Joker (SSBU)/Up special

This article or section may require competitive expertise. You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it.

Overview

Joker's up special has two variants depending on if Arsène is active.

Without Arsène, Joker's up special is Grappling Hook, in which Joker fires a grappling hook into the air at a slight angle. In the air this move acts as a tether recovery, boasting a very good ledge grab range. Grappling Hook also grants Joker a small vertical boost the first time it is used in the air, aiding with his recovery, however subsequent uses lose this property until Joker is able to grab ledge or land. The move does possess a hitbox in the air, however hitting it is very precise as the size of the hitbox is very small, only seeing use a finisher for vertical combos near the top blastzone where landing another up aerial is impossible. Likewise with its ability to grab opponents if used on the ground, the hitbox is very small and can be blocked, but provides Joker with a semi-reliable combo starter if he is able to catch opponents above him - additionally, Joker is also able to grab items from afar using Grappling Hook. Finally, like with other tether recoveries in the game, it loses its ability to grab the ledge after tethering to it three times, provided Joker is unable to safely make it back on stage during any recovery attempts.

With Arsène, Joker's up special is Wings of Rebellion, where Joker flies into the air using Arsène's wings. This move is similar in concept to Pit's and Dark Pit's Power of Flight where the user travels a long distance without an accompanying hitbox for protection. Unlike Power of Flight however, Wings of Rebellion grants Joker full intangibility for a much longer period (frames 1-25 on the ground, frames 3-25 in the air) at the cost of being more restrictive on where Joker can travel, only able to travel directly upward or at an angle. While this does make him more susceptible to being 2-frame punished compared to his vanilla up special, it is still an impressive recovery move that allows Joker to recover from far below the stage.

Overall, Joker has a strong set of up specials with and without Arsène, which synergise well with his other specials in order to make his recoveries much more tricky to intercept.

Hitboxes

Grounded Grappling Hook

ID	Radius	Bone	Offset			G	A
Early
0	3.0	throw	1.5	1.5 to -15.0	0.7 to -6.4
1	5.5	throw	1.5	1.5	0.7
2	5.5	throw	1.5	1.5	0.7
Late
1	5.5	throw	1.5	1.5	0.7
2	5.5	throw	1.5	1.5	0.7

Throw

Kind	ID	Damage	Angle	Angle type	BK	KS	FKV	H×	Effect	Type	Sound
Throw
Throw	0	11.0%		Forward	75	40	0	0.0×			None

Aerial Grappling Hook

ID	Part	Rehit rate	Damage	SD	Angle	Angle type	BK	KS	FKV	Set weight	Radius	Bone	Offset			H×	SDI×	T%	Clang	Rebound	Effect	Type	G	A	Sound	Direct	Hit bits	Hit part	Blockable	Reflectable	Absorbable	Flinchless	No GFX	Heedless
Early
0	0	0	5.0%	1.0		Standard	76	56	0		2.7	throw	1.5	2.0	2.0	1.2×	1.0×	0%							Slash		All	All
1	0	0	5.0%	1.0		Standard	76	56	0		2.7	top	1.5	22.0 to 38.0	3.2 to 10.6	1.2×	1.0×	0%							Slash		All	All
Late
0	0	0	5.0%	1.0		Standard	76	56	0		2.7	throw	1.5	2.0	2.0	1.2×	1.0×	0%							Slash		All	All

Timing

Grounded Grappling Hook

Early	20
Late	21-26
Interruptible	60
Animation length	67

Throw

Throw Release	6
Interruptible	30
Animation length	41

Aerial Grappling Hook

Early	20
Late	21-25
Interruptible	45
Animation length	67

Wings of Rebellion

Intangibility (ground, air)	1-25, 3-25
Animation length	98

Grounded

Aerial

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Hitbox

Hitbox change

Vulnerable

Intangible

Throw point

Interruptible

Searchbox

Joker's moveset

Neutral attack (1 · 2 · 3) · Forward tilt · Up tilt · Down tilt · Dash attack · Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash
Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial
Grab · Pummel · Forward throw · Back throw · Up throw · Down throw
Forward roll · Back roll · Spot dodge · Air dodge · Techs
Floor attack (front) · Floor getups (front) · Floor attack (back) · Floor getups (back) · Floor attack (trip) · Floor getups (trip)
Edge attack · Edge getups
Neutral special · Side special · Up special · Down special · Final Smash