<P> The character was introduced in Batman # 1 ( 1940 ) , in which he announces that he will kill three of Gotham 's prominent citizens ( including Mayor Henry Claridge ) . Although the police protect Claridge , the Joker had poisoned him before making his announcement and Claridge dies with a ghastly grin on his face ; Batman eventually defeats him , sending him to prison . The Joker commits whimsical , brutal crimes for reasons that , in Batman 's words , `` make sense to him alone '' . Detective Comics # 168 ( 1951 ) introduced the Joker 's first origin story as Red Hood : a criminal who , during his final heist , vanishes after leaping into a vat of chemicals to escape Batman . His resulting disfigurement led him to adopt the name `` Joker '' , from the playing card figure he came to resemble . The Joker 's Silver - Age transformation into a figure of fun was established in 1952 's `` The Joker 's Millions '' . In this story the Joker is obsessed with maintaining his illusion of wealth and celebrity as a criminal folk hero , afraid to let Gotham 's citizens know that he is penniless and was tricked out of his fortune . The 1970s redefined the character as a homicidal psychopath . `` The Joker 's Five - Way Revenge '' has the Joker taking violent revenge on the former gang members who betrayed him ; in `` The Laughing Fish '' the character chemically adds his face to Gotham 's fish ( hoping to profit from a copyright ) , killing bureaucrats who stand in his way . </P>
<P> The character was introduced in Batman # 1 ( 1940 ) , in which he announces that he will kill three of Gotham 's prominent citizens ( including Mayor Henry Claridge ) . Although the police protect Claridge , the Joker had poisoned him before making his announcement and Claridge dies with a ghastly grin on his face ; Batman eventually defeats him , sending him to prison . The Joker commits whimsical , brutal crimes for reasons that , in Batman 's words , `` make sense to him alone '' . Detective Comics # 168 ( 1951 ) introduced the Joker 's first origin story as Red Hood : a criminal who , during his final heist , vanishes after leaping into a vat of chemicals to escape Batman . His resulting disfigurement led him to adopt the name `` Joker '' , from the playing card figure he came to resemble . The Joker 's Silver - Age transformation into a figure of fun was established in 1952 's `` The Joker 's Millions '' . In this story the Joker is obsessed with maintaining his illusion of wealth and celebrity as a criminal folk hero , afraid to let Gotham 's citizens know that he is penniless and was tricked out of his fortune . The 1970s redefined the character as a homicidal psychopath . `` The Joker 's Five - Way Revenge '' has the Joker taking violent revenge on the former gang members who betrayed him ; in `` The Laughing Fish '' the character chemically adds his face to Gotham 's fish ( hoping to profit from a copyright ) , killing bureaucrats who stand in his way . </P>
who was the joker before becoming the joker
who was the joker before becoming the joker
Red Hood
Red Hood