The Joker

"Jesus: See, judge, I don't know you -- well, actually, I do know you. When you were six years old, you decided to be a judge 'cause you wanted to put The Joker away, once and for all. Now, I know you're not a bad person, your honor. But you're not putting The Joker away. You're putting away poor people. Stop destroying families and children. Stop the privatization and profiteering of human struggle. You got the opportunity to do the right thing, right now, your honor, and gain the favor of your creator and mine, god, up in heaven. When you were young, you wanted to help people. It's not too late, bubbles."

"Oh, well...I suppose the Joker's holiday had to end some time!"

"You really want to know what it feels like to be the clown at midnight? Where there's only ever one joke and it's always on you? Well, here you are. Now do you get it?"

"I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices – it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh. I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath – someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts."

"Batman (1989 film)"

"Both of us trying to find meaning in a meaningless world! Why be disfigured outcast when I can be a notorious Crime God? Why be an orphaned boy when you can be a superhero?"

"(as he is being led to his execution as part of his master plan) "So this is the famous Last Mile, eh? Don't cry, boys...this will hurt me worse than it'll hurt you! Ha! Ha!""

"You actually believed that all it would take is a few chemicals, a couple of days in drug-induced isolation and a cheap little nervous breakdown and you'd have me all figured out? Like there was some rabbit hole you could follow me down to understanding?"

"The Dark Knight - Joker"

"Bill Finger and I created the Joker. Bill was the writer. Robinson came to me with a playing card of the Joker. That's the way I sum it up. [The Joker] looks like Conrad Veidt — you know, the actor in The Man Who Laughs, [the 1928 movie based on the novel] by Victor Hugo. [...] Bill Finger had a book with a photograph of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, 'Here's the Joker'. Jerry Robinson had absolutely nothing to do with it, but he'll always say he created it till he dies. He brought in a playing card, which we used for a couple of issues for him [the Joker] to use as his playing card."

"They've given many origins of the Joker, how he came to be. That doesn't seem to matter—just how he is now. I never intended to give a reason for his appearance. We discussed that and Bill [Finger] and I never wanted to change it at that time. I thought—and he agreed—that it takes away some of the essential mystery."

"Joker (2019 film)"

"It's a clear choice -- me or Pettit. Vote or die. Cancer or tuberculosis."

"You can't kill me without becoming like me! I can't kill you without losing the only human being who can keep up with me! Isn't it IRONIC?"

"Oh, Batman, if you had the guts for that kind of fun you would've done it years ago. I, on the other hand..."

"(when asked if he will really reform) "Of course not! My business will go on as usual...the important thing is that I'll be free! The Joker shall die so that he may live again!""

"[Trying to patent "jokerized" fish]"But the fish share my unique face! If Colonel What's-His-Name can have chickens, when they donť even have moustaches-- And you deny this to me!""

"The real joke is your stubborn, bone deep conviction that somehow, somewhere, all of this makes sense! That's what cracks me up each time!"

"(to Judge Drake) "You can't win anyway... You see, I hold the winning card!""

"(As Nightwing pummels him) "Aw... Jeez... I hit Jason a lot harder than that. (Pause) His name was Jason, right?""

"Gotham TV Series (2014 - 2019)"

"Incels are individuals who express frustration from perceived disadvantages to starting intimate relationships. Incel extremists idolize violent individuals like the Aurora movie theater shooter. They also idolize the Joker character, the violent clown from the Batman series, admiring his depiction as a man who must pretend to be happy, but eventually fights back against his bullies."

"Batman: The real Batman never talked to you much, did he? That's probably why you were so fixated on him."

"Alfred: With respect, Master Wayne, perhaps this is a man you don't fully understand either. A long time ago, I was in Burma. My friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones, but their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So we went looking for the stones, but in six months, we never met anyone who traded with him. One day, I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The bandit had been throwing them away."

"Bill Finger knew of Conrad Veidt because Bill had been to a lot of the foreign films. Veidt ... had this clown makeup with the frozen smile on his face (classic). When Bill saw the first drawing of the Joker, he said, 'That reminds me of Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs. He said he would bring in some shots of that movie to show me. That's how that came about. I think in Bill's mind, he fleshed out the concept of the character."

"Joker: Folie à Deux"

"Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker"

"Every clown loves kids, captain. Just ask Sarah-Essen-Gordon. Oh, that's right, you can't!"

