10 DC Antiheroes Who Can Permanently Solve Batman’s Joker Problem

Batman’s no-kill rule has become a problem for both Gotham and DC Comics. The vigilante’s morals are his Achilles heel when it comes to permanently stopping one of his biggest foes: the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime has never been contained for more than a few months before he escapes Arkham and wreaks havoc on Gotham.

Joker’s antics could have been stopped if Batman had just killed the Joker, but his rule has just led to more chaos in the city. Of course, we would miss out on a lot of stories if the Joker is actually dead, but some antiheroes in DC’s roster can get the job done. Here are 10 DC antiheroes who can solve Batman’s Joker problem.

1 DC’s Lobo Has No Batman-Rules to Hide Behind

The Main Man of DC Comics is as morally grey as they come. Lobo is a bounty hunter who travels across universes to get his bounty. He has no issue with who the target is, as long as the reward is worth his while. Lobo once committed genocide against his own kind. He has no rules, especially none like Batman’s no-kill rule. 

If someone bankrolled a contract on the Joker, Lobo would track him across dimensions, peel through Arkham’s walls like wet cardboard, and deliver a result so thorough that not even the Lazarus pits could undo it. The darkly comedic irony is that Lobo might actually enjoy the job.

2 Deadshot Never Misses, and the Joker Is No Exception

The most impressive marksman in DC Comics has put bullets in places one cannot even imagine. Similar to Lobo, Deadshot only cares about his contract, and someone like Joker, he would just eliminate for the good of the world. He never misses a target, and he is not bogged down by silly sentimentality. Floyd Lawton would have the perfect killshot for Joker.

3 Red Hood Came Back Angrier With the Joker

Jason Todd was the second Robin that Batman adopted, and it was tragic. He was once brutally killed by the Joker with blows from a crowbar in a warehouse, which the Joker later burned to the ground. Batman was too late, but Todd was revived by the Lazarus Pit and returned as the Red Hood. The story was incredibly depicted in the comic, Death in the Family, which badly needs a DCAU adaptation.

Red Hood was one of the biggest critics of Batman’s no-kill rule, especially after what the Joker did to him. He knows the Clown Prince’s psychology better than anyone alive, has faced him without flinching, and carries personal stakes no other antihero can claim. Without the Bat’s interference, this becomes a very short story with a very permanent ending.

4 Deathstroke Has No Philosophical Objections to Finishing Joker

Slade Wilson is one of the DC universe’s most precise assassins. He approaches his work with clinical precision and has taken on beings far more powerful than the Joker. Apart from fighting Batman, he has been against the Justice League, which has metahumans like the Flash, Wonder Woman, and Superman.

For Deathstroke, the Joker is just a normal human being with a penchant for chaos (and maybe some harmful chemicals). He can swat him like a fly and end the terror reign quickly.

5 Rorschach’s Inkblot Never Compromised

Rorschach is not stuck anywhere with Joker; the Joker is stuck with Rorschach. The masked vigilante does not dwell on the greys of the world. He deals in absolutes, and when he sees the Joker’s antics, he would immediately end him without flinching.

While Rorschach technically belongs to the Watchmen universe, his DC publication history makes him fair game, and his approach to the Joker problem would be bracingly straightforward. He has already killed to protect the innocent. He already knows that systems of incarceration fail.

6 Constantine Plays a Longer Game

Now we come to the truly fantastical antiheroes in the DC universe. Constantine has dealt with devils far more dangerous than the Joker and has condemned them to the depths of hell. Constantine could make the Joker’s death feel like his own fault.

Against the Joker, Constantine wouldn’t go for brute force. He’d engineer something far worse: a binding sigil, a deal with the wrong kind of being, or a curse that reroutes the Joker’s chaos magic (yes, it’s there) into permanent self-destruction. 

7 Catwoman Is Gotham’s Most Dangerous Opportunist

Selina Kyle has crossed paths with the Joker multiple times, and she is not completely loyal to Batman either. She knows Batman’s psychology like no other and knows that his rule is just misplaced idealism. Catwoman would not care for Batman’s rule only because she does not care for rules as a whole, and would kill Joker without blinking.

She’s a thief who operates on survival logic, and survival logic says a threat you can neutralize permanently should be neutralized permanently. If she ever decided the Joker had become bad for business, she has both the means and the ruthlessness to act.

8 Peacemaker Has Killed for Less Than What the Joker Has Done

Christopher Smith is one of the most fascinating characters in the DC roster. He will stop at nothing to protect peace, and that includes killing people. Ironic, yes, but the perfect chaotic energy required to deal with someone like the Joker. With sheer brute force, Peacemaker can bludgeon the Clown Prince to death.

Peacemaker has eliminated targets for far thinner justifications than a decades-long body count. He’d probably be annoyed it took this long for someone to ask him.

9 Azrael, the Avenging Angel, Has No Mercy

Azrael puts divine justice over everything, even Batman’s silly morals. When he temporarily replaced Batman, he nearly killed Bane and adopted increasingly brutal methods that horrified the entire Bat-family. Azrael is anointed by the Sacred Order of Saint Dumas to carry out execution-level punishments for those who sin.

Azrael’s programming equates crime with sin and sin with a death sentence, and the Joker would register as an almost theological emergency. 

10 The Spectre Exists for Exactly This Kind of Wrath

The Spectre is the personification of divine wrath and will never let Joker get away with all the things Batman has let him do. He has turned criminals to glass and shattered them, condemned souls for eternity, and reshaped reality to punish the wicked in forms that match the poetry of their crimes. Spectre is one of the most overpowered antiheroes in DC Comics, and Joker does not stand a chance in front of him.

The only thing that would stop the Spectre from annihilating the Joker is his human host, who would probably give him some moral push. But if that restraint is removed, it is goodbye to the Clown Prince of Crime (all versions of him).

DC Antihero	Key Trait for Killing Joker
Lobo	Bounty hunter with no morals
Deadshot	Contract killer who wouldn’t mind killing Joker
Red Hood	Anger for killing him as Jason Todd and Batman’s training
Deathstroke	Incredible strength and lack of no-kill rules
Rorschach	An absolutist point of view makes Joker deserving of death
Constantine	Mystical condemnation for Joker’s sins
Catwoman	If Joker impedes her business, he will be stopped
Peacemaker	Joker is a prime obstacle to peacekeeping
Azrael	Divine justice
The Spectre	Spectre will use his wrath to kill the sinful Joker

Which DC antihero do you think will be the perfect adversary for the Joker?