Joker is Shin's primary henchman in the TV series. He served as the staff officer of the KING gang and was a master of the Nanto Sh�ten Ken style. His main role was to report Kenshiro's latest activities to Shin and carry orders to Shin's subordinate gangs on his behalf. He was a master illusionist, who also carried unlimited throwing cards which were strong enough to cut through stone. Joker also had a pet hawk, which could lift him away whenever he needed to escape. When Balcom claimed that he and his men had successfully killed Kenshiro, Joker was dubious and visited the site of the battle to find Kenshiro's body. When Joker discovered that Kenshiro was still alive and well, he challenged him to one final battle. Kenshiro outfoxed Joker and used the Hokuto Zankai Ken technique on him. Faced with being Kenshiro's messenger to Shin, Joker declined and chose death instead. (Source: Wikipedia)