So, the New 52. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo introduced quite a few changes for Batman's world, and while the mythology they constructed for the Joker didn't last, it was certainly one of the more curious origins that's been conceived during the Dark Knight's modern years.
Snyder and Capullo's comic optioned the theory that the Joker was actually one of the oldest beings on Earth, likening him to Vandal Savage and Ra's al Ghul as an immortal - or at least as a figure able to cheat death. The story goes that Joker - also known as the "Pale Man" - has been using Lazarus Pits long before the Head of the Demon discovered them, and has in fact been wandering Gotham for centuries.
As with most origins it remains unclear as to whether or not the Joker truly is immortal, but given this storyline then fed into the Three Jokers theory mentioned earlier, it is possible that at least one of them is much, much older than we all originally thought.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
