The Clown Prince of Crime doesn’t kill just for power, or revenge, or money. For him, every death is a punchline, and Gotham is his stage. Across comics, movies, and alternate universes, Joker’s kill count climbs into the thousands—if not more.
Take The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. In a twisted spree at a carnival, Joker murders hundreds. Then there’s Endgame, where Joker unleashes a deadly toxin across Gotham, leading to chaos and casualties at a level the city had never seen.
But perhaps his deadliest scheme is in the Injustice universe. Here, Joker’s manipulation drives Superman into a rage that results in the destruction of Metropolis, costing millions of lives in just one catastrophic moment. With every chaotic scheme, Joker sets a morbidly high bar for other villains, often leaving death tolls in the hundreds or thousands in his wake.
Regarding body counts, keeping score with Gotham’s deadliest criminals is almost impossible. After all, these aren’t just numbers—they’re men, women, and even children, all caught in the crossfire. But Batman keeps track. Every victim, every crime scene, every horrific detail.
And by his calculations? The Joker has taken 114 lives over six years. That’s 19 innocent souls lost each year—killed by asphyxiation, gunfire, beheading, and Joker’s own toxic “laughing gas.” He doesn’t care who you are, or why. If you’re in his path, you’re a punchline in his twisted joke.
