DC’s Joker is iconic for his unhinged persona, willing to do anything to sow chaos and death in Gotham City. However, over the eighty-six years since his debut, there are some characters who even Joker fears.
While Joker rarely worries about his physical wellbeing or even death, there are things he cares enough about to invite fear – namely, his connection to Batman and his ‘Clown Prince of Crime’ persona.
When heroes or villains threaten those two things, Joker has a habit of losing control, as the entries on this list prove…
Batman (aka Bruce Wayne)
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. Joker is utterly obsessed with Batman, seeing him as the only other truly real person in existence. With that obsession comes a lot of fear – the fear of Batman dying, the fear of Batman moving on from their sick bond, and the fear of Batman seeing him as something other than the Joker.
In Death of the Family, from Scott Snuder and Greg Capullo, Joker freaks when Batman hints that he knows his former name and identity, terrified of how it will change their bond. Joker throws himself to his potential death just to avoid Batman confirming he knows who Joker used to be.
However, Joker possesses an even deeper fear of Batman. In Batman #142-143 by Chip Zdarsky and Giuseppe Camuncoli, Joker goes to see Daniel Captio – a psychologist who trained Batman. Already a supervillain, Joker knows he’s being held back by his fear of Batman.
In response, Captio teaches Joker how to create nested psychological personas, crafting other selves who don’t fear the Dark Knight (but do end up obsessed with him.)
This is the birth of the Joker as a true monster, all motivated by escaping his fear of Batman. It’s also the mainstream answer to Batman learning there are three Jokers (they’re each a different persona the original can switch between.)
The Flash (aka Barry Allen/Wally West)
Weirdly, the only DC hero Joker canonically fears other than Batman is the Flash. This seems to be because Flash’s powers are antithetical to Joker’s shtick, robbing him of everything he bases his identity on.
Joker was first seen to fear Flash during 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths (Marv Wolfman, George Pérez), but this was confirmed way more recently in 2023’s Flash #800. The short story ‘Don’t Come to Central City’ (Jeremy Adams, Fernando Pasarin) reveals Joker tried to attack Flash’s base of operations, but his gas attack was instantly neutralized and he was thrown out of city limits before he even realized Flash had arrived.
Other villains speculate that Joker learned his lesson from the event, never returning to Central City due to Flash’s actions.
The Punisher (aka Frank Castle)
Despite being a Marvel hero, the lethal vigilante known as the Punisher encountered Joker in 1994’s Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights (Chuck Dixon, John Romita Jr.) In the story, Joker launches into his deadly act, only for Punisher to point a gun in his face with every intention of pulling the trigger. Realizing Frank means it, Joker whispers, “You’re really going to do it.”
Thankfully for Joker, Batman arrives and saves his life. Whether this moment reads as fear or a more profound realization is down to the reader, but the majority of fans hold this up as one of the few moments Joker experienced terror, and the villain certainly turned tail and ran as soon as Batman gave him the chance.
The Nurse
In ‘Two Fell into the Hornet’s Nest’ (Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo’s story from The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular), Joker finds himself in Arkham under the care of a mysterious nurse patterned after One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest‘s Nurse Ratched.
In a metatextual tale, the Nurse reveals that she sees Joker as a brand who belongs “on pajamas and lunch boxes.” While Joker protests, the Nurse insists that “children love you,” and Joker is overcome by fear as the truth dawns on him that while he sees himself as a homicidal sociopath, he’s actually just a cartoon villain who doesn’t truly scare anyone.
Hush (aka Thomas Elliot)
There are very few Gotham villains that Joker won’t work with, but Hush is among them. Tommy Elliot is a former childhood friend of Bruce Wayne, seeing himself as Bruce’s dark opposite. Since that’s the title Joker covets for himself, the two quickly ended up as rivals, with Hush repeatedly using Joker as a pawn in his plans.
While the two have clashed multiple times, two moments suggest that Joker fears Hush. In the recent Hush 2 (Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee), Hush tortures Joker while mocking him, causing the Clown Prince to scream out and even cry. However, it was actually in 2004’s Batman: Gotham Knights #55 (A.J. Lieberman, Al Barrionuevo and Javier Piña) that Hush first broke Joker.
In the comic, the hyper-capable Hush and Promethus kill off Joker’s men and brutally beat him, with Hush observing that Joker has lost his edge, now acting like just another Gotham gangster. Joker is utterly broken by Hush’s words, retreating to his secret family of ‘circus freaks’ to be reborn.
In subsequent encounters, Joker aided Batman against Hush, utilizing the Dark Knight to take down a rival who had broken him both physically and mentally in the past.
The Batman Who Laughs
The Batman Who Laughs hails from a reality within the Dark Multiverse, and represents Batman’s fear that he’s not so different from the Joker. A version of Bruce corrupted by Joker’s Fear Toxin, the Batman Who Laughs crossed over into DC’s main reality, becoming a problem for both the Justice League and Lex Luthor’s Legion of Doom.
From the beginning, Joker saw the Batman Who Laughs as an existential threat – someone who was a mockery of his relationship with Batman at best, and threatened to replace him at worst. He avoids being in the villain’s presence, and even admits he hates the sound of his laughter.
Joker considered the Batman Who Laughs such a threat that, in Dark Nights: Metal #6 (Snyder and Capullo), he secretly teamed up with Batman to kill their mutual enemy.
DCAU Joker Fears the Creeper, the IRS and More
In perhaps his most iconic depiction, voiced by Mark Hamill, BTAS‘ Joker was a lot more fearful, albeit in very specific circumstances. Joker explicitly shows fear of:
- The vigilante Creeper, who outdoes him as an erratic agent of chaos
- Charlie Collins, a former victim who tries to assassinate him, with Joker terrified his story will be defined by a nobody
- The IRS, stating “I’m crazy enough to take on Batman, but the IRS? No thank you.”
The latter is a gag representing the agency’s fearsome reputation among regular people, but also specifically the fate of real-life gangster Al Capone. While Capone was believed to be responsible for hundreds of murders and other serious crimes, the government brought him down by focusing on the crime they could prove: extensive tax evasion. Joker seemingly fears the same fate.
Himself
Batman fans often debate if the Joker is truly insane, but DC has confirmed countless times that he is. From the Spectre to Martian Manhunter, various telepathic characters have been able to temporarily stabilize Joker’s thoughts, allowing him to think clearly.
When Joker has sanity imposed upon him, he’s instantly horrified by his crimes, and becomes terrified of what he’ll do once the effect wears off.
Whether this version of Joker counts as ‘the Joker’ is questionable, but when he’s in his right mind, Joker is terrified of his own criminal persona and desperate not to return to his state of madness. In the recent Batman #7 (Matt Fraction, Jorge Jiménez), Joker is stabilized by the Crown of Storms and begs Batman to stop him from ever escaping Arkham Tower.
Those are the eight (really ten) people that DC’s Joker officially fears – let us know what you think of these entries below, and if any other characters deserve the Clown Prince of Crime’s terror.
- Created By
-
Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson
- First Appearance
-
Batman (1940)
- Alias
-
Red Hood, Clown Prince of Crime, Ace of Knaves
- RELATIONSHIPS
-
Batman (archenemy), Harley Quinn (former psychiatrist, on-and-off girlfriend), Penguin (frequent collaborator), Two-Face (frequent collaborator)
- Alliance
-
Injustice League, Legion of Doom, Injustice Gang
