Joker: Every Easter Egg & Reference We Spotted

20. The Killing Joke

The spine of Joker's narrative is inspired by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke, which was the first major comic to expand upon the Clown Prince of Crime's origin story in a major way.

It was the first comic to depict The Joker as a failed comedian with familial troubles, who in his desperation is eventually driven insane.

The movie follows a similar tack for most of its runtime, noting that Arthur isn't in any way a good comedian, bombing most of his gigs and only winning some fame as the subject of derision.

As for the family aspect, the film substitutes out the comic's pregnant wife for an ill mother (Frances Conroy), but Moore and Bolland's DNA is evidently all over the story.