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It looks like DC has gone ahead and revealed the Joker's name as Flashpoint Beyond #5 shined some light on who has been hiding behind the clown makeup. A bit of warning, the article will contain spoilers for issue five of Flashpoint Beyond, so if you don't want spoilers, it'll be recommended to come back after reading the comic.
In Flashpoint Beyond #5, we see Martha Wayne's Joker visited by Thomas Wayne. Over here, she reveals the Clown Prince of Crime's actual name to be Jack Oswald White as Psycho-Pirate told her about the villain from the Earth where her son lived and turned into Batman.
However, this isn't the first time his origins have been hinted at, not just in comics but in Batman's history in general. So, let's examine his origins and what drove him to be the Clown Prince of Crime.
Exploring Joker's history and origins amidst name reveal in Flashpoint Beyond
The character's history within comic books has always been sacred. Hardly anyone touched upon the Clown's origins and ran with it as it added some mystery and intrigue to the character. That was until Alan Moore came along and decided to showcase the origins behind the Clown Prince of Crime.
In writing the now-iconic comic book Batman: The Killing Joker, Moore advanced the relationship between The Dark Knight and his arch nemesis in many ways. Featuring Joker shooting and crippling Barbara Gordon, the comic very much focused on the core concept of having one bad day.
In the comic book, his past shows him as a failed comedian who is down on his luck without any money. Having a pregnant wife and no money, he decides to work for a gang but backs out at the last moment.
However, when he receives the news that his wife has died, he decides to break into Ace Chemicals and falls into a vat of chemicals when Batman intervenes. Having his skin bleached, the Joker is born as he starts losing his sanity.
The comic, in general, wasn't the only one to touch the origins, as a year later, Tim Burton's Batman would also showcase the character's origins. In Burton's Batman, the Joker is given the name of Jack Napier, a crime boss who fell into a vat of chemicals after Batman failed to save him, and that's how he turns into the Clown Prince of Crime.
Joaquin Phoenix's 2019 film also showcased him playing Arthur Fleck, which would eventually showcase his fall and his turning into Gotham's worst nightmare. Throughout the years, the name Jack Napier has stuck around a lot, so it's surprising to see that DC would change it to Jack Oswald White.
While it remains to be confirmed if this is the canon name of the character, we are bound to get more stories focused on the origins of the Clown Prince of Crime. Until then, let's hope that Flashpoint Beyond or other comics explain this in the future.
