While he’s as far from heroic as anyone could ever be, even the Joker has a chance at becoming a hero with the help from one of the Green Lanterns’ lesser-known rivals. The Indigo Tribe were once the most mysterious light bearers in the Emotional Spectrum, but a revelation shows how the Clown Prince of Crime is a suitable candidate for their ranks.
There are few forces in the DC Universe that are as chaotic and monstrous as the Joker. His disregard for life in the name of humor showcases the deviant mind that makes him one of the cruelest members of Batman’s rogue’s gallery. Few supervillains have the capacity for true evil as much as the Joker does, and yet there are those in the world who believe he’s not beyond help. One such organization that wouldn’t give up on the Joker is the Indigo Tribe. The strange collective wields one of the seven main lights that make up the Emotional Spectrum. Just as the Green Lantern Corps is fueled by willpower, the Indigo Tribe is built on compassion and instead of using their light to police the universe, they simply want to aid as many souls as possible.
While little was known about the Tribe for years, Hal Jordan discovered the Indigo Lantern Tribe’s dark origins in Green Lantern #9 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke. It turns out that Jordan’s predecessor, Abin Sur, helped create the Tribe as an alternative means of punishing the worst criminals in the galaxy. By forcing the light of compassion on those inducted into the Tribe, its members are instantly overwhelmed with empathy. Even the most hopeless villains can be turned into caring individuals, such as the Tribe’s leader, Iroque aka Indigo-1. Even a few of Hal Jordan’s greatest enemies were members of the Tribe. Black Hand and Sinestro were forcefully inducted and the Lantern witnessed firsthand the compassion they displayed. The purple light of compassion is quite similar to Larfleeze’s orange light of greed, where those exposed to it find themselves experiencing radical personality changes. But the Indigo Tribe’s light can have a positive effect, shown when Indigo-1 is temporarily freed from its influence and finds herself changed for the better.
Despite how rarely it comes up, the Joker has shown the capacity for regret over the crimes he’s committed. Joker once admitted that he wanted to fix the world to Superman. There was also when the Spectre reactivated Joker’s conscience in The Spectre #51, the criminal nearly went catatonic over the lives he’s taken. It might not be the most conventional method of rehabilitation, but otherworldly methods have shown that they work on Joker, and for a community built on the worst killers in the DC Universe, he’d fit right in with the Indigo Tribe. Would the Joker immediately be hailed as a heroic figure? Perhaps not, but there’s no doubt that he’d be a much better person.
He may never make it as a Green Lantern, but the Joker does have a shot at redemption by joining the Indigo Tribe.
