Why is the Joker still alive?

[comicshorse]

I've always assumed that the Joker (and most comic book super-villains, actually) are pulling off a bunch of essentially mundane money-making crimes that we rarely if ever actually see, simply because they are mundane, and therefore not as interesting as the crazy, over-the-top schemes we see in most comics. (This is more-or-less canon for the Penguin and a few others.)

Actually the main way the Penguin has changed ( and which I really like) is the Penguin has become a crime-lord who only is interested in money and power and so only pulls mundane crimes and then he gets his minions to do them and so avoids getting his faxce punched in by the Batman

[Ravens_cry]

Actually the main way the Penguin has changed ( and which I really like) is the Penguin has become a crime-lord who only is interested in money and power and so only pulls mundane crimes and then he gets his minions to do them and so avoids getting his faxce punched in by the Batman

Smartest thing he ever did. Not sure if this is still the case, but he was very much a knowledge broker pre-reboot.

[Deepbluediver]

The mainstream comic book industry exists to service trademarks which can then be profitably licensed to make actual money from movies and toys.

That's why the same characters keep going round and round, because that keeps them as viable trademarks to squeeze.

As a diehard capitalist I'll never suggest that some one SHOULDN'T do what will make them money, but I don't think it should be exclusive with telling an original story. I don't have a problem with creating new characters that are similar to the old ones, my issue is that the old characters NEVER GO AWAY.

Everyone in the civilized world knows who Harry Potter is, and the series made multiple tons worth of money, but that doesn't mean we need to reprint the books every 10 years with slight tweaks (like all the wizards are suddenly human-alien hybrids from an ancient spacefaring race that crash-landed on earth).
That's basically the kind of thing I feel they do with comic books, constantly, and I don't like it.

[Dragoon]

Well, since more recently Joker makes up his back-story, it could in fact be multiple Jokers, which may explain why they act differently from time to time.

Better, joke answer.

Batman knows they he's in a RPG, specifically Mutants and Masterminds, where there is a mechanic called a hero point, which can allow people to survive things they shouldn't, get extremely lucky, or with a certain ability, is able to actually have what they need to fight an enemy, even if they didn't remember to take it with them. Now villains can in fact use said hero points for themselves, however, when they do so, all the heroes gain a hero point themselves for later use. Thus, the Joker using said villain points to survive has given Batman a plethora of extra hero points, which in turn allows him to just remember something he has that would defeat his current opponent, even if it wouldn't be something that would be normally carrying. Thus also explaining why his utility seems to be not so set.

[The Glyphstone]

Well, since more recently Joker makes up his back-story, it could in fact be multiple Jokers, which may explain why they act differently from time to time.

Kinda like that Chinese fable with the seven brothers who were each invulnerable to something?

[snoopy13a]

As a diehard capitalist I'll never suggest that some one SHOULDN'T do what will make them money, but I don't think it should be exclusive with telling an original story. I don't have a problem with creating new characters that are similar to the old ones, my issue is that the old characters NEVER GO AWAY.

Everyone in the civilized world knows who Harry Potter is, and the series made multiple tons worth of money, but that doesn't mean we need to reprint the books every 10 years with slight tweaks (like all the wizards are suddenly human-alien hybrids from an ancient spacefaring race that crash-landed on earth).
That's basically the kind of thing I feel they do with comic books, constantly, and I don't like it.

Of course, the reason they don't go away is simple demand. And, oftentimes, tweaks to characters occur when demand for those character start to slip. The "jump the shark" moment is a failed attempt to regenerate interest; it is a symptom of the decline, not a cause.

[deuterio12]

On the money topic, I believe it has been stablished multiple times that batman's enemies are all crimemasters of a degree of another and when not killing their henchmen for the evulz, they're actually paying them pretty well. More than one rich guy in the DC comics owes their fortune to the selling of guns, hideouts and explosives to villains.

Kinda like that Chinese fable with the seven brothers who were each invulnerable to something?

