Summary

• The Joker is aware that comic book readers are watching him, referencing "imaginary fans" and breaking the fourth wall.
• The Joker's nihilistic belief makes him think only he and Batman truly matter in the world of DC Comics.
• By gaining reality-warping powers, the Joker may have cosmic awareness similar to the character Mister Mxyzptlk.

One of DC's most popular villains, the Joker, may be vaguely aware of his own popularity. While most characters are unaware that they are comic book characters, over the years it's been shown that the Joker has shown a disturbing awareness that readers are watching him, and his actions may not actually matter.

Over the years, the Joker has either directly addressed the readers of comic books or at least implied that he knows the world he exists in isn't real. While it could be explained that the Joker is insane and simply doesn't believe himself to be real, there is a concerning amount of evidence that suggests that the Joker knows more than he lets on, including the story "Reality Check" from 2010's Batman 80-Page Giant by Peter Miriani and Szymon Kudranski.

During one interrogation with a doctor trying to find the root of the Joker's insanity, the Joker claims that he has "imaginary fans" watching him and that not everyone is here for Batman. Later, he implies that he's aware of the readers watching him while he's in his cell, even questioning if they're actually imaginary or not.

Joker Calls Out the Existence of Comic Book Readers

Batman 80-Page Giant (2010) by Peter Miriani, Szymon Kudranski, John Kalisz, and Dave Sharpe

DC's comics often expand on the Joker's mentality and the question of why he does what he does. One common theme in Joker stories is his nihilistic belief that nothing really matters. Even Harley Quinn, the Joker's previous therapist, claims that the Joker only views himself and Batman as being truly alive. While this could be because of the Joker's madness, it could also be because he's aware that he and Batman are the only two characters who actually matter in the fiction world of DC Comics. This awareness would also explain why the Joker finds Batman so funny, since he's constantly fighting for change that will never come.

During the events of Superman: Emperor Joker by Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, Joe Kelly, and Doug Mahnke, the Joker gained the reality-warping powers of Mister Mxyzptlk, a trickster character who has expressed cosmic awareness several times. Since he comes from the Fifth Dimension, Mxyzptlk knows about comics and how the world works. When the Joker steals Mxy's powers, there's no reason to assume that he wouldn't also gain this cosmic awareness.

In The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing maxiseries by Matthew Rosenberg and Carmine Di Giandomenico, the Joker makes a huge realization after reading comic books about himself, which breaks the fourth wall. With these moments in mind, readers can put the Joker's actions in an entirely new light and recontextualize both his crimes and his relationship with Batman.

All twelve issues of The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing — which also stars Red Hood — will be available in a single trade paperback, available September 2024 from DC Comics.

Joker Shows His Cosmic Awareness by Knowing He's in a Comic

from Joker's Asylum: Two-Face #1 by David Hine, Andy Clarke, and Rob Leigh

The Joker has shown a few different times that he's completely aware of being a comic-book character. Not only does he refer to comic readers as his "invisible fans" that he needs to entertain, but he also explicitly instructs readers to turn the pages of a comic book to continue through a story in Joker's Asylum: Two-Face #1. In the past, he's also directly interacted with comic pages himself, such as putting his arm through one. All of these events show that the Joker is not only aware of the fact he's in a comic, but also that he's capable of recognizing and directly addressing his fans through the book.

Batman's 80-Page Giant (2010) is available now from DC Comics!