John Doe

"Heh you are one messed up guy" - John Doe after Batman tells him that he is his friend

**"John Doe"**, later known as **the Joker**, is a major character in Telltale Games' *Batman* series. He is a minor character in *Batman: The Telltale Series* and the deuteragonist of *Batman: The Enemy Within*.

Unlike most other depictions of the Joker, John is shown to be a sympathetic and insecure man who is looking for direction in his life. By the end of *The Enemy Within* - Episode Four: What Ails You, John will either decide to become a vigilante and battle those who he perceives as villains in Gotham City or will fully embrace his inner demons and become the homicidal maniac Joker usually is. He is a (player-determined) former friend-turned-arch-nemesis of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

## Biography

Nobody truly knows his true identity, with the name "John Doe" that was given to him by the asylum staff. It seemed that even John himself was also unaware of his past and didn't remember his life prior to Arkham, or even his own name. It seemed that no one even remembered the day that John arrived and there was no record of him ever being committed. While information on John's past is extremely scant, he does claim that he lost his life to Arkham due to a sickness he couldn’t control. Other inmates were scared of John, particularly Victor Zsasz, who found him unpredictable. However, to staff members, particularly doctors Joan Leland and Harleen Quinzel, John seemed to recover and was one of the more cooperative of the inmates.

While at Arkham, John became obsessed with Bruce Wayne after saving his life and his activities in the public's eyes. He also began to admire Batman and his war against crime, particular criminals like Carmine Falcone. John kept a scrapbook of information and became determined to learn everything about Bruce. It's possible that John deduced that Bruce and Batman were one in the same, but it was left uncertain at that moment. It was later revealed he figured out Bruce was Batman in *The Enemy Within*.

John Doe is first introduced to Bruce Wayne as being an inmate of Arkham Asylum who does not remember his past or who he is, and not even any of the doctors know the truth.

He appears as an outwardly, friendly and laid-back man, but one who also possesses a violent and savage side as well, as shown when he viciously beats down two inmates threatening Bruce. The two (optionally) connect, with John also revealing some facts about Vicki Vale's past that Bruce previously did not know (such as her having been born Victoria Arkham).

John agrees to help Bruce escape from Arkham in exchange for a favor, which Bruce can choose to promise to grant or not. Either way, John helps Bruce get out of Arkham. However, to do this, John makes fellow inmate Victor Zsasz try and murder another patient. Bruce can either save the patient or use a telephone to ensure his release, allowing Zsasz to murder his intended victim. Regardless of the choice, John still assists Bruce in finding Vicki by informing him to locate her adoptive parents before he is released from Arkham with his butler Alfred Pennyworth arriving to either ensure his release if the phone wasn't used when Bruce chose to stop Zsasz or to pick him up if he did use the phone to get either Lieutenant James Gordon and the GCPD or Alfred (with assistance from Bruce's lawyers) to get him out.

He gleefully witnesses the battle between Batman and the Children of Arkham and the escaped inmates in the asylum before appearing in the very last scene of the episode now out of Arkham.

It is revealed that John has been released from Arkham for good behavior, and has listed Bruce as his emergency contact. He later meets with Bruce at Lucius Fox's funeral and tries to call in the favor Bruce owes him. He also reveals that he's fallen in with some "interesting people" who turn out to be the group of criminals Bruce is after called "The Pact".

Using his "friendship" with John, Bruce tries to get into the Pact, with John being Bruce's primary supporter (especially if Bruce continues to treat him well).

John helps Bruce and Catwoman break into the late Riddler's now abandoned lair looking for information on how to get into his laptop (which Harley Quinn has possession of and wants to decrypt).

During this adventure, John shows a willingness to beat GCPD Detective Harvey Bullock with a crowbar if Bruce does not intervene, and later, when Bruce and John have drinks together outside a coffee shop with the former giving optional dating advice of the latter being himself when talking with Harley, John admits that he can feel "someone" inside him that is trying to get out. The words John uses in describing this "someone" makes it clear that it is a darker and more violent side of him, one that Bruce can urge him to either suppress or let out. As Batman, he can also meet with John Doe and teach him how to throw a Batarang after John has gotten Riddler's laptop for him and not Catwoman if she wasn't warned about Gordon and the GCPD ambushing her.

