Batman’s First Villain Ever Might Have Become The Joker

The first-ever villain face by Batman might hide a sinister secret: he’s actually his arch-nemesis The Joker. Before fighting supervillains like the Riddler, Harley Quinn and Mr. Freeze, Batman fought against so-called regular enemies like gangs and mob bosses. One of them might have become the Clown Prince of Crime and Batman would never know – because this story was written in an age when Batman had no rule against killing his enemies.

While Batman #1 in 1940 contained the first appearance of the Joker as fans know him today (complete with white skin, green hair, and a purple suit), it was Detective Comics #27 by Bill Finger and Bob Kane in 1939 that contained the first appearance of Batman. Unlike most first appearances in comics, the issue lacks an origin story, depicting instead Batman solving a string of murders that eventually point to one Alfred Stryker. Stryker wished to become the sole owner of a chemical corporation and decided to kill the other owners – but when Batman solved the case, things took a turn for the worse for Mr. Stryker.

Stryker, confronted in his chemical plant and with nothing to lose, pulls a gun on Batman, but Batman dodges the weapon and punches Stryker with such force that he stumbles backward off a catwalk and into an acid tank. Batman uncharacteristically delivers a post-mortem one-liner: “A fitting end for his kind.” While the end of the issue remains consistent with the crime stories of the era – Commissioner Gordon delivers a postscript and wonders about the mysterious Batman – Alfred Stryker is never brought up again, in this issue or any other. But his origin should sound quite familiar to the Batman faithful: the Joker acquired his white skin and green hair through an eerily similar situation.

The Joker’s real name has famously remained a mystery in DC Comics ever since his first appearance. “Jack” is a popular choice for alternate-universe stories, such as Batman: White Knight and the 1989 Batman film; “Joseph Kerr” was also used in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. Batman: Three Jokers suggests the Joker isn’t even a single person. But the fact remains that Alfred Stryker has never been seen again in any Batman story, and the Joker is well-known for escaping certain death no matter how dire the circumstances. It’s entirely possible that Alfred Stryker is the Joker, and the events depicted in Detective Comics #27 are his true origin story.

Since Batman believes Stryker to be dead (by his own hand, no less), he has no reason to suspect that his very first foe is also his greatest and most diabolical. It’s entirely possible that the Joker remembers this incident, and is furious that the superhero famous for never killing his enemies is not as virtuous as he appears to be. Perhaps that’s why the Joker keeps coming back with such a laissez-faire attitude towards his own life; after cheating Death – and Batman – the first time, what’s to stop him from doing it again?