The Joker first appeared in the Batman comics in 1940. D.C. comic icons Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson were inspired by The Joker playing card found in most playing card decks. They combined the playing card design with Gwynplaine from the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs. Gwynplaine is a man whose face is stuck in a permanent grin. He is considered so ugly that no woman wants him.
In contrast, Batman was stoic and introverted, so his nemesis needed to be loud, bombastic, extroverted and colorful.
The Joker was originally nothing more than a cliché. He was a killer who made puns like, "If the police expect to play against the Joker, they had best be prepared to be dealt from the bottom of the deck." So what changed? A decision was made to make Joker a recurring villain, a rare move in those days. The Joker quickly became a ruthless serial killer in the comics and was firmly established as the arch nemesis of Batman and Robin.
The Joker rarely used guns. He was a master chemist and a cunning criminal mastermind. After all, Batman was physically stronger, and the Joker's brains were the perfect match for Batman's brawn.
The puritanical Eisenhower years bred the censorship of comic books. Parents were blaming the comic book industry for juvenile delinquency, and even homosexuality. Gore, sexual innuendo and violence were eliminated from the Batman comics. This was problematic because the appeal of Batman comics was the element of danger, the sleaze and grit. The Joker became less of a menace and more of a goofy clown. Pretty soon the Joker made fewer and fewer appearances in the comics. It seemed like the Joker's luck had run out, until the miracle of television revived him.
In 1966 Batman came to TV, starring Adam West. The famous Batman theme song that is now going to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day was just one part of this now dated series. For most Batman fans Cesar Romero’s Joker was the time they saw the character on screen. Critics and audiences praised him for his physicality and credit him with innovating the infamous Joker’s laugh. Audiences couldn't get enough of Romero's bright green hair, white makeup and blood chilling smile. The Joker became the most popular villain of the series and reclaimed his rightful place in pop culture as Batman's arch nemesis.
In 1989, it was Jack Nicholson’s turn to play the Joker. The popularity of Batman had been steadily decreasing since the 1970s. Batman was a relic from the 1940s and by the 1980s people were mocking the campiness of the 1960s television series. But in the capable hands of Tim Burton, Warner Bros. produced what is still considered by many to be the greatest Batman film ever made. Michael Keaton’s Batman became iconic, but Jack Nicholson’s Joker too was critically acclaimed. Fans were treated to the Joker’s backstory and were able to see how the Joker became the man he was. As a result the Joker felt like a character rather than just a plot device.
Mark Hamill was no stranger to iconic roles. For years he was known to the world only as Luke Skywalker. In 1992 the Star Wars star was chosen to voice the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. In order to prepare for the role, Hamill would practice his Joker laugh in his car driving to work. Lord knows what the other drivers must have thought. In the comics the Joker’s laugh is comprised not only of “ha has” but also of “hee hees and ho hos” and Mark Hamill worked tirelessly to deliver what is universally hailed as the Joker’s voice incarnate. Hamill’s dedication to his character went even further. At table reads and recordings sessions Hamill was the only actor who insisted on standing up while reading his dialogue. Batman: The Animated Series was praised for taking its source material seriously and Hamill’s “one trick pony” moniker was swiftly swept aside. Hamill’s Joker is still considered by many fans to be the greatest Joker in history.
The Dark Knight is the magnum opus of superhero movies. It completely changed the game. No movie has ever come close and no actor has taken the Joker as seriously and embodied him as completely as the late Heath Ledger. But Ledger was cast in the era of the Internet, and the fan boys were not pleased. Ledger was known as a Hollywood pretty boy from films such as 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight’s Tale. When promotional images of the Joker were released that didn’t help either. The message boards were on fire with comments about a child putting on his grandmother’s makeup. Even after Ledger’s tragic death, many fans were simply convinced that Jack Nicholson was the definitive Joker and that any other actor’s performance would fall short.
Heath Ledger’s Joker is the perfect Joker because of the tone of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. Batman was always the superhero that would benefit the most from a gritty tone. As praiseworthy as the Tim Burton film was, it still felt cartoonish. The Joker was a sociopathic serial killer in the comics and he was always intended to represent pure chaos. As great as Hamill’s Joker was, the character still had limitations. Hamill’s Joker couldn’t kill because the show was intended for children. Batman always stopped the Joker before he could go too far, or there would be some Deus ex machina that would stop the Joker from carrying out his plans.
Heath was allowed to go all the way with his performance. This was a serious movie, with a serious method actor willing to plunge himself into his role. Ledger was reportedly distant and aloof while filming, and some have blamed his drug overdose on the intensity of his method acting. Ledger’s Joker was allowed to kill, allowed to mame and allowed to legitimately frighten audiences. In The Dark Knight, the Joker was finally allowed to reach his full potential as a legitimately frightening sociopathic killer, as opposed to being a one dimensional silly clown.
Fans love to complain about what Hollywood does to their beloved heroes. In the eyes of some fans, Mark Hamill was a pretty boy who was going to ruin the Jokers. Ditto Heath Ledger. Now Suicide Squad is offering a new Joker, played by Jared Leto. Many Batman fans are outraged with Leto’s portrayal. They think the Joker is sacred ground that only Heath Ledger could walk on. The Joker has a long history of fans showing contempt for its casting. When I hear Jared Leto, despite being an Oscar winner, called a pretty boy who couldn’t possibly embody such an iconic presence, my response will always be, “Why so serious?” ~Yanis Khamsi