The Clowned Crusader

DC Comics has quite the reputation of having different versions of Earth. There's a Golden Age world, a gender-bent world, and then there's Earth 3, a world of evil dopplegangers like Ultraman and Johnny Quick. But if this world's Justice League are the bad guys, who's the good guy? Introducing the Earth-3 version of The Laughing Man himself, our Z-Lister The Jokester.

First appearing in "Countdown #32" in 2007, the origin of this character starts when he was a young man named Jackie. Bullied by almost everyone he met, the only person Jackie was happy with was a woman named Evelyn Dent. Although he loved her, Jackie became distant from Evelyn after she developed a multiple personality disorder. Without her, Jackie tried to lift his spirits by performing stand-up comedy, although he wasn't very good at it. One night, Jackie witnessed the murder of the comedy club's owner at the hands of The Owlman, the brutal criminal of Earth-3's Gotham City. Finally becoming sick of being bullied by others, Jackie started using Owlman and his sidekick Talon as parts of his stand-up performance, mocking the criminals of Gotham made Jackie a local hero for speaking his mind and showing Owlman the people of Gotham weren't afraid of him. Tired of Jackie's jokes towards him, Owlman killed Jackie's manager Harleen Quinzel and sliced Jackie's mouth with a wide cut. Jackie woke in the hospital shortly after with nothing but a wide grin, an absence on sanity and an eternal hatred for Owlman. Jackie then became The Jokester, committing his life to humiliating Owlman. The Jokester eventually united with Evelyn once again and met his daughter, Duela Dent. After years of battling Owlman, The Jokester crossed the line when he killed Talon. At the end of his patience, Owlman killed The Jokester along with Gotham's last piece of hope.
No matter what Joker you prefer, there is no question that he is a character capable of many backgrounds and interpretations. Sometimes he's the scariest human being on the planet, other times he's a sad clown trying to laugh away his incurable depression. Insanity can take many forms, just as vengeance can reach different extremes, the unending battle between The Bat and The Clown is a display of that reality. Sometimes it doesn't matter what face you wear, it only matters what faces you fight for. Thanks for reading!

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