"The Jonkler" has been a key figure in Reddit's deeply unserious /r/BatmanArkham community and subreddit for several months now, but the introduction of the "Evil Jonkler Cart" may be the first step in a major upheaval within the Jonkler community.

Known to most people simply as "The Joker," the "Jonkler" is a name given by some fans to the version of the Joker from the Batman: Arkham video game series.

But how did memes about the Jonkler bubble up and spill out of a niche video game subreddit and into the mainstream TikTok meme pages? Why do people insist on misspelling the Joker's name as "The Jonkler"? Are they stupid?.

Here's a recap of the Jonkler's inception, and how he went from being a running joke on Reddit to gathering a cult fandom leveraged around a supposedly "evil" Jonkler vape cart.

Where Did Memes About The 'Jonkler' Come From?

"The Jonkler" is basically an intentional misspelling of "The Joker," used to refer to a particular version of the comic book villain as he appears in the Batman: Arkham video game series. Jokes about the "Jonkler" will typically be written in broken or grammatically incorrect English.

One of the earliest known jokes about the Jonkler was posted to Reddit's /r/BatmanArkham on April 21st, 2023, with one Redditor writing, "Why does the jonkler? is he stupid?"

How Did Jokes About The Jonkler Spread Online?

Jokes about the Jonkler continued to make the rounds online, often compounded with another running gag on the subreddit; people asking, "Is He Stupid?" For example, various Redditors posted jokes about a gender-bent Joker wooing Batman in August 2023, asking each other, "Why did the Jonkler become a woman? Is he stupid?"

Various YouTubers made meme compilations of some of the funnier Jonkler jokes from the subreddit, including Big A-ron and Christendo64, who both gathered over 300,000 views on their 2023 YouTube videos.

Why Are People Sharing Jokes About An 'Evil Jonkler Cart'?

Jokes about an "Evil Jonkler Cart" spun out of a low-res TikTok trend from May 2024, after TikToker _und1sput3d_ posted a blurry video of The Joker moving his head erratically and letting out a maniacal laugh. The video was captioned, "when bro take the evil jonkler cart."

@_und1sput3d_ why did jonkler do this? is he stupid? #meme #batmanarkhamknight ♬ original sound – undisputed

More variations of the "Evil Jonkler Cart" meme began to appear online as summer 2024 rolled around, leading some people to notice that the Evil Jonkler Cart's laugh was ripped from a remix of China's Got Talent contestant Liu Lei laughing during a performance on the show.

@realace5star jonkler evil cart #fyp #fy #viral #trending #trend #slideshow #edit #goated #slide #gyatt #ishowspeedclipz #joker #cart ♬ original sound – 🙅‍♂️❌

@sparklesandchampagne1738 My downfall need to be studied😭🙏 #nevergoon #joker #thesmurfs #smurf #minion #minions #despicableme #fyp ♬ Never goon audio – Kindeross

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For the full history of The Jonkler, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.