Why doesn't somebody kills the Joker?

[Oslecamo]

This is a little question that has bugged me for years, so I hope you can give me some decent answer.

Before everything else, I know that there are plenty of other villains in the DC universe, however, they are normally one of the following:
1-They aren't that evil that they deserve to be killed(the small fries).
2-They have friends in high places(Luthor)
3-They're so powerfull that killing them isn't an option(demon lords, ect).

The Joker is neither of the above. Nobody trusts or likes him. When the other villains team up, the Joker is cautiosuly left by the side. He's as evil as you can be, making all kind of sophisticated plans to kill people on the most grotesque ways. And he's still human, not some demigod that existed for centuries.

Now Batman , as most other DC heros, is all "I don't kill people because it's wrong", but hey, they all live in the U.S.A! There's death penalty there last time I checked!

And then there's all the familiars of the people the Joker killed, one would expect one of them would finally one day snap and shoot him.

Instead, after being beaten up by Batman for the 45689th time, the Joker is carefully healed for free, sent to a super expensive cell and treated with all kind of royalties(do you ever see him starve?), untill he manages to evade himself again.

One would expct that by now the Joker had died to some kind of "acident", but no, all kind of safe measures are providen to care for his well being, despite he being a complete psycopath who sees all other people as things to be killed who time and time again proved how dangerous he is.

He doesn't even have a tragic past or any redeeming feature, he's just been a villain as far as anyone can remember.

So, is there any valid reason to why the Joker still hasn't been killed, besides plot power, that I may have missed?

[Oregano]

On behalf of DC:

*throws shoe at and runs!*

The only reason I can think of is that people like the Joker(out of the universe) and they don't want the Joker to die.

[Wraithy]

A wizard did it.

[sun_tzu]

As far as I can tell, no. The Joker lives because DC needs him.
And then there's this.

[WalkingTarget]

Now Batman , as most other DC heros, is all "I don't kill people because it's wrong", but hey, they all live in the U.S.A! There's death penalty there last time I checked!

We've also got something called "the insanity defense". Sure, he did it, we all know he did it, but because he's bat-guano crazy we can't put him in prison or execute him, we've got to put him in a mental health institution. Check out Joker: Devil's Advocate for a story where the DA actually puts him on trial. It's a good one.

And then there's all the familiars of the people the Joker killed, one would expect one of them would finally one day snap and shoot him.

Instead, after being beaten up by Batman for the 45689th time, the Joker is carefully healed for free, sent to a super expensive cell and treated with all kind of royalties(do you ever see him starve?), untill he manages to evade himself again.

One would expct that by now the Joker had died to some kind of "acident", but no, all kind of safe measures are providen to care for his well being, despite he being a complete psycopath who sees all other people as things to be killed who time and time again proved how dangerous he is.

This stuff: "accidents", vengeful families, etc. is all the plot power at work. No comic writer could get away with simply killing the character off, no matter how unrealistic it is.

See what happened to him in Kingdom Come, The Dark Knight Returns, or the Batman Beyond setting for interesting but non-canonical demises.

[Ganurath]

A good lawyer? Most of the bad stuff he does is to Batman, who can't press charges without revealing his identity?

[Oregano]

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is fantastic, especially how the Joker dies.

[Tengu_temp]

A good lawyer? Most of the bad stuff he does is to Batman, who can't press charges without revealing his identity?

Joker kills people repeatedly. Do you want to say he kills Batman repeatedly?

[FoE]

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is fantastic, especially how the Joker dies.

Ironically, the DCAU version of the Joker was far less vile than the comic version. But the former meets his end after torturing Robin while the comic Joker was able to beat one Robin to death and still escape retribution.

[Lost Demiurge]

There's several reasons. First and most obvious is plot immunity, DC won't kill him as long as he continues to be an entertaining and popular villain.

But if you want justifications...

1. Batman: Ironic as it is, Bats will ensure that anyone who kills the Joker gets justice served to them. He's the strongest deterrent to those who would end his nemesis. Joker knows this, it's funny as hell to him. If Joker's to die by mortal hands, it'll have to be Batman who does it. And Batman won't do it.

2. Tough and Tricky: The Joker's simply got a knack for surviving crap that ought to kill him. In any potentially fatal situation, if you don't see the body, the Joker survived. And even if you try to make a body, he can usually leap into the ocean/jump off the cliff and fall hundreds of feet/or run into the burning building right before it collapses.

3. Devil's own: A supernatural entity or entities, maybe Neron or something similar find him too funny to die. They watch over him, and skew luck his way as long as he keeps up the hideous wrongness.

4. When he's down he's most deadly: I'm going to guess that a lot of people have tried to ensure that the Joker was shot "resisting arrest", or had an "accident" in prison. A lot of people died that way, when the Joker proved not quite as helpless as they thought. That kind of reputation gets around... Makes even the dumb punks/worst of corrupt cops think "Okay, I get one shot to do this. If I fail, he kills me, my family, and my pets. If I'm lucky. Do I really want to do this?"

