)

Following his Resurrection, Joker retained his innate abilities, but gained two notable skills:

• Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery (Via access to Tim Drake's body and memories, gained intimate knowledge of "every trick the original Batman and Robin knew at their peak")
• Enhanced Senses (Tim Drake could hear Terry McGinnis coming despite his stealth training)

The resurrected Joker can utilize the following abilities with Preparation:

• Light Manipulation and Energy Projection (with the Laser Satellite)
• Energy Projection (with his Energy Blaster)
• Explosion Manipulation (with his Grenades)

Attack Potency: Small Building Level, possibly Building Level physically (Slapped Harley Quinn hard enough to knock her out - Harley has taken attacks from Nightwing and Batgirl, and fought evenly with Poison Ivy, whose kicks could split a wooden table. Fought and temporarily overwhelmed The Phantasm, who could stagger Batman. Though notably weaker, has shown low end relativity to and harmed Batman several times, even drawing blood. Should not be weaker than The Penguin's henchwomen, who kicked Batwoman through a stone wall, making a large crater. Should not be weaker than Dan Turpin, who knocked out a Parademon with one punch - this same Parademon was shown to be totally unhurt by landing on a car with enough force to total it. Kicked a metal truck door off its hinges), higher piercing damage with his Knife (Stabbed Batman), Large Building Level to City Block Level with brief Prep Time (The Joker often demonstrates the capacity to quickly build very potent explosives, as shown in these examples. Built a bomb that was this powerful during Wild Cards, and during World's Finest built a bomb that produced a massive explosive, blasting a hole in the hull of a ship), up to at least City Level with substantial Prep Time (Filled twenty miles of tunnels with high explosives. In Harlequinade, he came into possession of an atomic bomb that could "turn Gotham into the world's biggest pothole") - can ignore durability with Laughing Gas and Knockout Gas | Small Building Level, possibly Building Level (Is twice stated to be "deadlier" than his original body. Fought a suited Batman II and "beat the stuffing out of him", making him go limp with his first punch combo and being overtly too strong for Terry to defeat hand-to-hand (as made clear by Return of the Joker's screenplay) to the point that he needed to resort to fighting dirty and taking advantage of the Joker's vanity in order to make any headway in their fight), and Small Town Level with Preparation (Commandeered a satellite - this satellite's laser blasts could vaporize a cruise ship in one shot)

Speed: Hypersonic combat speed and reactions (Has repeatedly tagged Batman, and scales to Harley Quinn who dodged attacks from and repeatedly tagged Nightwing and dodged an attack from Batgirl, who is faster than Nightwing), possibly Relativistic or higher (Scaling to the likes of Batman and Lex Luthor. As fast as Harley Quinn, who was too fast for Static to catch her with his electricity), Subsonic or higher attack speed with Firearms such as his Handgun and Tommy Gun | Hypersonic combat speed and reactions (Should not be slower than his original body. Kept up with and overwhelmed Batman II, who could keep pace with Curare (who effortlessly reacted to and deflected close-range gunfire) and dodge sound waves even once they had come within a foot of him), possibly Relativistic or higher (Should not be slower than his original body. As fast as Batman II, who dodged an electric blast at about 1% Lightspeed, avoided Blight's blasts of X-Ray radiation, etc), and Speed of Light Attack Speed with Preparation (Commandeered a satellite that fired laser beams)

Lifting Strength: At least Peak Human, possibly Superhuman (Lifted and threw Caesar Carlini, an overweight grown man, several feet into the air. Lifted Charlie Collins, a grown man, into the air for the length of an entire conversation without even the slightest sign of fatigue), possibly higher (Struggled with Batman, but at the time Batman was suffering from being attacked by Ace's telepathy) | At least Peak Human, possibly Superhuman (Should not be substantially weaker than his original body)

Striking Strength: Small Building Class, possibly Building Class | Small Building Class, possibly Building Class

Durability: Small Building Level, possibly Building Level in both keys (Has taken many hits from Batman and his contemporaries. Was only annoyed by slamming into a large wooden table hard enough to split it in two, which would yield this much force. Likewise, Almost Got 'Im shows him being essentially unhurt by slamming into a table hard enough to split it in half. Was not notably hurt by the bazooka he was holding blowing up in his face. Should be no less durable than Amanda Waller, who was essentially uninjured by this explosion. Was shaken up, though not seriously injured, after this explosion. Remained conscious (though not in fighting condition) after this impact. Shouldn't be substantially less durable than Shaquille O'Neal (yes, really) who shook off a kick from Kangor - Kangor's kicks have done this and this. Should be more durable than a 13-year-old Tim Drake, who could shake off a hit from an incomplete Clayface: this same incomplete Clayface's kicks could shatter a stone bench)

Stamina: At least Athletic (Fought Batman and Phantasm (on separate occasions, obviously) for several minutes without overt fatigue) | At least Athletic (Shouldn't be substantially less resilient than in his original body)

