He’s Batman’s greatest nemesis and Gotham City’s resident Clown Prince of Crime, but what is the Joker’s real name? As it turns out, that’s a complicated answer and depends on whom you ask – whether it be the people at Warner Bros. or DC. That said, let’s take a look at the times in which Mr. J’s true identity has been revealed to the world.
Tim Burton’s Batman Introduced The Joker As Jack Napier
In Tim Burton’s Batman, Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson) becomes the Joker after falling into a vat of acid. Introduced as one of Carl Grissom’s (Jack Palance) goons, Napier works his way up the mob’s ranks to establish himself as a fearsome and ruthless hitman. His downfall, though, is starting an affair with Grissom’s partner, Alicia Hunt (Jerry Hall). After Grissom finds out, the crime lord orchestrates an event at Axis Chemicals where he plans for a corrupt police officer to kill Napier. However, Napier ends up in a scuffle with Batman that sees him fall into the acid and come out disfigured. Later in the film, it’s revealed that Napier was the gunman responsible for the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne.
The legacy of Jack Napier lived on, though. An episode of Batman: The Animated Series reveals it to be Joker’s real name, while the same alias features in The CW’s Batwoman series. In addition, Sean Murphy’s Batman: White Knight comic book series mentions Napier as the name the Ace of Knaves takes after leaving behind a life of crime.
Joker Says His Name Is Arthur Fleck
Todd Phillips’ Joker plays around with different elements of DC and Batman canon. In this film, though, the man who becomes Joker is known as Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). The character dreams of becoming a renowned and celebrated stand-up comedian; however, he snaps after a series of events and people laugh at him for all the wrong reasons. The film reveals that Fleck was adopted by Penny Fleck (Frances Conroy), so it leaves another question mark about what his real birth name could be.
At the same time, Joker shows that Fleck is an unreliable narrator with many events proving to be inaccurate or his own unique interpretation of what’s taking place around him. Who’s to say that Arthur Fleck is even his real name? Much like in Batman: The Killing Joke, this version of the villain likes to change his story whenever he feels like it, so no one can be sure what’s the truth here.
DC Insists He Has The Same Name As The White Stripes Frontman
DC’s Flashpoint Universe flips everything upside down as Bruce Wayne dies, Thomas Wayne becomes Batman, and Martha Wayne becomes the Joker. However, there’s a major revelation in the Flashpoint Beyond series by Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan, Jeremy Adams, Xermanico, and Mikel Janin.
In issue five, Martha confronts Thomas with important details about the main universe’s Joker, which is information she learned from the powerful but devious Psycho-Pirate. So, what is the Joker’s real name here? It’s Jack Oswald White. Yes, Jack White – like the frontman of The White Stripes, who also couldn’t help but post about this coincidence on his Instagram account. According to Martha, White is a stand-up comedian and janitor with a wife and child. In the Flashpoint Universe, he even works at Wayne Casino, which is owned by Thomas.
White’s origin story isn’t too different from the version of the character introduced in Batman: The Killing Joke, though his real name is never revealed in that story. Even so, it’s interesting how DC committed to giving him a canonical name in Flashpoint Beyond. Sure, this could be retconned in future (and inevitable) reboots. However, as of right now, the Joker’s real name is Jack White.
Tell us, do you even care about the Joker’s real name? Also, is Arthur Fleck the real Joker?