"If the police expect to play against the Joker, they'd better be prepared to be dealt from the bottom of the deck!"

"I'd like to bet you have no idea what you're dealing with... I bet, double or nothing, Batman crawls out of that shallow grave with his faculties intact and hunts you down like the dogs you all are. Did anyone think to examine Exhibit A?"

"(To Harley as he turns her into a Constellation) "You get the best seat in the house for Armageddon. Say goodnight, Harley. I always wanted to see my dame in lights. Heh. Even in a moment of abject saccharine, I still got it.""

"(discovers that he has killed Batman) "I can't believe it. He's... he's actually gone. Let's take a moment to reflect on the passing of a man who was more than just another do-gooder in tights. He was the best arch-nemesis a sociopath could ask for. [pauses a bit, then...] Okay, let's do it again!" [brings Batman back to life]"

"If I weren't insane: I couldn't be so brilliant!"

"What good is my money? Can I spend it like other people? No! Can I go to movies and ball games? No! The only way I can leave this hideout is in disguise... I'm doomed to a living death... [gets a epiphany] Death!... Now that may be a way out for me... That's it... The Joker must die!"

"Reclaimed from the dead! All crimes paid for! The slate wiped clean! The Joker is free! Ha! Ha!"

""Obvious...And everybody knows. You wear your shame like a badge, because you don't have the balls to actually pin one on.... Yes... Just look at you... Desperate to be feared, you want to be perceived as a monster, draped in black... And yet... You leave that little window... A glimpse at the perfection underneath. OBVIOUS; The chiseled jaw, the mouth of a monster... Why do you let it be seen? Tell me why...... - Joker"

""Devil is double is deuce, my dear doctor ... and joker trumps deuce." Batman #681"

""Live...and in person! The Caliph of Clowns, the Grand Mogul of Mountebanks, the One and Only JOKER! Prerecorded for this time zone." - The Sign of the Joker"

""You really want to know what it feels like to be the clown at midnight? Where there's only ever one joke and it's always on you? Well, here you are. Now do you get it?" - Batman #681"

""You think it all breaks down into symbolism and structures and hints and clues. No, Batman, that's just Wikipedia. You actually believed all it would take is a few chemicals, a couple of days of drug-induced isolation and a cheap little nervous breakdown and you'd have me all figured out? Like there was some rabbit hole you could follow me down to understanding?" - Batman #681"

""Hello Late-Show lovers...and lovers of the Late-Show!" - The Laughing Fish"

""One by One, they'll hear my call. Then this wicked town, will follow my fall." - Batman: The Man Who Laughs"

"" The real joke is your stubborn, bone deep conviction that somehow, somewhere, all of this makes sense! That's what cracks me up each time!" - Batman #681"

""You can't kill me without becoming like me! I can't kill you without losing the only human being who can keep up with me! Isn't it IRONIC?" - Batman #663"

"(to Batman) "Quick question: When the clock strikes twelve, do I get a little kiss?" - Batman: The Long Halloween"

"I have been witness to genius in the area of this criminal endeavor. ... The kidnapping of the mayor. The crippling of the city on numerous occasions. Oh, and my glorious abduction of the commissioner and his daughter. MASS MURDER, MAIMINGS, TORTURE AND TERROR! I'VE DONE IT ALL, LADY! YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE EINSTEIN OF CRIME! Sticking some poison on the back of some postage stamps, lady? Amateur night in Dixie. Simple as that."

""Both of us trying to find meaning in a meaningless world! Why be a disfigured outcast when I can be a notorious Crime God? Why be an orphaned boy when you can be a superhero?" - Batman #663"

"And he didn't die all at once. It was hours before the screaming stopped. I almost didn't get to sleep that night. That was the last time I'd used crushed glass..."

"And who is this pure fool? Lo, in the sagas of old time, legend or scald, of bard, of druid, cometh he not in green like spring? O thou water thou art air, in which all complex is resolved! Oh, yes! Fill the churches with dirty thoughts! Introduce honesty to the White House! Write letters in dead languages to people you've never met! Paint filthy words on the foreheads of children! Burn your credit cards and wear high heels! Asylum doors stand open! Fill the suburbs with murder and rape! Divine madness! Let there be ecstasy, ecstasy in the streets! Laugh and the world laughs with you!"

""If I weren't insane: I couldn't be so brilliant!" - Dreadful Birthday Dear Joker"