10 Sickest "Jokes" The Joker Ever Pulled

Technically an addition from the DC Animated Universe, but a gag so ghastly it made its way to (a) comic book continuity eventually.

In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, we learn the fate of the third Robin, Tim Drake. The resulting story was so disturbing that it would go down in history as one of the Joker's most awful crimes. All that, and without a crowbar in sight.

Having kidnapped Robin, the Joker and Harley Quinn proceeded to torture and brainwash the poor kid, transforming him into the Joker Junior. That laugh. That smile. The cute little suit. Batman was horrified and, although he would eventually reverse most of Joker's conditioning, poor Tim Drake would never be the same again: eventually emerging as a vessel for the Joker in the Gotham of 2039. The joke's influence can currently be found in DC's Batman: The Adventures Continue, a prelude to The Return of the Joker, featuring both Drake and other Robin Jason Todd.

All the way to 2039 (and then some), it's the joke that keeps on giving. How's that for longevity?