The Joker’s Real Name Is Revealed By DC
A recent DC comic finally reveals the secret identity of The Joker.
This article is more than 2 years old
One of the prevailing mysteries of DC Comics since the early days of superheroes battling it out with supervillains is that birth name of the Gotham villain Batman. Many fans know that Bruce Wayne is Batman, that Superman embodied a mild-mannered Earthling by the adopted name of Clark Kent, and so on. But some of the most famous comic book characters only have a persona to cling to rather than a birth name of relevance. One of those characters is The Joker, often described in the comics and media adaptations as Batman’s biggest enemy. But it seems that The Joker’s real name has never indeed been confirmed until now.
According to a report by ComicBook.com, The Joker’s real name has been revealed to be Jack Oswald White. This revelation is based on the newest edition of the DC comic Flashpoint Beyond #5. The comic book is created by Geoff Johns, Jeremy Adams, and Tim Sheridan, with illustrations by Eduardo Risso, Xermanico, and Mikel Janin. It is a limited series that runs through next month. In the fifth issue, “The Clockwork Killer: Chapter Five,” Psycho-Pirate is compelled to give up The Joker’s real name, which is explained for the first time since the character was created in 1940 to be Jack Oswald White. This is a new acknowledgment from DC as up until this point, The Joker’s mystique partially came from keeping his name a secret, at least in the comic book versions.
Several iterations of The Joker have made their way onto television and film, each with a unique take on the character’s real name, or lack thereof. Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has voiced the character in Batman: The Animated Series, which ScreenRant reports is marking its 30th anniversary this year. That series began in response to the growing popularity of Tim Burton’s 1989 film adaptation, Batman, which starred Michael Keaton as the caped crusader and Jack Nicholson as The Joker. In the movie, The Joker’s real name is Jack Napier, setting the scene for DC to keep using “Jack” as the villain’s first name. However, as this was made up for the movie, the source material didn’t follow the movie’s example.
Since then, Heath Ledger famously took on the role of The Joker for The Dark Knight, winning an Academy Award posthumously. As of 2019, actor Joaquin Phoenix played the role of Batman’s ultimate enemy, although Joker focused heavily on a fictional character named Arthur Fleck, who became The Joker later on in the film after a series of unfortunate events. IndieWire reports that a musical sequel of Joker is in production entitled Joker: Folie à Deux, and audiences will see Phoenix reprise his Academy Award-winning role of Arthur Fleck alongside Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. Although in these newer iterations, The Joker’s real name has been changed several times, it will be interesting to see how fans of the character react to his real name being Jack Oswald White.
