It's TIME! The Surprisingly Dark Origins Of The Clock King | William Tockman

[@dallasgrey4247]

There are a lot of Green Arrow villains that become Batman villains. I guess they all got tired of Ollie lecturing them on and on.

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

If I was a supervillain, and I had to pick between getting all of my bones broken by Batman or having Green Arrow go on a diatribe about the failures of the electoral college for two hours, I would choose the former without hesitation. At least Gotham has good health insurance.

[@leonardodeoliveira1921]

@@halfmettlealchemist8076 If it hadn't the number of handicapped prisoners would be up a thousandfold

[@pietrolupo2717]

Ironico considering that Arrow show use a lot of Batman villains

[@erikbihari3625]

​​@@pietrolupo2717. Yeah, why? Green Arrow can stand alone easily! Also, speedy bucky.

[@Calzaki]

Riddler actually made more sense in his short time as a Green Arrow villian. He was less croweded out by the big batman rogue gallery and not confused with Jokers stuff

[@skygann4040]

That sounds like a lot of fun, what issues have that?

[@scriptmonkeys71]

@@skygann4040 the time I saw Riddler going at Green Arrow was back in the mid-2000, around issues 35 & 36. It was a multi part story.

[@EinDose]

There's a lot of DC villains that feel like they could do really well getting shared around a bit more, to find more interesting dynamics or be less crowded out, and Batman's villains get that a LOT.

[@TheDukeofMadness]

@@EinDose The Acts of Vengeance storyline tried to do that over at Marvel. The house of ideas is not always the house of...accomplishment.

[@emsleywyatt3400]

@@EinDose Eclipso and Dr. Light "got around".

[@BenChanNYC]

You know in that panel from "HTH" (14:08) when Hal's confronted by the black man, he's slumping his head because he only wishes that man would remember him for the planes he flew, not the skin colors of the people he's helped.

[@valletas]

His bronze age origin makes his silver age sad face be really disturbing when you think about it Its him realizing he will waste his last months in prison while no one will be there for his sister

[@magitek09]

Any time Sasha has the chance to reference "heart traveling heroes" she'll take it, it's basically her "my parents are dead!!!" moment

[@TheHoboAuthor]

I really like what they did with the Temple Fugate version of Clock King in the JLU Task force X episode, where they used him to plan out the exact timing for the raid on the watchtower,. I think it would be neat to see him positioned as a villainous counterpart to Oracle, helping other criminals try to perfectly time manage their crimes in exchange for money

[@Mechazaurus]

They already did the villainous counterpart for Oracle idea with another previously goofy D-lister, The Calculator. His thing is computers and information however, so not quite the same thing.

[@lordhirudo5311]

@@Mechazaurus his original costume was just as goofy as Clock King’s, though.

[@PosthumanHeresy]

@@Mechazaurus They should go into business together. They'd make for one hell of a villain team aiding other villains. The Calculator amasses intel and the Clock King uses it to have the most precise timing of his life.

[@fazbearfanatic4358]

I can’t remember if it was supposed to be the Clock King or not, but I remember watching an episode of the 2004 animated series “The Batman”, where a guy who I think worked at a clock store learned to control (or at least rewind) time while in prison. The episode still stands out in my mind because he set up a poisonous gas bomb or something and it actually went off and killed everyone, including Batman, Robin, and Batgirl if I remember correctly. However, it accidentally killed his son, and he was so upset that in his grief, he rewound time all the way back to when he was about to commit the crime he was arrested for, but this time, he decided not to commit the crime. I think as a kid, it scared me to think that Batman actually died., though looking back, it was a pretty solid episode with a good bit of emotions.

[@s-wo8781]

Which episode was this?

[@strifenineteen]

@@s-wo8781 season 4 episode 8 titled Seconds

[@PosthumanHeresy]

I loved that episode as a kid. I've always had a soft spot for stories where the hero isn't the real protagonist of the tale.

[@NelmArt]

I was thinking the same thing! That was a great episode

[@cabin7slytherpuffempath]

I just watched it recently and it's easily one of my favorite episodes of the entire show.

[@na5567]

I guess you could say the clock king is... Timeless

[@Skeezer66]

There used to be a "thing", a trope, going back to the Golden Age, where random, anonymous characters were featured or 'starred' in stories where the heroes and villains were more the side characters. It was a great way to change up the stories, maybe get more serious, more tragic, or more silly. Nate is a great example of this, so I'd give him his moment.

