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It’s really hard to name a villain more popular than the Joker. The Joker has had his own comics and practically dominates Batman’s comics, which has led to DC having a serious Joker issue – in that he’s used far too much. But thankfully, there’s a simple solution.
The Joker has always been a standout among Batman’s villains due to just how perfectly unique he is. When the Joker first appeared in comic books, at the time, the average comic villain was either a mobster or a mad scientist. There weren’t really any other villain archetypes.
The Joker completely blew this trope out of the water by not only being a brightly and garishly dressed character sporting ghost white skin, a purple jacket, and neon green hair, but he was also a serial killer. Instead of being motivated by money or insane inventions, he simply wanted to kill and cause chaos.
People Wanted to See More and More of Him…
The Joker has evolved a lot over the years. He went from being a serial killer with a unique look, to someone who specifically leaned into the clown theme for his murders, to a goofy prankster, and finally to a genocidal maniac. This versatility makes the Joker an incredible character in the hands of a good writer. The Joker can fill nearly any role that a creator wants. While that’s fantastic for the character, it’s not been great for his oversaturation problem. When the Joker starts showing up in a story about Bizarro and Superman, as he did in Action Comics in early 2024, it’s time to admit that DC has a Joker problem.
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I’m so over the gore-fueled, nihilistic Joker that relies on shock value, and I’m officially begging DC to bring back the best version of the villain.
The other issue is that the Joker is such an iconic character. It seems that every creator who gets put on Batman just can’t wait to tell their Joker story. If a new writer takes over Batman, it’s honestly just a waiting game until the Joker shows up. While this desire to write one of the most iconic comic book villains of all time is certainly understandable, it’s still only contributing to this oversaturation problem. As unfortunate as it may seem, the only solution to DC’s overuse of the Joker is to simply stop using him.
The Joker Needs to Go Away for a While
Either By Dying or Something Else Entirely
DC refuses to actually let go of the Joker. After the events of Joker War, an event led by writer James Tynion IV and artist Jorge Jiménez, Batman and the Joker parted ways. The Joker disappeared from Gotham City, and he stayed gone for several years. Batman and the Joker did not have any interactions for a few years. This seems like the right step, but the Joker never actually went away from DC’s publishing line. While he wasn’t interacting with Batman, the Joker was simply given his own comic series, again by Tynion, which ran for fifteen issues over two years. Not only that, but Batman and the Joker continued interacting in Elseworlds stories.
DC feels they need to keep the Joker in the spotlight because he’s a big character.
While the Joker was technically out of the Batman book, it never actually felt like he was gone because he was still everywhere – likely because DC knows just how popular he is and absolutely refuses to let that popularity dilute in any way. DC feels the need to keep the Joker in the spotlight because he’s a big character. If he’s not around, the company could risk diminishing his popularity, and that wouldn’t be wise. But the oversaturation is leading to people who used to be fans being outright tired of seeing the character now.
Back in the day, the Joker used to be just another member of Batman’s rogues gallery. It wasn’t unusual to see the Joker interacting with Mr. Freeze, the Penguin, or even Clayface. He was just one of the many costumed supervillains that Batman fought. But after killing Jason Todd and after starring in Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, the Joker’s popularity has simply grown and grown. This made him stand out from Batman’s villains and made him far more popular.
The Joker Was Expertly Used by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo
When DC launched a new continuity with the New 52, a lot of characters were changed. Not everyone was happy with the changes, but one of the things that was definitely done right was how the Joker was used in the New 52. When the Joker showed up around this time, it was treated as an apocalyptic event. The story treated the Joker appearing as literally the worst possible thing that could ever happen. This method worked so well that the Joker only showed up twice during this era: in Batman: Death of the Family and Batman: Endgame, both major arcs from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on Batman.
Looking for an even more unique take on the Batman mythos by Scott Snyder? Check out Absolute Batman #1 by Snyder and Nick Dragotta, available now from DC Comics.
If DC refuses to give the Joker a break and to stop using him entirely, then the next best thing is to at least use him sparingly. The Joker is just about everywhere in comics, and it’s no longer important when he shows up. Even the Absolute Universe’s version of Joker, a brand-new version of the character, is only mildly interesting to some fans because, at the end of the day, it’s still just the Joker. The Joker doesn’t need to be in more stories; he needs to be in fewer stories where his appearance really counts for something.
The Solution to the Oversaturation of the Joker Is So Simple…
Just Stop Using Him for a Little While
The Joker is a great character, but running a great character into the ground with oversaturation is never a good idea. DC has even seen this with Batman himself. While Batman is one of the most popular comic book characters in history, DC has been rightly criticized for mostly publishing Batman comics. It’s not uncommon for there to be four or five Batman comics released in a single week. That dwarfs literally any other DC character, even Superman. Cutting down on the Joker isn’t going to diminish his popularity; he just needs to be used as a special event.
It’s too late to undo the changes to the Joker’s popularity. DC decided a long time ago that the Joker was Batman’s biggest and greatest villain. There’s no putting that clown back in the jack-in-the-box – which is fine, but DC needs to start using him in a grander way. The Joker can’t keep showing up every other month with a new storyline that nearly wipes Gotham City off the map. That narrative is really losing its charm, and the only way to fix this is to once again make the Joker showing up in Gotham a special occasion that really gets fans excited.
Readers can see the Joker done right in Batman (2011), available now both digitally and in collected editions from DC Comics!
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