10 Times Joker Outsmarted Everyone

Generally, the Joker's decision to shoot and paralyse Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke is generally only discussed in terms of how evil it was - which is undeniably fair, because it's one of the most shocking acts of violence in comic history.

Because of this, however, people often ignore just how smart a move it is in terms of one-upping the entire Gotham Police Department, and the Dark Knight. After all, shooting the daughter of the Police Commissioner is the smartest way to try and break him, and the psychological destruction of Jim Gordon would naturally have knock-on effects for both the GCPD, and for Batman himself.

Even when Jim doesn't fall into insanity as the Joker had hoped, the clown's plan still kind of works, as it's clear the Commissioner isn't going to walk out of the whole experience without some trauma that will affect his ability to lead the city's police department.