Hey I just started reading Batman with issue #13 and I was wondering how come The Joker let Dollmaker cut his face off? Do we know why he did it or is it just one of his crazy shenaningans?

I don't necessarily think he "let" him cut off his face, that sounds absurd.

@Yai_Inn: I had no idea, though I'm not surprised. Joker's behavior is absurd anyways.

Joker is just crazy enough to do it.

@slvr4surfer: Because idiots think they are being edgy.

Perhaps its simply part of the unpredictable madness of the Joker, but likely there will be some plan or reason to behind it to be resolved. If his face has been cut off, that would allow someone to use his face or for the Joker to put on another as part of ingenious disguise. As the image above says its a "message".

He purposely gets caught by Batman and put in to Arkham Asylum. In Detective #1 Batman sees The Joker killing someone, but doesn't get there in time to stop it. He catches Joker and puts him in Arkham Asylum. That night Dollmaker shows up in Joker's cell and implies that Joker asked him beforehand to meet him there, so obviously getting caught was planned by the Joker. You find out that the guy Joker killed earlier was Dollmaker's son. Dollmaker sent him to cut off Joker's face, but Joker only wanted Dollmaker to do it. Then Dollmaker cuts off his face and afterward they pin it to the wall and escape. They refer to it as a "rebirth" which implies there's a reasoning behind it, we just haven't found out what it is yet.

To DarkKnight1939, Joker allows this to all go on to prove he can get back at Bruce and his family for putting him in the Asylum and so called causing his creation. However, because of the confit of the Red hood act and Joker allways getting at Batman and never neather killing each other for each others acts Robin grows up to hates Batman by Jokers doing. These new comics shows robin becoming Jokers old name Red Hood once grown up. So when you where talking about other people could become the Joker, then thats one possibilty. Harley has known to also attemp to force her new bf, as Joker mentions that shes hanging around with some stranger, to where his face, but she gets shot. The new 52 orign story death of the family has given us readers new possibilites and angles to joker's plans of killing the new reformed Wayne family and friends.

So if I'm not mistaken, the Death of the Family storyline has concluded, which means we should know why the Joker allowed his face to be cut off. Was it just a gimmick created for shock value, or was there an actual reason behind it? For the benefit of everyone who wants to know, don't send me an answer in the form of a private message - just mention it in the comments.

I plan on reading Death of the Family once it is released in a collected edition, which is why I haven't read it yet.

in the new batman it said he cut it off to show he was the same underneath his skin there is still a smile, to prove to Batman and everyone else that it was not just his face that had a smile but that was who he truly was.

Outside of who and why the Joker's face got cut off in the story, there were two reasons why it happened:

1. Editorial wanted the Joker off the table for stories for the first year of the new 52

2. Editorial wanted the New 52 to start with a Bang...and a faceless Joker meets that criteria

In an early Detective Comics issue it showed Joker willingly participating in his face removal. It was not explained, just a gimmick for shock value. Lame.

@KyleeAnn said:

He purposely gets caught by Batman and put in to Arkham Asylum. In Detective #1 Batman sees The Joker killing someone, but doesn't get there in time to stop it. He catches Joker and puts him in Arkham Asylum. That night Dollmaker shows up in Joker's cell and implies that Joker asked him beforehand to meet him there, so obviously getting caught was planned by the Joker. You find out that the guy Joker killed earlier was Dollmaker's son. Dollmaker sent him to cut off Joker's face, but Joker only wanted Dollmaker to do it. Then Dollmaker cuts off his face and afterward they pin it to the wall and escape. They refer to it as a "rebirth" which implies there's a reasoning behind it, we just haven't found out what it is yet.

This extremely informative post is the only explanation we've received (and it seems a shame that it's been nearly three months and this post never had a follow-up!). Tony Daniel, the original writer for Detective Comics (in which the face removal occurred) has since left the book (and I think DC, though I may be wrong about that). Whatever his plans, then, he never got to make them happen, and the result is that subsequent writers (like Snyder) were forced to deal with it, with or without explanation. I thought Snyder did decently with what he was given, but despite the fact that the facelessness became a big deal in Death of the Family, you must remember that the face removal was not done for Death of the Family.

