10 Most Inappropriate Joker Storylines

10. Raining Down Poisonous Glass - Lovers & Madmen

From Michael Green, Denys Cowan and John Floyd, 2008's Lovers & Madmen arc offered a fresh spin on the Joker's origin and his first meeting with the Dark Knight. Introduced as a regular fella named Jack, the Clown Prince of Crime is still just as sinister as you'd expect, and that's perfectly encapsulated in the particular plan he concocts to make his mark on Gotham City.

That plan involves sending a giant blimp in the direction of Gotham's Twin Towers. Despite the best efforts of the GCPD, this blimp reaches its target and explodes on impact. It's not this explosion that's the major issue here, mind, for the greater concern for the resident of the city is the shards of glass that were housed inside the blimp.

Ever the devious, deranged sort, the Joker went one better than 'merely' filling a blimp with shards of glass, for these pieces were all doused in poison. As such, the sidewalk below soon starts to pile up with dead bodies that are all sporting a familiar, chilling smile.

It may not be the most disturbing act the Jester of Genocide's carried out in his 82-year history, but this Lovers & Madmen act is definitely all kinds of messed up.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

First Posted On: 4th Aug 2022

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