Joker (character)

The Joker is a colorful killer clown who serves as the ultimate arch-nemesis of Batman, the celebrated DC Comics superhero, who has an unshakable commitment to upholding justice and order. Since his debut in 1940, the Joker has become the most popular villain in comic book history. He has also appeared in movies, on television shows, and in video games and has transformed into a pop-culture icon. As a result, the so-called "Clown Prince of Crime" retains a permanent place among the most renowned fictional villains ever created.

Comic Books

The Joker debuted in Batman #1 (1940), the first self-titled Batman comic featuring the iconic hero who debuted himself in the previous year's Detective Comics #27. Attributed to Batman creator Bob Kane, artist Jerry Robinson and writer Bill Finger, the original Joker was inspired both by the playing-card character of the same name and Kane's own youthful experiences as a frequent practical joker. Another important influence was actor Conrad Veidt's performance in The Man Who Laughs (1928) as Gwynplaine, a young man who was mutilated at the behest of a sadistic monarch and left with a horrifying permanent grin. Combining all these elements, Kane, Robinson, and Finger fashioned a lasting character who was the ideal villainous counterpart to Batman in every conceivable sense.

In his original incarnation, the Joker was a bloodthirsty but competent killer who slaughtered his many victims with ghoulish delight. Although initially intended to be killed at the end of the first issue in which he appeared, a last-minute editorial decision allowed the Joker to survive and become a recurring character. After his successful debut, the Joker went on to appear on an almost monthly basis in Batman comics for more than a decade.

Thanks to changing public sentiment on the depiction of violent crime in comic books, the Joker gradually transitioned from a heartless killer to a campy trickster by the mid-1950s. During this period, the Joker was usually depicted as a lighthearted villain who reveled in masterminding various over-the-top capers and strictly refrained from committing murder. Although wildly popular for a time, this particularly kitschy version of the Joker fell out of favor by the end of the 1960s.

After a four-year hiatus, the Joker returned in author Danny O'Neil's "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge!" (1973), a landmark comic in which the formerly camp villain was reimagined as a completely insane murderer who killed several of his ex-henchmen in revenge for the role one of them played in getting him locked up in what would later become known as Arkham Asylum. The debut of this insanity-driven incarnation of the Joker immediately breathed new life into the character and returned the Clown Prince of Crime to his rightful place as Batman's most dangerous enemy. In fact, the Joker became so popular once again that he was even given his own separate series in 1975, though it lasted for only nine issues.

In the late 1980s, the writers behind the Batman franchise decided that the Caped Crusader, who had for some time been operating with the assistance of various sidekicks, including Barbara Gordon's Batgirl and several different iterations of Robin, needed to return to his lone vigilante roots. To help facilitate this transition, the Joker was reworked as a deeply personal killer who was predominantly interested in provoking Batman by targeting his closest associates. During this period, the Joker's most heinous acts included shooting and paralyzing Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke(1988) and viciously using a crowbar to beat to death Jason Todd—Dick Grayson's replacement as Robin—in A Death in the Family (1988).

While the comic book characterization of the Joker did not significantly evolve in the 1990s, 2000s, or 2010s, he has remained Batman's primary nemesis and continues to be a prominent thorn in the Dark Knight's side. Some of the Joker's most notable twenty-first century appearances include Emperor Joker (2001), Death of the Family (2012–13), and Endgame (2015).

Other Mediums

Among the many ominous and strange villains that make up Batman's esteemed rogues' gallery, none has translated from the comic book page to other mediums better than the Joker. Batman's arch nemesis made his non-comic debut in the exorbitantly campy, Adam West-helmed 1966 Batman television series, in which he was played by actor Cesar Romero. Appearing in nineteen separate episodes, as well as in a spinoff movie, Romero's Joker was the series' most frequently appearing villain. Later that decade, Larry Storch voiced the first animated version of the Joker in The Adventures of Batman.

Although the Joker continued to make appearances in various animated shows throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, it was not until 1989 that the character enjoyed another significant onscreen portrayal. That year, actor Jack Nicholson put forth an iconic interpretation of the Joker in director Tim Burton's Batman opposite Michael Keaton as the title character. Shortly thereafter, the Joker made his video game debut in Batman: The Caped Crusader.

In the 1990s, Star Wars actor Mark Hamill earned praise for his own unique take on the Joker when he voiced the character for Batman: The Animated Series and later returned to the role for other cartoon series and video games, including 2009's Arkham Asylum and its 2011 sequel Arkham City. The Joker returned to the silver screen in 2008's The Dark Knight, the second film in director Christopher Nolan's rebooted Batman film series, in which Heath Ledger portrayed the Joker as a dark, terroristic psychopath who was obsessed with destroying Batman and plunging society into chaos. Ledger passed away shortly after completing the film and earned a posthumous Academy Award for his performance. In December 2014, actor Jared Leto signed on to play the Joker in Suicide Squad (2016).

In 2019, the character appeared in a standalone film titled Joker, directed by Todd Phillips. Starring Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck—the titular character's alter-ego—the film depicts the aspiring comedian's downward spiral into crime and insanity during the dark period in Gotham City before the emergence of Batman. Phillips and Phoenix's dark, yet sympathetic take on the Joker character received mixed reviews from critics, however, the film won the Golden Lion Award after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Bibliography

Langley, Travis. "The Joker." Icons of the American Comic Book: From Captain America to Wonder Woman. Ed. Randy Duncan and Matthew J. Smith. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2013. 375–82. Print.

Manning, Matthew and Daniel Wallace. The Joker. New York: Universe Publishing, 2011. Print.

Peaslee, Robert Moses and Robert G. Weiner, eds. "Introduction." The Joker: A Serious Study of the Clown Prince of Crime. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2015. Print.

Sims, David. "Untangling the Controversy Over the New Joker Movie." The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2019, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/10/joker-movie-controversy/599326/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2019.

Whitbrook, James. "The Complete History of the Joker's Many, Many Incarnations." io9. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. http://io9.com/the-complete-history-of-the-jokers-many-many-incarnati-1700471066