10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About The Joker

6. His Origin Story

Most people couldn't truly tell you what Joker's origin story is. However, this is by no means the fault of the people in question - it's because even DC don't even know what's canon regarding the Joker's origins.

Was he the leader of the Red Hood gang? Did he fall into a vat of chemicals? Was he a failed stand-up comic who was forced into crime by the gang he appeared to be leading? Did his wife die in an accident? Was she murdered by a corrupt cop? Did she actually even ever exist at all? Did his father drive him to insanity? It really isn't clear - and that's because he seems to forget and remember how it happened at will and, therefore, whatever he's saying at the time can be considered canon or not canon depending on what you want to believe.

The fact is, he obviously likes to keep both his own and the readers' options open when it comes to his origin, as epitomised by the line "If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!" Heath Ledger's Joker told three different stories about the origin of his and that was brilliantly symbolic of the ongoing question of who he really is. The likelihood is that nobody will ever know the true story.