It was way back during the events of "The Darkseid War" when we learned that there are, in fact, three Jokers, and Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok's three-part Three Jokers event series finally concluded today with a shocking final chapter.
The revelations came thick and fast, and this is bound to be one fans talk about for a long time to come (even if it is unclear how it all fits into the wider DC continuity).
"The Criminal" and "The Comedian" are seemingly planning to transform Joe Chill - the man who gunned down Thomas and Martha Wayne in Crime Alley - into the new Joker, and force him to confess why he really killed them. It turns out it was in a fit of rage knowing that they had everything he never would, and he didn't actually notice the young Bruce until it was too late. As Red Hood and Batgirl battle "The Comedian," "The Criminal's" plan quickly falls apart and Batman saves Chill's life.
Just as he's about to blow himself, Batman, and Chill to smithereens, "The Comedian" shoots his fellow Joker in the head and hands himself in. Travelling to Arkham Asylum, the Clown Prince of Crime makes it clear that he knows the secret identities of Batman, Red Hood, and Batgirl, but doesn't care. He also toys with Batman over whether he created the other Jokers or one of them made him.
This Joker reveals that he orchestrated the whole thing in order to get Batman to forgive Joe Chill and finally be free of the pain of the petty crook's actions. Why? Now he can fill that void and be the main source of the Dark Knight's misery. Later, we learn that Jason Todd is in love with Barbara Gordon and willing to give up being Red Hood to be with her; however, in a cruel twist of fate, the letter he leaves her is inadvertently swept away by a janitor, meaning he remains on the same dark path.
The big twist, however, arrives when we learn that Batman discovered The Joker's real name a week after they first crossed paths. "The Comedian" is the failed stand up comic from The Killing Joke (who was the focal point in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman run), and it turns out that his wife and child didn't die; police at the time helped them escape from him. Now, they're living in Alaska, and the Caped Crusader decides never to reveal The Joker's true identity as they'd be put at risk.
So, there's a lot to unpack there, but it's certainly something of a game-changer for DC's Joker!