The Joker

**The Joker** was an anarchist mastermind that presented himself as an "agent of chaos". In 2018, he overthrew mob control and became the dominant power in the criminal underworld by almost thrusting Gotham City into anarchy and drawing Batman ever closer to crossing the fine line between heroism and villainy. Potent in both mental combat and strategic planning, his physique was defined by his clown makeup and gruesome Glasgow smile to add sick comedy to all his crimes and misdeeds.

## Biography

While little information regarding the Joker's early life before he turned to a life of crime was confirmed, nobody in Gotham City knows who his true identity was, and despite his capture, no traces could be found on his fingerprints, dental records, or DNA matches against the Gotham City Police Department's databases.

One of the anecdotes that the Joker has told was that during his childhood, his extremely abusive and alcoholic father often tormented him with antics such as using clowns for babysitters, giving his son a crippling fear of clowns, or beating his mother right in front of him. One night, when his father went off crazier than usual, his mother reacted by taking a kitchen knife to defend herself. This angered his father even further, so he took the knife and attacked her with it before turning the blade on his son, sticking it into his mouth and slicing two long gashes of gruesome scars on each side that made the boy's mutilated smile. Many predicted that the Joker grew up as an orphan following the incident, being humiliated and frightened by his friends and family due to the scars, which started to heal as time went by but still took his frustration and anger out on his father for making him such an outcast.

After the Tiscali Mafia were taken down in June 2018, the Joker's rise to power begun. His most significant crime throughout this period of time came in September, when he and three other henchmen aggressively took control of the Gotham National Bank, taking hostages and stealing all money accessible to them. The heist ended with Joker eventually killing his three accomplices, in order to take the money for himself. After doing so, he hijacked a school bus and made his departure.

Following the bank robbery, the Joker took the decision to approach a splinter group of the Tiscali Mafia in order to create an alliance with fellow criminals. He therefore chose to gatecrash a Mafia meeting, instantly informing the Mafia members upon his arrival that he wishes to cut them a deal. After being forcefully confronted by one of the mobsters, the Joker proceeded to kill this gentlemen with a pencil, calling it a 'magic trick'. After the other mobsters agree to hear him out, the Joker went on to blame the hero known as the 'Batman' for the mob's recent failures, and claims that with his help they can put an end to this masked vigilante. Gambol, the leader of this group, begins to grow tired of the Joker and threatens to kill him, to which the Joker responds to by speedily pulling a gun out from under the table and shooting him. Now gaining respect from the remaining Mafia members, they are all forced to swear allegiance to the Joker.

After gaining support from the other mobsters, the Joker began to put his plan into action that would destroy Batman once and for all. He hijacked the television studios and makes a speech ordering the Batman to come forward with his true identity, or he was to go around Gotham City killing innocent lives. Joker then went on to film the dead bodies of Gambol and the one dead henchman to prove this is not an empty threat.

The Batman's true identity was billionaire, playboy and philanthropist Bruce Wayne, who intended to reveal himself as the Batman in order to save these lives. State Governor Will Conway chose to take the fall instead, however, falsely declared himself as the Batman. As a consequence, Conway was swiftly taken into protective custody and was taken into a truck tailed by two police cars. The Joker, in his own car, followed shortly behind, as did another car driven by one of the Joker's henchmen. The car being driven by the henchman accelerated and drove into the back of one of the police cars, causing a major collision. On the opposite side of the tunnel another car appeared, speeding towards the front police car. The two cars had a head-on collision, with pieces of both cars flying into the windscreen of the truck containing Conway. Losing vision of the road, the truck driver lost control of the vehicle, causing the truck to crash into the side of the tunnel and turn over on itself. At the centre of the tunnel is a horrific wreckage, and several feet away is the car driven by the Joker. The Batman soon made an appearance and sprinted into the tunnel, where he discovered Conway's dead body. The Joker then exited from his car and confronted Batman, which is the first time that the two met face-to-face. Batman, filled with rage, ran up to the Joker and began to strangle him, however he was eventually stopped by Police and Crime Commissioner James Gordon. The Joker was then taken into police custody.

Simultaneous to these events, the Joker had also ordered for Will Conway's wife, Hannah, to be taken hostage. The Gotham City Police Department attempted to interrogate Joker to find out Hannah Conway's whereabout, but he refused to speak to anyone that was not the Batman. Eventually, Batman makes an appearance in order to probe Joker. Instead of answering the questions, however, Joker proceeds to goad him regarding the death of Will Conway. Batman soon becomes exceedingly impatient, and violently throws the Joker across the room. He proceeds to ask about Hannah's disappearance, but the Joker informs him that he won't tell him anything. Batman continues to violently beat him up for several minutes until the Joker breathes no more.

Upon dying, the Joker felt that he had been victorious. He had successfully taken over the Mafia, struck fear into the hearts of every Gotham citizen and cause the Batman to lose all common sense. His plan to keep Hannah Conway hostage after death was not as successful however, due to the fact that fellow criminal mastermind Riddler sabotaged him and gave Batman a tip-off regarding her whereabouts.