10 Insanely Dark Joker Moments That'll Never Make It To Film

by Andrew Pollard

1. Crippling And Abusing Barbara Gordon - The Killing Joke

It€™s fair to say that there are several moments from The Joker€™s sordid history that could make the top spot on this list. What transpired in The Killing Joke just cannot be ignored, largely down to the fact that the Joker did so much damage to two of Batman€™s closest allies. When The Joker decides that he wants to torment Jim Gordon, he sees the best way to get a reaction as targeting Gordon€™s daughter Barbara, who also happens to be Batgirl at that point. And so, after holding Jim hostage, Joker turns up at Babs€™ door and proceeds to shoot her through the spine, paralysing her as a result. If this wasn€™t enough, he then strips Barbara naked and take photographs of her flailing body. Whilst it€™s not confirmed, there's plenty speculation from readers that Barbara was actually raped during this ordeal. If you€™ve read the story, you can make up your own conclusions on that disturbing point. The Joker would go on to strip Jim Gordon and have him run a disturbing amusement park gauntlet whilst images of his naked daughter were displayed in order to drive the Commissioner insane. For many people, The Killing Joke is the story that turned The Joker from an amusing, slightly twisted antagonist to the most truly disturbing, sadistic villain of the DC Universe. There€™s plenty of other Joker moments that turn the stomach and won't be making it to the big screen any time soon, but which of his horrible acts are the ones that stand out the most to you?
In this post: 
Batman
 
First Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.