Updated 3/19/21
by Ran
Unlike Batman, who's suffered from some regrettable depictions through the years (most notably, in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin), his arch-nemesis, the Joker, boasts a perfect 5-0 record when it comes to big-screen cinematic appearances.
Perhaps because, unlike most comic book villains, and indeed, most comic book characters, the Joker has only been portrayed by award-winning actors, respected by both their peers and moviegoers alike.
With a recent Oscar win for Joaquin Phoenix's take on the killer clown in Joker, there's even a fresh new addition to the ever-growing collection of mind-blowing portrayals of Gotham's Most Wanted.
4. Jack Nicholson
Three-time Oscar-winner Jack Nicholson introduced a new, sinister Joker, nearly unrecognizable to fans of the campy 1960s television series Batman. Nicholson's Clown Prince of Crime didn't only love to laugh, he loved to kill -- and he did so often.
3. Jared Leto
Oscar-winner Jared Leto breathed life into the notorious psychopath after an eight-year absence from the big screen. Nicknamed the millennial Joker, Leto's version of the Batman's greatest foe sported face-tattoos and a gold grille to complement his customary bleached skin and green hair. Leto became so engrossed in the role during filming Suicide Squad that co-star Will Smith is reported to have remarked that he never actually met Jared Leto -- only the Joker.
Leto returned to the role five years later in The Snyder Cut, becoming the only actor to portray the character in more than one live-action movie. This subsequent portrayal was praised by critics and fans alike.
2. Joaquin Phoenix
Amazingly enough, after three previous powerhouse and unforgettable takes on the infamous villain, Joaquin Phoenix managed to come up with a fresh new spin for movie houses. Phoenix's version, the first not to share the screen with the Bat-Man, provides more insight into what drives the arch-criminal but, impressively enough, without completely doing away with the air of mystery that surrounds him. However, it's worth noting that he does do away with the character's signature color: purple.
Unlike his predecessors, this Joker is a chain-smoking loner, with neither henchmen nor a love interest. He's also sorely lacking in both charisma and aggressive tendencies -- at least, initially. But when he finally "finds himself" a truly chilling monster is born.
Phoenix bagged the Best Actor Golden Globe for the role and, after having been nominated for an Oscar three times, also took home the Best Actor award in February, which makes him the second actor (after Heath Ledger) to snag an Academy Award trophy for the role.
1. Heath Ledger
The only actor to win an Academy Award for his portrayal of a comic book character, Ledger has cemented himself in the minds of most Batman fans as the definitive Joker. Tragically, his Oscar was awarded posthumously.
As good as they've been, the Joker's silver screen depictions have merely represented components of highly enjoyable wholes. In each instance, the Laughing Larcenist's appearance has been accompanied by a compelling story.
5. Batman
Batman presents the Joker as a counterpoint to the Batman. The gangster-turned-mass murderer is the yang to the masked vigilante's yin. While the grim Batman constantly broods, the Joker grins -- or laughs outright -- nonstop.
Deviating heavily from the comics source material, this Joker, then known as Jack Napier, is presented as the mugger who shoots Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne in front of their young son Bruce. And this incident is the catalyst for Bruce eventually taking on the Batman persona, dressing in black and waging a campaign of terror against the criminals who roam the streets of his native Gotham City after sundown. Conversely, during one of the Batman's nightly missions, a confrontation with racketeer Jack Napier, the chief lieutenant of Gotham crime boss Carl Grissom, leads to Napier's submersion in a vat of toxic chemicals which erodes his sanity and ultimately leads to his adoption of the Joker identity.
Not only have the chemicals incited a psychic break, they've also bleached Napier's skin, dyed his hair green and left his mouth curved into a permanent rictus grin. Eventually calling himself the Joker, it isn't long before he murders his boss, who'd set him up to be killed on the night of his disfigurement. The Joker continues his mission of vengeance by disfiguring Grissom's girlfriend Alicia, with whom he'd been having an affair and the revelation of which led to Grissom wanting him dead, so that her face resembles his.
After assuming control of Grissom's criminal organization, the Joker proceeds to wreak havoc on the citizens of Gotham. He has his henchmen lace popular hygiene products with what he calls Smylex, a lethal combination of the same chemicals that mutilated him, causing lthose who consume them to laugh themselves to death and leaving their corpses wearing a grin. Joker also devotes his resources toward getting revenge on the Bat.
