Besides introducing a more sadistic version of the Riddler, Season 2 of Telltale Games' Batman: The Enemy Within will feature an arguably more eccentric take on the king of all Bat-villains. As "John Doe" follows the player-controlled Batman and Bruce Wayne throughout the game, he will be "watching [their] every move and learning from [their] choices." Ultimately, this will affect each player's version of the Joker, and may even carry over into future seasons.

RELATED: Murphy Promises the Joker Harley Quinn Deserves in Batman: White Knight

This fits well with the villain's multiple-choice background. However, it's also in keeping with the Joker's scattered history. Today we'll examine why the Joker endures, what makes him so popular, and why we're so fascinated with what brought him into being.

The Sign of the Joker

Armored Joker
The Joker kills Jay Wilde, from "Batman" #1 by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson

Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, the Joker first appeared in Spring 1940's Batman issue 1, where he was the villain in two stories. Although he was supposed to die at the end of the second one, editor Whitney Ellsworth saw his potential and had the death "undone" with a brief epilogue. In fact, from Spring 1940 through November 1942, the Joker appeared in Batman issues 1 (twice), 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13, alongside stories in Detective Comics issues 45, 60, 62, 64 and 69. That's sixteen stories in about two-and-a-half years, or one story about every other month. By comparison, Catwoman (also introduced in Batman #1) only appeared in four stories during this period, and one of them was the Joker story in Batman issue 2.

Even with such concentrated exposure, the Joker didn't get an origin story for some 11 years, until February 1951's "The Man Behind The Red Hood" in Detective issue 168. Written by Bill Finger, pencilled by Lew Sayre Schwartz and inked by Win Mortimer, it was a far cry from the character's moody, malevolent introduction. Planted firmly in the "Model Citizen Batman" sub-genre, it made the Caped Crusader a visiting professor at good old State University, and presented the titular mystery as a 10-year-old unsolved crime. The Joker's origin took up most of the last page, where the Harlequin of Hate revealed his background as a "lab worker" who wanted to steal a million dollars and retire. To that end, he had invented a red featureless helmet with a concealed breathing apparatus (helpful in underwater work and gas attacks), reached his goal by robbing the Monarch Playing Card Company, and made his pyrrhic escape through its chemical-waste pipes. That toxic exposure turned his hair green, his skin white and his lips red; and the rest is history.

Joker Neal Adams

Over time the Joker's treatment mellowed, until Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams returned the character to his murderous roots in September 1973's "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" (Batman issue 251). Ever since, the Joker has been a mix of mirth and menace, symbolized by his signature laugh-til-you-die Joker venom and guided by an insatiable appetite for destruction. As Batman (via Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, and Terry Austin) explained in Detective issue 475 (February 1978)'s seminal "The Laughing Fish," "With ordinary men, you might figure some motive – but the Joker's mind is clouded in madness! His motives make sense to him alone!"

Certainly his presence in some of Batman's best-known adventures helped cement the Joker's A-list status. Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley's The Dark Knight Returns (1985-86) imagined that the Joker had a much more intimate connection to Batman. Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke (1988) emphasized the doomed relationship between villain and hero, while Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie threatened to push its title character aside in favor of Jack Nicholson's Joker. Of course, starting with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, Mark Hamill's Joker performance became an instant classic.

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Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn

The Bat-books of the 1950s and '60s were full of stories which explained various aspects of the mythology – everything from curiosities like the Batcave's prior uses to minutiae about, say, Batman and Robin retracing their swings to pick up abandoned Bat-ropes. In that respect the Joker's almost-an-afterthought origin wasn't unusual. Regardless, it's a good thing the Red Hood's last heist turned out to be such an appropriate beginning. It has a number of elements which translate well to any Bat-era. At its center is an ironic twist (a small-time crook wanting just one last score ends up being one of society's greatest monsters); some "Dick Tracy"-style disfigurement; and most significantly, the realization that it's all part of a larger cosmic joke. That last sentiment has unlocked any number of Joker interpretations, since it lets the Joker put himself at the unstable center of a universe which doesn't realize how insane it is. The Joker doesn't have to make sense, because nothing makes sense.

TDK-Ledger-Performance

This perspective is the biggest difference between the Joker and his number-one adversary, since Batman's whole crusade is built around restoring order to an out-of-control world. However, Batman and the Joker are opposites in a number of different ways. Batman takes a scary thing and makes it heroic, while the Joker takes a benign thing (clowns, or at the very least laughter) and makes it scary. Batman's whole schtick is built around becoming a creature of the night, while the Joker is "just a guy" who has given into his worst impulses. Batman's elaborate costume contrasts with the Joker's discolored features and (mostly) gaudy clothes. Bruce Wayne is a child of privilege, but the Joker's previous life was definitely anonymous.

Indeed, Bat-fans can be famously particular about how the Gotham Goliath is portrayed, pooh-poohing years-long "departures" like the '50s sci-fi stories and the '60s TV series – but they are more forgiving when it comes to the Joker. His malleability is a feature, not a bug, reflecting his unpredictability. Again, the difference may be Batman's basic goodness versus the Joker's underlying depravity. Model Citizen Batman was the rule for so long that readers might not want to be reminded of it – he's cool, not square – but the less dangerous the Joker appears, the more uneasy readers might become. (Who knows what could set him off?)

The Joker deserves the Batman!
The Joker stakes his claim, from "Detective Comics" #475 by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin

Thus, the murkiness of the Joker's origins can take a back seat to the Joker's potential for mayhem. This is true for both the Dark Knight movie and the Gotham TV series. Heath Ledger's Joker showed no sign of having been dumped in a vat of chemicals, instead tailoring the story of his scarred visage to fit each new audience. If Gotham's Jerome (played by Cameron Monaghan) turns out to be the Joker, he will have taken a very circuitous path to that point – but similarly, the lack of any chemical-plant visits might not matter. Ledger's Joker especially was such a messy mix of nihilism and caprice that no one cared how he got that way.

