AN

ORIGIN
STORY
SIMONSON - VECCHIO
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~ ORIGIN STORY
\
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STONE ARCH BOOKS *

acapstoneé imprint
 DC Super-Villains Origins
are published by Stone Arch Books,
A Capstone Imprint
1710 Roe Crest Drive
North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
www.mycapstone.com

Copyright © 2019 DC Comics.

BATMAN and all related characters and elements are © & ™ DC Comics.
(s19)

STAR41128

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on the Library of Congress website.

ISBN: 978-1-4965-7935-5 (library binding)
ISBN: 978-1-4965-8099-3 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-4965-7940-9 (eBook)

Summary: How did the Joker become Batman's archenemy? Discover the story behind the
Clown Prince of Crime’s journey from small-time crook to big-time baddie.

Contributing artists: Erik Doescher, Mike DeCarlo, David Tanguay,

Mike Cavallaro, and Ethen Beavers
Designed by Hilary Wacholz

Printed in the United States of America.

102018 000048
ORIGIN STORY
WRITTEN BY ILLUSTRATED BY
LOUISE SIMONSON LUCIANO VECCHIO

BATMAN CREATED BY
BOB MANE WITH BIW FINGER
 Minutes to midnight, a thick
fog rolls into Gotham City.

A thief known as the Red Hood

sneaks toward the Monarch

Playing Card Company. He breaks

the lock on the factory's door and
steps inside.
 BWEE-OO! BWEE-OO! An alarm

rings out.

The Red Hood does not worry.

He knows the safe is hidden in a

nearby office.
 He dashes toward the safe.

The thief is skilled at breaking

all types of locks. He will be gone
before the Gotham City police arrive.
 CLICK! The safe opens easily.

Money spills out in front of the

Red Hood.

Suddenly, the criminal hears

footsteps. He looks around.

The police cannot be here already,

he thinks. It is too soon!
 The Red Hood see a figure swinging
down from the ceiling. The man wears
a dark 1 and a long cape.

10
 ts out the back door

of the office and down a hall. He

enters a room filled with large tanks
of bubbling c emicals.

The Red Hood hears Batman’s

footsteps behind him.

(6
 The Red Hood climbs a ladder onto

a metal walkway. He turns to look for

Batman but trips. The thief falls over
the walkway’s railing.

“Ah!” the Red Hood screams.

12
 SPA-LOOSH! He lands in one of

the chemical tanks.

The thief holds his breath in the

bubbling liquid. PH] stay here until

Batman is gone, he thinks.
13
 When Batman finally leaves,
the thief climbs out of the tank.

Chemicals drip from his

clothing, hair, and skin.

The chemicals have changed

him. They have turned his skin
white and his hair green. His
mouth is now an evil red grin.
 The Red Hood sees his new face in

the glass of a nearby window. He is

both shocked and amazed.

I look like a clown, he thinks. Like

the Joker in a deck of cards!

 At that moment, the thief decides to

become the Joker! He will strike fear

into the people of Gotham City.

 He will be Batman’s greatest enemy.
He will make Batman pay for turning
him into a clown!
 As part of his new identity, the
Joker creates a special suit. He

makes gadgets and weapons to

fill its pockets.

The Joker invents a flower that

squirts poison gas and a buzzer

that shocks people.

He makes razor-sharp playing é

cards and exploding toys!

PA,
 The thief even creates a dangerous
type of laughing gas: Joker Venom.
 After several crimes, the Joker

quickly becomes Gotham City’s

most wanted super-villain.

Batman tracks his every move

on his high-tech Batcomputer.

“You'll never catch me!” the

Joker laughs.

je:
24
 For his biggest crime, the Joker
plans to dump Joker Venom into
Gotham City’s drinking water.

FWOOSH! Batman swings in on

his Batrope.

This time, the super hero stops

the villain before he gets away!

DS
 The Gotham City police send
the Joker to a prison called
Arkham Asylum.

No cell can hold this villain for

long. He is skilled at breaking
locks, after all.

Soon the Joker escapes!

He flees the prison atop a

giant, flying joker card.

26
 The super-villain’s crime sp
just begun.

idi
 Sometimes the Joker plans his
crimes for money.

He robs banks and jewelry

stores for cold, hard cash.
 Other times the Joker creates trouble

just for fun!

The villain fills colorful balloons

with laughing gas. Then he uses

funny-faced darts to pop them
over Gotham City!
 The best crimes are both fun and

rewarding! the Joker thinks.

The Joker drives to the Gotham

City Bank in his Jokermobile. He

clicks a button on the vehicle’s

control panel.

A giant boxing glove appears

from under the hood. WHAM-O! It

smashes into the side of the bank.

Money spills into the street.

32
“HAHAHA!” the Joker laughs.

mS
Sp
 After each crime, Batman sends the

Joker back to Arkham Asylum.

