Spoiler Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Batman
The Joker is one of the greatest supervillains in comic books and perhaps the greatest for some. His latest live-action version is teased in the final moments of The Batman, and his next screen appearance may be influenced by some of the best Joker comics ever. Many of them are also some of the best Batman comics and in a few cases, regarded as the best superhero comics ever.
The Joker has remained remarkably constant since his debut in Batman #1 eighty years ago, but he's also evolved a great deal. His best comic books throughout the history of the superhero genre take the instantly iconic character and add unexpected layers. Many of his greatest comics have directly influenced his screen versions, contributing to his stature as the marquee villain of Batman.
The Killing Joke
The Killing Joke is often considered one of the best Batman comic book stories ever, and it's certainly one of the most influential. With a tantalizing possible origin story presented by legendary comic book writer Alan Moore, it's been adapted into animation and informed modern live-action portrayals of the character.
Moore himself has soured on the story, mostly due to its depictions of violence. It's very much of its time, but had a long-lasting impact on the comics, making it a necessary part of any consideration of the Joker's legacy.
A Death In The Family
Another seminal but very dark Joker story is "A Death In The Family." One of the most consequential Batman stories ever, Joker inflicts what is arguably his greatest injury on Batman by killing the second Robin, Jason Todd.
This 1980s story is infamous in comic history for offering fans the option to choose if Robin lived or died. But it remains one of the best Joker stories for being one of the first to truly depict how insane and without limits he was.
Emperor Joker
The Joker was truly without limits in one of his best comic books ever, Emperor Joker. In this story, the Joker acquires the multidimensional power of Mr. Mxyzptlk, becoming one of the best versions of the Joker in DC Comics.
The Joker alters reality on a cosmic scale, flipping superheroes to supervillains and vice versa. It's a fun, chaotic take on the character that indulges the more whimsical and silly side of him that has largely been forgotten in modern takes on the Joker.
The Beginning
The Joker is one of Batman's best villains in the comics, and in all of comics, and he was right from the beginning. One of his best stories remains Batman #1, which establishes his iconic look and character right from the very start of the Golden Age of Comics.
This issue, by Batman and Joker co-creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane, could easily be picked up today by modern readers and they would recognize the Joker. He is a murderous criminal with no backstory who looks exactly like he did eighty years ago.
Joker's Five Way Revenge
One of the Joker's best comics is his triumphant return in the Silver Age. The character had been absent from DC Comics for four years - an unimaginable thought today - but returned in a far more frightening incarnation in "Joker's Five Way Revenge," from Batman #251.
Writer Dennis O'Neill gives fans a darker and more sinister Joker, closer to his modern interpretations than the generally silly versions of the early Silver Age that coincided with the live-action depiction of the Joker by Caesar Romero in 1966 Adam West television show.
White Knight
One of the best Batman comics of the 2010s and one of the best Joker stories is White Knight, an alternate universe take on the Batman mythos where the Joker is the hero, allowing readers a glimpse of the potential of the character in different circumstances.
The Joker is cured of his violent tendencies and becomes a member of the Gotham Police Force, targeting Batman in this excellent 2017 mini-series written and illustrated by Sean Murphy. It's a tragic story for all that could potentially influence future live-action movies.
The Last Laugh
The 2001 crossover The Last Laugh features the Joker's brutal death at the hands of Nightwing. Batman brings Joker back to life, but the victory isn't being resuscitated but breaking Nightwing's cardinal rule about never killing anyone.
The Joker taunts Nightwing about the murder of Jason Todd, who had yet to be resurrected himself until Nightwing snaps. It shows the cruel and unusual power of the Joker over the entire Batman family that continues to this day.
Arkham Asylum
The Joker is generally depicted as a maniacal force of nature but one of his best comic books attempts to explore his psychology. Grant Morrison's ambitious and complex take on the character in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth from 1989 is among the first to explore the Joker as a character.
With complex themes and literary allusions (the title of the book is a reference to a Phillip Larkin poem), the comic gives fans perhaps their first true perspective from the point of view of the Joker and all the inherent madness that entails.
The Dark Knight Returns
The Dark Knight Returns is one of the greatest comic books ever and it's one of the Joker's best stories. It features a dark, dystopian take on the final battle between Batman and Joker, in which the Joker proves he will always get the last laugh.
This version of the Joker by writer and artist Frank Miller cements the range symbiotic relationship between the two. The Joker is nothing without Batman and he believes Batman is nothing without him, leading to a deadly final encounter.
Mad Love
Mad Love is ostensibly the origin story of Harley Quinn but it's also one of the best Joker stories in comics. The single-minded nature of the Joker crystallizes in this classic story by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, two of the creators behind Batman: The Animated Series.
The Joker, like Poison Ivy, has benefitted enormously from Harley Quinn. As she has evolved, the concept of the Joker as a perfect encapsulation of not just root evil but toxic masculinity has led to more challenging takes on his character in different mediums, some more successful than others.