The Jokerdoesn’t technically have any superpowers - certainly not as many as Superman - which is why it’s so surprising that he does have one power that Kryptonians lack. While Superman has super speed, strength, flight, and heat vision, the Joker has a remarkable level of resistance to psychic attack, way more than Superman does.
The surprising superpower of the Jokerwas revealed inThe Joker#5 by Martin Pasko and Irv Novick. The Joker is once again up to mischief and decides to steal a group of paintings. Unfortunately, the Royal Flush gang has also set their sights on the prized paintings, leading to an all-out brawl betweenthe Jokerand the Royal Flush gang. Shockingly,the Royal Flush Gang’s powers don’t work on the Joker.
The Royal Flush gang often uses playing cards that have effects on their targets, such as making them fall asleep or driving them to rage. But none of these effects seem to work on the Joker. As the Joker points out, the weapons are designed to work on"psychologically normal humans,“which the Joker isn’t. But the truth of his immunity goes a bit further than that, asthe Joker has demonstrated a high-resistance to telepaths.
The Joker’s Immunity to Telepathy Makes Him Invulnerable in a Way Superman Will Never Be
The Joker#5 by Martin Pasko, Irv Novick, and Tex Blaisdell.
Even the Justice League’sMartian Manhunter struggles to affect Joker’s mind for long. Martian Manhunter is one of the most powerful telepaths in the DC Universe. In Grant Morrison’s run onJLA, Martian Manhunter attempts to re-arrange the Joker’s mind to grant him sanity. While Martian Manhunter is successful, the effect is only temporary. If Martian Manhunter isn’t actively trying to hold the Joker’s mind together, the Joker eventually reverts to complete insanity.
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The Joker’s resistance to telepathy is pretty remarkable, as other characters have struggled to read his mind in the past, which is in stark contrast toSuperman, who is often easily brought down by telepathic attacks. Maxwell Lord once took control of Superman’s mind so firmly that only killing Lord set Superman free.Superman was also easily beaten by a White Martian, who used telepathyto make Superman believe that he was in the presence of Kryptonite. All of these examples suggest that Superman has a much greater vulnerability to telepathy than the Joker, who has always been able to shrug it off.
Superman Has Been Defeated by Telepathy Countless Times
The Joker’s Mind Remains Practically Immune
The Joker’s insanity is so powerful that trying to enter his mind is practically impossible. Even the lasso of truth has been deemed useless against him, as he’s been unable to recognize objective truth due to his madness. The vast majority of characters in comics, includingSuperman, have been shown to be vulnerable to mind-control or telepathy at one point or another. But theJoker’smadness grants him the unique superpower of being able to overcome even the strongest telepaths.
The Joker
The Joker is a psychopathic criminal mastermind with a warped sense of humor. Initially introduced as a remorseless serial killer, the character evolved over time, often oscillating between a prankster and a homicidal maniac. His relationship with Batman is one of the most complex in comic book history, defined by their mutual obsession. Over the decades, the Joker has become an enduring icon of chaos and madness, embodying the antithesis of Batman’s order and justice.
