One of the many things that Batman: The Animated Series did well was to explore the various villains of Gotham City in new, exciting ways without overdoing any one character, leading to amazing stories featuring villains like Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, and of course, The Joker.
Mark Hamill first voiced the iconic Clown Prince of Crime and launched his career as the preferred animated Joker over four seasons and a few films set in the continuity of Batman: The Animated Series, and he committed quite a few awful crimes that we'll be taking a closer look at today.
10 KIDNAPPED GOTHAM POLICE ON CHRISTMAS
One of the more light-hearted crimes committed by the Joker occurred in "Christmas With The Joker," which takes place on Christmas Eve as Batman and Robin settle down after a quiet night to watch It's a Wonderful Life.
Of course, the recently escaped Joker interrupts the broadcast with his own show for the Dynamic Duo, who were then raced to save the lives of Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Bullock, reporter Summer Gleason, and Gotham City while Joker entertained by singing everyone's favorite wrong lyrics to "Jingle Bells."
9 BRAINWASHED COMEDIANS INTO VILLAINS
In his final appearance before the series was revamped as The New Batman Adventures, Joker used the Mad Hatter's tech to brainwash a number of comedians who had previously laughed him off-stage at a competition before he was the Joker.
The comedians were set to judge a new comedy competition before Joker turned them into supervillains like the Condiment King, PackRat, and Mighty Mom so he could take the stage again and steal the trophy.
8 DUMPED A MOBSTER INTO A VAT OF ACID
"The Man Who Killed Batman" introduced Sidney Debris AKA Sid the Squid, the luckiest mobster alive who managed to "kill" Batman, make a fool of the Joker, and bust mob boss Rupert Thorne before he retired large in prison.
The Joker did not react well to Sid the Squid's accidental defeat of Batman (who was secretly tailing Sid for a drug bust) and subsequent rise in infamy in Gotham's underworld, so he attempted to off Sid the Squid by dumping his coffin into a vat of acid after a very touching funeral, which was of course interrupted by Batman.
7 KICKED HARLEY OUT OF HIS GANG
Batman: The Animated Series featured the very first appearance of Harley Quinn before her increasing popularity brought her into the comics as well. Harley worked alongside the Joker for a few episodes until "Harley & Ivy," when he literally kicked her out of the gang.
This was just another in a series of abusive moments from the Joker in his relationship with Harley Quinn, and when she began to find success alongside new BFF Poison Ivy, he returned to manipulate Harley and attacked both of them before they all were returned to Arkham.
6 POISONED GOTHAM CITY ON APRIL FOOL'S DAY
Joker has released his patented Joker Venom in various ways over the course of the series, but one of the worst came in "The Last Laugh," which saw Joker use a floating garbage barge to dispense a strain of Joker Venom that turned Gotham City into laughing maniacs.
This was a fitting crime at the time as it was April Fool's Day, and Joker used the chaos to loot the city with the robotic Captain Clown before they were stopped by Batman, who then cured Gotham City before any citizens died.
5 TORMENTED AND NEARLY SACRIFICED A CIVILIAN
"Joker's Favor" introduced the character of Charlie Collins, an average everyman who manages to anger The Joker while driving, so the Clown Prince proceeds to tail and harasses him before running poor Charlie off the road.
Joker lets Charlie live in exchange for a favor sometime down the road, which he cashes in two years later when Joker attempts to bomb an awards ceremony for Commissioner Gordon. Charlie manages to contact the Batman and despite Joker leaving him there to die, "Chazz" is able to turn the tables on his tormentor.
4 KILLED ANDREA BEAUMONT'S FATHER
Batman: The Animated Series became so popular it received a full-length film that released in theaters. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm introduced the new titular villain while also exploring the first moments of Bruce Wayne's life as a vigilante.
This also introduces former love interest Andrea Beaumont, whose father was murdered by the mob. One of the big surprises of the film comes when Joker is revealed as the mobster who killed Andrea's father, forcing her to leave Gotham City and Bruce Wayne behind.
3 PLANTED A BOMB AT A KID'S BIRTHDAY PARTY
After Joker takes offense to comments made by Mayor Hill that said Batman and Joker were "cut from the same cloth," Joker replaced the hired clown at the birthday party for Hill's son, where he planted an exploding candle in the cake.
The cake was luckily pushed into the pool by a "clumsy" Bruce Wayne, however, Hill's son Jordan had run away with the Joker. Joker trained him as his apprentice before Jordan discovered his identity and refused to let Batman die in a trap.
2 THREATENED GOTHAM CITY WITH A NUKE
While "Harlequinade" stands out amongst the rest of the series for the hilarious team-up between Harley Quinn and Batman, the new Dynamic Duo is only brought together after the Joker stole a nuclear weapon from an underworld auction.
The Joker then used the bomb to hold the Mayor and Gotham hostage, though he was always planning on blowing up the city. While Harley quickly turned on Batman and Robin, she would rejoin them to stop the Joker after realizing he would have killed her in the blast as well.
1 CORRUPTED TIM DRAKE INTO THE JOKER
The worst thing Batman: The Animated Series' Joker ever did actually happened in the direct-to-video movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, which mostly took place in the future of the DC Animated Universe's continuity.
As revealed in the film, Joker's dark final act was to kidnap Tim Drake/Robin (who first appeared in The New Batman Adventures) and torture him psychologically, turning him into a young Joker. When Joker called on his new young apprentice to shoot the Batman, Tim instead chose to shoot and kill the Joker, but he retained the mental brainwashing.