Note: Batman is owned by DC Comics and was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane. The new name that the Joker is given in this story is a tribute to Cesar Romero, the first Joker actor, and Jerry Robinson who helped Bill and Bob create the Joker.

Gotham had recently gained a new hero called the Batman. He was a gloomy, but hopeful sign of peace. He had been bringing down robbers, but a much more dangerous villains were about to rise.

Cesar Robinson was a sweet, but sneaky young comedian who was dating a woman named Jeannie. Cesar often made other people mad with his jokes, but he kept getting away with. Jeannie and a lot of other people warned Cesar about not making fun of the wrong people. Cesar ignored their warnings which wasn't a big problem, until the day that Cesar made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

One night Cesar and Jeannie went to a fancy restaurant. Cesar said, "I won't have to make too many jokes here, because the prices they charge for their crappy food are the real joke."

Jeannie replied, "Lets try to forget about jokes darling and just enjoy this night."

Cesar walked around and saw Carmine Falcone, Gotham's biggest crime boss. Cesar said, "Perhaps the biggest joke of all is that they let criminals in here."

Carmine angrily stared at Cesar and said, "Excuse me?"

Cesar said, "You've done more illegal business in Gotham than anybody else. Despite that, you have more cash than humble wise guys like myself." He jokingly poked Carmine's wallet and said, "Stealing from the evil rich guys and giving to the sympathetic poor guys seems like a happy ending to this never ending cycle of crime in Gotham."

Carmine replied, "This jerk's trying to rob me."

Cesar responded, "I was joking."

Carmine signaled to his bodyguards and said, "Give this guy a good beating and have him arrested for attempted robbery." The bodyguards grabbed Cesar outside and beat him up.

Jeannie knew that mouthing off to Carmine was one of the biggest risks of her life, but she was too filled with anger to hold back. She walked up to him and asked, "What the heck is wrong with you? Cesar was being immature, but he wasn't going to actually rob you. He's a comedian."

Carmine replied, "Then I'll do plenty of laughing while he's filling out his prison sentence." Jeannie punched Carmine in the face and called him a bunch of mocking terms before storming out.

One of Carmine's bodyguards asked, "Do you want me to go after her?"

Carmine said, "Not now. I want to punish the comedian and his girlfriend after this Cesar guy gets out of prison."

Cesar got a reputation as being one of the most dangerous people in Gotham for mocking Gotham's top crime boss. He wasn't actually a crook yet, but several people thought he was one. Batman heard about him. He had considered Carmine the biggest criminal in Gotham. He heard that Cesar had been the one person to push Carmine's buttons so he thought that Cesar was an even eviler threat than Carmine. That wasn't true ... yet.

A few years later Cesar was released from prison. Jeannie picked him up and the two of them got into Jeannie's car. Bruce Wayne watched Cesar walk out of prison and talk to Jeannie. Bruce was wearing a trench coat to hide who he was. He was worried about what Cesar was up to.

Jeannie started driving home. Cesar said, "I don't know what I'll do for a home."

Jeannie replied, "You can move in with me."

Cesar said, "Thank you. I'm glad that you didn't give up on me. Thinking about all the love and comfort you've brought to me is the only thing that made my prison sentence tolerable."

Jeannie replied, "Well, I won't tolerate your jokes for much longer. I need to know that I can trust you to avoid trouble and that we can have a serious relationship."

Cesar paused and asked, "Will you marry me?"

Jeannie had a surprised look on her face while asking, "How could you ask something so important in such a casual way?"

Cesar said, "I wasted a few years of my life in prison, because of a dumb joke. I still want to be a comedian, but I want you to know that there's nothing I take more seriously than you. I'd be a crazy jokester without you to give my life the humanity and maturity that it needs."

Jeannie replied, "That wasn't as grand of a proposal as I was expecting, but I don't care about a corny date with a ring. I want to be with you, no matter how much of a clown prince of comedy you become."

