pathofvigilante | Skills + Abilities + Headcannon

[ John Doe doesn't have any super powers, but that's never stopped Batman, has it? Noteworthy skills and abilities include: ]

Genius Level Intellect (Master of Deduction)
* Way smarter than he lets on; likes to play dumb
* Deduces accurately from extremely limited input
* Capable of adapting behaviour to suit environment (chameleon mechanism)

Monstrously High Pain Tolerance
* Capable of continuing combat while extremely injured
* Takes so many punches
* All the punches

Proficiency with Various Weapons
* Kickin' your butt
* Everyone grab a bomb, bomb it up
* Pointy Things

Masterful Manipulator
* Zero problem with pretty lies
* Knows how to spin a tale
* Can tell you what you want to hear

Capable of Hand to Hand Combat
* Modeled own hero skills/abilities after Batman including fisticuffs
* Proficient in punching/kicking/guarding/dodging
* Prefers toys but is still extremely dangerous unarmed

Other Fun Traits:

* Newbie Carjacker
* Thrift-store enthusiast
* Sugar junkie
* Low Key Klepto
* Selfie Fiend

[ head-cannon ]

>>>> Myers Briggs

John is type: ENFP-T

>>>> Body Mods

( John @ DUPLICITY has this tattoo on his left hip bone, and a batarang tattooed along the right side of his ribs. He also has a tongue ring. )

>>>> Sugar/Alcohol Sensitivity

( There's an instance in the game where John drinks a little bit of slushie, and ends up getting a sugar rush that makes him especially giggly and prone to distracting himself with violent imaginings. Harley comments that it's because he had 'too much' slushie, which I think implies that sugar usually makes John act especially weird, even in small portions. Later, when he's away from Harley, he orders himself a drink that looks like sprinkle-covered sugar-shock in a cup. So clearly he has a preference for sweets, just sometimes they make him act funky. At one point in the game John gets drunk and it looks like it took about 3 beers to do it; when you find him he's passed out, and is still arguably inebriated when he wakes up. I think considering he spent most of his life in Arkham, his diet would have been pretty bland and awful, without much exposure to things like sugar, caffeine, or alcohol. Following that logic, I think it makes sense he could have a sensitivity to such things. )

>>>> John Doe/The Joker: Personality Differential

( When John Doe is initially introduced, we meet him where he has spent most (but not quite all) of his life, inside Arkham asylum. Here I observe the split between Joker and John Doe as extremely minimal. They seem to shift fluidly between the two, since Joker's viciousness & ability to manipulate are so commonly useful in such a hostile environment.

After leaving Arkham, the divide between John Doe and The Joker becomes more defined. I believe this can be attributed both to John's quirky and disarming nature being a valuable tool outside of the asylum, and to Bruce's continued kindness repeatedly affirming John's persona.

At one point John describes that he can feel 'someone' pacing, a few layers deep, rattling the bars and waiting for the jailbreak. Obviously, he's refuring to the entity that would later take the name 'Joker'. Further in the story, there's a scene with him speaking to someone that isn't there, whom is obviously weaving doubts and paranoia, and severely upsetting him. Another instance of a defined split between them. In this scene, when Bruce confronts John about the pile of corpses around him, John is obviously uncertain about what happened. He says he was trying to defend himself, but something 'dark and desperate for survival' took over him. He also describes the feeling as being on autopilot. It's in instances such as these it feels like Joker began to fully manifest as his own consciousness.

Things continue to change when John forsakes his name and original persona in favor of adopting his new hero persona, The Joker. That darkness inside him suddenly had an outlet that allowed it to be unleashed like never before. Joker becomes more and more violent and unpredictable the longer he identifies with his new persona; his violent anger, paranoia and jealousy consume him like never before until he finally hits a breaking point and, for the first time, purposefully murders three people.

And that he frenzied, attacking wildly to a chorus of his own unending laugher. To me this seems like another moment the Joker took more complete control. It's nothing less than a murderous frenzy, but he fails in his attempts to murder Amanda Waller & Tiffany Fox due to Batman's intervention. He also. Fails to Kill Batman.

There are a few different ways the game can end, each displaying a different headspace for John and/or Joker. In some, he's obviously more Joker, in some, it's more ambiguous, and in one he actually seems to show regret and sadness, placing closer on the scale to John than Joker, I think.

This works differently than if Bruce's choices lead John to become a villain, in which case any traces of John seem to disappear entirely because he fully embraces being the Joker to the point where he claims Bruce/Batman actually murdered John Doe. Because of this, I feel like the Joker voice John hears in his head sounds like how he would have sounded if he became his 'true' villain self. )

TL;DR:

**Levels are extremely subject to fluctuate**