During a forced "date" with local journalist Vicki Vale at the Gotham Museum of Art, Batman arrives, impressing the Joker. The "Dark Knight" then flees with Vale with Joker's enforcers in pursuit. However, Joker later apprehends Vale at her apartment where Bruce Wayne, whom she's dating, has come to pay her a visit. After asking, "You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?", the same question that his parents' mugger asked before killing them, Joker shoots Wayne.
The Joker subsequently host's a parade in downtown Gotham where he throws cash to the gathered crowds. He simultaneously disperses Smylex from the parade balloons before the Batman arrives in his personal aircraft and tows them to a sufficiently high altitude where the gas can no longer harm the citizens. The Joker responds by shooting him down using a custom long-barreled handgun. After pursuing both the vigilante and Vale to the top of a cathedral, the Joker and his underlings fight the Bat, leaving the pair dangling from the building's roof. However, when more of the Joker's employees arrive in a helicopter to ferry him away, the Batman uses a grappling hook to anchor the fleeing criminal to a gargoyle. Unable to maintain his grip on the chopper's rope-ladder, the Joker falls to his death.
Oscar-winning actor Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker completely overshadowed all that preceded it (including that of actor Cesar Romero in the popular 1960s television series Batman) and became, for many, the definitive take on the character -- at least for the following 19 years.
The Joker's best lines:
"Wait 'til they get a load of me."
"Where does he get all those wonderful toys?"
"You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
"Say it with a smile!"
"Oh, I got a live one!"
"This town needs an enema!"
4. Joker
Timid and socially-awkward loner Arthur Fleck lives with his mother in a small Gotham City apartment and works a dead-end job as a party clown. However, he dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian and constantly jots down original material in his joke book to further that end. When he shares his dream with his mother, she dismisses him as not being funny.
Arthur was once hospitalized in a mental facility and continues to suffer from a neurological condition, the pseudobulbar affect, that compels him to laugh uncontrollably during times of stress. He presents a card that explains his affliction to a woman who berates him after he makes her young son laugh during a city bus ride. Arthur is also dependent on medication provided by a city social program that requires him to attend regular counseling sessions.
After being beaten and robbed by a group of kids, Arthur is chewed out by his boss, who docks him for the sign that was stolen from him by the thieves. He subsequently encounters a neighbor, Sophie, for whom he develops feelings and begins seeing socially. A coworker, Randall, provides him with a revolver (unsolicited) for protection against any such incidents in the future. But when the gun accidentally falls out of his waistband in front of a crowd of children and staff members during a performance at a children's hospital, Arthur is fired as a result. It didn't help that Randall lied, accusing Arthur of approaching HIM about obtaining the weapon.
During the subway ride home, Arthur, still in his clown makeup, is assaulted by three stockbrokers in the employ of Wayne Enterprises. Fleck shoots two to death in self-defense and executes the third, instead of allowing him to flee. Mayoral candidate, Thomas Wayne, denounces the killings during a televised interview, disparaging critical impoverished Gotham citizens as "clowns" who never made anything of their lives.
The billionaire's comments spark protests, comprised of people wearing clown masks. Meanwhile, funding for various social programs is slashed, leaving Arthur unable to obtain his medication. And due to his growing self-confidence, he accuses his case-worker of going through the motions rather than actually listening to him.
Later, Arthur makes his stand-up comedy debut but bombs miserably, chuckling uncontrollably but failing to elicit laughs from the audience. After a tape of his performance is sent to the Murray Franklin Show, the eponymous host mocks Arthur live on the air, labeling him a "joker".
As though things weren't bad enough, Arthur reads a letter from his mother intended to be sent to Thomas Wayne, in which she refers to the former as her and Wayne's son. Enraged that his paternity was never revealed to him, Arthur angrily confronts her before heading to Wayne Manor to meet Thomas.
Arthur encounters an eight-year-old Bruce Wayne at the property gate before being confronted by Alfred Pennyworth, who accuses his mother, Penny, of being delusional and fabricating her sexual relationship with Thomas Wayne. Upon returning home, Arthur discovers that his mother has suffered a stroke and rides with her in an ambulance to the hospital.
When he's approached by two Gotham City police detectives investigating the triple-homicide on the subway, it's revealed that the pair spoke to Penny Fleck shortly before her stroke, likely triggering it.
