Jokermobile

The Jokermobile (also referred to as Joker-Mobile and Joker Mobile) is a specially designed automobile used by DC Comics supervillain Joker. The Jokermobile debuted in Batman #37 (October 1946), and was created by Jerry Robinson.

Jokermobile
The Jokermobile on the cover of Batman #37 (October 1946), art by Jerry Robinson.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceBatman #37 (October 1946)
Created byJerry Robinson
In story information
TypeVehicle
Element of stories featuringJoker
Batman

Publication history

20th century
The first design of the Jokermobile from Batman #37 (October 1946), art by Jerry Robinson.

The Jokermobile made its comic book debut in Batman #37 (October 1946),[1] in which Joker was fed up with Batman's superior gadgetry that played a role in foiling his criminal plots and so decided to build a series of Joker-themed gadgets, like the Jokermobile, for example, his own themed vehicle, similar to Batman's Batmobile.[2] The vehicle had some features that allowed the Joker to perform feats that not even the Batmobile could, such as creating a plank path to go through chasms and large holes. In addition to being white in color to resemble the Joker's skin, the Jokermobile was equipped with machine guns at the rear and front and was also bulletproof. However, this version of the vehicle was soon deactivated after Batman captured the Joker.[3]

In Batman #52 (April 1949), Joker began using a second Jokermobile, designed as a Silver Arrow race car. Aside from having the Joker's face on the front, it is unknown if this version had any features like its predecessor.[4] In World's Finest Comics #61 (November 1952), the Joker designed a third Jokermobile, which he used to move around Gotham City; he did not use this vehicle for any criminal activities in particular.[5] Shortly afterward, the Joker returned to the first model of the Jokermobile in World's Finest Comics #88 (June 1957), and used it during his alliance with Lex Luthor in Metropolis.[6] In The Joker #4 (December 1975), Joker then used the Jokermobile during his short-lived crime spree in Star City, where he kidnapped Dinah Laurel Lance (the second Black Canary). He was eventually stopped by Green Arrow, who caused the Joker to crash the Jokermobile on the Archway Bridge. The front of the vehicle was damaged, but it could still function.[7] After that, Joker traveled to Wisconsin with the Jokermobile.[8]

After a long period of inactivity, the Joker used his vehicle in Batman #321 (March 1980), to kidnap Commissioner Gordon and lure Batman into a trap.[9] In The Brave and the Bold #191 (October 1982), the Joker then used his vehicle to get Batman's attention and stun him with a giant boxing glove that emerged from the trunk.[10]

21st century

The Jokermobile was retired in Gotham City Sirens (December 2009), when Joker started dating Harley Quinn. Eventually, he took it out for one last round per Harley's pleading, though it was permanently retired after he shot some teenagers for making fun of him in it.[11]

In the "Joker War" storyline, Joker acquired the codes to the bank accounts of Batman's billionaire alter ego Bruce Wayne, which allowed the villain to steal the hero's fortune and resources, including a fleet of Batmobiles that he converted into Jokermobiles, in turn used by the Joker's henchmen to commit crimes and wreak havoc on Gotham.[12] One Jokermobile in particular was used by the Joker for his own personal transport, this being a stretch SUV painted purple and with graffiti around it; Joker described its design as "the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen" before admitting that he loved the vehicle. Unlike previous Jokermobiles, this one was not driven by the Joker, but rather by a private driver, who took him to Ace Chemicals.[13]

In other media

Television

Films

Video games
  • The Jokermobile is a playable vehicle in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham and Lego DC Super-Villains.[16][17]
  • A variant of the Jokermobile is featured in Batman: Arkham Knight. During the game's climax, Scarecrow injects Batman with a large dose of his fear toxin, causing the hero to hallucinate that he becomes the Joker and kills his other enemies (including Two-Face, Penguin, and Riddler) using a "Jokerized" version of the Batmobile.[18]
  • In Batman: The Enemy Within, the vehicle is a car that "John Doe" steals whilst bringing Bruce Wayne to meet the Pact. If the player's choices influence John to become Vigilante Joker, he transforms the car into the Jokermobile, akin to Batman's Batmobile. In a fight with a Venom-powered Bane, the player can choose to have Batman ram it into him. Later in the episode, he, James Gordon and Tiffany Fox can inspect the Jokermobile for clues to Joker's whereabouts after he kidnaps Amanda Waller.

See also

References
  1. King, Samantha (March 12, 2021). "Batman Inspired The Joker To Make His Own Batmobile". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  2. Sawan, Amer (October 10, 2021). "Batman's Weirdest Villain Found a Way to Go Faster Than the Batmobile". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  3. Kistler, Alan (October 12, 2019). "15 Joker stories that are just wickedly fun". Polygon. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  4. Bill Finger (w), Bob Kane and Lew Sayre Schwartz (p). "The Man With the Automatic Brain!" Batman #52 (April 1949). DC Comics.
  5. Whitney Ellsworth (w), Al Plastino (p). "Superman's Blackout!" World's Finest Comics #61 (November 1952). DC Comics.
  6. Edmond Hamilton (w), Dick Sprang (p). "Superman's and Batman's Greatest Foes!" World's Finest Comics #88 (June 1957). DC Comics.
  7. Elliot S. Maggin (w), José Luis García-López (p). "A Gold Star for the Joker" The Joker #4 (December 1975). DC Comics.
  8. Martin Pasko (w), Irv Novick (p). "The Joker Goes 'Wilde!'" The Joker #5 (February 1976). DC Comics.
  9. Len Wein (w), Walt Simonson (p). "Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker...!" Batman #321 (March 1980). DC Comics.
  10. Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn (w), Jim Aparo (p). "Batman and the Joker: Only Angels Have Wings" The Brave and the Bold #191 (October 1982). DC Comics.
  11. Davidson, Chris (July 30, 2018). "20 Crazy Abilities The Joker Likes To Keep Hidden". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  12. Morrison, Matt (September 18, 2020). "The New Jokermobile is The Joker's Most Ludicrous Yet". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  13. Gaber, Nabeel (September 15, 2020). "Batman: Joker War Reintroduces Gotham's Most Notorious Vehicle". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  14. "DC COLLECTIBLES GOES FULL THROTTLE AT SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON WITH BIG 2018 REVEALS". DC Comics.com. DC Comics. July 20, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  15. Sarner, Lauren (December 3, 2015). "The Joker Mobile: A Brief History of the Cool Car Batman Doesn't Drive". Inverse. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  16. Lego DC Super-Villains [@LEGODCGame] (September 10, 2014). "The Joker really knows how to travel in style. #LEGOBatmanGame #Batman75" (Tweet). Retrieved February 11, 2022 – via Twitter.
  17. Michael, Jon; Claiborn, Samuel (November 15, 2018). "Vehicles". IGN. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  18. Graeber, Brendan; Petty, Jared; Taylor, Joel (November 3, 2016). "Batmobile Skins". IGN. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
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