10 Things You Didn't Know About The Joker

7. He Was Almost Killed Off

Despite being Batman's all-time greatest nemesis (and possibly also one of the greatest supervillains in the history of comic books full stop), The Joker very nearly didn't make it past his first issue. The early Dark Knight appearances - inspired by their more vicious pulp magazine roots - were characterised by a lot more death, murder and Batman wielding a handgun than the later iterations of the hero, and the Ace Of Knaves very nearly fell prey to it. He made his first appearance in 1940's Batman #1, and was slated to be killed off in the very next issue.

The final page saw the defeated villain accidentally stabbed himself, and the Dynamic Duo legging it. Presumably so that they don't get the rap for it. Most of the bad guys in those early comics were only supposed to make one-off appearances, but then-editor Whitney Ellsworth passed down a mandate deciding the character was too good to be bumped off. So the last panel was hastily redrawn, and then in every other appearance it looked like he died off-screen, only to return the following month.