Arthur subsequently maneuvers his way into a face-to-face talk with Thomas Wayne in a men's room. Wayne not only echoes Pennyworth's claims, he adds that Arthur himself is adopted and not biologically related to either himself or Penny Fleck. The encounter ends with Wayne punching Arthur in the face before storming off.
Determined to learn the truth, Arthur goes to Arkham State Hospital, where he was told Penny was committed, and steals her file. The records not only confirm that Penny was treated for delusions and adopted Arthur but also reveal that she and a boyfriend abused him at three years old.
Distraught, Arthur visits Penny in her hospital room, where he smothers her with a pillow. Afterwards, he pays Sophie a visit in her apartment, where it's implied that he murders her -- and presumably, her daughter as well. It's revealed that Arthur's entire relationship with Sophie was imagined.
The next day, Arthur is invited to make an appearance on Murray Franklin's talk show as a result of the attention garnered by his stand-up video. Before the show, Arthur is visited by former coworkers Randall and Gary. He stabs Randall to death in retaliation for lying about his gun but spares a distraught Gary.
On his way to the Murray Franklin Show, Arthur is spotted by the homicide detectives investigating the train shooting and flees. As he's wearing clown makeup, Fleck is able to blend in with a crowd of similarly dressed protesters in clown masks. When Arthur steals one of the demonstrators' mask, he inadvertently incites a brawl that engulfs the detectives. After one of the cops accidentally shoots a protester, the crowd attacks them both, ultimately leaving them with critical injuries.
In his meeting with Franklin, Arthur requests that he be introduced as "Joker", the description that the host had previously given him. Arthur subsequently appears before the audience in full clown makeup and green hair for the live broadcast. After telling inappropriate jokes that fall flat, he admits to killing the Wayne executives on the subway, describing them as "awful" people. When Franklin blames him for the riots that have erupted in the wake of the shooting, Arthur replies that he's not motivated by politics. He also calls Franklin "awful" for belittling him and shoots him to death before laying his gun on the host's desk and walking off.
Following his arrest, the police vehicle in which Arthur is riding is struck by protesters driving an ambulance. Arthur's freed by the demonstrators and upon regaining consciousness, is cheered by the crowd and hailed as a hero.
Meanwhile, one of the rioters confronts the Waynes in a back alley, murdering both Thomas and Martha before fleeing the scene as the now-orphaned Bruce looks on.
After Arthur is committed to Arkham, he undergoes a session with a psychiatrist, who inquires as to what he finds so amusing. He tells her that she wouldn't get the joke and is subsequently seen running from orderlies while leaving bloody footprints in his wake (it's implied that he murdered the psychiatrist before attempting to escape).
Joker bagged plenty of critical acclaim -- and controversy -- before bringing in $619 million in global earnings after only two weeks in theaters. Joker received an eight-minute standing ovation following its screening at the Venice Film Festival, copping the event's top prize, the Golden Lion award, in the process.
At $1.074 billion and counting, the villain's origin story has since become the top-grossing R-rated film of all time and the first to gross ten figures at the box-office. It's also the third-highest grossing DC movie of all time, surpassing all but billion-selling PG-13 hits The Dark Knight Rises and Aquaman. Joker has even outsold all of the previous movies featuring the title character (including the Oscar-winning and billion-grossing The Dark Knight). Amazingly enough, Joker has also out-grossed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; former highest-grossing movie of all time, Jurassic Park; The Phantom Menace; animated franchise-starter Despicable Me; and Disney hits, Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4, Zootopia, Finding Dory, Dead Man's Chest, On Stranger Tides and the live-action versions of both Aladdin and Alice in Wonderland -- and it did so without a 3-D release or screenings in China.
Joker's best lines:
"What do you get when you cross a mentally-ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? You get what you fucking deserve."
"The worst part of having a mental illness is that people expect you to behave as if you don't."
"I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realize it's a comedy."
3. The Snyder Cut
2. Suicide Squad
Though Suicide Squad is the only live-action Joker-related movie to not feature the homicidal jester as the primary villain, the film does break new ground where the human hyena is concerned: Suicide provides the only glimpse of the Joker's time at the notorious Arkham Asylum.
We also see how he met his maniacal girlfriend, Harley Quinn. While a resident of Arkham, the Joker seduces Quinn, a psychiatrist treating him for various mental disorders. After convincing her to free him, Joker recreates the same circumstances that gave him his green-tinted hair and bleached skin: he throws her into a giant vat of toxic chemicals.
