Who Is Faceless Joker & Why It’s Considered His Darkest Version Yet? 

Joker is one of the most popular and unpredictable DC villains in history. Being such a famous villain, he’s had plenty of versions over the years and different origin stories. Some versions have been downright terrifying, but only a few can compare to the so-called “Faceless Joker.” The story of Faceless Joker is one of psychopathy and pure torture, and today, we’re going to tell you all about it. 

Who is “Dollmaker”? 

Dollmaker was a fresh villain specifically created for the ‘Batman: Faces of Death’ storyline and introduced in 2011. His real name was actually Barton Mathis, and he was the son of a prolific serial killer who haunted Gotham.

In this case, the sins of a father transferred to Mathis as his father basically groomed him to inherit the life of crime. Barton spent his childhood trailing after his father, following him as he targeted and murdered innocent people, cannibalizing them afterward. Barton’s father, Wesley Matthis, was properly stopped and shot at point-blank range by Officer James Gordon, a scene that Barton never forgot.

Barton was eventually moved to foster care but didn’t stick around for long. He escaped and went off the grid for a long time until he resurfaced as a Dollmaker. His trademark is the fact that he cut the faces off of his victims and wore them as trophies. His mask was partially made from his father’s face. 

Batman tries to apprehend Joker as public opinion is turning against him

Joker’s face was cut off by the Dollmaker in Arkham Asylum. But there’s quite a bit of a story to that.

So Batman has been operating as a crime fighter for quite some time now. Although officially, it’s been only six years. He struggles to catch the Joker, who presents himself as the most dangerous villain alive, having a body count of 114 to his name. He leaves the trail of blood behind him, and Batman knows something has to be done, even if he has trouble catching up to him.

One night, while out hunting the Joker, he manages to track him down by using a mechanized Batarang called Ro-Bat. Being destructive as he is, Joker blows up an entire building to create a distraction and flees from the scene. Batman wants to go after the Joker but is stopped in his tracks by an 11-year-old girl. 

Gotham City Police Department comes to the scene, and they are prepared to treat Batman as a dangerous vigilante, and they were instructed to deploy the “Shoot-on-Sight” policy. Commisioner James Gordon is torn between loyalty toward his work and loyalty toward Batman. 

After the Police arrived at the scene, Gordon did everything in his power to distract his forces, but Batman was still forced to fight them briefly. He uses the girl as a distraction and flees from the scene.

Later, Commissioner Gordon contacts Batman via Bat Signal and tells him that the Police think that he is primarily responsible for the sudden rise in violent crime in the city. Gordon also tells him that the 11-year-old girl they rescued gave them a tip that Joker is hiding out in an abandoned pharmacy, and his men are on their way to check it out. Batman arrives on the scene as soon as possible and sees that the only thing that the Police uncovered is a doll rigged with explosives. The subsequent explosion killed nearly all of the men. 

Batman notices Joker fleeing the scene and manages to apprehend him after a lengthy chase. He decides to leave the Joker at Arkham Asylum, and this is where the nightmare begins. 

How & why did Joker get his face cut off by the Dollmaker?

As it turns out, all of this was part of the Joker’s plan. He counted on Batman to apprehend and deliver him to Arkham Asylum since this was the only place Joker could meet the infamous Dollmaker. Joker informs Dollmaker that he is responsible for the murder of his son, and Dollmaker proceeds to cut off Joker’s face, which was also something that the Joker counted on. Joker is beyond thrilled and enjoying the torture. Now, Dollmaker sets him free from the Arkham Asylum without a face. 

What happened to Joker after his face was cut off? 

After Dollmaker cut off Joker’s face, he managed to escape from the Arkham Asylum without a trace. Everyone assumed that Batman killed him and took his face as a trophy. It was all a plot orchestrated by the Dollmaker, however, in order to get vengeance on Commissioner Gordon, who was responsible for his father’s Death. Dollmaker managed to rule Batman into Arkham as he was investigating how Joker managed to escape. He proceeded to sedate him and sell his body to the highest bidder. When Batman woke up, he realized that Gordon had been captured, and his face was remade by a patchwork of other people’s faces. 

Anyway, long story short, with Joker completely missing, the public assumed that Batman was responsible for his Death. Joke’s goons even created a couple of shrines for the madman in the city in order to worship him in his absence. Since the Police held Joker’s face in custody, the goons wanted it returned to them, considering it a holy relic. 

Following ‘Faces of Death’ Joker disappeared for a few years and reappeared during ‘Death of the Family’ storyline. 

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