While Batman is one of the most popular superheroes in comic book history, his main rival, the Joker, might be the most popular villain. Joker was one of Batman's first villains he fought in comics and has transformed over the years into a truly terrifying villain. The man who was once a basic mobster is now a villain that poses a danger to the world.
The recent miniseries Batman: Three Jokers revealed there might be more than one Joker, which probably explains why many fans complain about the villain, regardless of his popularity. The changes over the years, and the controversial storylines, led to many unpopular opinions about Joker pop up on Reddit, causing plenty of debate amongst fans.
10 If There Is No Batman, There Should Be No Joker
Batman is clearly Joker's greatest rival and one to who the Clown Prince of Crime remains always connected. According to Reddit user @freohamster, "If there’s no Batman, I don’t want to see the joker?!" His explanation is that not having Joker opens up more interesting paths for other villains.
However, DC Comics knows how popular Joker is and so expands him to feature in other stories here and there, as well. He has made Superman's life hard, at times, and even had his own comic series that barely features Batman at all, so it's clear that this is something fans want to see.
9 The Killing Joke Is Overrated
One of the most popular Joker storylines ever came in the book, The Killing Joke. While the book was critically acclaimed and beloved by fans, not everyone appreciated it. @JackNero99 wrote on Reddit that "The killing joke is overrated (it's still good, but it's not the best story ever made)."
But despite his opinion, The Killing Joke was considered for years to be the definitive Joker origin story and showed perfectly how he could ruin someone's life. In this book, it was all about driving Commissioner Gordon over the line and that started with shooting Barbara Gordon. Fans mostly love it and an animated movie even adapted the story.
8 Joker Is Oversaturated In Batman Comics
When people look at Batman's rogues' gallery, there are countless popular and famous villains. There are even some fans, like @corvus-sapiens on Reddit, who feel Joker should disappear completely. He wrote, "Everything Batman is over-saturated with the Joker, but it seems like he's just a creative crutch these days."
This is definitely a controversial opinion because while names like Riddler, Catwoman, Penguin, Bane, Two-Face, and more come to mind, at the end of the day, it is Joker that remains Batman's best villain. When Joker appears, fans know that Batman is in for the fight of his life, and his popularity has even resulted in several critically acclaimed movie appearances.
7 Joker Should Remain Dead
While some fans think that Joker is used too much in comics and movies, there are others who are finished with Joker completely. Reddit user @vaderdarathvader wrote that "I hope that after the events of Batman: Endgame, he stays dead."
Batman: Endgame was a 2014 story that saw Joker return after he seemingly died in Death of the Family. His self-labeled unpopular opinion is that if Batman never truly defeats Joker at the end of every story, readers know he will be back. However, this is the fact with every major supervillain in comics and most fans are completely okay with this.
6 Joker Was Right In Death Of The Family
In the Death of the Family story arc, Joker tried to destroy Batman's Bat-Family. Joker wanted the war to be between him and Batman and have no other outsiders interfere. Reddit user @hankbaumbach wrote that Joker was right in this story because "Batman is at his best when he's a one-man war on crime."
The problem is that people love several members of the Bat-Family, including Nightwing and Bat-Girl. While some characters rub fans the wrong way, such as Damian Wayne's Robin, readers know that these characters are all that keep Batman from growing too dark and thus are totally necessary.
5 Batman Who Laughs Are The Characters Worst Character Traits
The most popular new villain to show up in DC Comics in recent memory was The Batman Who Laughs. One Reddit user wasn't a fan, as @Great-and-Powerful wrote that "The Batman Who Laughs is a combination of Batman and Joker's worst character traits," calling him "overpowered, all-knowing, and not interesting."
While these complaints might be partially true, it has never hurt the popularity of the new villain. His story in Dark Knights: Metal was a massive success and they sold well enough that Batman Who Laughs got his own series. Various toy lines even developed figures based on the new DC villain.
4 Joker Is Best In Small Doses
Joker is around a lot, and he is always stirring up trouble. However, @AmeliaMangan felt that less Joker is better. "He's effective enough when he's used sparingly, but when seemingly every major storyline climaxes with "And it turns out THE JOKER is behind it all!!!"? Yeah, kinda loses its dramatic impact."
But for most fans, the best Joker stories are always ones where he is front-and-center in the action. Whether this is Death in the Family, Death of the Family, or the more recent Three Jokers, he can be the most complicated and interesting character in comics when written right.
3 Jason Todd Should Have Killed Joker
When Joker murdered Robin, he never expected that Jason Todd would return as Red Hood. And @GothamKnight37 said, "Batman should have let Jason kill Joker at the end of Under the Hood."
In Under the Red Hood, Jason targeted Batman for failing him and Joker for killing him. When Jason got his hands on Joker, he had a chance to kill him, but in doing this, he would have stepped over the line and never could have enjoyed redemption. Batman letting this happen would have also destroyed his one biggest rule — never kill.
2 Joker Should Have A New Sidekick
While Harley Quinn did not get her start in comics, her popularity on Batman: The Animated Series made it a no-brainer that DC should add her to the comic books. She then became a sidekick to Joker for many years before she outgrew him and moved on to become a strong character on her own and in Suicide Squad.
Reddit user @Bloodshedglory87 wrote that "Joker needs a new sidekick" in the comics. While Harley Quinn was extremely popular, one thing that didn't work was her relationship with Joker, which was toxic from the start. Joker has never played well with others and giving him another sidekick would create more problems.
1 Joker Is Boring And Predictable
Reddit user @Bloodshedglory87, posted that "The joker is the most overrated villain in all of creation. People think he's crazy and unpredictable but he's the most predictable character I've ever seen."
To most fans, this makes little sense because one of Joker's biggest characteristics is that he is unpredictable and he has gone through different iterations. Joker has been a criminal, a clown, and a monster. He has played it goofy with his jokes and he has become deadly serious with his vendettas. No two Jokers are ever the same, and he always surprises Batman and readers alike.
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