Agent of Chaos? Or a Reflection of American Society? The Truth Behind Gotham's Greatest Criminal

Ever since his creation in 1939, the villain of the Batman comic series, the Joker, has had an unstated, yet very specific purpose (other than to be defeated by Batman); as this paper will demonstrate, he represents and reflects the fears and anxieties of American society at any given time period. What has been deemed ‘scary’ by society has changed throughout the decades, and the Joker’s repeated transformations follow these changes. Aside from being a villain mastermind in Gotham, Joker has been, among other things, a depression era-gangster, a post-war rebel, even the head of a modern-day terrorist group and a computer hacker. Each manifestation, while sharing the same name and a fondness for suits, exhibits different personalities, characteristics and desires, all of which change to reflect the darkest parts of American society, as they are perceived in the wider culture. In this way, the Joker becomes, for readers of this comic, a demonstration of the changing landscape of fear in America