A friend of mine asked me recently if the Joker and Batman have ever been forced to join forces in the comics and I couldn't think of any instances in which they did. I know they teamed up once in Batman, the Brave and the Bold, to take down Owlman, but beyond that i can't think of a time they worked together in the actual comics (given Joker's evil nature & insanity & intense rivalry with batman). Do any of you guys know of any stories or events in which Joker and Batman teamed up for some reason?

Joker
Character » Joker appears in 3651 issues.
The Joker, Clown Prince of Crime, is Batman's arch-nemesis. An agent of chaos known for his malicious plots, wacky gadgets and insidious smile, he has caused Batman more suffering than any other villain he has ever faced. His origin, name, and true motivations remain a mystery.
Have Joker and Batman ever teamed up?
The did in fact team up once in a Brave and the Bold Comic Book. Some new villain was killing off people using the Joker's M.O.. So Batman teamed up with the Joker because no one knows the Jokers methods better than him, In the end the new criminal was working for the Joker and it was all a big set up, but for the whole issue they did in fact team up.
Yes. There was a silver age story where Joker was framed and about to be executed for a crime he didn't commit so Batman was forced to team up with him.
They have actually worked together on several occasions. They make a pretty good team. Both are dangerous and resourceful. The only one who can really stop the other is each other. Here are a few more in addition to the ones above.
::Spoilers on some old back issues:
Once The Penguin was murdered on live television by The Joker. Then Joker turned up and asked Batman to help him solve the crime because he swore he didn't do it. He wanted to avenge Penguin. Back then Penguin and Joker were written as being friends. Joker even cried over Penguin's dead body when he didn't know Batman was watching. During the investigation, Joker would occasionally give in to his uncontrollable impulse to try and kill Batman. But he had enough self control to use methods he knew wouldn't work. Cause they are friends and allies, you see. A bucket of acid over the door, or trying to run him over with the Batmobile. Just harmless fun between friends.( Insane Joker logic at its finest!)) Turned out Penguin used a Joker doppelganger and faked the whole thing so he could go under cover ( as a nun..penguin..get it?) and pull a big heist. Of course, being The Joker, the first thing he did when he found out his friend was all right was strangle him for upsetting him.
Another time Joker helped Batman with a kidnapping case of a little girl. It was very Silence of The Lambs and Joker really got into Batman's head. But they saved the child.
They also teamed up to save the world from Ra's Al Ghul. But Joker had been turned temporarily sane at the time.
In an non canon cross over Joker, Captain America, and Batman eventually worked together against The Red Skull .In fact, The Skull had gotten past Batman and Cap and was about to nuke New York when The Joker popped up and saved the day.
During The Infinite Crises story they had a sort of symbiotic coincidence. Alexander Luthor had been defeated and Batman actually pointed a gun at his face. He knew if Alex Luther lived he would threaten the multiverse again. But Wonder Woman kept him from pulling the trigger. ( She just had to say his name to snap him out of it) Luthor escaped. But just a few pages later Alex ran into Lex Luthor and Joker and Joker killed him. Saving the multiverse and removing the threat the way Batman couldn't let himself. Not that saving any one was Joker's prime motivation,but he is fond of saving his own world to play in. Plus Alex had wounded his ego. What I found interesting was the panel layout and art work of Batman and Joker walking up and putting guns in Alex Luthor's face were very similar. I am pretty sure it was deliberate on the artist part.
In the Justice mini series Joker served in the same capacity. He worked against The Legion of Doom and Brainiac from the shadows while The Justice League waged their war with them. His well timed explosives turned the tide of the battle.He also took down Scarecrow and was waiting for The Riddler and others at Arkham to pay them back.
There have been other times but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
That's the thing about The Joker. He is the personification of the wild card. There is no telling which side he is on, besides his own. Anything for a laugh, right?
They were supposed to team up in Batman: Europa and have an epic adventure but it ended up on the "to be continued" shelf. TWICE.
The reason being that Jim Lee could not keep up with all the work he had to do. Real shame because it looked like a really awesome story. It will probably be picked up again later. I really hope soon.
@andywattbulb: I was SO looking forward to that. I put it into my subscription list twice to no avail. From what I understand, Batman had been dosed with a slow acting poison and had to hunt down the organization that did it and try to find the cure. Joker was helping him out because he wanted to take down the rival villains. And because they messed with his favorite toy, The Batman. Joker had already gone through Batman being broken by Bane and then "killed" by Darksied. The world just wasn't as fun without Batman to challenge his genius. I hope your right and it makes it to press some day. I really don't like Jim Lee's Joker art work. He looks more like a Goblin or Halloween witch with that ridiculous nose.Which is strange cause he draws everyone else so realistic looking. But I could easily put up with it to see such a great plot brought to life.Can't be to picky about a nose! (heh)
@Referee said:
The did in fact team up once in a Brave and the Bold Comic Book. Some new villain was killing off people using the Joker's M.O.. So Batman teamed up with the Joker because no one knows the Jokers methods better than him, In the end the new criminal was working for the Joker and it was all a big set up, but for the whole issue they did in fact team up.
How I am not surprised that this happened in the silver age.
@hoole100 said:
Batman and Joker technically team up in New 52 Batman #1 to quell the arkham breakout if i remember correctly. Pretty neat panel of them fighting side by side if i remember as well.
That was Dick Grayson disguised so he could infiltrate Arkham, right?
@Joygirl said:
^ wasn't that Dick in disguise? Anywho, I have a sudden urge to read all of those stories now.
@nickzambuto said:
@hoole100 said:
Batman and Joker technically team up in New 52 Batman #1 to quell the arkham breakout if i remember correctly. Pretty neat panel of them fighting side by side if i remember as well.
That was Dick Grayson disguised so he could infiltrate Arkham, right?
haha i reread that issue the other day (i had only read it once or twice) and i realized that and was like "oh crap i forgot all about that, someones gonna call me out on the forums haha"
touche' sir
blame it on the weed.
@hoole100 said:
@nickzambuto said:
@hoole100 said:
Batman and Joker technically team up in New 52 Batman #1 to quell the arkham breakout if i remember correctly. Pretty neat panel of them fighting side by side if i remember as well.
That was Dick Grayson disguised so he could infiltrate Arkham, right?
haha i reread that issue the other day (i had only read it once or twice) and i realized that and was like "oh crap i forgot all about that, someones gonna call me out on the forums haha"
touche' sir
blame it on the weed.
I'll blame it on YOU for using the weed! :p
@TheAntiReVamp said:
@Referee said:
The did in fact team up once in a Brave and the Bold Comic Book. Some new villain was killing off people using the Joker's M.O.. So Batman teamed up with the Joker because no one knows the Jokers methods better than him, In the end the new criminal was working for the Joker and it was all a big set up, but for the whole issue they did in fact team up.
How I am not surprised that this happened in the silver age.
The Brave and the Bold #111, published in 1974, so actually it happened during the Bronze Age.
The story was collected in the awesome Legends of the Dark Knight by Jim Aparo, volume 1.
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