Joker is a fictional character (villain) appearing in comics published by DC Comics and in movies related to the Batman character. He was created by Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger, and Bob Kane, and first appeared in Batman vol. 1 #1 (spring 1940). He was inspired by the character of Gwynplaine (Conrad Veidt) from the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs, which was an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel L’homme qui rit. The Joker is the primary antagonist of Batman and his allies. Resembling a clown or a comedian, the Joker is a psychopathic serial killer with a sadistic sense of humor, although in comics published in the 1950s and 1960s under the then-existing comic book censorship, he was portrayed more as a character inclined to make malicious jokes than to commit brutal crimes. He is also known as The Clown Prince of Crime, Red Hood, Jack, Joseph “Joe” Kerr, Clem Rusty, Mr. Rekoj, Jack White, or Jack Napier.
He is also known in numerous animated series, feature films, and computer games about the adventures of the Dark Knight. Joker first appeared on screen in the 1960s TV series, played by Cesar Romero. In the Batman movie, his role was played by Jack Nicholson. Actor Mark Hamill provided the voice of the Joker in the Batman: The Animated Series and in the Batman: Arkham series of video games. Heath Ledger played the Joker in The Dark Knight, and Jared Leto played him in Suicide Squad. In the TV series Gotham, the pre-Joker character Jeremiah was played by Cameron Monaghan.
Wizard magazine named the Joker the greatest super-villain of all time.