Later, when both Bruce and Catwoman are in hot water with The Pact, John urges Bruce to give up Catwoman to save himself, which Bruce can choose to do so or not.

John, alongside the other members of the Pact, storm the Bodhi Spa and the SANCTUS Research Facility. John will briefly assist Bruce/Batman against Bane and Mr. Freeze during the battle (and if Batman taught him how to throw a Batarang after stealing Riddler's laptop instead of Catwoman if Batman chose not to warn her about Commissioner Gordon's ambush, then he will use it). However, during the chaos, Harley Quinn flees, leaving John Doe behind.

Heartbroken by this, John escapes himself, returning to the Pact's hideout, the abandoned Old Five Points subway station, to drown in his sorrows. However, when Harley Quinn returns and discovers that the Agency was there without John knowing, she punches him in the face and leaves in disgust. Bruce and Special Agent Iman Avesta then stumble upon the distraught John Doe, who lashes out at Bruce for his advice and despairing over how he's lost everything: The Pact, his dreams, and Harley. However, Bruce (whether forcefully or with genuine empathy), convinces John that they have a common enemy in Harley and that they need to stop her together. John then goes to find Harley on his own.

Later, John tells Bruce his location, and Bruce goes to see him. Once at the abandoned Bonus Brothers Carnival, he discovers three dead Agency operatives; John killed them, and the latter claims that it was in self-defense. Bruce has to decide whether to continue trusting John or not.

If Bruce agrees to work with John and believes he killed the agents in self-defense anyway, John happily embraces him, reaffirming their friendship, and they then go off to stop Harley together. John helps stop Harley on the bridge by pretending to be there to help her, only to disarm her of both the bomb trigger and LOTUS Virus vial. Harley angrily condemns him and vows revenge, but John has at last seen that Harley does not truly love him. Amanda Waller congratulates John for his efforts and then demands that he hand over the LOTUS Virus. John refuses, believing that no one should have it. Waller then coldly pulls a gun on John and tries to kill him before she is stopped by Bruce. This sends John into a rage, and he stabs Amanda Waller, detonates the bombs on the bridge, and vows that he and Batman will bring the Agency to justice together and that it will be "so much fun".

If Bruce refuses to work with John in addition believing he is lying and that he didn't kill the agents in self-defense, a heartbroken John vows revenge and runs off, intending to help Harley, now hostile to Bruce. Bruce then goes to the bridge alone as Batman. John then shows up in a truck and intercepts him and Harley, saving the latter and retreating with her into the waters below the bridge after blowing it up with homicidal relish. Additionally on the other hand, if Bruce agrees to work with John and believes he killed the agents in self-defense, John asks Bruce if he can help out with taking down Harley, and if Bruce says no or doesn't stop Waller from interfering with his attempt to disarm Harley, then John takes the detonator off Harley and blows up the bridge himself with homicidal relish before retreating with her into the waters below the bridge.

If Bruce works with John Two weeks later, John Doe emerges as a Batman-inspired wannabe vigilante calling himself "The Joker". At first still friendly to Batman and actively helping him against Waller, the Agency and her special task force (a coerced Bane, Harley and Catwoman), when Batman and Waller blackmail each other into an impasse (Batman can request Waller to either let Avesta leave the Agency peacefully and without prosecution, remove Catwoman from her special task force due to not being like the rest of the Pact, have Harley and Bane released from her special task force but then have the pair incarcerated at Blackgate Prison for their crimes, or don't make a request; regardless of either choice in which Waller will agree to if he agrees to hand over Joker to which Batman can either agree to or refuse to do so, but regardless she will still agree to his chosen request), an enraged Joker goes berserk and attacks. The situation escalates into a chaotic rooftop battle with Joker on one side, Batman on another, and the Agency alongside Waller's special task force trying to take down both. Joker ultimately ends the battle by detonating two mannequin bombs, and in the chaos escapes with Waller as a hostage.

