Real Name:Unknown, but Penguin's been known to call him Slappy.
Known Aliases:Johnny Trape, Joseph Kerr, The Red Hood
Occupation:Psychopathic Criminal
Base of Operations:Gotham City
Marital Status:Widowed(or so he says)
Height:6' 5"
Weight:192 lbs
Eyes:Green
Hair:Green
First Appearance:Batman #1 (Spring, 1940)
Origin and History: Little is known about The Joker's past because he tells so many different versions. He prefers to think of his past as "multiple choice".
It seems he was once a normal person with no mental problems. He had a job as a lab assistant at Ace Chemical Processors in Gotham City but quit hoping to become a stand-up comedian. Unfortunately, the public didn't think he was funny and quickly labeled himself a loser unable to support his pregnant wife. Desperate for money, he agreed to help guide two crooks through the old chemical plant he used to work in and into the Monarch Playing Card company next door, which they planned to rob. But again tragedy struck. His wife died in a freak accident when testing a baby bottle warmer, which was faulty. Devastated, he wanted no part of the heist, but the crooks pressured him into keeping his promise. Then the trouble really started. Dressed in the mantle of The Red Hood, he led crooks in to plant. The heist was foiled by the security guards and the Batman. Thinking Batman was a demon from hell, the poor schnook escaped by jumping into a catch basin of chemical wastes. After being washed up on the riverbank, he took the helmet off and he saw his reflection. The chemicals had permanently turned his skin chalk white, his lips dark red and his hair bright green. He snapped. Thinking the world was one cruel, irrational joke, he took on the identity of The Joker, in honor of the playing card company that he and the boys intended to rob.
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