The Joker is one of the most cruel and malicious villains in comic book history. Driven by a desire to create chaos and suffering, he’s been responsible for countless deaths. Though his plans are often stopped by Batman, creating a legendary rivalry, the Joker has also targeted other heroes. While he occasionally wins, he’s usually defeated by DC’s superheroes. This list details the times the Joker was completely outmatched and defeated by heroes other than Batman.
The Joker is a brilliantly dangerous villain in the DC universe. He’s famously defeated even the most powerful heroes, like the entire Justice League. However, he sometimes miscalculates and loses badly to heroes other than Batman.
7) Rorschach
The story of Doomsday Clock brought the worlds of Watchmen and the DC Universe together. During this crossover, a new Rorschach, named Reggie Long, encountered the Joker. Reggie discovered that Ozymandias, his supposed ally in saving their world, had been manipulating him. Enraged, Reggie began attacking Ozymandias. The Joker, amused by the scene, foolishly touched Reggie’s shoulder, attempting to offer advice during the violent outburst. Reggie immediately turned his aggression toward the Joker and brutally beat him.
6) Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman and the Joker have clashed multiple times, and Wonder Woman usually comes out on top. A famous encounter happened in the “Joker’s Holiday” storyline, where the Joker used a suicide vest and paralyzed Wonder Woman with poison. To fight back, Wonder Woman tapped into the madness of the Greek god Pan, learning to embrace insanity herself. This made her immune to the venom and allowed her to defeat the Joker by detonating the bomb on his chest. Although the Joker survived, it was a rare instance of him facing an opponent as unhinged as himself.
5) Robin
Following the tragic death of Jason Todd, the second Robin, Tim Drake stepped up as the new Boy Wonder, determined to bring the Joker to justice. Remarkably, Tim managed to defeat the Joker on his own during one of his earliest missions as a crime fighter. When Batman was away, Tim took the initiative to capture the recently escaped Joker. He cleverly lured the villain into a trap and, in the ensuing fight, managed to knock him into a sewage treatment plant. This win cemented Tim’s position as the new Robin and resulted in a particularly humiliating defeat for the Joker.
4) Batgirl
Barbara Gordon, the first Batgirl, is well-known as one of the Joker’s victims. He infamously shot and paralyzed her, forcing her to use a wheelchair and abandon her role as Batgirl. Though she later regained some function with a spinal implant, the Joker exploited this during “The Joker War.” He invaded her home and used a device to take control of her legs. With incredible determination, Barbara managed to remove the implant using a piece of broken metal, freeing herself from his control but leaving her paralyzed again. In a moment of defiance, she threw a pipe at the Joker, impaling his spine and inflicting a similar injury on him.
3) Martian Manhunter
Martian Manhunter is consistently ranked among the most powerful heroes in the Justice League, thanks to his diverse skillset. He demonstrated this power during the ‘Rock of Ages’ storyline when he managed to subdue the Joker in a way no other hero had. After the Joker acquired the Philosopher Stone and began using its reality-altering abilities to cause widespread chaos, Martian Manhunter used his telepathy to briefly restore the villain’s sanity. This sudden wave of empathy and remorse led the Joker to immediately reverse all the damage he’d done and surrender the Stone to the League. While Martian Manhunter couldn’t maintain the Joker’s sanity permanently, he successfully neutralized the threat, and the villain was apprehended.
2) Red Hood
The Joker is notorious for many crimes, but one of the most shocking was the murder of the second Robin, Jason Todd. When Jason mysteriously returned to life as the vengeful Red Hood, he vowed to kill the Joker for destroying his life. In the story “Under the Red Hood,” Jason captured the Joker and brutally beat him with a crowbar – mirroring the Joker’s own attack on him before his death. Though Jason didn’t kill the Joker at that time, he ultimately succeeded in the later storyline, Three Jokers, which involved multiple Jokers causing chaos. During that story, one Joker taunted Jason, claiming to be the one responsible for his death. Enraged, Jason finally shot and killed the Joker.
1) Superman
Even though the Injustice comics show Superman using deadly force against the Joker, he doesn’t actually need to. When they first faced off in “The Sound of One Hand Clapping,” Superman simply overwhelmed the Joker and refused to engage with his twisted games, causing the villain to surrender immediately. A similar situation happened during the Emperor Joker storyline, where the Joker gained god-like powers and remade the world. But Superman realized the Joker was fixated on Batman and cleverly pointed out that he couldn’t bring himself to permanently kill him. This frustrated the Joker so much that he lost control and accidentally gave up his powers. It’s no surprise the Joker avoids Metropolis, then!
What do you think? Leave a Comment below and join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
https://comicbook.com/comics/list/dcs-6-most-disturbing-jokers-ranked/embed/#
Read More
- Hazbin Hotel season 3 release date speculation and latest news
- 10 Chilling British Horror Miniseries on Streaming That Will Keep You Up All Night
- Where Winds Meet: How To Defeat Shadow Puppeteer (Boss Guide)
- Zootopia 2 Reactions Raise Eyebrows as Early Viewers Note “Timely Social Commentary”
- 10 Best Demon Slayer Quotes of All Time, Ranked
- The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu is a 4-Player Co-Op Survival Horror Game Inspired by Lovecraft’s Works
- Victoria Beckham Addresses David Beckham Affair Speculation
- Final Fantasy 9 Receives Special 25th Anniversary Trailer
- Emmerdale star Joshua Richards reveals aftermath of harrowing Bear Wolf incident in ITVX release
- Strictly Come Dancing professional in tears after judges comments
2025-11-30 01:15