Of all of Joker’s schemes, his plan to ruin Superman‘s life is definitely one of his most impactful in DC Comics. In Joker: Last Laugh #5 there is a nod to a classic comic, as well as a hint at a future event. This reference implies that even in the main DC Universe, Joker has been planning to carry out his darkest scheme all along – it could just be a matter of when.
Lois Lane and Superman’s romantic bond is undeniable. They are one of the most popular couples in all of comics and have been for decades. Joker comes between the two of them in the 1996 Elseworlds story Kingdom Come, which has the creative team of Mark Waid, Alex Ross, and Todd Klein. In one of the Joker’s most evil acts, he kills Lois Lane and the rest of the staff of The Daily Planet. This leads to Superman distancing himself from the world and the world of superheroes being altered by Magog killing the Joker following this. This occurrence implies that terrible things happening when Superman loses Lois – and Joker wants it to happen.
In Joker: Last Laugh #5 from 2001, the Joker is told that he will die as a result of a brain tumor. The comic has the creative team of Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty, Ron Randall, Gina Going, Digital Chameleon, and Willie Schubert. With the news that he is dying, Joker makes a to-do list, which Batman finds and shows to the Justice League. With nothing to live for, the Clown Prince of Crime’s list includes chaos-inducing actions to take – as well as a few mundane ones. What may surprise fans is his second to last to-do item: kill Lois Lane.
In the 2013 video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, which eventually spawned a few comics and a sequel, Superman is tricked into killing Lois by the Joker. This leads Superman to become a dictator that the Justice League must take down. These events occur in an alternate universe, but this to-do list implies that Joker has had this scheme in the works in the main universe as well. This is not an isolated thought he has only had in a couple universes. He has likely had it in most of them and it is listed as his final action. This is rather ironic considering Batman is most frequently the subject of his obsession and machinations. Instead of targeting his classic nemesis last, he plans to throw the biggest curveball he can at the entire world by destroying Superman’s life.
By including it at the end of his list, Joker is proving that his true endgame is to unleash the wrath of Superman, which would effectively ruin everyone’s life, including Batman’s. In this particular instance, there also wouldn’t be very many consequences for him. He already believes he’s dying, so he wouldn’t have to fear Superman or any other hero. Luckily, it turns out he isn’t actually dying and he is stopped before he can achieve this part of his plan. However, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t ever attempt it later on. Should his life ever be nearing its actual end in the main timeline, the DC Comics universe has a lot to fear since the Joker is willing to take the step needed to break Superman for good.
