The Joker Thread

[Reaganfan78]

This thread is all about Batman greatest Arch Nemesis, The Clown Prince Of Crime…The Joker!
The Joker has been around for over 80 years, and has appeared in many comics, tv shows and of course movies.
If you really wanted to see how it all begins, at the very beginning, you have to go back and I do mean way back to April of 1869!
It all started with a famous author, Victor Hugo, who was best known for writing The Hunchback Of Nothre Dame & Les Misérables. In April of 1869, he publish a book called, ‘The Man Who Laugh’, it’s about a man with a permanent grin on his face named Gwendolyn, Gwendolyn was a tragic character who was only love by a blind girl.
Many years later in 1928 a silent film ‘A Man Who Laugh’ starring Conrad Vediet as Gwendolyn and Mary Philbin as the Blind girl.

It was this very movie that was a huge inspiration for The Joker, when watching the film you can’t help thinking of the famous villain.
Joker was created by Jerry Robinson, Bill Fingers & Bob Kane.
According to Wikipedia, there’s 3 different versions of how Joker got started, one thing for sure it did started with the silent film.
In 1966, Ceaser Ramero is the first actor to play the Joker for Batman TV series and movie.

Over the years Joker has been a huge hits with fans and been a greatest enemy for The Batman.

Comics
Here’s my top 3 pick of the greatest Joker story, his first appearance, The Killing Joke, & Death In A Family.

Batman (1940) #1

The Killing Joke Deluxe

Batman: A Death In A Family

Movies & TV Shows
My 3 favorite actor that plays The Joker is…
Jack Nicholson-Batman 1989
Mark Hamill- Batman The Animated Series
Heath Ledger- The Dark Knight

They are all so talented playing the character.

Please feel free to leave a comment, trivia or anything about The Joker. I’ll try to update this thread as much as I can.

Supervillain Origins: The Joker

[Vroom]

Favorite comic Joker: Neal Adams and Jim Aparo.

Favorite version of Joker in outside media: DCAU.

Favorite actor to play Mistah J: Mark Hamill.

[EDT]

Joker is one of those characters where, yes, they are overused and put into stories or projects where they don’t need to be. But the reason he is used so much is because when he is done right, which is a lot of the time, the dynamic between him and Batman is so rich and engaging.

Favorite overall Joker outside of comics is Mark Hamill. But I HIGHLY enjoyed the 2019 Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix

[chintzybeatnik]

[idle453.87595]

My favorite TV Joker is Cesar Romero although Mark Hammill is a close second. I really didn’t like the Heath Ledger Joker. Heath played the character as written well, but it never really felt like the joker to me. My favorite TV episode with the joker is Joker’s Favor from BTAS followed closely by The Man Who Killed Batman. I liked seeing Joker upset that he didn’t kill Bats.

My current favorite Joker comic scene is the one where Bruce with Amnesia sits on a bench and talks to the Joker. It’s a nice little scene although I usually prefer Joker to be outlandish and dangerous but not overtly evil.

And since I just read Knight and Squire, let’s raise a pint for Jarvis Poker the English Joker.

[MatthewHecht]

[Reaganfan78]

@bigblock66 is such amazing talented artist, here’s a picture of The Joker he drew…

Love how he did his own version that is based on Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker and have him wear a straitjacket at the Asylum. Definitely well done.
Please be sure to checkout his other amazing artwork as well.

[bigblock66]

Awe. You’re way too kind my friend.
Thank you.

And happy birthday @MatthewHecht

[Reaganfan78]

This Tuesday Batman Mask Of the Phantasm comic is finally coming to DC Universe Infinite! What’s your favorite Joker Moment in Mask of the Phantasm?
My pick would be when he kick the animactronic dog and said, “You can’t be too careful with all those weirdos around.” Joker has so many great scene in the film, Mark Hamill does amazing job playing him.

[MatthewHecht]

@Reaganfan78

What’s your favorite Joker Moment in Mask of the Phantasm?

“Lady.”

[SkylerSneathen]

But ThAtS NoT ReaLLy A JoKEr MoviE!

[SkylerSneathen]

A detail I find odd is it seems people hold up Ledger and Hamill the most. Where’s Nicholson? I mean, one could argue Hamill’s is closer to Nicholson than it is to Ledger.

[EDT]

I think all the best Joker performances (live action and animation) both take something from a previous performance as well as add something new to it. So I have no doubt that Hamill intentionally has a lot in common with Nicholson

[Reaganfan78]

I pretty much have mention several times in the past on here that Nicholson is my favorite Joker. When I first saw the movie as a kid, he really did scare me.
To this day I enjoy quoting his lines while watching the movie.

[SkylerSneathen]

Hells Yeah! So quotable.

[BatMike-ThePunisher]

Joker thing!

Joker | Paint It Black [81st Anniversary]

[TheRealDetectiveChimp]

@SkylerSneathen

Where’s Nicholson?

Right behind Ledger and Hamill.

[raider_dave66]

[BatMike-ThePunisher]

Oh, I’ve got more!!

Joker | Burning Down The House

[EDT]

Looking at Joker in recent years, I’ve noticed an interesting development in how people view him. He’s still very much a criminal. From the criminal mastermind of the Golden Age, the prankster of the Silver Age to the agent of Chaos of the Bronze Age.

But recent years have actually seen the Joker become something of a symbol. Multiple stories focus on how the Joker calls out society for the twisted joke it is. This can be seen in the movie “Joker”, a bit in “The Dark Knight”, and several recent Joker focused stories in comics. That’s not to say he is made sympathetic - he is a homicidal psychopath and we properly recognize him as such. However, writers are really putting in effort to show how anyone might have become someone like Joker by pointing out the failings and trappings of modern society. It is a genuinely intriguing thing to watch. Anyone else noticed this and have thoughts in it?