Sherlock Holmes had Professor James Moriarty. The Montagues had the Capulets. Ahab had Moby Dick. Batman has Joker; a rivalry so intense and so ingrained into literature that it stands as tall or even taller than the classic fictional battles that we all know and love. The Dark Knight Detective and the Clown Prince of Crime, two sides of the same coin constantly spinning in the air as we all hold our breath and wait to see which side fate comes down on.

RELATED: The 10 Worst Things The Joker Did In Batman: The Animated Series

For 80 years, these agents of order and chaos have battled it out across the four-color page, breaking out into animation and live-action and becoming more important to the world than their creators could have ever imagined. Some of the battles between these two have been comedic, while others have been downright deadly. These are the 10 greatest battles between Batman and Joker, ranked...

10 The Joker's Five-Way Revenge

The Jokers Five Way Revenger

After being turned into a joke on the 1960s Batman TV series, Dennis O'Neil wanted to remind people just how frightening Joker could be. In Batman #251, "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge", readers quickly learned to stop laughing at Batman's greatest foe when the green-haired maniac set out to kill the five men who ratted him out.

Throughout the story, Batman finds himself one step behind the Joker as four of the five men are horribly murdered in different ways. When Batman finally catches up to Joker, he is forced into a death trap in order to save the fifth man. Luckily for that fifth guy, Batman is good at what he does and is able to rescue him. This story brought Joker to a new level of darkness not seen before, and it was only the beginning.

9 Sign of the Joker

Joker holding his "laughing fish" while facing Batman from Detective Comics #475

One of the most loved Joker stories, "Sign of the Joker" finds Batman and Commissioner Gordon chasing Joker as he kills city officials who refuse to let the madman copyright his chemically altered "Joker Fish". Not only are Batman and Gordon unable to save bureaucrat Thomas Jackson from Joker's schemes, they don't even realize that Joker is hiding out as a Gotham police officer until he attacks Batman.

RELATED: The Joker's 10 Most Hilarious & Deadliest Masterplans Of All Time, Ranked

As Batman and Joker battle it out across a construction site during a storm, the Dark Knight finds himself on the losing side. For every move Batman makes, Joker has a counter. When Joker uses his trusty acid flower to cut the cable holding the girder both men are on, Batman is just barely able to jump off before falling to his death. In what can only be explained as an act of God, the girder is hit by lightning, electrifying Joker and sending him into the ocean below.

8 Mask of the Phantasm

One of the most brutal fights between Batman and Joker resulted in The Dark Knight trying to save his enemy's life. Andrea Beaumont, wearing her Phantasm costume, tracks Joker to the long-abandoned Gotham World of the Future Fair and plans to kill him. The battle between Batman, Joker, and Phantasm leaves the fair in flames, the Phantasm missing, and Joker with less teeth. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm gave fans the knockdown drag-out fight between Batman and Joker they had longed to see. The fight, and the movie, quickly became a classic.

7 Endgame

When Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's "Endgame" started, readers had no idea just how wild it would get. The duo had already made Batman history by introducing the Court of Owls and taking the Joker's vileness to a new level with "Death of the Family" but nothing could prepare fans for what came next.

In "Endgame" Batman and Joker have what could well have been their final battle as the Clown Prince poisoned all of Gotham, leading to a bloody battle between the two rivals in the Batcave. Batman and Joker beat one another to a point of no return, falling into the deepest crevasses of the Batcave where they both are unable to get back up. Together, Batman and Joker wait to die.

6 No Man's Land

Batman No Mans Land Joker

For most of No Man's Land, a story that sees Gotham cut off from the United States after a major earthquake, Joker lies in wait. As Batman and his crew work to save Gotham, the Clown Prince keeps to the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When Gotham seems to be finally saved, Joker knows it's time for him to make an appearance.

When Joker kidnaps the babies that were born during the year of No Man's Land, everyone goes on the hunt for him. It is Sarah Essen, the wife of Commissioner Gordon who finds Joker. Sarah has Joker in her sights but can't shoot him because he is holding a baby. When Joker throws the baby, Sarah drops her gun to catch it. That's when Joker kills her. He then patiently waits for Commissioner Gordon to show up, knowing that he has won.

5 The Dark Knight

Heath Ledger as Joker in The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight, the second film in Christopher Nolan's groundbreaking Batman trilogy gave new and old fans a Joker like none they had seen before. Heath Ledger's Joker quickly became an iconic take on the classic character, and for good reason. Ledger's Joker was frightening in his simplicity, and deadly in his actions. Unlike past live-action Jokers, this one isn't jumping about or looking to get rich. This is a Joker who has one goal; to cause chaos. He is the antithesis of Batman, driving the most shining light of Gotham - Harvey Dent - mad, and killing Rachel Dawes, the woman Batman loved.

4 Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker

Tim-Drake-as-the-Joker-in-Batman-Beyond-Return-of-the-Joker.v1

As soon as Batman Beyond, the animated series set in a future where Bruce Wayne is too old to be Batman, began airing, fans had one question; what happened to Joker? The show's creators would keep the answer hidden from us all until Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, a straight to video movie that shocked everyone.

In the story, we see that long ago Joker had captured Tim Drake and tortured the young Robin, brainwashing the boy and turning him into, for lack of a better name, Joker Jr. As Batman, Batgirl, and Nightwing arrive to save Robin, the now insane Boy Wonder shoots and kills Joker. Joker died, but his final act would destroy the Bat-family.

3 Dark Knight Returns

Batman-Joker-Dark-Knight-Returns

Frank Miller's iconic The Dark Knight Returns showed readers an older Batman pulled out of retirement when his city needs him most. And with the return of Batman, the return of Joker soon follows. Joker's reign of terror begins when he kills everyone at the taping of a late-night talk show, and ends at an amusement park where Batman tracks him down.

The final battle between Batman and Joker happens in the Tunnel of Love of all places and ends with a badly beaten Batman watching as Joker breaks his own spine, killing himself in a way to make it look like Batman did it so that the world will think the Caped Crusader has finally gone too far. The Joker is dead, but he gets the last laugh.

2 The Killing Joke

In what is arguably the most controversial Batman story ever told, The Killing Joke sees a tired Batman hoping to bring a peaceful end to his long-running war with Joker, only to find the Joker taking things to the next level of madness. Joker arrives at the home of Commissioner Gordon where he shoots Barbara Gordon, better known as Batgirl, shattering her spine, and takes the Commissioner as his plaything.

RELATED: The Joker's 5 Most Tragic Origin Stories (& 5 Most Hilarious Ones)

Batman tracks Joker to an amusement park and frees Gordon, who makes it clear that no matter what, Joker must be brought in alive "to show him our way works". What follows is a fight not only between Batman and Joker, but one in Batman's mind as he struggles to live up to Commissioner Gordon's wishes.

1 A Death in the Family

Batman holding the lifeless body of Jason Todd in his arms in DC Comics Death in the Family

A crowbar, a bomb, and a maniacal laugh all lead to the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin, at the hands of the Joker. Unable to save his sidekick, Batman is driven to the edge but is unable to bring the Joker in for the murder, as Joker is given diplomatic immunity after he is made a spokesperson for Iran. Of course, this is Joker, so you know he'll only use his newfound immunity to cause more chaos, and that's exactly what happens when he tries to blow up the United Nations.

NEXT: 5 Best Versions of The Joker (& The 5 Worst)