Cesar and Jeannie had a small wedding. Cesar got a few gigs as a comedian. He and Jeannie barely had any money, but their love for each other made them feel wealthier than Bruce Wayne's ever felt. Cesar still had a wise guy attitude, but he always treated Jeannie with dignity and love. She was the one thing that made his life feel like more than a cruel joke.

A few months later Jeannie was pregnant. After months of waiting for the birth of the baby Cesar called Jeannie. Jeannie was in the hospital and was waiting for the baby's birth. Cesar said, "I've got a comedy show so I'm going to be gone for most of the day."

Jeannie asked, "But what if the baby is born today?"

Cesar answered, "I'm sure that won't happen. This comedy show will be judged by Gotham's finest judges. I'd be a joker if I turned down this show."

Jeannie replied, "However much money you'll get is petty. What about our future son?"

Cesar said, "I'll have my cellphone with me the whole time. Call me if anything important happens."

Jeannie replied, "You're not putting me in an amused mood."

Cesar responded, "That's fair criticism."

Jeannie said, "However, I'm not going to fight with you. I love you no matter what questionable choices you make. Am I a fool for that?"

Cesar shook his head and said, "The only smart thing I've done with my life is get together with you. I love you." Carmine walked by Jeannie's hospital room. He stared at a cart that was about to be put into the room. He stared at the room and the cart for a long minute.

After the comedy show was over Cesar was about to get into his car, but James Gordon walked to him. He hadn't become a Commissioner yet and he had only met Batman a few times. Crime was so chaotic in Gotham before Batman gave the city hope so Gordon wasn't as optimistic about Gotham's future back then. Lieutenant Gordon walked up to him and said, "I'm afraid that I have the worst news of your life."

Cesar asked, "What is it?"

Lieutenant Gordon said, "Your son's alright, but your wife is no longer with us."

Cesar nervously asked, "What happened to her?"

Gordon answered, "Somebody put poison in her drink."

Cesar asked, "Who did it? I'll give that crook the ultimate vengeance."

Gordon replied, "Nobody knows who did it."

Cesar asked, "What about my son?"

Gordon answered, "Carmine Falcone and his wife adopted the baby. They feel that they have the resources that you couldn't provide."

Cesar angrily asked, "Can't I see my own child?"

Gordon replied, "You can fight them in court."

Cesar angrily responded, "No, I couldn't. I don't have enough money for a lawyer."

Gordon said, "I'm sorry."

Cesar whispered, "I'm going to get the money needed for a lawyer by taking it from one of that nasty Falcone guy's companies." He cried about his sad past while laughing about the future.

A few months later Cesar easily gathered up some henchmen, because of his infamous prison sentence. They broke into Carmine Falcone's chemical plant. Cesar said, "Take all of the money this place has."

One of the henchmen asked, "Aren't you worried about the new vigilante that's being called Batman?"

Cesar replied, "I could care less about a stupid fool who thinks that bat costumes are scary."

The chemical plant had poor lighting which made it easy for Batman to sneak around the shadows. He started beating up the henchmen.

Cesar asked, "What the heck is going on?"

Batman jumped in front of Cesar and said, "You're not going to cause any more crime in Gotham."

Cesar angrily replied, "Carmine's the real monster you idiot."

Batman grabbed Cesar and said, "You're as much of a scoundrel as he is. You're going to prison." He grabbed Cesar, but Cesar punched Batman in face. Cesar started running. Batman said, "Be careful you fool. We're below the most dangerous vats of chemicals Gotham's ever had."

Cesar replied, "Ask me if I care, because I stopped caring about being safe months ago. My life's always been a bunch of jokes and the only thing that made my life anything more was taken away from me." He carelessly ran around and started falling. Batman tried to grab him, but Cesar avoided Batman and fell into a vat of chemicals. It was Batman's first year of crime fighting so his skills at saving people weren't very successful. That experience ended up being one of the biggest regrets of his life.

Batman visited Lieutenant Gordon and showed him a picture of Cesar. He asked, "Do you know who that guy is? He tried to rob the chemical plant. I stopped him and it led to him falling into a vat of chemicals."

