Joker

Joker is calculating, provocative and difficult to intimidate. He enjoys controlling the amount of information available to other people and frequently delivers important truths in fragments, forcing those who hear them to decide how much they trust him.

His cynicism is directed especially strongly at institutions that claim moral or religious authority. Joker has little patience for official narratives and believes truth must be pursued even when obtaining it requires violence, infiltration or cooperation with people who distrust him.

He nevertheless possesses a protective side. His interest in Shinra is not purely manipulative, and he repeatedly intervenes when the younger Fire Soldier's survival or freedom is threatened.

Joker is an accomplished pyrokinetic who creates playing-card-shaped flames. These cards can cut, burn and explode, allowing him to attack from range or engage skilled opponents at close quarters. Four Cards is among his characteristic applications of this ability.

His combat ability extends well beyond pyrokinesis. Joker was trained extensively in assassination, infiltration and hand-to-hand combat, making him capable of fighting powerful Fire Soldiers even without relying entirely on flames.

He possesses a Stigma associated with an Adolla Link. The experience cost him his left eye and gave him direct knowledge that the reality presented by the empire and Holy Sol Temple is incomplete.

Joker appears early as an unpredictable figure interested in Shinra's Adolla Burst. He tests Shinra in combat, feeds him information about his past and repeatedly hints that the accepted account of the Kusakabe family fire is false.

He later reveals the existence of Shō Kusakabe to Shinra and becomes increasingly involved in Company 8's pursuit of the Evangelist. His cooperation with Viktor Licht gives him an indirect channel into the brigade's investigations.

Joker was raised within the Holy Sol's Shadow under the designation Five-Two, where brutal conditioning turned children into assassins serving the church. After experiencing Adolla alongside Leonard Burns, he abandoned the organization and dedicated himself to exposing the truth hidden by the Holy Sol Temple.

He later joins Benimaru Shinmon in infiltrating the Holy See, bringing his conflict with the church directly into the institution that shaped him.

Shinra Kusakabe is the Fourth Pillar whom Joker watches and periodically assists. Joker possesses information about Shinra's childhood and pushes him toward truths that the empire has concealed.

Viktor Licht is Joker's scientific collaborator and information-sharing partner. Both pursue the truth behind spontaneous human combustion and Adolla from outside normal institutional channels.

Benimaru Shinmon becomes Joker's ally during the investigation of the Holy Sol Temple. Their considerable fighting ability allows them to confront the church's hidden defenders directly.

Leonard Burns shares a significant connection with Joker through Adolla. The two experienced an Adolla Link together, receiving complementary injuries to their eyes and witnessing the Evangelist.

Shō Kusakabe encounters Joker during the attack on Vulcan's workshop, where Joker intervenes against the young commander.

Arrow and other White-Clad members oppose Joker when his efforts interfere with the Evangelist's plans.