The Joker is without a doubt one of the most twisted and terrifying villains in the DC Universe. And yet, a peculiar event showed that the Clown Prince of Crime could use his trickery to bring some pretty awful people to justice.

Don't get the wrong idea. There are few forces in the entirety of comic books as evil as the Joker is. He's practically made being the opposite of the morally upright crusader Batman his entire reason for living. But despite his proclivity for chaos, he's actually shown the potential for heroism. When Batman was missing, the Joker became a hero in the DC Universe for a brief amount of time. He might not be the most reliable figure, but somewhere deep, deep, unbelievably deep down, there may actually be a spark of nobility in the Joker's fractured soul.

Related: Joker Could Become a Hero by Joining the Green Lanterns' Twisted Rivals

Case in point, the Joker proved he could bring a bad guy out of the shadows, and do it bloodlessly to boot. In Joker's Asylum: The Joker by Arvid Nelson and Alex Sanchez, the clown takes over a trivia show called "Hold 'Em or Fold 'Em" and forces the contestants to compete for their lives. He ratchets up the difficulty and the Joker promises disturbing consequences for any wrong answers. At the same time, the show's producer is practically salivating at the ratings bump he'll likely get if the Joker commits violence on-air. The producer even tells his assistant to stall the police until he sees blood. But instead of exploding pies or acid-spraying flowers, the Joker doesn't harm any contestant. Apparently, the entire thing was a ruse and the joke is actually on the producer, who the Joker has been filming and airs his horrid comments live to the shock of viewers.

Joker's Asylum Producer DC Comics

It’s not traditional heroism, but Joker did expose a pretty awful person. Joker may be Batman’s greatest villain, but despite his psychopathy, he does appear to know the difference between right and wrong. And in this instance, despite the terror he induced to the game's participants and viewers, he didn't kill anyone. While destroying the career of an inhumane producer on-air may have a smack of dark humor, there's evidence that Joker could somehow become a hero.

Ultimately, Joker bases most of his actions on what he finds funny at the time, and a central tenet of comedy is utilizing the unexpected. And nothing would be as unexpected as the Joker changing his ways to become one of Batman’s greatest allies. There's something to be said for Joker applying his unpredictability to root out vile people, especially when he makes a big show of it. It's the exact sort of spectacle the clown loves, but it yields a more positive outcome than his usual brand of chaos. Of course, with his history, it'd be just a matter of time until death and carnage starts looking awfully humorous to him. But maybe it's time for the DC villain to explore his more heroic side and see what other sorts of monsters only the Joker can deal with.

Next: DC’s Dark Crisis Proves Joker Was Right About Batman’s Weakness