Summary

• Heroic versions of the Joker offer a surprising twist for readers, subverting the familiar and delighting comic book fans.
• Some alternate versions of the Joker show him as a crimefighter, working tirelessly to better society and protect humanity.
• The Joker's complex character is reimagined in various ways, from being cured of insanity to becoming Gotham's chief of police.

Few comic book characters are as villainous and seemingly irredeemable as The Joker – which makes it surprising that so many heroic versions of the character have appeared in DC's Multiverse over the years. As exciting of an antagonist as Joker is, it is often fun for writers and readers alike to explore alternatives.

Different creators have taken different approaches to heroic versions of the Joker, but at its core, making the Clown Prince of Crime into a crimefighter is a way of subverting the familiar in a way that surprises and delights longtime comic book readers. While the Joker may be one of the worst villains Gotham has ever seen, on a surprising number of planets and alternate futures, he's one of the best heroes that Earth has – and these iterations of the character are often surprisingly among the most exciting to grace the pages of DC Comics.

10 The Joker Is Cured Of His Insanity By Radiation

Superman: Distant Fires – Written By Howard Chaykin; Art By Gil Kane

Distant Fires featured a post-apocalyptic version of DC's Earth, where the planet ended up being completely decimated by missiles that rained down, with the majority of the population being killed by this horrific event. While it's no surprise major characters like Wonder Woman and Superman survived thanks to their powers, one surprising survivor was the Joker.

Not only did he survive the apocalypse, but the radiation seemingly cured him of his insanity.

Not only did he survive the apocalypse, but the radiation seemingly cured him of his insanity. Subsequently, Joker worked tirelessly to try and better the lives of all remaining survivors, using his brilliance for invention by trying to create an electric generator from scratch. While the Joker once used these talents to torment, in the alternate future of Distant Fires, he became one of humanity's greatest hopes.

9 The Joker Becomes Gotham's Chief Of Police

Batman #59 – Written By Bill Finger; Art By Lew Sayre Scwhartz

While there's no doubt that the Joker is evil, it's not like the evil inside of him is genetic. This was best proven during a classic Golden Age story, when Batman and Robin met one of the Joker's descendants. After capturing the Joker during another one of his crime scenes, Batman got the idea that if he could go back in time and study Joker's ancestors, he might be able to find a cure for the Joker's madness.

While Batman and Robin asked their friend to send them into the past, he accidentally sent them one hundred years into the future. It was here that Batman and Robin met the strange Rekoj, the chief of police in Gotham City. While the Joker's madness isn't genetic, his looks apparently are, as Rekoj still looked identical to the Joker.

8 Joker Becomes The New Protector Of Gotham City

Batman: I, Joker – Written By Bob Hall & Illustrated By Bob Hall

Batman is a legend in Gotham City. It's something that Bruce has worked very hard to cultivate over the decades. If criminals think Batman is more than just a man, they're much more likely to second guess the choice to commit a crime. This was a great idea on paper, but something Batman didn't for was how his legacy would be carried into the future. In the dark twisted future of Batman: I, Joker, a cult that worships Batman took root in Gotham City.

Every year, someone had to defeat a person who has been brainwashed and surgically altered to look like one of Batman's classic foes.

Every year, someone had to defeat a person who has been brainwashed and surgically altered to look like one of Batman's classic foes. This didn't work out one year, when a man named Joe was captured and made to look like Joker, but he kept his memories. Eventually, Joker was able to bring down the cult, and went on to protect Gotham City as the new Batman.

7 Tangent Joker Was An Anarchistic Vigilante, Rather Than A Villain

Tangent Comics: Joker #1 – Written By Karl Kesel; Art By Matt Haley

Tangent was an alternate universe where writers were free to explore different versions of the Joker. This version of the Joker was a female, and despite being an anarchist, she was still very much a vigilante and a hero. When a character named Brother Power tries to use the Joker's popularity and apparent belief system to whip a crowd into a frenzy to rise up and destroy society, Joker actually interjects and calms the crowd down, making sure everyone knows that's not what she wants.

This Joker's past is eventually revealed as a survivor of the Cuban Missile Crisis which destroyed the southeastern part of America. While there was a monument built to those who died, it was eventually paved over, and the Joker appeared out of fury at a society that forgot those who died.

6 The Jester Was An "Alignment Reversed" Version Of Joker

Justice League #23.4 – Written By Geoff Johns; Art By Sterling Gates, & Szymon Kudranski

With so many different Earths in DC's Multiverse, it's no surprise that one planet is the exact reverse of the Earth fans know and love. On this Earth, everyone who is a hero is a villain, and everyone who is a villain is a hero. One of the most brutal villains in this world is Owlman, who rules Gotham with an iron fist and works closely with the corrupt police department.

