When the joker travels to another universe and joins a powerful force, gains a force too high for live action movie†
While part of what makes the Joker so terrifying is that he has no skills but is still considered one of the greatest villains in the DC universe, this idea is completely turned on its head when the Clown Prince of the Underworld really becomes superhuman. After the Joker travels to another universe, he gains dark and horribly violent abilities that are too high for movies.
In Batman/Judge Dredd’s Die Laughing #2 by Alan Grant, John Wagner and Jim Murray, The Joker traveled to Judge Dredd’s universe after using the multiverse teleportation belt. When he got there in the previous issue, the Joker helped a super strong villain known as Judge Death escape prison, and he was rewarded with his own truly sinister skills.
Judge Death is one of four Dark Judges within the Judge Dredd succession, creatures with demonic abilities tasked with destroying all life in the multiverse. They went from a parallel world to Judge Dredd’s universe to fulfill their dark mission. After being arrested off-screen, the Joker released Judge Death, and in return the dark entity filled him with his evil energy and turned the Joker into another Dark Judge. The power the Joker acquired in doing so proved too terrible for all of his films, as he acquired the ability to blow people’s minds off, creating a rush of blood that coincided with the hoarse sound of his sinister laugh.
The Joker’s laughter makes people explode in this comic, which really is the perfect power for the Joker, as it’s similar to his deadly nitrous oxide, but without the need for external weapons. The perfectly matched power that the Joker gains after becoming a jury joker is no accident. The mystical process used to empower the Dark Judges gives everyone abilities based on their individual obsessions. In addition, as Judge Joker, he is immortal, as his new body is invulnerable to attack.
Since the Joker finds death hilarious, it’s only natural that his laughter will cause his victims an unbelievably horrible death. Judge Joker becomes so powerful that the only reason he returns to his original form is because he didn’t know that he would lose his powers when he was transported back to the DC universe. Had he been able to maintain his abilities, the Joker would have been completely unstoppable, even as he faced the strongest heroes DC has to offer. While it’s certainly disappointing for the Clown Prince of the underworld, it’s actually good for his real brand that these abilities didn’t last. The Joker may be the most popular action character in the DC catalog, but with these insanely violent abilities, there’s no way he’s going to be able to appear in so many movies because this power is too high for movies.