Joker is a DC Comics character, important as Batman, as he is his archenemy. Joker is crazy, genius, bizarre, eccentric, sadist, but he is a beloved character: fans love him. His story is as ancient as Batman’s, since his first appearance is on Batman #1 in 1940.
Joker is the typical supervillain: the first real bad character in comic books history. The Clown Prince of Clown influenced a lot pop culture: just think about Marvel The Punisher’s quote: “You know you’re one bad day away from being me”, which reminisces a quote by Joker in The Killing Joke about his origins: “All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy”.
Joker is a crime genius, and his symbology recalls the game card “Jolly”, meaning that Joker is open to every kind of interpretation. What are Joker’s origins? What are their most famous interpretations?
In these days, DC Comics fans are just talking about Joker, thanks to Suicide Squad release (on August 5th in USA). And it looks like fans were disappointed because of the little space reserved to Joker, who should have deserved more.
Let’s see the five best Joker interpretations since 1940 until today. Read until the end, two presents are waiting for you.
#1 – 1940: the first Joker appearance in Batman #1
Joker character was created by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, who took inspiration from “The Man Who Laughs” in 1928, to whom Joker stole its famous smile. Originally, the two authors decided to drop him after the first episode, where the plot sees him stabbing himself to death. DC Comics editor Whitney Ellworth, however, was so enthusiast about the Joker character that he decided to add an illustration revealing that Joker survived. This change of direction was very important, because from that moment on Joker became the main villain in Batman comics. Could you imagine Batman without Joker?
#2 – 1966: the first Joker in live-action, played by Cesar Romero in “Batman” TV series
The first actor impersonating Joker on video was Cesar Romero, in 19 episodes in 1966 Batman TV series. In this show, Joker looks like more a teasing clown rather than the psycho homicide we know he is today. A trivia: Cesar Romero was so much attached to his mustaches that he refused to cut them to picture Joker, so that in close-ups you can actually see them underneath make up.
Cesar Romero then interpreted Joker again in the first Batman long film of history, “Batman: The Movie” (1966).
#3 – 1989: Joker by Jack Nicholson, from Tim Burton “Batman”
Jack Nicholson interpretation of Joker is the one of a hardened criminal, with a contorted psyche: in Tim Burton adaptation, Jack Napier (who then became Joker) did kill Bruce Wayne’s parents. Jack Nicholson’s laugh became so famous that even when he was about to die, he extracted the recorder to eternalize it.
The 1989 Joker is maybe one of the most famous characters in movie history: he became an icon, not only for the clown laugh but also for some renowned quotes now in pop culture with full rights.
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Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?
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I am the world’s first, fully functional, homicidal artist. I make art until somebody dies.
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Batman? Batman? Could somebody tell me what kind of a world we live in where a man dressed up as a bat gets all of my press? This town needs an enema!
#4 – 2008: Joker by Heath Ledger in “The Dark Night” by Christopher Nolan
It’s impossible not to mention the extraordinary Joker interpretation by Heath Ledger in “The Dark Night” in 2008, for which he received a posthumous Academy Award. The actor isolated himself from the world for six weeks, in order to empathize with the character he was about to portray. The result? He created such a persuasive and psychologically disturbing character that has made cinema history. Ledger’s dark and violent Joker version was so realistic that he scared his colleagues as well: when he entered the set by surprise, Michael Caine – interpreting Alfred – got so scared that he forgot his lines. His renowned quote “Why so serious?” is still very creepy.
#5 – 2016: Joker by Jared Leto, in “Suicide Squad”
In 2016 it was the time of Jared Leto to be the crazy criminal, in Suicide Squad, released in all theatres in the beginning of August. The Joker portrayed in this movie is, once again, very different from the other ones: his look recalls the one from the original comic book, but re-interpreted in a contemporary way. New Joker has fluorescent green hair, piercings and tattoos. Joker by Jared Leto is a crazy sadist, but someone sees in him a sweet tone, maybe because of Harley Quinn presence, his ex psychiatrist when he was at the mental hospital.
Are these five Joker interpretations not enough for you? We promised you two presents, and here they are:
- Do you want to watch yourselves the evolution of the Joker, every single time he appeared in tv series, animated movies, movies and videogames? A video by Burger Fiction shows us a confrontation of every Joker in history, from the first one in 1966 until Jared Leto.
- Do you want to know every single time the Joker appeared in comic books, tv shows or movies? This Comic Book Resources infographic is what you are looking for, especially if you are curious!
And if you want to make a present yourselves, to yourself or to friends, Tribe has the right present for you: right around the Suicide Squad release date, where “it feels good to be bad”, what’s better than the craziest criminal in pop culture history?