While nearly everyone else has submitted to this rule, one man known as the Jester does everything in his power to disrupt Owlman's rule. This includes spreading chaos throughout Gotham City, and while some innocent people are often caught in the crossfire, that's a tragedy that Jester always deeply regrets, unlike his main Earth counterpart. The Jester truly wanted to free Gotham from Owlman, and he was one of the few characters willing to stand up and try.

5 Another Version Of Earth-3 Meant Another Heroic Joker

Countdown #32 – Written By Paul Dini; Art By Tony Bedard & Keith Giffen

The DC Multiverse gets shifted around a lot. Planets appear and disappear and are remade all the time. Because of this, there have been a few different iterations of Earth-3, and each one has had a heroic version of the Joker. Both versions were victimized by Owlman though. The Jester was purposefully dropped into the vat of chemicals that transformed him by Owlman and the Jokester suffered a similar fate. A failed comedian, the Jokester just couldn't get any jokes to land.

This changed when Jokester made Owlman the target of his act. Jokester was suddenly the most popular comedian in town, as he was the only one brave enough to stand up and say what everyone was thinking about Owlman. This wouldn't last, as Olwman would murder Harley Quinn and then scar Jokester's face by cutting his mouth open. This pushed Jokester to become a vigilante, specifically fighting against Olwman.

4 The Smiling Bat Was A Joker Who Took Up The Mantle Of Batman

Outsiders #3 – Written By Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly; Art By Robert Carey

One of the more surprising reveals from DC over the years was Dimension Batman. A pocket dimension that every Batman from the Multiverse eventually visits while sleeping. It's here that they're able to compare plans and contingencies and share tactics with one another. Hundreds of Batmen gather here, all unique and all different from one another. One of the Batmen who stood out the most though was definitely the Smiling Bat.

The only clue to his history is the fact his design is very similar to that of the Joker in the video game Arkham City.

His history is unknown, but he is quite literally just a Joker who wears Batman's cowl and utility belt. The only clue to his history is the fact his design is very similar to that of the Joker in the video game Arkham City. Perhaps this Joker was infected with Batman's blood and slowly became Batman, instead of the reverse that happened in the video game.

3 One Joker Even Became Batman's Sidekick, Serving As Robin

Batman: Last Knight On Earth – Written By Scott Snyder; Art By Greg Capullo

One of the darkest worlds in the Multiverse that readers have seen explored was in Batman: Last Knight On Earth. After the death of Superman, the human population turned on all superheroes and ended up destroying the planet. After Batman awakens in this destroyed world, he has to piece together exactly what went wrong, and who is left to save. This is made easier by the surprising help of the Joker. During his journey, Batman discovers the decapitated head of the Joker, who is still very much alive.

During his journey, Joker provides much-needed information about the state of the world now and how everything fell apart. With only Joker as his companion, the two surprisingly start to bond, and by the end of the story, the Joker is a full-fledged Robin, working together with Batman to rebuild society.

2 White Knight Joker Was The Hero Gotham Needed

Batman: White Knight – Written & Illustrated By Sean Gordon Murphy

In the universe of White Knight, the Joker was a terrifying criminal and a monster, and after going too far one day, he was brutally beaten by Batman and forced to swallow a random assortment of pills. Surprisingly, instead of simply killing the Joker, it actually cured him of his madness. From here, Joker became a respected and powerful member of the Gotham Government, and one of the first things he did was try to bring down Batman.

Not out of any sense of revenge or even hatred, but because Batman was legitimately out of control and was doing more harm than good to Gotham City. This version of Joker ended up saving Gotham numerous times, not just from Batman, but from a few other villains who tried to destroy the city as well. Without this Joker, the White Knight version of Gotham would've been destroyed long ago.

1 Joker Became The Sanest Man On Earth

Action Comics #1062 – Written By Jason Aaron; Art By John Timms

When Bizarro unleashed powerful magic to reverse the alignment and attributes of everyone on Earth, this had the unforeseen side effect of making the Joker the sanest man on Earth. While everyone else was driven mad and became villains, the Joker was the only one left who could help Superman. It's important to note that this isn't a different version of Joker from another Earth. This is the same Joker that ruined so many people's lives and haunted Gotham for decades, but with his insanity reversed, Joker was transformed into one of Earth's last heroes.

At the end of it all, it was actually the Joker who managed to defeat Bizarro. He was able to use his hyper-sanity to create an argument that was so empathetic and kind, that it inspired Superman to keep fighting, even after he thought he lost everything and was mentally broken by Bizarro.