It may come as a surprise to some newer readers, but the Joker wasn't always the Batman's greatest arch-nemesis. It wasn't until decades after his debut that the Joker became the cultural icon he is today - before, he'd just been a mad clown with a penchant for puns. Now, he is everything Batman isn't - and that's what makes him such an amazing character.
Despite his slow start, the Joker still has hundreds of issues worth of history, and choosing the villain's top moments out of so many stories can't be easy. That didn't stop DC from trying, and the publisher just released the Top 7 Joker Moments of All Time:
To be honest, the entire list could have been filled with moments from The Killing Joke: for years, the graphic novel has served as the definitive Joker story. The final scene between Batman and the Joker, Barbara being paralyzed, Jim Gordon's trip through hell, Joker's 'origin' story - The Killing Joke is quintessential Joker material, no question.
That doesn't mean that the rest of the choices are off - far from it. The dinner scene from "Death of the Family" is one of the most unnerving and gruesome Joker moments ever (even if the final reveal is a little tame), while the murder of Jason Todd is an absolute classic. The list does a good job of covering the wide varieties of Joker fans have seen throughout the years; even the Joker's death from The Dark Knight Returns, despite being such a wildly different interpretation of the character, fits in rather well on the list.
Were it not for the spoilers, the list could actually serve as a great reading list for anyone looking to catch up on the Joker's best stories. Even so, it's a pretty encompassing retrospective on Gotham's greatest villain - and why fans love him so much.
