Editing Joker

'''Joker''' ({{ja|ジョーカー|Jōkā}}, ''Joker'') is the codename used by the protagonist of ''[https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Persona_5 Persona 5]''. Although Joker's civilian name is given by the player in ''Persona 5'' itself, official media consistently gives him the default name '''Ren Amamiya''' ({{ja|雨宮 蓮|Amamiya Ren}}, ''Amamiya Ren''). The original manga adaptation also gives him the one-off name '''Akira Kurusu''' ({{ja|来栖 暁|Kurusu Akira}}, ''Kurusu Akira'').

Ren Amamiya is the leader of the vigilante group known as the Phantom Thieves. After being falsely accused of assault, he was labeled a delinquent and moved to Tokyo, Japan to attend Shujin Academy as part of his probation while under the care of café owner [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Sojiro_Sakura Sojiro Sakura]. While there, he discovers a strange application on his smartphone but brushes it off for the time being. After a chance encounter with fellow outsider [[Ryuji Sakamoto]] over their lecherous gym coach [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Suguru_Kamoshida Suguru Kamoshida], they discover that the app is actually a conduit to a parallel reality called the Metaverse. This “cognition” is the manifestation of an individual’s twisted desires into a dream-like fantasy. In this case, Kamoshida sees himself as the king of the academy and treats the rest of the students and faculty like slaves. Wanting no part in this reality, Ren rebels against the oppression of King Kamoshida and awakens his Persona, donning the mask and cloak of "Joker".

Joker is a user of a rare Persona ability known as the Wild Card, which allows him to hold multiple Personas at once. The Metaverse Navigator app and other aid in managing Joker's Personas is provided by [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Igor Igor], the proprietor of the Velvet Room (a recurring feature of the ''Persona'' series). Igor warns Joker that ruin is imminent and that his "rehabilitation," facilitated by himself and the twin wardens [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Caroline_%26_Justine Caroline and Justine], is the only way to avoid this ruination.

Following this success, the Phantom Thieves pursue other targets, typically corrupt adults who victimize the young, gaining a large following and reputation. Over the course of their exploits, the group grows to include artist [[Yusuke Kitagawa]] (whose Persona is Goemon), student council president [[Makoto Niijima]] (whose Persona is Johanna), reclusive hacker [[Futaba Sakura]] (whose Persona is Necronomicon), heiress [[Haru Okumura]] (whose Persona is Milady), and briefly the detective [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Goro_Akechi Goro Akechi] (whose Personas are Robin Hood and Loki), who tries to stop the group in an attempt to arrest them. Ultimately, they end up exposing and ending a conspiracy to elect the corrupt politician [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Masayoshi_Shido Masayoshi Shido] to the position of Prime Minister of Japan, who, through sheer coincidence, was the very same person who falsely accused the protagonist initially. Soon afterward, they discover that the conspiracy was masterminded by the god-like being [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Yaldabaoth Yaldabaoth], who sought to merge the Palaces and the real world so it might seize control of both of them. After a long and desperate struggle, they banish the false god and free humanity from its control, freeing the real Igor against his impostor and fusing the twins to their true form, [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Lavenza Lavenza], shortly prior to it.

In the ''[https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Persona_5_Royal Royal]'' edition, the Phantom Thieves’ battle is not yet over, as they are trapped by Shujin doctor [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Takuto_Maruki Takuto Maruki], who uses his two Personas (primarily Adam Kadmon, and secondarily Azathoth) to warp reality in order to fulfill everyone's peaceful desires and create a world that sacrifices strife and progress for empty happiness. As both places are wrapped into one, the protagonist sees unusual events around him after New Year's Eve, such as civilians constantly smiling and deceased persons resurrected. This also affects Mementos, as Lavenza weakens from the fusion, and Mementos now features roots all throughout that connects to the [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Path_of_Da%27at Path of Da'at] in place of where the Holy Grail was. Joined by Akechi, who is now exclusively using Loki instead of Robin Hood, and gymnast [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Sumire_Yoshizawa Sumire Yoshizawa] (whose Persona is Cendrillon), whose identity was previously swapped to [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Kasumi_Yoshizawa Kasumi Yoshizawa], her elder sister who passed away after an incident that took her life, the Phantom Thieves return to the Metaverse to steal Maruki's heart. After a one-on-one fist fight between Joker and Maruki, the Thieves manage to save and redeem Maruki, who starts over as a taxi driver and helps Joker and Morgana return home safely while evading government surveillance.

Months after the events of both games, in ''[https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Persona_5_Strikers Persona 5 Strikers]'', a new Metaverse threat arises during the thieves’ summer vacation, in the form of a new app called [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/EMMA EMMA] developed by Madicce (and secretly backed by the last Conspiracy loyalist, [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Jun_Owada Jun Owada]). The Phantom Thieves are joined by a sentient female A.I. named [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Sophia_(Persona_5_Strikers) Sophia] (whose Persona is Pandora, but is initially in a pre-Persona-state known as Pithos) and a family man fair cop, [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Zenkichi_Hasegawa Zenkichi Hasegawa] (whose Persona is Valjean), before their time is at its limit due to being suspects in this new crisis. The Phantom Thieves soon discover that [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Kuon_Ichinose Kuon Ichinose] had been manipulating the events and made her realize that she was unknowingly serving the Demiurge (a true form a sentient EMMA) into stealing humanity's desires. With the Demiurge destroyed, a reformed Ichinose departs with her "daughter" Sophia, the death of Zenkichi's wife has been avenged thanks to a testimony by former Madicce CEO [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Akira_Konoe Akira Konoe], ensuring Owada's arrest, and the Phantom Thieves disband once again.

*Article on the [https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Ren_Amamiya Megami Tensei Wiki]