Gotham: 10 Most Terrifying Villains So Far
2. Jerome Valeska
Who He Is: Jerome Valeska was a young, unassuming worker for the traveling Haly's Circus. While not a performer himself, he assisted his mother with her duties as the snake dancer for the circus. When she is murdered, Valeska appears saddened but unsurprised due to her her frequent affairs with unsavory characters.
What He Did: Gordon and Bullock soon discover that Valeska's grief was a facade and that he snapped and murdered his mother after his shame at her sexual deviance became too much for him to bear. Relatively calm throughout his interrogation, it is not until it is revealed that fellow circus worker Paul Cicero is his biological father that Jerome's face breaks into a demonic grin and he begins to laugh uncontrollably...in a manner disconcertingly reminiscent of later iterations of the Joker himself.
Current Status: Imprisoned. After confessing to his mother's murder, Jerome is arrested by Gordon and Bullock. If he is indeed the Joker of Batman fame, it's pretty likely that Jerome will not remain imprisoned for long.