But we first see Joker at the height of his power as the psychopathic, tattoo-covered head of a Gotham City crime ring, with Quinn not far from his side. However, a high-speed chase with the Batman leads to Joker's purple Lamborghini in the Gotham River and Harley knocked unconscious and arrested.
Following the death of the Kryptonian Superman, the U.S. government approves a program, Task Force X, whereby convicted criminals with combat skills are recruited for extremely dangerous black-ops missions against threats for which the military is ill-equipped to handle. Participation leads to sentence reductions but the task force's members are fitted with nanite bomb implants that can be detonated remotely should anyone get out of line. When Harley is coerced into joining the program, the Joker tortures a prison employee into revealing the location of the facility where the nanite explosives are manufactured. After he and his goons muscle their way into the building, Joker pressures Dr. Van Criss, the engineer who developed the devices, into disarming Harley's implant.
Later, the Joker and his enforcers commandeer the chopper intended to extract the task force and open fire on the government operatives escorting them at the rendezvous point. The mission commander, Col. Rick Flag, attempts to detonate Harley's implant but because it was deactivated, she boards the helicopter in order to flee. Unfortunately for her -- and everyone else onboard -- the chopper's shot down. Bemoaning the death of her green-haired would-be savior, Harley, who survives, rejoins her squad and continues the mission. During the subsequent battle against an immortal deity known as the Enchantress, the latter provides Harley with a vision of her deepest desire: an idyllic life as the Joker's wife and mother of his children.
Having completed their mission objectives, the task force members are reincarcerated at Belle Reve Special Security Barracks, with a decade shaved off of each of their respective sentences. And the Joker -- alive and well -- and his enforcers subsequently break into the prison and liberate Harley.
1. The Dark Knight
Batman Turns 80
The DCEU's 13 Sickest Villains
Perhaps because, unlike most comic book villains, and indeed, most comic book characters, the Joker has only been portrayed by award-winning actors, respected by both their peers and moviegoers alike.
With a recent Oscar win for Joaquin Phoenix's take on the killer clown in Joker, there's even a fresh new addition to the ever-growing collection of mind-blowing portrayals of Gotham's Most Wanted.
4. Jack Nicholson
Three-time Oscar-winner Jack Nicholson introduced a new, sinister Joker, nearly unrecognizable to fans of the campy 1960s television series Batman. Nicholson's Clown Prince of Crime didn't only love to laugh, he loved to kill -- and he did so often.
3. Jared Leto
Oscar-winner Jared Leto breathed life into the notorious psychopath after an eight-year absence from the big screen. Nicknamed the millennial Joker, Leto's version of the Batman's greatest foe sported face-tattoos and a gold grille to complement his customary bleached skin and green hair. Leto became so engrossed in the role during filming Suicide Squad that co-star Will Smith is reported to have remarked that he never actually met Jared Leto -- only the Joker.
Leto returned to the role five years later in The Snyder Cut, becoming the only actor to portray the character in more than one live-action movie. This subsequent portrayal was praised by critics and fans alike.
Amazingly enough, after three previous powerhouse and unforgettable takes on the infamous villain, Joaquin Phoenix managed to come up with a fresh new spin for movie houses. Phoenix's version, the first not to share the screen with the Bat-Man, provides more insight into what drives the arch-criminal but, impressively enough, without completely doing away with the air of mystery that surrounds him. However, it's worth noting that he does do away with the character's signature color: purple.
Unlike his predecessors, this Joker is a chain-smoking loner, with neither henchmen nor a love interest. He's also sorely lacking in both charisma and aggressive tendencies -- at least, initially. But when he finally "finds himself" a truly chilling monster is born.
Phoenix bagged the Best Actor Golden Globe for the role and, after having been nominated for an Oscar three times, also took home the Best Actor award in February, which makes him the second actor (after Heath Ledger) to snag an Academy Award trophy for the role.
1. Heath Ledger
The only actor to win an Academy Award for his portrayal of a comic book character, Ledger has cemented himself in the minds of most Batman fans as the definitive Joker. Tragically, his Oscar was awarded posthumously.
As good as they've been, the Joker's silver screen depictions have merely represented components of highly enjoyable wholes. In each instance, the Laughing Larcenist's appearance has been accompanied by a compelling story.