[@brianthomas2434]

Of course, Will Eisner did it roughly one thousand times better.

[@GenerationWest]

I honestly thought Clock King was a original character when I saw him in Batman TAS, because I never heard of him around that point. Later, watching the very first episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold with Green Arrow, I was so surprised to see his early design was just "a literal Clock King" with a crown. Jumping to Arrow, I thought they straight up stole him from Batman, because that's what Arrows usually does, but he's a Green Arrow villain. Turns out, I learned a lot about Clock King periodically through my life lol

[@CrisisComics]

Wow... this clashes IMMENSELY with Clock King's later depiction in the JLI comics as part of Major Disaster's Injustice League, where the whole gang was made up of comedic loser villains. Can't believe this victim of malpractice who tragically lost his sister and went on a suicidal revenge rampage later went on to battle killer penguins as part of Justice League Antarctica.

[@SimonMoon5]

Yeah, a lot of the Injustice League villains from that era have weird backstories that don't really fit with the cartoonish buffoons they became. Multi-Man was a major enemy of the Challengers of the Unknown, appearing probably a dozen times, sometimes with his own supervillain group (the League of Challenger-Haters). Big Sir has some serious issues in his backstory. And Major Disaster had incredibly useful powers until he showed up in the JLI era. But Giffen didn't care about any of that. He didn't even care that Green Flame and Icemaiden had their own backstories when he made them join the JLI. And while I appreciate his Fire & Ice characters, he knew nothing about *businesswoman* Beatriz DaCosta or the blue-skinned Sigrid Nansen. Basically, Giffen just flipped through "Who's Who in the DC Universe" to find characters to use and did no more research than looking at the pictures.

[@CrisisComics]

@@SimonMoon5 Yeah, as someone who played the DC Heroes RPG in college, it always surprised me how badass Blue Beetle was compared to his depiction in the book. Which makes him a great starting character for one-shot adventures.

[@GiulianaBruna]

"guy gets diagnosed with terminal illness, having a family member who depends on him. He turns to a life of crime to assure his family won't have any financial issues after he is gone"... Heard that before... Or after

[@CasuallyComics]

Tale as old as time lol

[@tysondennis1016]

Breaking Bad

[@Red-Wolf-Ben]

Reminded me of Mr. Freeze.

[@magitek09]

Agree with the BTAS clock king, I love that he's not particularly strong in any way, but he's so incredibly meticulous about everything. If you manage to make batman seemed unprepared, you know you're on another level

[@bensneb360]

It’s about time you did a Clock King review, I want to see what makes him tick. I can see you worked overtime to get this video right, but you made it clock in at the right length, which is good because in your job time is money. I can’t wait to enjoy every second of this. Also, I really hope in the Tom King book Temple Fugate isn’t revealed to be a TikTok influencer, that would be a lazy incorporation to show the signs of the times.

[@CrisisComics]

That idea was bad that I died of cringe and came back in the reboot.

[@jpboursaw4469]

Wow, you put a lot of work into those puns! After a job well done, it’s theme to relax. Go ahead. Clock out early!😉👍

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

I'm not sure if I love this comment or hate it

[@jimgillespie6109]

@@halfmettlealchemist8076 😄

[@daverhoden445]

Well played good sir, well played.

[@na5567]

"Today we're 'tocking' about the clock king"

[@jun2damax]

It's Clocking Time!

[@mr.mammuthusafricanavus8299]

''Let's just say I am civic minded citizen with a lot of time on his hands'' The Clock King, Batman animated series. I love that the animated Batman series villainous origin of the Clock King is simply that Temple Fugate, instead of his usual schedule, took a break at 3:15 in the park under the advice of Hamilton Hill. Temple proceeded to have Murphy's law take full effect and results in making him late to his court case and in turn making him bankrupt, so he subsequently blames Hamilton Hill for being...Late and making him into a villain, LOL :P

[@CelebrimborCurufinwe]

Honestly I'm rather concerned about where those giant arrows from the Arrow Signal land. People in Star City must be constantly dogging them

[@rodneylindsey849]

Me Too 👊🏾😎🖖🏾

[@nathanieldaiken1064]

Also, the giant arrow could be considered a clock's hand!😁

[@cthulhutheendless1587]

I’m adopting this headcanon as my own

[@SkatingJellyfish]

As a latina i wanna thank you for adressing the “latinx” thing even if it was just mentioning it. It feels that most people have just accepted it as a way to refer to us while not caring gofre our opinions on the word :( thanks Sasha!!! Really ❤

[@TimPoultney]

Got to hand it to you, I wouldn't be able face doing a retrospective on Clock King, especially down to the minute details you tend to find and present to us (frankly it ticks me off how underappreciated you are in doing this). I'm sure I'm seconding the opinions of others who've said all this before, but thank you for bringing your brand of humour into hour lives. ...tock.