Range: Standard Melee Range physically and with his Joy Buzzer, Extended Melee Range with his Boutonniere (It only seems to be capable of sending any of its three substances two or three meters at most), Tens of Meters with Handguns (An IRL 9mm pistol has an effective range of 25 to 50 meters), Several Meters with Razor Cards (Threw these cards at Batman from several meters away), Tens of Meters with his Grenade (The average soldier can throw a grenade 40 meters), Hundreds of Meters with his Tommy Gun (IRL Tommy Guns had an effective range of 150 meters), at least Several Meters with the Jokermobile's missiles (Traveled at least this far), Tens if not Hundreds of Meters with his Plane's Guns (Should compare to IRL fighter plane guns), at least Several Meters with the Bang! Gun (Shot Joker from a few meters away), at least Several Meters with his Small Explosives (He should be able to throw small explosives at least that far), up to Tens of Kilometers with sufficient preparation (Acquired a nuke that would be capable of destroying Gotham. Filled twenty miles of tunnels with high explosives. His sonic bomb would be capable of at least killing everyone who could hear it) | Standard Melee Range physically, at least Several Meters with the Bang! Gun (As mentioned above), at least Several Meters with his Energy Blaster (The beam stretched several meters when fired at Terry), Tens of Meters with his Grenades (The above reasoning for his grenades' range should apply here), and Hundreds of Kilometers with his Satellite (Fires beams down from orbit)

Standard Equipment:

• Handgun: Self-explanatory.
• Boutonniere: A Boutonniere that can emit potent acid, laughing gas, or sleeping gas potent enough to knock out Solomon Grundy,
• Joker Venom: The Joker always carries some method of administering Joker Venom, which causes the afflicted person to laugh themselves into an essentially vegetative state, all while maintaining a sickening smile.
• Joy Buzzer: A joy buzzer that, unlike the annoying but harmless toy it's based on, releases a devastating electric shock.
• Playing Cards: Razor-sharp playing cards he can throw with great decision.
• Knife: Self-explanatory.

• Optional Equipment:
• Many of his more potent bombs, including a Nuclear Bomb, the Explosives he put in the tunnels during "Mask of the Phantasm," etc.
• Tommy Gun: Self-explanatory.
• "Bang!" Gun: A gun that shoots a sharp spike with a "Bang!" flag on it.
• Jokermobile: A car that only appears in "Beware the Creeper," armed about a dozen small missiles and ejector seats.
• Plane: A small, one-person plane which is armed with bombs and a gun turret.
• Jade Dragon: A strange, dragon-shaped statue made of Kryptonite.
• Bomb Doll: A stuffed doll with an explosive in it. A raggedy ann version appears in "Injustice for All,” and during “Be A Clown” he uses one that resembles a typical baby doll.
• Explosive Capsule: Self-explanatory, appears in "Joker's Millions."
• Explosive Marbles: Self-explanatory, appears in "World's Finest."
• Jetpack: Self-explanatory, appears in "Mask of the Phantasm."
• Grenade: Again, self-explanatory - appears in "Joker's Wild."
• Super-Adhesive: A sticky material that kept Charlie Collins' hand stuck to a door handle during "Joker's Favor."
• Mad Hatter's Microchips: Microchips that allow the wielder to control peoples' minds to their heart's content. He only used these during "Make 'Em Laugh."
• Sonic Bomb: A sonic bomb that releases a sound that instantly kills anyone in earshot - which he acquired at some point prior to his segment of "Holiday Knights."
• Laser Satellite: A satellite that Joker hijacked during "Return of The Joker," which fires laser beams capable of leveling buildings down from orbit.
• Energy Blaster: A handheld blaster that Joker only used during "Return of The Joker," which fires a pink energy beam.
• Grenades: Self-explanatory, used by Joker in "Return of The Joker."

Intelligence: Genius, if not Extraordinary Genius (Described as a "mad genius." Refers to himself as a genius, though of course this could just be an example of his famous vanity. Reconfigured incredibly advanced CADMUS technology in order to graft his consciousness onto Tim Drake, effectively allowing for his resurrection. Located and broke into a CADMUS facility, CADMUS being a deep state program that even most of the Justice League were unaware of until the events of JLU Season 2. Hacked every TV station in Gotham to make them play his commercial. Invented his extremely potent laughing gas, which can even cause "permanent insanity" upon sufficient exposure. Had "the whole city wired" without anyone noticing. Is "extremely intelligent despite his lunacy." Refined a version of his Joker Venom so that it only affected fish. Frequently builds his own bombs, and built Captain Clown, a somewhat advanced robot)

Standard Tactics: None - in fact, one of the most dangerous things about The Joker is his complete and utter unpredictability. Batman even references him as having no "logical motive" during "The Laughing Fish."

Weaknesses: The Joker is extremely vain, and will lose his composure if insulted - this allowed Terry McGinnis to defeat him. Otherwise, normal human weaknesses.

Note: Bruce Timm has stated that the original DCAU tie-in comics are not canon, with the only tie in comics that have statements to the contrary (other than Batman: The Adventures Continue, which has so many continuity issues that it's essentially impossible to argue it's canon) being Justice League Infinity, the Batman and Harley Quinn tie in comics, and specifically the first annual of Batman Adventures. Ergo, I only consider those three comics canon.