DC Finally Reveals the Origin Story of Absolute Joker

In astir versions of the Batman mythos, Joker's origins volition everlastingly stay shrouded successful enigma and conjecture. His past volition everlastingly beryllium aggregate choice. But the aged rules don't needfully use successful DC's caller Absolute Universe. Absolute Batman has reinvented the Dark Knight and his satellite successful a fig of ways, and the aforesaid holds existent for the Clown Prince of Crime.

Lately, writer Scott Snyder and his collaborators person been fleshing retired the root and quality of Absolute Joker. Read connected for a afloat breakdown of who helium is, however helium roseate to power, and wherefore this mentation of Joker transforms into a literal monster.

Warning: Beware of full spoilers for Absolute Batman #15 and Absolute Batman: Ark-M #1 ahead!

Absolute Joker's Origin Revealed

In Absolute Batman #15, Agent Alfred Pennyworth decides to yet uncover everything helium knows astir the mysterious figurehead of JK Industries - a antheral he's been tracking crossed the globe for the past 3 years. First, Alfred recounts the sanitized mentation of events. Joker is Jack Grimm V, the descendant of a agelong enactment of palmy businessmen who tally the planetary conglomerate JK (Just Kidding) Industries. The archetypal Jack Grimm was a puerility thoroughfare performer who made a luck disconnected the vaudeville circuit. Subsequent heirs expanded the household concern to encompass television, telecommunications, and video crippled hardware. Jack Grimm V is present 1 of the wealthiest men successful the world, and 1 of its astir generous philanthropists.

Art by Sanford Greene. (Image Credit: DC)

But that's acold from the full story. As helium researched Jack Grimm and JK Industries, Alfred discovered that the institution has been backing acold little noble endeavors, too. Essentially, Jack Grimm and his offspring person been backing some sides successful galore planetary conflicts, getting affluent disconnected manipulating everyone. If Jack Grimm is simply a clown, he's the benignant that laughs astatine humanity.

Then Alfred reveals the genuinely acheronian secrets he's managed to uncover. Countless concern rivals and different associates of the Grimms person vanished implicit the years, with Alfred assuming that they were murdered. Worse, Alfred has travel to fishy that the Joker is the archetypal Jack Grimm. There are nary sons. Instead, Jack achieved immortality done immoderate unholy fusion of subject and achromatic magic, utilizing the humor of infants to substance his eternal youth.

Art by Jock. (Image Credit: DC)

As these tales play out, we spot Jack Grimm question to 1 of the galore distant islands helium owns crossed the globe. He stalks his mode done the jungle until helium finds a lone subsister who's been trapped connected the land for 3 decades. The antheral is terrified upon recognizing the antheral who imprisoned him determination and tries to flee. It's past that Jack - the antheral who ne'er laughs - yet lets escaped and transforms into a cackling, demonic monstrosity. As Alfred notes, by the clip you perceive the Joker laugh, it's already excessively late.

Jack past returns location to Gotham City, observing Batman successful enactment and past returning to his palatial mansion. He's greeted by his faithful butler, telling the antheral that he's already eaten and he'll beryllium spending the nighttime successful "the cave." More than ever, it's wide that Absolute Joker possesses each the skills and luxuries that Batman usually has. He's the worldly billionaire and concern tycoon with each the grooming and exertion wealth tin buy. And he's besides a baby-devouring immortal demon for bully measure.

Absolute Joker and Arkham Asylum

In the Absolute Universe, alternatively than having a accepted mentation of Arkham Asylum, Gotham City has a secretive situation installation dubbed Ark-M. It's 1 of galore Arks controlled by JK Industries crossed the planet. But arsenic revealed successful Absolute Batman: Ark-M Special #1, determination truly was an Arkham Asylum once. It was created successful the precocious 1800s by Dr. Amadeus Arkham, a antheral who sought to emergence supra puerility calamity and attraction for society's astir unfortunate members.

As recorded successful his journals, Dr. Arkham's astir terrifying diligent was a antheral known lone arsenic Jack Doe. This bloodthirsty diligent is intelligibly meant to evoke the Joker successful some quality and temperament. Even arsenic helium tries to rehabilitate Jack, Arkham besides comes to attraction for an orphaned lad who arrives connected his doorstep covered successful blood. The lad is the 1 ray of airy successful his adoptive father's life, an optimist who perpetually reminds him, "Tomorrow is simply a caller page, Father." That optimism remains adjacent aft the lad survives a near-death brushwood with Jack Doe.

Art by Joshua Hixson. (Image Credit: DC)

More calamity strikes erstwhile Jack and a fig of different prisoners escape. Amadeus' lad is among those murdered successful the deadly jailbreak. Amadeus does his champion to way Jack's movements afterwards, theorizing that helium goes connected to perpetrate the unspeakable Jack the Ripper murders successful London.

Years later, an aging Amadeus meets with a prospective purchaser for his failing asylum. The purchaser is keenly funny successful his recollections of the lad and of Jack Doe. They question to the basement wherever Jack and his conspirators tunneled their mode retired of the asylum, and the purchaser notes that the walls person been re-bricked successful 2 places, not one. He past whispers a connection successful Amadeus' receptor - "Tomorrow is simply a caller page, Father." and leaves.

Art by Joshua Hixson. (Image Credit: DC)

Distraught and confused, Amadeus uncovers the 2nd bricked transition and discovers the decayed assemblage of Jack Doe. He realizes acold excessively precocious that it was his ain lad who orchestrated the breakout and faked his ain death. Amadeus despairs astatine the thought of the evil helium helped escaped upon the satellite and burns his asylum to the ground. All the while, the antheral we present cognize is Jack Grimm watches and smiles.

Teasing Absolute Deathstroke

Absolute Batman: Ark-M #1 ends with a large tease for the aboriginal of the Absolute Batman series. The mounting flashes guardant to the present, with Jack Grimm having transformed the ruins of Arkham Asylum into the state-of-the-art Ark-M facility. Jack is again observing Batman, portion his bodyguard, Slade Wilson, offers to instrumentality attraction of the problem.

Art by Joshua Hixson. (Image Credit: DC)

Jack knows that Batman is nary lucifer for the mighty Deathstroke. But alternatively than unreserved that peculiar confrontation, helium opts to escaped a fig of Ark-M trial subjects to spot however they fare against the Dark Knight. That lineup includes the Absolute versions of Man-Bat, Poison Ivy, Hugo Strange, Scarecrow, Clayface, and Mad Hatter. Expect each of these villains to enactment successful appearances successful upcoming issues of Absolute Batman, starting with Poison Ivy.

The contented ends with the afloat uncover of Absolute Deathstroke, an assassin who appears to beryllium much instrumentality than antheral astatine this point. It's painfully wide that Batman has his enactment chopped retired for him if he's ever going to get to the constituent of battling Joker directly.

What bash you deliberation of Joker's caller root communicative successful the Absolute Universe? Let america cognize your thoughts successful the comments below.

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Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.