[@luigiboi4244]

The amount of clock puns is cringe-worthy.

[@thephoenix2038]

@@luigiboi4244 a good cringe

[@fbrume]

This review is dialed in

[@TimPoultney]

@@luigiboi4244 And this was just the stuff I had straight off the wrist. I felt like I was getting a little strapped, maybe going a little cuckoo, feeling that towering feeling looming overhead, I honestly thought I needed to stop... ...Hammertime.

[@RJSchulen]

I've been waiting for this video. It's about time . OMG, that was fun. Okay, back to the rest of my day.

[@BThings]

I really appreciate the way you share these stories and explain their weaknesses-like how Nate saying he felt outmoded didn't relate thematically to anything else in the story-without being overly derisive of the comics/stories. Like, you don't sugarcoat it and pretend that every story is perfect, but you aren't mean about it either. It makes it much easier to learn about the craft/art of storytelling, since there's no off-putting sneering or condescension to wade through. As always, thank you for making videos that brighten my day!

[@Rawla2]

I gotta say I love how neutral you are! Avoiding the latinx term that seems to keep being pushed on us even though the majority of people for who it would describe don’t like it is so refreshing! Especially when it seems like every creator now days just jumps on bandwagon with stuff

[@anitanielsen1061]

I just say “Latine” as a compromise

[@samwill7259]

I wish we still lived in an era were B or C list heroes were still allowed to have rouges galleries, hell, when heroes in GENERAL were allowed to have rouges galleries rather than just that one villain that had a super cool point to make in the 80s and they've just been remaking it since. *coughs cough* Joker *cough*

[@SimonMoon5]

The problem is that, when every story arc takes 6 months to resolve, there's no time to fit in five or six stories a year with unimpressive villains.

[@DIEGhostfish]

I kinda like Marvel's idea of a massive stable of Mercs and crooks who will z-list for anybody.

[@cyclopsboxhead5318]

The classic costume is amazing, but the BEST clock king outfit was from the Brave and the Bold cartoon. They took the King part literally and it worked really well. And then as for an underrated clock king adaptation, Francis Grey from The Batman episode "seconds" was always super tragic to me, that episode is also just done really well.

[@jmurray1110]

Though looking back clock kaiser or kaiser of clocks light work better

[@tuliobednarczukpecinemisko5606]

The Brave and Bold cartoon is the best one for me. With an updated version of Silver Age costume and his german accent, he is very cool!

[@COMICSAREAWESOME]

I'm right on time!!!

[@bleukat]

Im with you on with Temple Fugate from BTAS. Also seems the most competent. Though my first Clock King was Walter Slezak on Batman 66, where no scenery was left unchewed.

[@emsleywyatt3400]

The name has to be a play on "tempus fugit". (Time flies, in Latin.)

[@JessieWheeler5Ds]

I've known of Clock King since watching Batman the Brave and the Bold but never actually knew anything about him. I never thought you'd do a video on him lol.

[@TimPoultney]

If we're talking favourites, of course Temple Fugate is gonna be up there, but let me present another name: Francis Grey. The Clock King of "The Batman" episode "Seconds", voiced by Dave Foley. A man so tormented by the choices he made, he developed the ability to undo them. Able to jump back in time with knowledge of what's going to happen, this power turned a frankly schlubby, inept criminal into a legitimate force of nature (albeit one stuck in the past and having a terrible sense of humour)

[@jpboursaw4469]

I’ll bet Cher will take some of that action! I mean, if SHE could turn back time…..!! Definitely gonna look up that episode now, thanks! Great series, great plot, and I loves me some David Foley! (Kids in the Hall fan)

[@kemmdog4444]

It’s about time you got to do this episode.😊

[@fredcampbell4066]

That's a lawsuit waiting to happen. that arrow launched from the roof must have hit someone at least once. That's a good reason for Ollie to have a secret identity so he can't get sued.

