Axis Chemicals

Ace Chemicals
Ace Chemicals in Justice League vol. 2, #47 (Feb. 2016) Art by Jason Fabok
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #168 (February 1951)
Created by	Bill Finger
In-story information
Type of business	Conglomerate
Base(s)	Gotham City

Ace Chemicals, or Ace Chemical, is a fictional business organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with stories featuring the superhero Batman.

It was at the Ace Chemicals plant in Gotham City where the Joker (when he was Red Hood) fell into a vat of chemicals, creating his trademark look of green hair, chalk white skin, and red lips.

Ace Chemicals is based in Gotham City. The plant is connected to Kain Chemicals, a company owned by the parents of Martha Wayne, which was then sold to Apex Chemicals, which then in turn became Ace Chemicals.

The plant is introduced in Detective Comics #168 (Feb. 1951) when, on the night of a heist of Ace Chemicals planned by the Red Hood gang, Batman learns of the gang's plan and intercepts them at the chemical plant. Batman confronts the gang's leader, the Red Hood, who is knocked into a vat of chemicals by Batman after the heist fails.

The Red Hood survives, but exposure to the chemicals leaves him with green hair, chalk white skin, and red lips. The Red Hood's disfigurement causes him to suffer a fateful psychotic break and he becomes the Joker. Over the years, the Joker has revisited Ace Chemicals several times, and on occasion has even used it as a temporary hideout.

Revisions to the incident have been introduced over subsequent decades. In "Mystery of the Red Hood" and The Killing Joke #1 (Mar. 1988), the Red Hood intentionally dives into the tank while trying to escape Batman; other depictions, such as the film Batman (1989), have Batman accidentally causing the Red Hood to fall into the vat, and in Suicide Squad (2016), the Joker dives into the tank intentionally with Harley Quinn.

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