I finally saw the Joker trailer and am looking forward to the movie. Must admit i first thought it was going to be about John Wayne Gacy which is way too creepy for me. Joker can get pretty darn creepy, but thank God he is not real.
I love that the Joker admits his backstory is multiple choice, which gives a lot of room for creative story telling. I like that about Catwoman though she’s always been Selena Kyle, her story has changed over time.
Does anyone have a favorite Joker?
The way that not even the Joker knows his own history has always been one of the most fascinating aspects of his character for me, as well. Watching the trailer, I kept asking myself which version this was and just can’t wait to find out.
My favorite so far has been the animated Joker voiced by Mark Hamill, personally. I feel like he captured so much nuance in his performance. And, since it was a part of a series, it gave viewers a lot of time to get to know him.
In live-action form, I’d have to say my favorite was the Heath Ledger version. He captured a kind of nihilism that really defined the character.
I love the Bronze Age version of the Joker. The clown prince of crime.
I think the Joker, since Killing Joke, as become more two dimensional. He’s looked at as a psychopath instead of a sociopath. I honestly think the Joker is the sanest character in the DC Universe. He knows what he is doing. He is very precise in what he does. He just doesn’t care about wether or not it is socially acceptable.
I think Denny O’Neil had the best definition of who the Joker is (or at least should be)
“You could meet him in the street and he might give you $1000 dollars or he might kill you. He’ll probably kill you, but he might give you a $1000.”
That is the real disturbing thing about a great Joker, you have no idea what he will do. That is not just frightening but disturbing as well.
Had no interest in a Joker film. Then I saw who was directing, producing, starring and thought maybe. Then stills from shooting thought, okay. Then the trailer and I’m all in. This could be really good.
The Joker movie could go two ways: bad, or REALLY bad. There is no good Joker origin story. For all the good that Michael Keaton brings to it, Batman ‘89 is not a good movie. The Killing Joke is an overrated mess that Moore himself has disowned. The only time when the Joker giving a glimpse into his origin is acceptable is when it is a lie used to draw sympathy, such as in Dini and Timm’s Mad Love or the Nolan Brothers’ Dark Knight. This just seems like a pointless endeavor that can only end poorly, no matter who’s involved. Remember when Josh Trank made Fant4stic right off the heels of Chronicle?
I’m interested in seeing this movie because, as it seems to have become the norm, the Joker’s origin IS multiple choice and it’ll be nice to see another interpretation. I loved what they did on Gotham and I’m eager to see this new and different take.
This does bring up an interesting point, though. All everyone seems to want is The Killing Joke. It’s become the default Joker story. I remember when the trailer for this came out and you had a small group of fans actively pissed off they didn’t directly adapt the Killing Joke origin. There’s this weird cult-like mentality around that story. Maybe it’s because of Alan Moore? What I find funny though is how a lot of those fans will swear Moore came up with the Red Hood aspect of the story, not realizing it’s taken from a 1951 story.
I will definitely be checking out this movie. The trailer blew me away, but it also didn’t ruin the entire plot. Maybe it’ll be good, maybe it won’t be, but as of this moment I am so intrigued that I can’t wait to see it.
I’ll wait til it comes out as rentable, but, I hope they carry a theme of “this is one story about how I became the Joker” idea.