Joker (character) Joker (character) The Joker is a fictional supervillain created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson who first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book "Batman" (April 25, 1940), published by DC Comics. Credit for the Joker's creation is disputed; Kane and Robinson claimed responsibility for the Joker's design, while acknowledging Finger's writing contribution. Although the Joker was planned to be killed off during his initial appearance, he was spared by editorial intervention, allowing the character to endure as the archenemy of the superhero Batman. In his comic book appearances, the Joker is portrayed as a criminal
Modern Age of Comic Books in comic books. This also led to an avalanche of other comic book adaptations which included previously lesser known Vertigo titles, notably "Constantine" (based on the comic book "Hellblazer") and "V for Vendetta". In the mid-1970s, Marvel antiheroes such as the X-Men’s Wolverine, the Punisher, and writer/artist Frank Miller’s darker version of Daredevil challenged the previous model of the superhero as a cheerful humanitarian. Miller also created Elektra, who straddled the conventional boundary between love interest and villain. Two artistically influential DC Comics limited series contributed to the trend: "," also by Frank Miller and "Watchmen" by Alan Moore and