Before the mantle of “Red Hood” was taken up by the resurrected Jason Todd, DC’s chaotic uber-villain Joker was the first to go by that name. As DC plans to further explore Joker’s relationship to the Red Hood moniker, now is the perfect time to look back on exactly on Joker’s earliest days as the Red Hood, and his connection to the Red Hood Gang.
Detective Comics #168 – by Bill Finger, Lew Sayre Schwartz, Win Mortimer, and George Roussos – first exposed the origin of the Joker. In the story, which features Batman being invited to a university to be a guest instructor, the Caped Crusader speaks about the only crime he ever failed to solve.
One of the few criminals to escape Batman was a man known as the Red Hood, who dived into a vat of chemicals to escape Batman and Robin. The man was never caught, but this very issue revealed that the same man would later go on to become the Joker.
The 10 Best Joker Origin Stories From The Comics
Every time the Joker tells his own origin story, it’s a new story. But what are the most interesting backstories that DC comics has explored?
Joker’s Origin Is Inexorably Tied To The Red Hood
The Red Hood Gang has been a consistent part of the Joker’s backstory in one way or another. The first version had the future Joker as a lab worker who robbed his place of work; when his crime attracted Batman, the criminal dove into the chemicals to escape. This transformed him into the Joker, and was the character’s first official origin; ever since it’s been a recurring part of his history. This story was referenced once again in The Killing Joke, with the story changed to Joker being a failed comedian who agrees to help rob his former place of work, only to once more fall into a vat of chemicals.
This story was retold in the New 52‘s Batman #0 – by Scott Snyder, and Greg Capullo – which depicted Batman at the start of his career, trying desperately to defeat the Red Hood Gang, which was led by Red Hood One. The rest of the gang were middle or upper-class individuals, blackmailed into joining the gang by Red Hood One. Red Hood One didn’t seem to care for wealth or fame, wanting only to spread chaos to show people how the world was meaningless. He was eventually defeated while planning a chemical attack on the city of Gotham, but instead of being captured, he once again fell just out of Batman’s reach.
Joker Can’t Forget His Red Hood Origins
At this point, it is unclear exactly what effect DC bringing back the Red Hood Gang will have on the Joker’s current storylines, but one thing that remains clear is that no matter how much Joker evolves, or what he accomplishes, he always ends up repeating his Red Hood origin in one way or another. Joker is a character who constantly re-invents himself and allows writers to play with the very idea of whom, and what, the Joker truly is – or isn’t – is at his core, but as the Red Hood Gang appears once more, it’s clear Joker will never truly escape his connection to them.
Readers can expect the return of the Red Hood Gangs in Batman #142, on sale February 6, 2024 from DC Comics!