[@timross5351]

Love your version(s) of the story! I definitely like the idea of the Clock King being obsessed with time due to a terminal illness or other reason he is 'living on borrowed time'. Maybe he could get some mileage as a villainous counterpart to the Challengers of the Unknown; with his life spared from certain death by a miracle, he is now obsessed with his every remaining second, and commits crimes to fund efforts to live the rest of his borrowed time to the fullest? If you want social commentary, you could also work a 'medical debt wipes out his fortune' angle, and play that against Ollie's own on-again-off-again wealth?

[@rebeccakickass1776]

I love your edits on the bronze age ... DC should hire you You also fixed that Batgirl story 😺

[@dbzcupcake]

13:20 words cannot express how much I appreciate you for this 💜

[@crimsonking4379]

I loved his Shakespearean incarnation in the Batman brave and the bold animated series.

[@Meshric]

I'd have love to see a reinterpretation where Tokkman's tragic backstory is used as a sort of transition for green arrow from cocky rival to soft lefty

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Something funny about rubbing a character's dead sister in by just having the words be a prominent feature in the thumbnail lol

[@rouenrobinson]

I would love to see a Clock King decide to go by King Clock because someone already has the other name lol

[@thephoenix2038]

The hours of folly are measured by the clock; but of wisdom, no clock can measure

[@jamesgasik3424]

I'd love to see you tackle the second (and superior) Clock King!

[@Ffourteen]

I'm always impressed by the editing in these videos.

[@mndrew1]

I'm a fan of Clock King as chief planner for the Suicide Squad. Finally, some respect for his true skills!

[@tskmaster3837]

"... you did worse than that. YOU MADE ME LATE!!" Because sometimes, "criminally insane" is reason enough. I think the real problem is BTAS took the name "Clock King" and stuck in on an original character .... really unnecessary at that because he's less of a Clock King and more of a Time Lord. What do you mean, that's taken too? Taken by whom? By who? That's just poor grammar.

[@SimonMoon5]

I mean, DC had its own Time Lord in "The Lord of Time", a Justice League villain now generally known as Epoch to avoid confusion, but he'll always be The Lord of Time (not Epoch) to me.

[@annana6098]

I like your story suggestions!

[@HBHaga]

Nate needs to team up with old-time Green Lantern sidekick Doiby Dickles.

[@davidesterley3163]

I always found Clock King fascinating and I am surprised he got his start as a Green Arrow villain

[@edwardscales5503]

has clock king ever gone up against hour man! would be an interesting match up

[@PurplePaddy]

What a absolutely crazy name eh 😂 I absolutely love the silly goose time and idea of silver age villains

[@Mayhem_jester]

It would be cool if he went from his btas look to the silver age design and then to chronos or a team up

[@jun2damax]

So holdup Clock King is OG Jigsaw? What a twist!

[@dcbandit]

He should have used a TIME bomb. Anyway, I liked him in BTAS, I think he used time based puzzles in it, the kind you find in math textbooks. I think I actually like the Green Arrow more as the friendly, rich Robin Hood cosplayer than the Batman wannabe he is in Arrow.

[@ivane5110]

Clock King! Nice. One of my favorites growing up. His Silver Age 1st appearance was when I first saw him, though it was as a reprint in the awesome and far too short lived series "Wanted" (also my 1st experience with Signal Man, whose costume was so cool I would roleplay him as a hero). World's Finest, Superman Family, other anthologies like that were great for little gems like this one, but boy did it make rereading that Wanted story very different. Especially knowing back then Ollie had the money to easily pay for CK's sisyer's care had he looked into it. I had seen Willard Waterman's (Harold Peary?) Clock King and a comedy Justice League issue with him (not my style), and even assumed they'd have updated the character at least once in modern times, but I did 't realize he was that guy from the 90s Batman show. Very interesting; I'll have to check out if he is just using the name or if they kept any of that backstory. Another cool video.

[@mikhaelgribkov4117]

Deastroke's family deserves own video series. Like, an actual series. By the way, I would love to hear your opinion on original origin of how Deastroke lost an eye.

[@mongeeses7112]

I’d really like that too! Rose is great and most folks can agree on that. I personally think Jericho is an underutilized character with a lot of potential, but we need to talk about Grant. He got killed the issue after his debut to be motivation for Deathstroke’s Teen Titans hatred.

