Next to nothing is known about Batman's greatest enemy, except that he operated as an enforcer/hitman for various crime bosses before becoming the "Clown Prince of Crime." The Joker first encountered Batman during a botched robbery at the Ace Chemical Factory. He escaped by leaping into a drainage vat of chemical waste, but later discovered the toxins bleached his skin chalk white, dyed his hair fluorescent green, and stretched his lips into a hideous, permanent red grin. It's not hard to understand why such a transformation snapped his already unstable mind.The Joker's methods are simple: gain pleasure in breaking every law and moral stature known to man. More importantly, he makes the crime funnier by playing a game of cat and mouse with Batman. Joker views every crime, infliction of pain, and murder as the ultimate joke -- mocking Batman. Joker's trademarks are his razor sharp playing cards and the laughing gas Smilex, a chemical that infects his victims with the same ghastly grin as his own.
Extremely intelligent despite his lunacy, the Joker often accesses information within Gotham City that should only be available to government officials and the police. His only real motive is bringing Batman as close to the edge as possible. Joker strives to outdo Gotham's other villains as well, for if they have the honor of doing Batman in then he has no purpose. To The Joker Gotham is merely a stage on which he performs.
