Editing Joker (character) (section)

===Golden Age===
[[File:Comic Book - The Joker (1940).jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=Comic book panel of the grinning Joker|From the Joker's debut in ''[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]'' #1 (April 25, 1940)]]
The Joker debuted in ''Batman'' #1 (April 1940) as the eponymous character's first villain, about a year after Batman's debut in ''[[Detective Comics]]'' #27 (May 1939). The Joker initially appeared as a [[serial killer]] and jewel thief, modeled after a joker playing card with a mirthless grin, who killed his victims with "Joker venom," a toxin that left their faces smiling grotesquely.{{sfn|Manning|2011|p=21}} The character was intended to be killed in his second appearance in ''Batman'' #1, after being stabbed in the heart. Finger wanted the Joker to die because of his concern that recurring villains would make Batman appear inept, but was overruled by then-editor [[Whitney Ellsworth]]; a hastily drawn panel, indicating that the Joker was still alive, was added to the comic.<ref name="ImpactCBR"/><ref name="GoldenAge1"/><ref name="GoldenAge3"/> The Joker went on to appear in nine of ''Batman''{{'}}s first 12 issues.<ref name="GoldenAge2"/>

The character's regular appearances quickly defined him as the archenemy of Batman and [[Robin (character)|Robin]]; he killed dozens of people, and even derailed a train.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fleisher |first1=Michael L. |title=The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume 1: Batman |date=1976 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] |location=New York City|isbn=0-02-538700-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco01flei/page/234/mode/2up |access-date=29 March 2020 |pages=234–250}}</ref> By issue #13, Kane's work on the [[Print syndication|syndicated]] ''Batman'' newspaper strip left him little time for the comic book; artist [[Dick Sprang]] assumed his duties, and editor [[Jack Schiff]] collaborated with Finger on stories. Around the same time, DC Comics found it easier to market its stories to children without the more mature [[Pulp magazine|pulp]] elements that had originated many superhero comics. During this period, the first changes in the Joker began to appear, portraying him as a wacky but harmless prankster; in one story, the Joker kidnaps Robin and Batman pays the ransom by check, meaning that the Joker cannot cash it without being arrested.{{sfn|Manning|2011|pp=24, 27|ps=. <q>Not coincidentally, DC found it easier to market their comics to kids without the salacious overtones of the pulp magazines from which many superhero comics had sprung.</q>}} Comic book writer [[Mark Waid]] suggests that the 1942 story "The Joker Walks the Last Mile" was the beginning point for the character's transformation into a more goofy incarnation, a period that [[Grant Morrison]] considered to have lasted the following 30 years.{{sfn|Weiner|Peaslee|2015|p=36}}

The 1942 cover of ''Detective Comics'' #69, known as "Double Guns" (with the Joker emerging from a [[genie]]'s lamp, aiming two guns at Batman and Robin), is considered one of the greatest superhero comic covers of the Golden Age and is the only image from that era of the character using traditional guns. Robinson said that other contemporary villains used guns, and the creative team wanted the Joker—as Batman's adversary—to be more resourceful.<ref name="DoubleGuns"/><ref name="DoubleGunsDeux"/>