The Joker’s Most Twisted Act: Cutting Off His Own [SPOILER]

There’s no debating that the Joker is one of the most twisted characters in the DC Universe. He’s willing to go to some severe extremes to accomplish his goals – but nothing was as gruesome as the time he decided to cut off his own face.

In Detective Comics #1 (2011) by Tony S. Daniel and Ryan Winn, the Joker concocts a plan to get apprehended by Batman and thrown into the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Why would the Joker willingly imprison himself? For the chance to encounter the Dollmaker – a villain who likes to use skin and limbs to create dolls. In Arkham, the Joker tells Dollmaker their planned work and they can go ahead with the procedure to cut off the skin from his face. It’s a gruesome scene.

Make no mistake, the Joker wanted the Dollmaker to cut off his face to make a point that his insanity has grown even more, somehow. The villain has admiration for the Clown Prince of Crime and after he slices off his skin he proclaims “tonight we will both celebrate our rebirth.”  The story would lead to Joker being benched in The New 52 era until he appeared in 2012’s Death of the Family story arc spanning over a handful of titles. In that arc, the Joker returns with his face attached by hooks. It’s quite gross and demented.

Weirdly enough, the Joker’s severed face played a significant part following the Death of a Family. After he’s defeated, a woman (Duela Dent) finds his face in the sewers and becomes the “Joker’s Daughter.” She worships the villain and wore his face over her own. The character would eventually become a part of the Suicide Squad – although, she hasn’t been seen much in the post-New 52 era.

While the Joker would get his face back (and it’s stayed that way), The New 52 version of the character showed how truly psychotic he was. Cutting off your own face to prove a point is deranged. Ultimately, the look was one of the more terrifying appearances that the Joker has ever worn. However, it’s probably a good thing he got his face back as there’s not a lot better looks than the original appearance of the character. But, it’s fair to say cutting off and wearing his face was one of the most twisted things the Joker’s ever done in a long list of insane decisions.

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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