5. Batman
Deviating heavily from the comics source material, this Joker, then known as Jack Napier, is presented as the mugger who shoots Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne in front of their young son Bruce. And this incident is the catalyst for Bruce eventually taking on the Batman persona, dressing in black and waging a campaign of terror against the criminals who roam the streets of his native Gotham City after sundown. Conversely, during one of the Batman's nightly missions, a confrontation with racketeer Jack Napier, the chief lieutenant of Gotham crime boss Carl Grissom, leads to Napier's submersion in a vat of toxic chemicals which erodes his sanity and ultimately leads to his adoption of the Joker identity.
Not only have the chemicals incited a psychic break, they've also bleached Napier's skin, dyed his hair green and left his mouth curved into a permanent rictus grin. Eventually calling himself the Joker, it isn't long before he murders his boss, who'd set him up to be killed on the night of his disfigurement. The Joker continues his mission of vengeance by disfiguring Grissom's girlfriend Alicia, with whom he'd been having an affair and the revelation of which led to Grissom wanting him dead, so that her face resembles his.
After assuming control of Grissom's criminal organization, the Joker proceeds to wreak havoc on the citizens of Gotham. He has his henchmen lace popular hygiene products with what he calls Smylex, a lethal combination of the same chemicals that mutilated him, causing lthose who consume them to laugh themselves to death and leaving their corpses wearing a grin. Joker also devotes his resources toward getting revenge on the Bat.
During a forced "date" with local journalist Vicki Vale at the Gotham Museum of Art, Batman arrives, impressing the Joker. The "Dark Knight" then flees with Vale with Joker's enforcers in pursuit. However, Joker later apprehends Vale at her apartment where Bruce Wayne, whom she's dating, has come to pay her a visit. After asking, "You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?", the same question that his parents' mugger asked before killing them, Joker shoots Wayne.
The Joker subsequently host's a parade in downtown Gotham where he throws cash to the gathered crowds. He simultaneously disperses Smylex from the parade balloons before the Batman arrives in his personal aircraft and tows them to a sufficiently high altitude where the gas can no longer harm the citizens. The Joker responds by shooting him down using a custom long-barreled handgun. After pursuing both the vigilante and Vale to the top of a cathedral, the Joker and his underlings fight the Bat, leaving the pair dangling from the building's roof. However, when more of the Joker's employees arrive in a helicopter to ferry him away, the Batman uses a grappling hook to anchor the fleeing criminal to a gargoyle. Unable to maintain his grip on the chopper's rope-ladder, the Joker falls to his death.
Oscar-winning actor Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker completely overshadowed all that preceded it (including that of actor Cesar Romero in the popular 1960s television series Batman) and became, for many, the definitive take on the character -- at least for the following 19 years.
The Joker's best lines:
"Wait 'til they get a load of me."
"Where does he get all those wonderful toys?"
"You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
"Say it with a smile!"
"Oh, I got a live one!"
"This town needs an enema!"
4. Joker
Timid and socially-awkward loner Arthur Fleck lives with his mother in a small Gotham City apartment and works a dead-end job as a party clown. However, he dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian and constantly jots down original material in his joke book to further that end. When he shares his dream with his mother, she dismisses him as not being funny.
Arthur was once hospitalized in a mental facility and continues to suffer from a neurological condition, the pseudobulbar affect, that compels him to laugh uncontrollably during times of stress. He presents a card that explains his affliction to a woman who berates him after he makes her young son laugh during a city bus ride. Arthur is also dependent on medication provided by a city social program that requires him to attend regular counseling sessions.
After being beaten and robbed by a group of kids, Arthur is chewed out by his boss, who docks him for the sign that was stolen from him by the thieves. He subsequently encounters a neighbor, Sophie, for whom he develops feelings and begins seeing socially. A coworker, Randall, provides him with a revolver (unsolicited) for protection against any such incidents in the future. But when the gun accidentally falls out of his waistband in front of a crowd of children and staff members during a performance at a children's hospital, Arthur is fired as a result. It didn't help that Randall lied, accusing Arthur of approaching HIM about obtaining the weapon.
During the subway ride home, Arthur, still in his clown makeup, is assaulted by three stockbrokers in the employ of Wayne Enterprises. Fleck shoots two to death in self-defense and executes the third, instead of allowing him to flee. Mayoral candidate, Thomas Wayne, denounces the killings during a televised interview, disparaging critical impoverished Gotham citizens as "clowns" who never made anything of their lives.