Gordon replied, "The poor guy lost his wife and his son was adopted by Carmine Falcone. I don't have any evidence so I shouldn't speak, but I think that Mr. Falcone is the one who poisoned the wife."

Batman confidently responded, "I'll get you the evidence you need. It's the least I can do for that comedian." He started what led to a month of detective work to get the evidence of what a monster Carmine had become.

One night Batman burst into Carmine's office. Carmine angrily asked, "What do you want?"

Batman sternly answered, "Justice, which is something that you've never provided for the city."

Carmine replied, "I provide Gotham with the most successful business that it's had in centuries. I may be a crime boss, but I've provided my family with the highest of wealth."

Batman started walking closer while saying, "But you haven't done the same for other families. You took the life of Mr. Robinson's wife and you had the evilness to adopt his own son."

Carmine defensively replied, "That annoying comedian and his wife made the mistake of making a fool out of me in public."

Batman grabbed Carmine and asked, "Did you poison the wife?"

Carmine sighed and said, "I did."

Batman replied, "I knew you were the m of monster of Gotham."

Carmine was clearly stressed out. He threw a bunch of office supplies around the room and asked, "Do you think I'm some heartless maniac who enjoys ruining the lives of others?" He paused and said, "I went to the hospital to poison Cesar. He wasn't there so I poisoned Jeannie instead. I instantly regretted that. That's why I adopted their newborn son. I named him Alberto."

Batman asked, "You think that separating a family is a method of redemption?"

Carmine started lighting a cigar while saying, "I'm rich. I could probably even bribe you into leaving him alone and I'm sure tempted to do that."

Batman angrily replied, "I wouldn't even accept a trillion dollar bribe."

Carmine said, "I'll make up for what I did to the Robinson family by raising the baby."

Batman was astonished by despicable Carmine was. He grabbed Carmine and was tempted to break his no killing rule, but he stopped. Batman realized that there was no punishment more satisfying than for Carmine than to have him arrested so he'd lose his smug confidence and precious money. He put a pair of handcuffs on Carmine.

Batman dropped off Carmine to the police station. He put him next to Lieutenant Gordon and said, "Arrest him."

Gordon replied, "I'd love to lock that monster up, but it seems like a useless effort. He'd have hundreds of people waiting to bribe the guards to get him out of here."

Batman responded, "Then keep him in here as long as you can. I believe that we can stop him and future criminals. We can't let the odds of us failing bring us down."

Gordon thought about Batman told him and replied, "You're right. It's time to give justice a chance." Batman nodded and left. Gordon started dragging Carmine into a cell.

After being put in a cell, Carmine put his chin down and started talking to himself. He said, "I separated a man from his wife and son and now I'm separated from my own family. Maybe I am a monster. That weird bat guy seems to know more about family than anybody else in Gotham." Carmine spent the rest of the night thinking about how much he regretted his actions.

Batman went into the Batmobile and started heading back to the Batcave. He wasn't able to save his parents from Joe Chill so he was determined to save as many families as he could. He hated Carmine, but he hoped that he could find a way to save the Falcone family from the mess of crime that they had gotten themselves into. He felt sorry for Cesar and his family. They had suffered a similar fate as his family and he was determined to find Cesar's son and save him.

Meanwhile, the chemicals turned Cesar's skin into clown white, his lips were red, and his hair was completely green. He had very few memories of his previous life. Most of his memories were about how crazy he thought the world was and how much he loved jokes. He swam out of the chemical plant and went to dry land. His clothes were soaking wet so he broke into a department store and stole a purple costume. He said, "Whoever I was before must of been a complete joke. I'm going to give this crazy city nothing, but jokes and I don't care how much I ruin the city. I'm the Joker, the clown prince of crime." He did an evil laugh. The Joker was about to start his goal of ruining Gotham, but Gotham will never far apart. Life has villains who bring about tragedies, but it also has heroes will who bring justice and optimism to the world. Batman knew that things will get better and he was determined to play a role in giving the world the optimism it needed.