Taking her to the abandoned Ace Chemicals plant, Joker tries to get Waller to confess to murdering Riddler (a crime Joker believes she had herself tried to pin on him), but she's innocent; it's actually Tiffany Fox who is responsible. But now out of control and lost in a vigilante-minded fervor, Joker snaps completely and tries to kill Waller anyway alongside Tiffany, with Batman intervening to stop him. Feeling betrayed and declaring himself a fool for having believed in Batman and his way of doing things righteously, even though Joker is being a fool right now for becoming the one thing Batman told him not to become and truly the one who betrayed Batman, Joker savagely murders three Agency operatives and engages Batman in a brutal fight that ends with Joker defeated and Batman too injured to get up. Joker asks Batman if he ever considered himself his friend, in which Batman can either say yes or no. If Batman says yes, Joker simply calls Batman "one messed up guy." If Batman says no or says nothing, Joker says that from now on they are enemies.
After the credits of either version, Joker is seen back in Arkham Asylum. What he does inside his cell depends on Bruce's final choices with Joker and Alfred.

* **Vigilante Joker:** Joker sits on his bed, in regret over his actions.
	+ **Considered Joker as your friend:** Bruce arrives to pay Joker a visit after his imprisonment, much to the latter's delight.
	+ **Told Joker he was never your friend:** Joker stays beside the window and waits for Batman to present himself after seeing the Bat-Signal in the sky.
		- **Gave up Alfred:** Joker sees Batman from far away, states he knew Bruce "would never abandon him, and that nothing can keep enemies like them apart", and laughs maniacally.
		- **Gave up the mantle of Batman:** Joker becomes angry when the Bat-Signal turns off and that Batman never appears, shattering a picture of him and Bruce or Batman together.

If Bruce refuses to work with John Three weeks later, John resurfaces as a criminal now calling himself "The Joker" and sporting a more colorful appearance. He cuts open Bullock and stuffs an explosive into his belly but is saved by Batman, and then later storms a board meeting at Wayne Enterprises, where he and Harley unleash the LOTUS Virus in toxic gaseous form that kills everyone in Wayne Enterprises except for Bruce (including Regina Zellerbach, who Harley personally murders with her hammer). From there, Joker and Harley detonate yet more bombs, and reveal that they have several more hidden throughout Gotham that will be detonated unless their demands are met.

However, all of this was merely a ploy on Joker's part; he cares about Bruce and paradoxically seeks to destroy him but also be his constant nemesis as a means of having his friend in his life. He cares not for Harley's agenda, and in fact cuts a secret deal with Gordon to tell him where the remaining bombs are if Gordon will give him Batman. Gordon agrees to it, and Batman is brought down by Joker and his men when trying to either meet with or rescue Gordon (depending on their relationship when Waller was operating in Gotham).
Stripping Batman of his Batsuit secretly and throwing him in the same carnival where Bruce first lost John's trust, he forces Bruce and those of his other friends and loved ones who Joker has kidnapped (Selina Kyle, Alfred Pennyworth, Tiffany), into a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse where he needles all of them over their past mistakes and the things they are most guilty of. However, Bruce turns the tables by either exposing Joker's treachery to Harley or asking for John to help save him from Harley leading to Joker attempting to stop Harley from killing Bruce. Either scenario sends Harley into a rage. In the confusion, Bruce frees himself and Selina, and a fight breaks out. Harley is defeated and Joker flees, with Bruce in pursuit. Whether Bruce tries to reason with Joker or not, the latter attacks him in a deranged fury, but ultimately loses the battle. Seemingly dead, Joker is given CPR by Bruce with a Bat-Stunner, and then asks Bruce why he saved them, and Bruce may answer from a few different choices.
Joker then reminds Bruce of their conversation at the café before remarking how a part of him always knew someone like Bruce would never really be friends with someone like him despite wanting to believe it so badly. He asks Bruce if he ever still considered himself Joker's friend deep down as well and if he enjoyed what they had together when they were still friends, in which Bruce can either say yes or no. If Bruce says yes (admitting they had good times together as friends) or nothing, Joker will still stab him but instead say that he hopes that, whenever Bruce sees that scar, he will remember their "good times" before laughing maniacally until he falls unconscious. If Bruce says no (declaring that he wish that he had never met him at all), Joker will sorrowfully stab Bruce and state that he says the cruelest things but doesn't really mean them and he'll be the knife in his side until the end of time or until he finally "bleeds out" before he starts laughing maniacally until he falls unconscious. If Bruce says nothing, Joker will stab him in the abdomen with displeasure before saying what he says if Bruce answered yes, implying that Joker thinks that Bruce's answer was yes.
After the credits of either version, Joker is seen back in Arkham Asylum. What he does inside his cell depends on Bruce's final choices with Joker and Alfred.

