DC’s new Batman movie just provided a seriously dark change to the Joker’s origins within its plot, taking the character’s story in some fitting but surprising directions. The Dark Knight has a range of iconic antagonists, but few have the same popularity or prominence as the Joker.

2025’s newest DC movie has provided another Batman v Joker conflict – this time with some key changes to the stories of both figures. For the newest movie version of the Joker, this involves some bleak origin story changes that see him change his appearance with the ashes of his ᴅᴇᴀᴅ family and old life, and his own blood.

Joker’s New Batman Movie Origin Story Gets Even Darker Than You Might Expect

Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires – also known as Batman Azteca: Choque de Imperios – takes a different route with its iteration of the Joker, known as Yoka in this universe. The Elseworlds story of Aztec Batman is set in the Aztec Empire, with Yoka serving as a priest of Huitzilopochtli and advisor to his king.

However, halfway through the film, Yoka discovers the visions he seems to have of Huitzilopochtli are instead a different deity known as Tezcatlipoca, who has tricked Yoka, and only reveals his true form after Yoka sacrifices his family to try and deal with the threat of Two-Face – something Tezcatlipoca reveals is his punishment for being “too eager to dismiss the idea of your own sacrifice.“

Torn by loss and inner turmoil, Yoka has a breakdown that transforms him into his more villainous self for the rest of the film, smearing the ash left from his family’s sacrifice onto his face for the white Joker makeup the character usually has, and smearing his lips with his own blood to complete the look.

This second detail also has its own tragic backstory, as it reflects some of the last words we see Yoka’s mother saying to him – which are ironically the famous “why so serious?” line from The Dark Knight, followed up by Tezcatlipoca telling Yoka “you should smile more“. After his mother’s death, Aztec Batman‘s Joker takes this to heart, symbolically represented by the blood he paints on himself.

Yoka’s Dark Backstory Makes Perfect Sense For Aztec Batman: Clash Of Empires’ Story

Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires is an inherently dark release in terms of its content and the way it reimagines the world of the Dark Knight. Given Aztec Batman is R-rated for its subject matter, anything short of a pretty bleak Joker story would be somewhat surprising, given the villain tends to be one of Batman’s more intense antagonists historically.

Similarly, the Joker’s conventional backstory – wherein he falls in acid while part of an attempted robbery, changing his appearance and psyche forever – wouldn’t be possible to bring into this kind of Batman universe in the same way. As such, Aztec Batman: Clash of Empire‘s dark Joker origin changes seem par for the course for its story and world.