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This article is about mystical infection appearing in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. For other uses, see Joker (disambiguation).
"A Joker is the heart's shadow... The heart exists only when there is light and dark. You can't just make it disappear. It retreats to the sea of unconsciousness for now, but it will rise whenever it can. That is up to Miss Serizawa."
—Igor, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment

The Joker infection is a mystical infection in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. It is caused by rumors engineered by Nyarlathotep.

Appearances[]

Profile[]

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment[]

Nyarlathotep, in its bid to force another nonsensical apocalyptic event after Philemon undoes his victory in Innocent Sin, arranged for his servant Tatsuya Sudou to "become" a second iteration of Joker, JOKER, with a similar modus operandi: having a person call themselves on their cell phone and have JOKER appear, though instead of openly granting any wishes, JOKER asked who they desired to see dead.

Many people were seduced by the promise of power and called. However, as the New World Order invaded the airwaves to broadcast a message through fortune-teller Chizuru Ishigami to spread an insidious rumor: anyone who had ever used the services of JOKER will become a Joker themselves. Within hours, dozens of Sumaru City residents were transformed into Jokers. People who had called the JOKER began losing their minds, and when confronted, they became giggling lunatics, and their faces lost all definition except for a warped smile reminiscent of Joker's. In this state, they became dangerous powerhouses, and gained the ability to summon a Persona-like beast calling back to the original Joker, which gradually degraded to a vicious monster only partially resembling its original shape. They also have the Old Maid ailment skill, which will temporarily turn a random enemy into Joker, making them lose control of themselves and attack their allies unless the affected ally guards and skips his or her turn.

The entire concept of extracting Kegare through Joker victims involves the viewing of the Joker as a symbol of sin (due to the contract killing). Once most, if not all people were infected, the New World Order will lure them to their seminars to absorb their Kegare, send them all to the earth's core to enrage the earth dragons and cause total world destruction while the New World Order boards the Ameno Torifune to paradise. The events themselves are nonsense and are only given flesh through Nyarlathotep's curse so he can prove to Philemon that humanity will destroy themselves.

During Eriko's route to Sumaru TV, the party witnesses Ishigami's further extension of the Joker curse to anyone who had ever called the JOKER.

After the party banishes Nyarlathotep, the power of Rumors perish alongside his banishment, and it is likely no longer possible for anyone to become a Joker.

List of Known Victims[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • "Old Maid" refers to the classic poker card game of namesake. In most Asian regions, one Joker card is usually selected to be the "old maid", in other words, the unmatched card.
  • When attempting to escape from the Jokers, they refer to Maya explicitly instead of anyone else (excluding Sudou, Ulala, Junko, and Shiori for various reasons). It can be assumed from this that Nyarlathotep can gain control of people through their transformation into a Joker similar to how it gained control of Jun and Kandori as their persona, evident when Joker Ginji says her first name despite having no form of interaction with her prior to their encounter in the Smile Mall during that timeline nor did anyone mention her name around him (except Baofu, who referred to her by last name).
Major Characters
Playable Maya Amano - Tatsuya Suou - Katsuya Suou - Ulala Serizawa - Baofu - Kei Nanjo - Eriko Kirishima
Non-Playable Philemon - Nyarlathotep - JOKER/Tatsuya Sudou - Metal Trio
Minor Characters
Plot Relevant Maya Okamura - X series robots - Eikichi Mishina - Lisa Silverman - Jun Kashihara - Daisuke Todoroki (Kyouji Kuzunoha) - Takashi Hanya - Youichi Makimura - Ginji Sasaki - Suou's father - Trish - Noriko Katayama - Akinari Kashihara - Shunsuke Fujii - Miho Ogishima - Mami Shibata - Junko Kurosu - Akari Hoshi - Hiroki Sugimoto - Yasuo Inoe - Matsuoka - Yung Pao - Miyabi Hanakouji - Miki Asai - Makoto Kuwahara - Anna Yoshizaka
New World Order Tatsuzou Sudou - Takahisa Kandori - Chizuru Ishigami - General Sugawara - Captain Shimazu - Chief Togashi
St. Hermelin High School Graduates Hidehiko Uesugi - Maki Sonomura - Reiji Kido - Yukino Mayuzumi - Tamaki Uchida - Boy with Earring
Velvet Room Igor - Nameless - Belladonna - Demon Painter
Rumormongers Kenta Yokouchi - Chika Ueda
Shop Time Count - Garcon Soejima - Sumaru Genie - Kankichi Mishina
Shadow Selves Shadow Maya - Shadow Katsuya - Shadow Baofu - Shadow Ulala
Tatsuya's Scenario Lieutenant General Zula - Shiori Miyashiro - Chandraputra - Kouji Nakamura
Locations
Sumaru City Kasugayama High School - The Seedy CD - Mu Continent - Seven Sisters High School - Mt. Mifune - Sanitarium - Sky Museum - GOLD - Club Zodiac - Aoba Park - Padparcha - Sewers - Laboratory - Sumaru TV - Smile Mall - Factory - Nichirinmaru - Undersea Ruins - Mt. Iwato - Subway Tunnel - Ameno Torifune - Sumaru Castle - Monado Mandala - Bomb Shelter - Extra Dungeon
Music
Albums Original Soundtrack (PSX / PSP) - Punitive Dance - Persona 20th Anniversary All Time Best Album
Songs "Change Your Way" - "Satomi Tadashi Drugstore Song"
Archives
Terminology Persona (Initial / Prime / Ultimate / Reverse) - Persona user - Cards (Tarot / Material / Skill / Incense) - Mystic Change - Affinity - Mutation - Unknown Power - JOKER Infection (Artificial Persona) - Kegare - Other Side - Nanjo Group - Trapezohedron - Muses - New World Order - Tien Tao Lien - Shadow Self - Tatsuya's Scenario - DEVA System - Growth Rate - Rumor
Lists Arcana - Personas - Demons - Bosses - Skills (Fusion Spells) - Items - Rumors - Restaurants
Other Media
Productions Infinity Mask
Publications Eternal Punishment (novel) - Persona 2: Tsumi ga Ataeshi Batsu - Persona: Tsumi To Batsu - Comic Anthology: The Atoners / The Unforgivable / The Strays
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