10 Times The Joker Actually SAVED Batman

10. Protecting Batman's Secret Identity

The Joker undoubtedly revels in the dynamics between himself and Batman and the games they have played over the years, so there might admittedly be a case of selfish motivations at work for the Clown Prince of Crime to keep the Batman in Gotham for as long as he can.

Only a handful of characters in the DC Universe know of Batman's hidden identity as the multi-millionaire businessman Bruce Wayne, and even the likes of the Riddler have struggled to even believe it to be true when presented with the fact. The Joker, on the other hand, is one of the few characters shown to be all too aware of Bruce Wayne's alter-ego.

Batman #663 sees the Joker playfully taunting Bruce Wayne about his identity, and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker shows how DC's biggest baddie has all the means to gain all the information he needs.

Time and time again, the Joker has never stooped to using his greatest weapon of all against his oldest enemy, and has even gone out of his way to deflect things away from his goons at times. The Joker is absolutely enamoured with the idea of Batman, not the man himself, and there's a strong sense that he genuinely struggles with the idea that the Dark Knight could ever be stripped down to just being a man.