[@sagebuttercrunch]

The first time I saw Clock King was as a Batman villain so I'm surprised he started out as a Green Arrow villain

[@Marveryn]

since i never was into reading DC that where i knew the name from and even then i mistook him for the riddler at first during the episode (the cane and hat). He actually could be a decent criminal cause he would know how long it took for the police to respond and be constant checking to be sure he didn't stay to long at a job. Ollie could been always a min late or more getting to his crime scene.

[@Magicghost23]

This video has good timing. 🕐

[@andresmarrero8666]

He sounds like he would be associated with Hourman rather than Green Arrow.

[@trevorghalt1881]

Finally the perfect time to watch a video on the Clock King and 14:06 aged like a fine wine🤣

[@seynpurrp]

bro i knew about clock king ever since i was 9 because of brave and the bold and it rly got my interest back then, i wanted to know more about him, but then after years had passed i forgot about comic books for a while and i never searched up his origins, finally after so many years, i am here.

[@JL-fp1oe]

I keep hearing glock king.

[@CasuallyComics]

Lol that would be a very different villain

[@rodneylindsey849]

🤔 Did those Giant Red Arrows used for the Arrow Signal have a safe Landing Location 🎶 TIME AFTER TIME 🎶 “I Have Questions”Lol…BTAS Clock King is prove’s copy writing a Good Name could pay off for you over TIME …The Narration theme does work well in say Kingdom Come with an Entity like the Spectre …Keep Up The Outstanding Work Sasha 🖖🏾

[@ronaldmccomb8301]

Where does the arrow from the Arrow Signal go if it is an actual arrow launched from a rooftop?

[@RabbiJoeInJerusalem]

I always mix him up with Chronos. Apparently they used to team up... with Calendar Man and Time Commander.

[@CieJe.Alexander]

Up against Hour Man or Minute Man.

[@JoeOConnellAllNew]

How in the world did Clock King ever see anything?

[@scriptmonkeys71]

It’s great to hear all the sordid details behind obscure villains. Thank you! I wish J. M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen had addressed the Clock King on their classic Justice League run. I can see Booster Gold and Blue Beetle discussing his name. CK: “I am the Clock King!” BG: “The Clucking? You have chicken based powers?” BB: “Maybe he turns people into chickens?” CK: “No! Clock King!” BG: “It might be a speech impediment.” BB: “I think he’s having a stroke.” CK: “Clock King! Clock King!” BG: “Yeah. It’s a stroke.”

[@macuna1995]

Clock King was also part of the *slightly incompetent Injustice League and Justice League Antarctica.* It's time JL Ant. makes a return, the world needs them.

[@deshawnedwards6412]

From the patient files of Dr. Jeremiah Arkham, Director of Arkham Asylum. Patient: Temple Fugate, aka the "Clock King". Obsessive. Compulsive. Narcissistic. Highly Resourceful. Incredibly Inventive. Genius Level Intellect. Addendum: Keep the patient away from any and all mechanical and electric devices - especially clocks. Addendum 2: Allow the patient access to the Asylum Library once a day. Addendum 3: Refrain from mentioning the mayor - Hamilton Hill, to/in front of the patient, as it tends to upset him, or lend to violent outbursts.

[@PHOENIXGUNDAM]

That 70s line towards Green Lantern I always thought was a pretty good jab at silver age heroes that always seemed to help affluent people and rarely helped poorer people who may be just mugged or robbed. But it wasn't until years later I realized most heroes probably do help average people moreso it's just that 1. The writers and artists don't show that most of the time because they think the mostly child centered audience would find that boring and 2. That was at a time when comics were taking a more "watchmen" like approach to comics in contrast to real world issues in that even though they were probably a dozen heroes in most urban areas the crime rate was just as high as real world figures. Also I later found it odd that everyone wanted someone like Hal to be working smaller crimes like assault and robbery when the purpose of the lantern corps was to patrol and handle larger threats to Entire Planets.