 While there, he meets the woman

who will become his partner in

crime, Dr. Harleen Quinzel.

She is a psychiatrist. She is

supposed to help the Joker stop
committing crimes.

Instead, Dr. Quinzel becomes

friends with the mad criminal. She

helps him escape from Arkham

Asylum once again.

35
 Dr. Quinzel decides to join the Joker
in his life of crime.

She calls herself Harley Quinn.

The villain creates a black and red
jester costume.

Harley Quinn helps the Joker paint

smiley faces on Gotham City statues.
She calls the Joker her “Puddin” and
loves his crazy sense of humor!

36
iN
 Along with Harley, the Joker
builds a secret hideout. He fills
his funhouse with halls of mirrors

and deadly |
space to park his Jokermobile!
 The Joker teams up with other
super-villains like the Penguin,
the Riddler, Two-Face, and even

Superman’s enemy Lex Luthor.

Most villains don't trust the Joker.

He is too dangerous, they say. They
believe he will stop at nothing to
get his revenge on Batman.

The Joker says, “I could never

destroy Batman. That would ruin
all the fun!”

40
 But the villain promises to always
get the last laugh.

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EVERYTHING ABOUT. .- -

REAL NAME: UNKNOWN

CRIMINAL NAME: THE JOKER
ROLE: SUPER-VILLAIN
BASE: GOTHAM CITY

The Clown Prince of Crime. The Harlequin of

Hate. The Ace of Knaves. The Joker is known
by many names. But ever since a toxic bath
changed this small-time crook into a big-time
baddieé, the Joker has only one purpose in
life... to destroy Batman.
 TR
RNR nha
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( The Joker is an 2 Or rrneacmaacrrinrncre arene

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Dangerous chemicals
See turnéd the villain’s skin a
* ghoulish shade of white.
as, Ne eS ea

HeAeaendramsiny
taemoe!

The Joker's eea ee

permanent grin
matches his wicked
sense of humor.
nr Pan
? The Joker's trick lapel
flower squirts laughing
gas at his enemies.
&
“Sin comnts inane mainiiteaNeninicaiatctuaeanTl”

The villain’s body \

,eoomernesmecrmortncretortneomapunmarmnsouoreictininnettametn.

resists pain, right The villain's above —

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 ine HOMO
LOUISE SIMONSON writes about monsters,
science fiction and fantasy characters, and
super heroes. She wrote the award-winning
Power Pack series, several best-selling X-Men
titles, Web of Spider-man for Marvel Comics,
and Superman: Man of Steel and Steel for DC
Comics. She has also written many books for
kids. She is married to comic artist and writer
Walter Simonson and lives in the suburbs of
New York City.

LUCIANO VECCHIO currently lives in

Buenos Aires, Argentina. With experience in
illustration, animation, and comics, his works
have been published in the US, Spain, UK,
France, and Argentina. His credits include Ben
10 (DC Comics), Cruel Thing (Norma), Unseen
Tribe (Zuda Comics), Sentinels (Drumfish
Productions), and several DC Super Heroes
books for Capstone.
booby trap (BOO-bee TRAP)—hidden dangers
that are set off when someone touches them

chemical (KEM-uh-kuhl)—dangerous liquids

or gases often used by scientists

gadget (GAJ-it)—-small tools that do a

certain job

identity (eye-DEN-ti-tee)—who a person is

jester (JES-tur)—a person who often

entertained kings and queens long ago

liquid (LIK-wid)—a wet substance that can

be poured

psychiatrist (sye-K YE-uh-trist)—a doctor who

treats emotional and mental illnesses

uniform (YOO-nuh-form)—a special set of

clothes worn for a particular job

villain (VIL-uhn)—a wicked person

i coestc! 1
vseen siete netomat anesnase ee

Fine ean anal astteiie costume

S tS eemacesnanenenmnaiaans sitet cael

oo dooe believethe Joker

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ta iene am ae ae beame: Ss

“Which villain identity

do you think is more
frightening-the Red
Hood or the Joker?
Explain your answer.

psa
 Several villains appear
in the illustration on
page 41. Who do you
believe is the most
powerful, and why?

Ce
San
aE

What is your
favorite illustration
in this book?
_-&xplain how you
made your decision.
READ THEM ALL!
NO | ONGER PROPERTY
- AN YTHINK
RA’ - .EWLIBRARY
QISTRICT
ABOVE AVERAGE STRENGTH

PAIN RESISTANCE

Discover the story behind the Clown Prince of Crime’s journ

ey from
small-time crook to big-time baddie, including the source
of his
crazy clown face! With action-packed illustrations and easy-t
o-follow
text, this DC Comics chapter book is perfect for early reader
s.

Reinforced Library Binding RL: 1-3

ay Copyright© 207906Comics. <7, a

(] i “BATMAN and all related characters andielements.© & ™DC Comics,
\ U a) wake ™ & © Warner‘Bros. Entertainment Inc.
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