More like when a Joker kicks it, it's only a short matter of time in Gotham City until someone else has a really bad day that pushes them over the edge, making them dye their hair green, bleach their skin white and go to town.

[Tectonic Robot]

The Joker's still alive because the writers haven't decided to kill him yet!

You want an in-universe reason why no one killed him yet?

Maybe he has like, a super magnetic personality field around him, which prevents random assassins from shooting him. >.o

[Burner28]

You know what?

Her is my explanation:

Its because his hair is green. They can't kill him because his hair is green.

What an answer!

[Deepbluediver]

Of course, the reason they don't go away is simple demand. And, oftentimes, tweaks to characters occur when demand for those character start to slip. The "jump the shark" moment is a failed attempt to regenerate interest; it is a symptom of the decline, not a cause.

A good point, but I think it can be both. When done poorly, changes will drive off still-loyal readers without attracting new ones.

My bigger complaint was the failure to let anything (or anyone) die off or have their story ended with a reasonable amount of dignity. And on the rare occasions that happens, (often by accident, I think) they'll be back in six months with a new writer and some boring, recycled reason on why they've come out of retirement.

[Tergon]

I think there's a more mundane explanation. Joker's basically a psychotic rock star who rules Arkham from the inside, not to mention a massive fat paycheck to the warden in much the same way Hannibal Lecter was in The Silence Of The Lambs. Add to that his own insane ingenuity, and I think we can all pretty much accept that short of a super-powered villian laying siege to Arkham for the sole purpose of killing Joker, while he's inside those walls, he's not going to get hurt. I think he even jokes a few times about being sent back to Arkham "For a short rest before the next performance". He sees Arkham as little more than a relaxing holiday home when he's not wreaking havoc upon Gotham.

As for when he's not in Gotham, well, we all know what that means - that Batman has set everything else in his life aside and is concentrating on finding Joker to return him to Arkham. So in order to get to Joker, an assassin would have to locate him faster than Batman can, which is no easy task. Upon finding Joker, you'd have to actually take him down, which is definitely no easy task considering that he booby-traps pretty much everything he owns in the hope that someone will pick it up and trigger it. Not even Batman can realiably get the drop on Joker. And let's not forget that even if you do find Joker and you do get him on the ropes, you've got to actually make the kill and escape before Batman finds you. You just killed his White Whale. Batman will not be happy that you came to his city and killed his arch-enemy.
Basically, remember the famous quote from The Usual Suspects? "How do you shoot the Devil in the back? What if you miss?" In this case, hunting the Joker is a suicidally dangerous idea, and on the incredibly small chance that you succeed and actually kill him, you just made number one on Batman's ****-list. No amount of money is worth that.

That leaves one option: someone unexpectedly finds themselves in a situation where they can kill the Joker before he can trigger anything that might save himself. And that's actually happened a few times! Some didn't want to lower themselves to his level and become a killer; a lot tried and failed. The number of times he's been caught in exploding buildings or vehicles over the years... yeesh. As for the rest, he's managed to keep them talking - taunting them to make them angry, teasing them with some information that he claims they'll need, bribing them - until the cavalry arrives, often as not a hero who won't let him be killed.

So in conclusion, to successfully kill Joker, you must be strong enough to actually take him down, lucky enough to get him when he's vulnerable, moral enough to want to stop him before he kills again, cold enough to actually kill him yourself, and crazy enough to not give a damn that Batman's coming for you next. That's... a short list, even for DC's lineup.

Beyond that, plot armour.

[Bulldog Psion]

I prefer the "minor chaos god" theory from upthread, myself. He's died dozens, if not hundreds of times, but inevitably re-forms again as long as there is madness in the world to sustain him.

In fact, doesn't he kind of imply that towards the end of the "Dark Knight" movie? That film kind of skirted around the edges of his not actually being human, at least in my peculiar imagination. Multiple origin stories, only one standing after the bomb goes off at the police station, absolutely no history on file anywhere with the authorities, and then his speech while he was hanging upside down.