[Tirian]

One would suspect all sorts of things would happen if the DC universe were rational. It's even more outrageous that so few people connect Batman with the most rich, buff guy in town who is made of free time.

Beyond the fact that he is a crucial and defining story element that the editors know better than to eliminate, Batman and Jim Gordon believe that the system works and treating The Joker better than he treats others is a part of walking that walk. And when they falter, Arkham Asylum and other bleeding heart activists are there to rally against the cruelty of a final solution. (Not that I believe that you're right about the DCU having the death penalty.)

And the DCAU Joker is mixed. The censors prohibit killing on the TV series, but he saves up the brutality for the movies (particularly the BB movie *shiver*).

[Oslecamo]

See what happened to him in Kingdom Come, The Dark Knight Returns, or the Batman Beyond setting for interesting but non-canonical demises.

I don't remember what hapened to the Joker in Kingdom come.

But I remember that in The dark Knight returns that the batman cripples the Joker, and then the bastard uses his last ounces of life to kill himself to make Bruce look like a murderer.

And then the cops start shooting at batman because "aparently" he killed the Joker, known mass murderer and psycopath!

WTF?

So the Joker gets to be captured whitout being filled with bullets after each of their crimes even if he just gased an orphanage, but if the batman may have comited one murder, it's automatically shoot to kill!

This is, if someone goes around there dressed as a bat, he probably could also be insane as the guy who goes around dressed as a clown.

Joker's plot shield is indeed a scary thing. Even dead he keeps hurting the batman.

Haven't read Batman beyod. Yet.

EDIT:

Lost Demiurge:Hmm, I like your lasts points. You don't mess with the Joker. If you try to kill him, and if you don't make sure he's dead, burned to ashes, the ashes sealed in a titanium box, sent to the end of time and cleansed with holy magic, the Joker may still be alive. And he's gonna make you wish you were never born.

That's why the batman and the Joker never kill themselves. The Joker thinks the batman is damn funny and the batman fears what may happen if he tries to actually kill the Joker.

I'll ressurect your parents so I can torture them in front of you, baty-boy, if you ever try to do anything funny.

Shiver

[darkblade]

I'd suggest the original poster read the Graphic Novel "Kingdom Come" to see what kind of hell the DCU goes to if a renegade "hero" goes off and kills The Joker. Its not the only reason the world goes to hell but it sure was a turning point.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Actually, if I remember right, DCU does have a death penalty and the Joker just never gets convicted for it. He has some of, if not THE, best lawyers in the country hired to defend him in trial and the one time he was given the death penalty his henchmen chemically revived him after the fact.

[Oslecamo]

Actually, if I remember right, DCU does have a death penalty and the Joker just never gets convicted for it. He has some of, if not THE, best lawyers in the country hired to defend him in trial and the one time he was given the death penalty his henchmen chemically revived him after the fact.

Where exactly is he geting all that money? Joker is a known who sacrifices minions whitout thinking twice, so I don't see how anyone could hold any kind of loyalty towards him.

Couldn't Bruce simply outpay the lawyers to don't defend the Joker? Or is it all by sheer intimidation? Better to dance by the Joker's music than risk seeing the Joker escape again and kill all your family and friends as revenge for not helping him?

[Lord Iames Osari]

Batman Beyond is actually a TV show, btw.

[darkblade]

I don't remember what hapened to the Joker in Kingdom come.

Joker goes to Metropolis and kills 92 men plus Lois Lane. Renegade hero Magog fries the Joker as the cops are taking him in. Superman is outraged by this and the people of Metropolis for letting Magog get away with it so he retires. This leads to a rise in heros who have no value of human life so think nothing of colatoral damage. Plunging the world into utter chaos.

[Tirian]

Batman Beyond is actually a TV show, btw.

Yes, but then they made the movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker which explains the bridge between the two series. That movie contains, in the best eleven minutes of the entire Diniverse, why Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon retired from crimefighting, why Bruce didn't pass the cowl to Tim Drake, and why Terry doesn't have the Joker to kick around any more.

[Oslecamo]

Plunging the world into utter chaos.

Let's be honest: the DCU is always in utter chaos. Either the villains are ploting some new scheme to spread terror/conquer the world or some other alien race tries to conquer Earth. I've lost the number of times Gotham City has fallen on the control of batman's enemies.

The only diference in Kingdom Come is that nobody bothers to justify why they're fighting anymore. They bash each other just for the satisfaction and screw the little guys on the street. Wich isn't actually that diferent from what they've been doing before.

This is, it's super man we're talking about. He could've stoped the Joker easily from killing those inocents. He could've used his laser vision and krypton technology to cure whatever brain disease the Joker has. Or at least lock him in outer space or something like that, instead of minimum security Asylum Arkham.

So it's really hyprocit from suppy to talk about not caring about colateral damage. It's easy to let the criminals go away alive when you're invulnerable to them.

