The Joker is one of the darkest criminals in all of comic book history - he has been terrorizing Batman and the citizens of Gotham City for decades at this point, but his first crime includes a mystery that's never been fully resolved. Joker's past is a complete mystery, but the first crime he ever committed could reveal more about the Clown Prince's past.

Despite a few 'multiple choice' origins, Joker's real history is still roughly a mystery. While the object of his attention today is obviously Batman, not everything Joker has done is for the Dark Knight's attention - indeed, back when he committed his very first canon crime, he was actually going after something completely unrelated to the Bat. This is unusual given their shared history and just how much Joker tends to fixate on Batman, as well as how little information is shared about him. Even after all these years, only recently has DC given readers even a hint at Joker's real name.

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In the pages of Batman: The Man Who Laughs by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke, a terrifying new serial killer appears in Gotham using sophisticated chemical weaponry never seen before. This terrifying new killer is eventually dubbed "The Joker" by the Gotham News. Throughout the entire book, Joker targets the rich and wealthy, even appearing outside of Arkham Asylum to give his first broadcast to the city after hijacking a news crew's equipment. Batman discovers that while Joker waited for the news crew to arrive, he wrote a poem inside one of the cells inside Arkham. "One by one, they'll hear my call, then this wicked town will follow my fall."

Joker Hated Gotham BEFORE Batman

JOKER BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE

Eventually, Batman is able to figure out Joker's grand plan: Joker wants to poison all of Gotham City with the same chemical waste that altered his body. Batman is able to stop Joker after reasoning that Joker killed the wealthy targets due to them being investors in Ace Chemicals, the chemical plant where Joker was possibly born. Joker's plans suggest a grand plan to attack Gotham, except it's not at all clear why he'd want to do so. One possible option is his horrible civilian life as depicted in Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's Batman: The Killing Joke, but even that story reminds readers not to take his 'origin' at face value, as he has no interest in having a fixed beginning even in his own mind. He could be taking revenge for his transformation, but Joker very clearly prefers his life as a villain to whatever came before.

Modern stories accept that Joker toys with Gotham in order to play out a game against Batman, but in The Man Who Laughs, Joker is actually surprised to find out that Batman is even real. In fact, Joker's first scheme shows that torturing and traumatizing Gotham has always been his focus, even before he had a hero to square off against. This suggests a pre-existing animosity between Joker and the city, but DC continually makes it clear that none of the explanations why can be trusted, either by emphasizing Joker as an unreliable narrator or retconning them out of existence.

The Man Who Laughs proves that with or without Batman, Joker hates the city of Gotham, but the constant mystery of his origin means it's unlikely DC fans will ever know why. It's a mystery that's likely better if it's never solved, given it affords each new creative team an opportunity to reimagine Joker's connection to Batman's city in a way that suits their own stories.

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