Iconic 'Batman' Villain Who Debuted in 1940 Turns 86: See James Gunn's Tribute
There have been many iconic Batman villains over the years, from Two-Face to Mr. Freeze to Scarecrow. Of course, the biggest adversary that the hero has ever faced was the Joker. First appearing in DC Comics, he has gone on to appear in many different TV shows and films, and has starred in several of his own.
James Gunn, the filmmaker serving as co-CEO of DC Studios, posted a tribute to the character on his social media to celebrate the milestone. He said, "Everyone loves a deeply flawed character with a dark sense of humor… and The Joker's always been a crowd-pleaser. Happy anniversary to one of the Caped Crusader's greatest rogues, who made his comic debut in BATMAN #1. Written by Bill Finger, with pencils by Bob Kane, and inks by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson."
Everyone loves a deeply flawed character with a dark sense of humor… and The Joker's always been a crowd-pleaser. Happy anniversary to one of the Caped Crusader's greatest rogues, who made his comic debut in BATMAN #1. Written by Bill Finger, with pencils by Bob Kane, and inks… pic.twitter.com/m8sLLtTn9r
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 24, 2026
As Newsweek explained, the Joker was originally inspired by a character played by Conrad Veidt. "The inspiration for the Joker's appearance was the character of Gwynplaine in The Man Who Laughs, a 1928 silent film directed by German filmmaker Paul Leni and based on the 1869 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo (best known for writing Les Miserables). In the romantic drama, Gwynplaine, played by Conrad Veidt, is disfigured with a permanent grin on his face so that he will ‘laugh forever at his fool of a father.'"
Who exactly came up with the idea behind the legendary character has been contested for years, since all of the individuals involved tell different stories.
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In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kane said, "Bill Finger and I created the Joker. Bill was the writer. Jerry Robinson came to me with a playing card of the Joker. […] But he looks like Conrad Veidt, you know, the actor in The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo. There's a photo of Conrad Veidt in my biography, Batman & Me. So Bill Finger had a book with a photograph of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, ‘Here's the Joker.' Jerry Robinson had absolutely nothing to do with it."
However, in a 2006 interview with Newsarama, Robinson said, "What happened was Bill Finger knew of Conrad Veidt because Bill had been to a lot of the foreign films. Veidt was a great star of European films and in the film Veidt had this clown makeup with the frozen smile on his face. When Bill saw the first drawing of the Joker, he said, ‘That reminds me of Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs.' … I think in Bill's mind, he fleshed out the concept of the character."
No matter how the character was created, he has only gained more and more popularity over the years. Fans are eager to see how Gunn will incorporate him into the DCU.
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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 6:26 AM.