And again several heros paid for suppy's arrogance in Kingdom Come, when he decides to put all the villains in that mediocre security prison. Couldn't they at least have confiscated the villains weapons? What was he thinking, that somehow the massive concentration of hate and rage in one place would magically disapear?

Super-man brought that upon himself. He can't expect that villains go right with just a stern talk. Specially mass murdering villains.

[Querzis]

Where exactly is he geting all that money?

Hes a criminal, it cant be really hard. Beside please remember that if there is one guy in the entire DC universe who is definitly smarter then Batman, its the Joker. If he wasnt insane and just trying to have fun, he would have conquered the world already.

Joker is a known who sacrifices minions whitout thinking twice, so I don't see how anyone could hold any kind of loyalty towards him.

Yes, any sane people woudnt show loyalty to the Joker...thats the whole point. All the Joker minions are as insane as him! Every time he go to Arkam he got some fresh minions, watch the Dark knight: the Joker minions are the kind of guy who would let him open his belly to put a bomb in there.

Anyway some people tried to kill the Joker. It didnt end well. The Joker seems to be able to survive almost anything.

[Pokemaster]

I assume it has something to do with the fact that killing the Joker would require putting him in the same room as a lethal injection device or an electric chair and everyone knows that can't end well.

[Seraph]

I thought that Gotham PD actually had a policy of shooting the joker on sight these days.

[comicshorse]

I believe in one story-line, 'Emperor Joker' I think, somebody did kill the Joker with the result he went to hell, took it over,defeated heaven and then took over the world and turned it into an instrument for torturing Batman.

I must admit I was tended to the theory that some supernatual being is watching out for him. There's a bit in the G.C.P.D. comic where four cops shoot the Joker and he comments ( before falling unconcious) " But that never works "

[KnightDisciple]

I think we're overthinking this.
It's simple: plot armor. Joker makes for good Batman stories, so he's not dead. Oh, sure, people come up with various ways he doesn't die, but it's because he's not supposed to die. Status Quo is god, after all. I mean, really, the presence of heroes like there are in DC or Marvel should radically alter everything about the world. Instead, it's "this world, but with superheroes!"
I know that's not very satisfying, but that's the long and short of it. Joker's not dead because he's not supposed to be dead.

[Nightmarenny]

I think we're overthinking this.
It's simple: plot armor. Joker makes for good Batman stories, so he's not dead. Oh, sure, people come up with various ways he doesn't die, but it's because he's not supposed to die. Status Quo is god, after all. I mean, really, the presence of heroes like there are in DC or Marvel should radically alter everything about the world. Instead, it's "this world, but with superheroes!"
I know that's not very satisfying, but that's the long and short of it. Joker's not dead because he's not supposed to be dead.

Seriously could you people STOP mentioning the Plot armor? Everyone knows plot armor. You are not smart for pointing it out. You are not clever for pointing it out. You just meta the fun out of these threads. This thread is about figuring why this world might work the way it does.

To paraphrase the Joker GN, the Joker isn't a man, he's a disease and there is no cure. Only Batman.

"That's not funny, that's not fuuu...." I love that series.

[KnightDisciple]

Seriously could you people STOP mentioning the Plot armor? Everyone knows plot armor. You are not smart for pointing it out. You are not clever for pointing it out. You just meta the fun out of these threads. This thread is about figuring why this world might work the way it does.

To paraphrase the Joker GN, the Joker isn't a man, he's a disease and there is no cure. Only Batman.

"That's not funny, that's not fuuu...." I love that series.

I'm not trying to be smart or clever. I'm pointing out the simple truth. The OP asked if there was any valid reason besides plot power. I'm pointing out that, ultimately, there's not.
Though, the point about not letting the Joker near an electric chair or lethal injection has some merit.
*Shrugs*

[hanzo66]

Simple version: Joker has Plot Armor up the wazoo.

Longer version: They usually make it so that Joker's death can make things worse. Either that or he cheats death in some way.

[Setra]

Joker is so insane he doesn't realize he can die, he also has latent Reality Warping Powers.

Personal Canon.

[Mewtarthio]

Yes, any sane people woudnt show loyalty to the Joker...thats the whole point. All the Joker minions are as insane as him! Every time he go to Arkam he got some fresh minions, watch the Dark knight: the Joker minions are the kind of guy who would let him open his belly to put a bomb in there.

I'm not sure those people would make very good lawyers. Plus, after a certain amount of time, you get to the point where no judge or jury in the world would let him go back to Arkham. Really, the Joker's gone beyond the point of simple mass murderer and all the way to "domestic terrorist."

Side note: I'm not sure if the guy in The Dark Knight let Joker put that bomb in there. He might have been anaesthetized, ostensibly for some other purpose (or even without his knowledge or consent), and the Joker just sewed a bomb inside him. At least, it looks like he doesn't know what that feeling in his stomach is.

[Gavin Sage]

Yeah he's just like that stupid Gilligan...

.... oh wait.