The Joker: Through the years

"Batman: The Killing Joke" (1988)

The Setup: The Joker tries to prove a theory to Batman about the slippery slope of sanity by crippling Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl, and torturing Commissioner Gordon.

The Punch Line: This tale by comic book mastermind Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland may be the most popular Joker story ever, obviously influencing Tim Burton’s first "Batman." While Moore’s Joker is less extreme than Miller’s, his violence is far more personal, painful and eventually senseless. "The Killing Joke’s" impact on DC Comics remains to this day, with Barbara Gordon still confined to a wheelchair and fighting crime with technology as Oracle in the "Birds of Prey" comic book. This tale also features a possible Joker origin based on an obscure 1950s story, dividing fans who either admired it or felt the Joker is best left unexplained.