The Joker is one of the most iconic villains in comic book history. Since his debut in 1940, the Joker has bedeviled the Dark Knight and many other heroes. His brand of insanity makes him unpredictable enough to allow him to challenge even the most powerful heroes. He's also been copied many times over, becoming an archetype for a certain kind of mad clown villain.

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Much like Batman, DC has created many Joker-style villains. Surprisingly, so has Marvel. The Big Two have often copied each other, especially with their popular characters. The House of Ideas has used the Joker as a clear inspiration for plenty of characters, even if they've gone their own way eventually.

8 Madcap Is Joker With Superpowers

Madcap looms over victims in a storm in Daredevil comics

One of the Joker's only drawbacks is the fact that he doesn't have superpowers. He's smart and tough, but one punch from Superman or anyone else superpowered is all it takes to beat him. Madcap didn't have that problem, but he does have many other similarities to the Joker. Both of them are insane villains who believe that life has no meaning and commit crimes that they find hilarious.

The only difference is that Madcap has superpowers. He can control the emotions of those around him, allowing him to infect them with his madness. He also has a healing factor that lets him survive any injury. There was a time when he was part of Deadpool's body, driving the already crazy anti-hero to new levels of insanity.

7 Mister Sinister Has Been Very Joker-Esque For Years Now

Mister Sinister from Powers of X

Mister Sinister is one of the X-Men's deadliest foes, and at first glance, it would be impossible to see any Joker in his DNA. However, since Kieron Gillen's Uncanny X-Men run in the early 2010s, he has had a completely different demeanor than the one he had for years before. Sinister has since become an insane trickster, putting on a show of acting like a loon while trying to fulfill his plans.

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It's a more interesting portrayal than how he was before, as the Sinister of the past was just an evil geneticist. While it's hard to say if Gillen purposely patterned his version of Sinister after the Joker, without a character like the Joker, the humor and sadism of Sinister would be extremely out of place.

6 Arcade Has The Circus Motif And Death Traps Down

Arcade with Mister Sinister and a minion

The X-Men face a lot of dangerous villains. Many of them are extremely powerful, though some aren't. Arcade is one of the latter but no less deadly, instead, depending on circus-inspired death traps. He's also known for his giant smile, old-timey suits, and love of violence and the suffering it causes to those he's paid to go after. While his status as a mercenary is much different than Joker's more chaotic method of doing things, he's very much influenced by the Joker.

Arcade is so influenced by the Joker, their suits are cut the same. He shares the Joker's love of death as well, and the two would definitely have a fine time if they ever met. That is, until they decided to try to kill each other, as both of them are only as trustworthy as one would expect from murder-obsessed psychopaths.

5 Bullseye's Entire Demeanor Is Joker Inspired

Bullseye as a member of the Thunderbolts in Marvel Comics

Bullseye and the Joker have some stark differences, but that doesn't change just how similar they are in other ways. Bullseye is much more martial than the Joker, and his ability to turn anything into a deadly weapon and fighting skill make him a deadly foe. He's also usually someone's minion, rarely working on his own. The Joker is tough but not a skilled fighter, and he's always out for number one, rarely if ever working for anyone unless he had to.

However, both characters take a gleeful approach to murder and mayhem, and each serves as the opposite for a themed vigilante. Bullseye's entire personality is cut from the same cloth as the Joker, and it's made him a better villain.

4 Sabretooth Is Wolverine's Joker

Sabretooth Growling Looking Fierce

Sabretooth is another character with many differences from the Joker but is still pretty clearly inspired by him. Sabretooth is a sadist who enjoys nothing more than tormenting his foes, something that the Joker has made into a science. Much like the Clown Prince of Crime, Sabretooth has also been known to crack terrible jokes during battle, smiling the whole time as he slaughters every foe in his way.

Sabretooth and Wolverine are opposite sides of the same coin, brutal men who stand on different sides of what to use their violent natures for, much like the Joker and Batman. Each of them is a grave challenge to their sworn enemy while being known to branch out and fight other heroes as well.

3 The Jackal's Joker-Like Tendencies Came Out More Upon His Return

Miles Warren as The Jackal in a lightning storm in Marvel Comics

The Clone Saga is one of Spider-Man's most infamous stories, and one of its main architects is the Jackal. The Jackal created the Spider clones Ben Reilly and Kane, among many others, and gave himself superpowers with his genetic experiments. His original portrayal was as a stereotypical Bronze Age villain, but when he came back, he was fully insane in the Joker mold.

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He made jokes constantly, took glee in the suffering of others, and basically did all the Joker things. The only difference is he was a geneticist, not a gangster. This became his default setting ever since, a cackling psychopath who likes to use elaborate schemes to torment and kill his enemies. The Jackal is the Joker with a PhD.

2 Deadpool Is Joker As A Superhero

Deadpool Hero Respect

Deadpool has a reputation for being funny, and that's where he and the Joker converge on the Venn diagram. Deadpool's original portrayals were as a more stereotypical villain with a bit of a sense of humor, but later writers would fully embrace his insanity. His whole life became non sequiturs and corny jokes, as well as the kind of ultra-violence that opened even more avenues for his twisted sense of humor.

In a way, Deadpool is basically what would happen if the Joker was a superhero. Joker would totally be the kind of hero who killed everything in his way and cracked jokes the whole time, the carnage making him enjoy things all the more. While Deadpool embraces his pathos more than Joker does his own, the two are otherwise quite similar.

1 Green Goblin Is Marvel's Biggest Joker Rip-Off

Spider-Man Green Goblin Revelations

Green Goblin and the Joker are almost completely alike. They're two insane chemists who wear green and purple and fight vigilantes who swing through cities. The only real difference between the two is Green Goblin's superpowers and his status as a wealthy person. Otherwise, Green Goblin is the most blatant example of Marvel using the Joker as inspiration.

One could argue which is the better villain, but the point would be moot. Green Goblin's epic battles against Spider-Man are often just as memorable as Joker's against Batman, and both villains have proven more than just interesting foils for one hero. Green Goblin used his similarities to the Joker to become as iconic as the Clown Prince of Crime.

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