The Joker

The Joker opened in 2016 on the Lakefront using S&S Worldwide's 4D free-spin coaster format, in which two-across cars are mounted on an axle perpendicular to the direction of travel and allowed to spin freely under gravity rather than following a fixed, pre-programmed rotation. That freedom means each car's spin direction and speed depend on where riders sit and how their weight is distributed — no two rides through the compact, twisting 3,200-foot layout play out exactly the same way.

Because the cars can flip through complete rotations independently of the train's forward motion, the ride racks up nine inversions despite a relatively modest 120-foot height, a total normally associated with much larger coasters. The unpredictability is deliberate: S&S designed the free-spin format specifically to break from the choreographed inversions of B&M and Intamin loopers, and the layout's drops and banked turns are engineered to encourage — rather than control — that chaotic spinning.

Purple track and Joker-branded queue theming tie the ride's identity to the character's reputation for chaos and unpredictability, giving The Joker one of the more coherent IP tie-ins among the park's DC-themed coasters. Since opening, this installation has become a template repeated at several other Six Flags parks, including a near-identical clone at Six Flags Great America the following year.