10 Most Inappropriate Joker Storylines

3. Making Jim Gordon Look At His Naked, Crippled Daughter - The Killing Joke

Joker Harley Quinn
DC Comics

Sure, The Killing Joke is one of the greatest Joker stories of all time, but still, there are certain moments that overstep the line of good taste. Then again, that's part of what makes this Alan Moore and Brian Bolland tale so special; it shows the Clown Prince of Crime at his most maniacal, twisted and cruel.

Here, the Joker is on a mission to destroy Jim Gordon. Unfortunately for Barbara Gordon, she was unplanned collateral damage in this scheme.

While Barbara and her old man enjoy a drink, she answers the apartment door to what she believes is one of her pals. Instead, Babs is greeted by the sight of the Joker, who immediately shoots her on sight. This was the moment where Barbara - who was at that time protecting Gotham as Batgirl - was shockingly crippled, with the bullet having damaged her spine and left her without the use of her legs.

Even more twisted than this act, it's later revealed that the Joker and his goons had stripped the paralysed body of Barbara and taken naked photos of her. These photos are then enlarged and shown to the kidnapped and restrained Jim Gordon, with the Harlequin of Hate mocking Jimbo as he looks to crack the GCPD Commisioner.

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 dayjob, 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.