14 best and worst retcons in comic book history

Three Jokers

The Joker’s story was a mystery for years. Then, Batman: The Killing Joke was released. We see that Joker wasn’t always a vile, murderous man with an obsession. He was a struggling comedian with a pregnant wife. An unfortunate incident involving some criminals leads to him becoming the Joker. In Batman: Three Jokers, the idea changed.

Batman: Three Jokers gave readers three different versions of the Clown Prince of Crime. One of them killed Jason Todd. The second was serious and it hurt him to laugh. The third was the one who survived (and possibly the comedian from The Killing Joke). Leaving him to be the final and true nemesis to Batman.

Comic book retcon rating: Good

Part of what makes Joker interesting is the mystique. No one knew who he was before he became a lunatic. The only thing for certain is that he was crazy and had a fixation with the Dark Knight. Batman: The Killing Joke took some of that away and somehow managed to add more.

The idea of the surviving Joker means we don’t know which one he is. We don’t even know if he was created by the original or if he is the original. Joker’s back to his old tricks in Joker with James Gordon (written by James Tynion IV). Hopefully it stays like this. Not everything in comic books needs an explanation.