There have been several iterations of the Joker over the years. But all of them have been portrayed as male characters. The only timeline where a female joker exists is the Flashpoint timeline.
Flashpoint is one of the most interesting stories ever written. This story features a completely new take on several Batman characters. In this alternate reality, Martha Wayne is the Joker and Thomas Wayne is Batman. Many of the villains in the main timeline are not present in the Flashpoint continuity.
And those who are present have different roles altogether. For example, Oswald Cobblepot is not the villain penguin. He serves as the Manager of the Wayne Casinos. And Harvey Dent is a Judge. He never became Two-face.
Let’s take a look at the female joker AKA Martha Wayne.
Origins of the Female Joker
This story begins as a normal Batman story. We see a flashback in which Thomas and Martha come out of the cinema with their son Bruce. They take “crime alley” while walking home. And Joe Chill stops them at gunpoint and fires.
But instead of Thomas and Martha, it is Bruce who dies that night. Bruce utters the words “Dad I am cold” before dying. Joe Chill manages to escape leaving Thomas and Martha with the dead body of Bruce. This event eventually makes Martha mentally unstable.
After some time has passed we see Thomas consoling Martha and asking her to take better care of her. Thomas says to Martha that he misses both his son and her smile. But Martha Wayne has still not recovered from the shock.
Thomas then tracks down Joe Chill and kills him with his bare hands. He then tells Martha all of this to give her some sense of comfort. But when Martha turns to him Thomas sees that Martha has ripped her face open while trying to engrave a smile on her face.
Thomas visibly shocked by this act then admits his wife into a mental health institution. These events ultimately lead Martha to take on the role of Joker in this universe. And in order to counter her, Thomas takes on the persona of Batman.
This story about the origins of the female joker is also briefly covered in the limited mini-series Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance.
Crime Sprees
After becoming the Joker Martha becomes even more deranged and does not even think before taking lives. She also attacks Wayne Casinos and other Wayne Business establishments.
In one of her crime sprees, she kidnaps Harvey Dent’s two children. A boy and a girl. As a result, Jim Gordon informs Batman of the situation and also starts working independently. Jim also consults the Oracle which in this continuity is Selina Kyle.
After getting some clues Jim reaches Wayne Manor to locate the position of the kidnapped children and the Female Joker. He enters the manor and on exploring the mansion he sees a boy tied up with Martha standing next to him.
Jim shoots her multiple times in the chest but to his horror, the Female he thought was the Joker was actually Harvey Dent’s daughter tied to a chair. Jim has actually shot her and not the Female Joker.
As he tries to go towards the girl Joker appears and slits Jim’s throat while recording live video from Jim’s own phone. She sends the video to Batman and Oracle in which a dying Jim is seen trying to reach for his gun.
Batman appears on the scene and tries to save the girl by using a healing lotion of sorts and is successful in preventing her death. As Batman is taking the children out of the Manor, Martha hits him in the head with a hammer and continues to repeatedly hit him.
Batman pushes the Joker outside the Manor and falls with her. But he is successful in saving the children.
Death of Female Joker
When Martha tries to escape this time, Thomas chases after her and catches her. He asks her what does she want. And she replies that she wants a world without him.
Batman then starts telling a story of the night Bruce died. Martha tells him to shut up but Thomas continues. But in the end, he tells her that Bruce lived that night and both of them died.
Thomas continues to tell her that in another timeline, their son survived that night. Martha then enquires about what does he become when he grows up. Thomas replying that he follows in his father’s footsteps.
Joker asks if he has become a doctor but Thomas tells her that their son has become Batman in his timeline.
After listening to this Martha pushes him away and escapes while crying and expressing sorrow at her Son’s fate. Thomas again chases after her but she falls down a dried down well possibly the same well where Bruce fell and discovered the Batcave.
But sadly she is not able to survive the fall and dies on the spot. Ending the story.
Conclusion
Flashpoint is an R-rated miniseries exploring different approaches to the same story. It has offered a unique insight into the Batman story arc. And has shown the world where Bruce had died.
In another Flashpoint story, Flash meets Thomas and at the end of the story, he gives Flash a letter addressed to his son. He urges Bruce to be happy and leave Batman behind. Getting a message from his father makes Bruce cry. Which in itself is a very rare sight even in the comics.
The Batman of this storyline is not shy of killing and uses guns regularly. He even kills killer croc and other villains he encounters.
The story presents Martha Wayne AKA Female Joker and Batman AKA Thomas Wayne in a very different scenario. We have only known them as Bruce Wayne’s deceased parents. But this story shows that no matter how tragic their deaths might have been but the world is still a better place with their son surviving that night.
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