But does he even sleep? There's not much in the various portrayals of the character that supports the idea that he needs 40 winks, but assuming that his personality disorder isn't supernatural, we can safely say that he does.
On the surface, this Joker wants to look “happy.” That's what he's told he's supposed to be. And, his uncontrollable laughing condition is because of how he's been forced to control his anger and sadness; to “stuff it” deep down inside.
According to the 2017 documentary I Am Heath Ledger, the actor's prosthetic scars, which were caked in red paint, kept coming loose on set. Ledger's habitual licking began as a reflex to check the scars were still in place and to ensure they stayed in position.
In 2009's Superman/Batman #65, the Joker's greatest fear is losing control of the joke—being perceived by his audience not as the master, but as its subject. The Joker claims it's all in fun, but being laughed at is the worst fate he can imagine.
Arguably the Joker's greatest weakness is his ego, however. He turns to crime to get the attention he desperately craves from Batman.
The psychopathology Arthur exhibits is unclear, preventing diagnosis of psychotic disorder or schizophrenia; the unusual combination of symptoms suggests a complex mix of features of certain personality traits, namely psychopathy and narcissism (he meets DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder).
The actor, 44, agreed to lose 52 lbs. at the urging of director Todd Phillips, who thought his character, Arthur Fleck, should be “real thin.” Phoenix lost the weight carefully, under the guidance of a doctor, but the strict calorie deprivation he endured affected his eating habits well after he hit his goal.
The condition known as pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is characterized by brief uncontrollable outbursts of crying or laughter that are incongruent with the patient's feelings of sadness or joy.
The above-mentioned characteristics make the Joker's laughing episodes compatible at first sight with the pseudobulbar affect, a clinical entity characterized by episodes of exaggerated or involuntary expression of emotions, including uncontrolled laughing or crying.
The novel has been described as the greatest Joker story ever told. Batman: The Killing Joke (1988) built on the Joker's 1951 origin story, portraying him as a failed comedian who participates in a robbery as the Red Hood to support his pregnant wife.
Martha reveals that she forced Psycho-Pirate, a villain with extensive knowledge of the entire DC Universe, to tell her the name of the Joker in the main DC Universe. It is then revealed that the Joker's real name is “Jack Oswald White.”
The Joker does not reciprocate her love and is in fact incapable of romantic emotion as he sees people only as tools to further his own plans. Harley is in denial of this fact and prefers to view him as an antihero until she eventually has to come face-to-face with his complete disregard for her.
Joker was not autistic, because he seemed to deeply desire social connection (most of his fantasies were surrounding connecting with others).
Missing Eye: Joker had his right eye shot out by Harley Quinn.
Many people look at the Joker and see the unbridled chaos of the id, and this is attractive to them. Now, this does not mean that people are looking at Joker and are envious of him as a murderer; it just means the id within is attracted to the idea of pure passion and unbridled chaos of emotions and action.
Arthur was brought up by a foster mother and did not have a father figure. The foster mother herself describes him growing up as a fun and kind boy, but later he was abused and beaten by his adoptive parents and even had a severe head injury.
Joker and Batman are not brothers, even though the movie suggests that they are. It is later revealed that Arthur is, in fact, adopted, and his true origins are unknown.
The Joker's age changes depending on the version of the character – for example, in Batman: The Animated Series, he's 44 years old, but in some stories in the comics, he has been portrayed as being in his late 50's, so it's not surprising that the movie went for a younger portrayal.
“No more masks”. Shortly after this, Joker told Batman that he knows who everyone is in the Batfamily and that he had grown bored with their “relationship". Cutting off his face was to show that he was indeed and had indeed fallen to even greater depths in his insanity and that he was moving on to the endgame.
In contrast to most of the entries, one of the darkest versions of Joker ever created is when Martha Wayne becomes the supervillain. This tragic turn for her comes during the Flashpoint storyline where Bruce was killed on that fateful night instead of her and Thomas.
Reeves said the following when asked by Variety about his take on the Joker: "It's like Phantom of the Opera. He has a congenital disease where he can't stop smiling, and it's horrific. His face is half-covered throughout most of the film.
The psychopathology Arthur exhibits is unclear, preventing diagnosis of psychotic disorder or schizophrenia; the unusual combination of symptoms suggests a complex mix of features of certain personality traits, namely psychopathy and narcissism (he meets DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder).
Personality Disorder, specifically, Histrionic Personality Disorder plays a key part in Harley Quinn's life. People with Histrionic Personality Disorder are “pervasive and excessive emotionally and display attention-seeking behavior” (Bornstein 1998).
For starters, Langley asserts that Batman, despite popular opinion, does not have a mental illness. The Dark Knight exhibits some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, but not enough to warrant a formal diagnosis.