@ApatheticAvenger said:

He's... crazy?

Bat-sh!t crazy to be exact

I mean no disrespect to the original poster at all...

But to me the answer is always simple.. The guys is nuts nuts....

The reason he seems like he does things that are mad is because he is out of his mind.

He wanted to deliver a message to Batman.

That from now on,things are much more serious than they used to be.

I'm pretty sure he originally cut his face off because he was retiring but then DC chickened out and needed to bring him back so they just strapped it back on

Tony Daniel is a Clive Barker fan. Who cares, he is just going to fall into the Lazareth pit and grow it back.

pretty much. it allowed for a cool cover, and created a lot of buzz. in the end though, a lot of stuff in the arc just happened for no reason, just to stir up excitement

To make hi even more scary

for the lulz

Joker allowed Dollmaker to cut it off.

I think the idea was mostly just for shock value. But it demonstrates how truly insane Joker is in this New 52. He's more unpredictable than usual.

maybe the joker was just trying to prevent facial skin cancer. no skin, no skin cancer.

everyone got a new look in the new 52 and for the joker it was his old look only removable. now the joker can put a smile on anyones face

Because it was meant to represent that his mask is off and he knows who everyone is under their mask.

I am so glad that I found this thread. I just started to get got up on the whole Dick is Batman and the Death of the Family arc. I thought I had missed something. The Joker "let" the Dollmaker cut his face off? What the what?? I am very curious to know if this will ever be addressed in the future. Or is this just the Joker being a new a level of crazy?

I thought he said it was a way of "freeing himself"?

1. It allows for the Joker to make a big comeback.
2. It makes him scarier than normal.
3. It is supposed to try and scare the Bat-Family. If he can get the mask from a crowded police station, he can snatch individual people.
4. Shock value.

DC for life!

To show batman that "beneath my grin, is just more grin" "And thats what this is about. Reminding you of the love we share, you and I".

-Batman #17-

Lame gimmick.

I don't think it was all shock value. If Joker is supposed to be a twisted couterpart to Batman, then peeling his face off is no different than Batman taking his cowl off. So a faceless Joker is the Joker version of "Bruce Wayne". Sadly, I don't think they did enough with that.

I noticed the answer really wasn't stated so just thought I'd try and clear everything up a little...

Joker had planned for/let Dollmaker take his face off to prove to Batman that there is no redemption for him, that even without his signature face he is still the Joker. Batman tends to believe that in a bad person, somewhere deep down there is still good in the person. Joker did this kinda to say to Batman that deep down he is the same as his surface, there is no good in him and no hope for redemption. He will always be a crazy psycho killer and there is no saving him.

I'm not sure why he let the dollmaker cut his face off, but i do know that in Batman: Joker's daughter, his "daughter" has joker's face sewn onto her own.

The guy is nuttier than a squirrel's secret stash.

@slvr4surfer: I think he did it to show how he and Batman are similar. Bruce is no longer Bruce Wayne, he has become Batman and uses Bruce Wayne as a disguise. So if you were to be all metaphorical, you might just say Bruce cut off his own face to use as a mask.

@kyleeann: Thank you.

Because they said, look Heath Ledger Joker cut itself, it makes him look more crazy that comic book one.

We have to do something that make him look crazier.

I have an idea, lets cut his face.

Apparently to send batman a message.

He left it there for them. Like a message.

He cut his face off to show batman that even without his "mask" he is still the joker. Which he is also saying that Bruce Wayne is a mask to batman. And that he should take his mask off as well

...interesting question... but i'm more curious about another one...

What he was doing that past year with his cuted face ?

PROBABLY BECAUSE HES CRAZY

It was done so that he could shed the last thing that made him human. His features changing after he fell into the vat of chemicals is what initially drove him insane. Now that his face is gone, his most defining physical trait has been removed, and his humanity along with it. IF you finished the death of the family arc you'll see what i mean. Probably one of the darkest and most intense joker stories ever. Or in Batman period.