* **Villain Joker:** Joker sits on his bed, playing with a doll of Bruce.
	+ **Agreed with Joker that you had good times with him as his friend:** Joker mimics Bruce's final words to him and draws a smile on the doll's face, happy that he was proven right about Bruce's admittance of enjoying their friendship while it lasted.
	+ **Disagreed by telling him you wish that you had never met him at all:** Joker mimics Bruce's final words to him and burns the doll with a lighter, promising to see him again and swearing that he will always be his enemy to the very end.

## Personalty

During his first meeting with Bruce at Arkham, Joker seemed to be very unpredictable. He appeared bored with the order that was imposed by the staff and enjoyed chaos when it occurred. He seemed to find both the Children of Arkham's actions and Harvey Dent's wavering sanity entertaining. Joker also seemed to enjoy harmless pranks, including giving a key that didn't unlock anything to Bruce, just to see whether he tried it. According to Leland, Joker also had issues with rejection, something that was confirmed if Bruce decided not to go through with their "favor" of meeting his friends.

While he was free, Joker seemed to find it hard to adjust to freedom and seemed drawn to chaos, which led to his involvement with the Pact and falling in love with Harley. Joker also seemed to have little confidence in himself. Despite putting on a show of obliviousness and incompetence, Joker was extremely intelligent, was aware of the actions around him, and even deduced that Bruce Wayne was Batman. It also seemed that Joker had a habit of giggling when he was nervous.

Up until his identity formation, Joker displayed a contrast between a cunning, capable individual and a desperate, vulnerable wallflower. At Lucius Fox's funeral, he gave Bruce a "get well soon" card, seemingly out of obliviousness, yet subsequently mentioned his association with Riddler, knowing that he was searching for the criminal. With that, it was difficult for Bruce at times to discern whether his associate was genuinely reaching out to John or goading him. Even though John offered to retrieve Harley's laptop for him, he contrastingly proceeded to offer the same to Batman.

If Joker became a vigilante, he became overtly passionate for his crusade for justice and even exhibited frequent recklessness on multiple occasions. However, when Batman cornered him in the office, he softly confessed that this may have been a ruse in order to gain his admiration. If Joker became a villain, his personality became extremely sadistic, not shying away from disturbing acts and manipulating others to get what he wanted. Despite this, he seemed to still care about Bruce and was unable to commit himself to letting him die.

Regardless of Joker's fate, it was gradually revealed that John was always drawn to violence and chaos, whether it was for malicious purposes or for misguided lust for justice. Depending on Bruce's choices, Joker could become the most deranged and evil of his enemies or one of the most flawed, desperate to prove a point to Batman.

## Enemies

* Batman (Determent Arch-Enemy)
* Alfred Pennyworth (Determent)
* Tiffany Fox
* Harley Quinn
* Catwoman
* James Gordon
* Renee Montoya
* The Riddler
* Mr. Freeze
* Amanda Waller
* Bane

## Trivia

* Unlike most depictions, where Joker is the abusive manipulator and Harley the more sympathetic villain pining for love, in this version the roles are reversed; Joker desperately tries to gain Harley's approval, while Harley is an unloving psychopath who is only using him.
* His willingness to hit Harvey Bullock over the head with a crowbar references Joker's crowbar beating of Jason Todd in the comics and the animated movie adaptation, *Under the Red Hood*.
* John has admitted that he has a hard time taking rejection and his outbursts are a result of being antisocial. This shows John Doe may have antisocial personality disorder.
* John seems to believe that his green hair is natural since he doesn't remember a time when it wasn’t green.

* It is questionable as to how he was legally kept at Arkham Asylum, given that there was no record of him being committed there.
* It is possible that John was a victim of Thomas Wayne, although this is just a speculative theory.
* John Doe is the second Telltale character on this wiki with the first being William Carver
* John Doe and Superman (Injustice) are two DC characters on this wiki.

## External Links

John Doe on the Villains Wiki

John Doe on the Heroes Wiki

John Doe on the Batman Wiki