10 Most Disturbing Things The Joker Has Ever Done
2. Assaulted Batgirl
This next crime is so notorious, most fans have never forgiven the DC editors for allowing it to happen, never mind forgiving Joker for actually doing it.
Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon has always been a fan-favourite character, and a hugely important part of the history of Batman (as well as the history of comics in general). This is why the blatant mistreatment of her in The Killing Joke storyline is seen as so horrific by so many people.
After Joker discovers her secret identity, he shows up at her apartment and shoots her in the spine, rendering her paralysed from the waist down. He then violates her, taking nude photographs to later torture her father, Jim Gordon, with. The Joker took the Batgirl character and stole everything from her, completely stripping this kick-ass superhero of all agency and independence.
One of the most egregious things about this is that it wasn't even aimed at Batgirl. Joker did all of this with the intention to give Jim Gordon "one bad day", and prove that even the most noble of people can snap and be twisted to do evil. In Joker's mind, Barbara Gordon was just a disposable stepping stone, a means to an end.
Sadly, this is not the only case of Joker physically attacking a woman in order to psychologically attack Jim Gordon. In Batman: No Man's Land, Joker murders Jim's second wife, Sarah Essen, for no reason other than making Jim unhappy. It's official: Joker is a jerk!