The Joker is consistently ranked as one of the most unsettling villains in DC Comics, but surprisingly, the main version isn’t even the most frightening. He debuted in the very first Batman comic, and despite initially being killed off, his popularity led DC to rewrite that storyline and bring him back. Since then, he’s become Batman’s iconic enemy – a chaotic force opposing Batman’s dedication to order. The Joker is famously unpredictable, and different versions of the character amplify this quality to an even greater degree.
This list ranks the most unsettling versions of the Joker, from the classic character to those appearing in different universes.
6) The Joker
The Joker is already a seriously unsettling villain, but the idea behind the *Three Jokers* story is even more frightening – it suggests there have been multiple versions of him! However, officially, there’s only one Joker, and he’s changed over time. He’s done some truly awful things throughout his life, and a couple really stand out. I’ll never forget when he shot Barbara Gordon, paralyzing her, and even worse, when he brutally beat Jason Todd, the second Robin, and then killed him with an explosion. It’s horrifying to think about.
The Joker stands out as one of DC Comics’ most unsettling villains because of his particularly heinous acts. But even compared to the main version of the character, several alternate Jokers have been created that are even more disturbing, solidifying his place as a truly frightening figure in DC history.
5) Joker From Dark Knight Returns
As a huge Batman fan, I have to say the Joker from *Dark Knight Returns* is seriously unsettling. It presents a possible future for the character, and it’s one of the most disturbing takes I’ve seen. This Joker, from Earth-31, basically shut down and became catatonic while locked up in Arkham. The reason? Batman had retired, and without his nemesis, he just…lost his purpose. But when Batman came back, this Joker *immediately* snapped out of it. He even managed to manipulate his doctor into believing he was cured, claiming his entire evil streak was caused by Batman’s own mental instability. It’s a really twisted and brilliant portrayal.
These events drove the Joker to commit even more horrific acts than he had in the past. He murdered a studio audience and his psychiatrist after they discovered he wasn’t insane. He then shockingly poisoned a group of Boy Scouts at a carnival, killing them all. In a final, bizarre act, he took his own life during a fight with Batman, attempting to make it look like Batman was the killer. While the Joker had always been a killer, these actions were a new level of depravity.
4) Flashpoint Joker
What’s truly unsettling about the Joker in *Flashpoint* isn’t his usual violence. It’s that he’s actually Bruce Wayne’s mother. In this alternate reality, Bruce Wayne was the one who died during the robbery, leading Thomas Wayne to become a brutal Batman and Martha Wayne to transform into the crazed Joker.
After Thomas expressed his longing for her smile, he went to kill Joe Chill. Upon his return, he found she had mutilated her face to create a false smile, leading him to have her committed to an institution. Martha then transformed into the Joker, becoming even more dangerous than the original, and even severely injured Catwoman after Thomas took her under his wing. She escalated her villainy by manipulating Jim Gordon into killing Harvey Dent’s daughter, and ultimately killing Gordon herself. In a different reality, Martha committed suicide upon discovering Bruce had become Batman.
3) New 52 Joker
The Joker in the New 52 continuity was similar to the classic version, but this storyline depicted him at his most brutal. Titled *Death of the Family* – a dark echo of the *Death in the Family* story where he killed Jason Todd – it followed Joker’s return after a year of being on the run from Arkham Asylum. In a shocking turn, Joker willingly let the Dollmaker remove his face, then went into hiding, disfigured and unseen.
When the Joker came back, it was terrifying. He just stormed the police headquarters and killed a bunch of officers, all while messing with Jim Gordon’s head. Then, he announced he was going after Batman’s whole family! This version of the Joker was seriously messed up, so disturbing that Batman actually got into his head and reminded him of who he *was* before everything happened. It was awful, and the Joker just… jumped off a cliff. We all thought he was gone.
2) The Batman Who Laughs
As a huge Batman fan, I’ve come across some truly terrifying Joker variations, but ‘The Batman Who Laughs’ might be the scariest yet. It’s a genuinely disturbing concept – this isn’t just the Joker, it’s *Bruce Wayne* corrupted. Apparently, in a twisted alternate universe, the Joker went on a massive killing spree, taking out all of Batman’s usual rogues and even Jim Gordon. But he didn’t stop there – he blew up a hospital, murdered parents, and then… injected their kids with Joker Venom. It pushed Batman over the edge. He finally killed the Joker, but the Joker’s dying act released a toxin that transformed Batman into a new, even more horrifying version of himself.
While the Joker appeared chaotic and brutal, the Batman Who Laughs was even more dangerous. He combined Bruce Wayne’s intellect with the Joker’s erratic nature, becoming a truly terrifying villain. He killed his entire Bat Family, as well as heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman, and anyone else who opposed him. After destroying his own world, he moved to other universes, attempting to spread his terror until the Justice League of this world managed to stop him. The situation was so dire that Batman even had to reluctantly team up with the actual Joker just to stand a chance.
1) Absolute Joker
Honestly, what scares me the most is that we haven’t even *seen* the truly terrifying version of the Absolute Joker yet! Looking at how horrifying they’ve made villains like Mister Freeze and Killer Croc in this universe, I can only imagine how scary Joker will be. It’s unsettling to remember that when he first appeared, he was actually one of the richest, most normal-looking guys around – it just shows how much darker things are about to get.
Sometimes he seemed like his old self, but there was a sense of something struggling within him. He also had Bane under his control, and had made him even more physically imposing than the version most people know from DC comics. The previews for Joker’s new form suggest he’ll become a terrifying monster, fitting right in with Batman’s other monstrous villains and adding to their frightening reputation.
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2025-10-14 23:41