[@247wonderwoman]

I guess i had perfect timing

[@rodneylindsey849]

Arrow Car. Arrow Signal, Kid Sidekick…You missed out on mentioning the Arrow Cave AKA The Quiver ( Thanks Injustice Harley) next TIME 🖖🏾

[@oomomow6621]

The Hard Travelling Heroes bit is just so hilarious. Just absolutely no and I mean NO subtlety at all its so great

[@Calzaki]

Dr Tyme is cooler. He stayed committed to the silver age look too ;)

[@MrPatrickAnonymous]

5:41 "Green Arrow is always up for a good virtue signal." Dang, talk about nailing the character! And my goodness, these videos are soooooo good.

[@arcanefury3666]

I have a quick question, if i stapled a watch to my hip would time be on my side

[@na5567]

I want to know if his bronze age mask actually ticks. Is it accurate? Can it tell time, I must know!

[@MoramothHauntz]

I kind of like that 60's costume

[@CasuallyComics]

I love it, lol it makes a bold statement.

[@BenChanNYC]

@@CasuallyComics If that statement is "10:10." ( I mean, I think - it's hard to tell since his faceclock seems to have two minute hands) But at least his face is correct twice a day.

[@Magmaster13]

I love the episode of The Batman that hes in, any villain that rewinds time just so he can make a better quip gets a 10 out of 10 for me

[@rubiesncreme]

You mean, when in doubt, go...clockwise?

[@ramblingRJ]

If they really wanted us to like Nate, they could have done a homage to that famous clock scene from the Harold Lloyd comedy " Safety Last", with Nate hanging from the hour hand instead of Harold Lloyd.

[@flare8089]

I originally know Clock King because he's super tied up with the atom's lore at some point. Steals his time pool and psychologically torments him in one comic it's great. (Ray Palmer atom not the other ones). Interesting to know he was first a green arrow villain!

[@johnpotts8308]

It's probably just as well Dali's "The Persistence of Memory" never turned up in Star City. Or would melty clocks not count as real clocks for the Clock King?

[@RoyalFizzbin]

The Killing Time is one of those rare examples of Tom King sticking to a decent story and actually landing the plane

[@williamgibson3862]

Can you make a video of how many times rich heros lost all their money I fell like its a running theme now.

[@dreamlandnightmare]

The BTAS Clock King was awesome. I'd like to see that version appear in live action.

[@muertovag4145]

God, I love this channel.

[@kylecarter1599]

This reveal in Killing Time was so dope

[@kratoscraken5614]

Clock king, Temple Figett right from the greatest Batman TAS👍 right 🤔

[@zachwise476]

Sister, SISTER! Never knew how much I missed ya. Now that everybody knows, I ain't ever gonna let you gooooooo. SISTER SISTER!

[@traesmith9822]

I did not anticipate this video having a dramatic reading of the Green Lantern "purpleskins" quote. LMAO

[@WarmLillie]

I guess you say it’s time for a reveal

[@ootwtv]

finally i’m early!!

[@readingking1421]

There's a bad pun in the title. Instant like. Are you planning on covering the Temple Fugate version as well at some point?

[@owenservant4630]

Yes, the “I Am Batman” dialogue was a bit much, but if wading through gets me to a Question appearance, I’ll do it.

[@CasuallyComics]

Lol we are very Question deprived

[@vinnyc365]

Man, they did Speedy dirty. Also, dead on about Hard Traveling Heroes.

[@kcollier2192]

I've got to hand it to you Sasha- this timely expose on the Clock King is second to only the Lois Lane videos (it seems we get those almost hourly). I've been wound up by your episodes- I can't find any analogs to them. Clock King should have been grandfathered into the Arrowverse- I would have seconded an appearance by him on that series.

[@GuessWho7197]

Wasn't there a version in The Batman cartoon that could actually freeze time? Love that version.

[@sarahtrimmer1265]

Just watched his episode while rewatching Batman the Animated Series first season a month or two ago

[@dennismason3740]

finally Speedy has a voice!

[@terrencetarr6913]

I first heard of Clock King in the 1960s Batman tv show...never would have guessed that he was originally a Green Arrow villain

[@adrianomoraes5992]

It is not said in the story, but in a way I like an average grief stricken man who turned to crime wouldn't also suddenly develop fashion skills. Wearing a ludicrous tasteless and corny costume would make sense given he had no experience with costume making and would improvise something. It would also make him laughable to increase his misery and a tragicomic character which, likely, is what would happen in this world but nobody never mentions that. Everybody pretends all costumes are awesome no matter how absurd while in truth there should be plain jealousy between the villains who wished they could be as well dressed as the Joker.