At the risk of using too obvious an expression, "The Joker" isn't an accumulation of details, but a state of mind. He is one of the DC Universe's alpha predators, and its ultimate bogeyman to boot. Luthor, Darkseid, Brainiac, Circe and even Ares are impersonal next to him. You'll see them coming, but he could be hiding under your bed. The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor" (written by Paul Dini) involved an ordinary person whose road rage got him on the villain's bad side; and the December 2003-March 2004 Gotham Central arc "Soft Targets" (issues 12-15, written by Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker and drawn by Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano) portrayed the Joker as a terrifying, almost faceless death-dealer. That focus on random citizens may even be more indicative of the Joker's depravity than his equally-brutal attacks on the Bat-family.

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Everybody Loves A Clown (So Why Don't You?)

Regardless, the Joker can also be funny, or even (on rare occasions) charming. Although his relationship with Harley Quinn is more problematic than not, it has softened his image somewhat. Playing him against other villains -- as with the Red Skull in John Byrne's Batman/Captain America or Doctor Hurt in Grant Morrison and Fraser Irving's Batman and Robin – also offers another outlet for his unique perspective. The Joker slips naturally into metacommentary, whether it's monologuing in Detective #476's "Sign of the Joker" or murdering Alexander Luthor at the end of Infinite Crisis. (As Lex Luthor explained to Earth-Three's Alex, his biggest mistake was that he didn't "let the Joker play.") Even when given the bulk of Mr. Mxyzptlk's omnipotence in the Superman books' "Emperor Joker" storyline, the Clown Prince of Crime couldn't bring himself to kill Batman permanently, settling instead for torturing his arch-foe to death on a nightly basis.

Joker-burgers!
The Joker's monologue from "Detective Comics" #476, by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin

Like Batman, the Joker's versatility makes him portable. In the 1950s and 1960s, he and Lex Luthor teamed up regularly to oppose the World's Finest Team. A disguised Joker tricked Snapper Carr into revealing the location of the JLA's Secret Sanctuary (December 1969's Justice League of America #77), which forced the team to relocate. The Joker has fought Superman and Wonder Woman individually; has lent his talents to the Injustice League; and in 2001 took on just about everyone in the Joker: Last Laugh line-wide crossover.

If Batman expresses the reader/viewer/gamer's desire to be cool, calm and collected in the face of impossible odds, certainly the Joker stands for the cathartic value of flipping out. This hardly makes the Joker a role model -- far from it! -- but it does provide a release valve for an otherwise tense situation. You don't get a lot of wit from Two-Face or the Scarecrow, and the Riddler is too in love with his own intellect to crack jokes (funny ones, at least). With the Joker, though, it's required.

He's got a ... fish?
The Joker pulls a fish, from "Mad Love" by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm

Consider the end of The Batman Adventures: Mad Love, the Paul Dini/Bruce Timm graphic novel later adapted for animation. To prove her love for "Mr. J," Harley captures Batman and places him in a Joker-designed deathtrap in order to surprise (and impress) her beau. Unfortunately, when the Joker discovers what she's done, his ego takes a big hit. He erupts in fury, knocking Harley out a window before deciding to kill Batman anyway. Since Batman's on his way to escaping, the resulting melee separates clown and crimefighter. Cornered by the police, the Joker reaches for his gun ... and pulls out a piranha, which had been part of Harley's trap. That punctures the extremely uncomfortable sequence of the Joker shattering Harley's romantic daydreams, not to mention physically assailing her. It doesn't make his actions better, but it highlights the unique tragi-comic balance which is the hallmark of any good Joker story. Of course, Mad Love's funniest moment comes as Batman delivers the final insult: "She came a lot closer than you ever did ... puddin.'"

That one word sums up the Joker's relationship not just to Harley, but to Batman as well. The Caped Crusader uses it as a dagger, slicing straight to his foe's vulnerable self-image. The Joker has just been upstaged by his significant other; and while sexism undoubtedly enters into it, no one upstages the Joker. Batman understands this all too well, relying on his familiarity with the Joker's massive ego both to convince Harley that she's been played and to give him the edge in their current fight.

... Puddin
Batman gets the Joker's goat, from "Mad Love" by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm

"Puddin'" also touches off a rare moment of the Joker losing control, which sounds counterintuitive for a character who personifies chaos. See, the Joker's real secret is that his personality is just as much a cultivated performance as Batman's is. He's always been a planner, from Henry Claridge's murder in Batman #1 through The Dark Knight's byzantine plots and right up to the present. The Joker's role in the summer's two Dark Days big-event issues hinges not on his madness giving him some special insight, but on his knowing more than the heroes do. Again, in his own special way he's fully aware of how the universe works. He just chooses to use that knowledge for very unsavory purposes.

Indeed, the Joker's one constant through the ages (aside from his appearance) has been his intellect -- because that's all he truly needs. Who he was no longer matters next to what he became. The Joker refuses to be second to anyone, or dependent upon anyone, with his Bat-battles (win or lose) only confirming his lofty place in the world.

The Joker endures because he refuses to fade away. He is every outsized impulse anyone ever had, stuffed into a green-haired, white-skinned, maniacal package and animated by the certainty that his is the only viewpoint which matters. That combination makes for a character which has proven irresistible to creators and fans alike. As long as there is a Batman, there will be a Joker -- and that guarantees a very long run.

What do you think makes the Joker (and his background) so popular? Let us know in the comments!