The billionaire's comments spark protests, comprised of people wearing clown masks. Meanwhile, funding for various social programs is slashed, leaving Arthur unable to obtain his medication. And due to his growing self-confidence, he accuses his case-worker of going through the motions rather than actually listening to him.
Later, Arthur makes his stand-up comedy debut but bombs miserably, chuckling uncontrollably but failing to elicit laughs from the audience. After a tape of his performance is sent to the Murray Franklin Show, the eponymous host mocks Arthur live on the air, labeling him a "joker".
As though things weren't bad enough, Arthur reads a letter from his mother intended to be sent to Thomas Wayne, in which she refers to the former as her and Wayne's son. Enraged that his paternity was never revealed to him, Arthur angrily confronts her before heading to Wayne Manor to meet Thomas.
Arthur encounters an eight-year-old Bruce Wayne at the property gate before being confronted by Alfred Pennyworth, who accuses his mother, Penny, of being delusional and fabricating her sexual relationship with Thomas Wayne. Upon returning home, Arthur discovers that his mother has suffered a stroke and rides with her in an ambulance to the hospital.
When he's approached by two Gotham City police detectives investigating the triple-homicide on the subway, it's revealed that the pair spoke to Penny Fleck shortly before her stroke, likely triggering it.
Arthur subsequently maneuvers his way into a face-to-face talk with Thomas Wayne in a men's room. Wayne not only echoes Pennyworth's claims, he adds that Arthur himself is adopted and not biologically related to either himself or Penny Fleck. The encounter ends with Wayne punching Arthur in the face before storming off.
Determined to learn the truth, Arthur goes to Arkham State Hospital, where he was told Penny was committed, and steals her file. The records not only confirm that Penny was treated for delusions and adopted Arthur but also reveal that she and a boyfriend abused him at three years old.
Distraught, Arthur visits Penny in her hospital room, where he smothers her with a pillow. Afterwards, he pays Sophie a visit in her apartment, where it's implied that he murders her -- and presumably, her daughter as well. It's revealed that Arthur's entire relationship with Sophie was imagined.
The next day, Arthur is invited to make an appearance on Murray Franklin's talk show as a result of the attention garnered by his stand-up video. Before the show, Arthur is visited by former coworkers Randall and Gary. He stabs Randall to death in retaliation for lying about his gun but spares a distraught Gary.
On his way to the Murray Franklin Show, Arthur is spotted by the homicide detectives investigating the train shooting and flees. As he's wearing clown makeup, Fleck is able to blend in with a crowd of similarly dressed protesters in clown masks. When Arthur steals one of the demonstrators' mask, he inadvertently incites a brawl that engulfs the detectives. After one of the cops accidentally shoots a protester, the crowd attacks them both, ultimately leaving them with critical injuries.
In his meeting with Franklin, Arthur requests that he be introduced as "Joker", the description that the host had previously given him. Arthur subsequently appears before the audience in full clown makeup and green hair for the live broadcast. After telling inappropriate jokes that fall flat, he admits to killing the Wayne executives on the subway, describing them as "awful" people. When Franklin blames him for the riots that have erupted in the wake of the shooting, Arthur replies that he's not motivated by politics. He also calls Franklin "awful" for belittling him and shoots him to death before laying his gun on the host's desk and walking off.
Following his arrest, the police vehicle in which Arthur is riding is struck by protesters driving an ambulance. Arthur's freed by the demonstrators and upon regaining consciousness, is cheered by the crowd and hailed as a hero.
Meanwhile, one of the rioters confronts the Waynes in a back alley, murdering both Thomas and Martha before fleeing the scene as the now-orphaned Bruce looks on.
After Arthur is committed to Arkham, he undergoes a session with a psychiatrist, who inquires as to what he finds so amusing. He tells her that she wouldn't get the joke and is subsequently seen running from orderlies while leaving bloody footprints in his wake (it's implied that he murdered the psychiatrist before attempting to escape).
Joker bagged plenty of critical acclaim -- and controversy -- before bringing in $619 million in global earnings after only two weeks in theaters. Joker received an eight-minute standing ovation following its screening at the Venice Film Festival, copping the event's top prize, the Golden Lion award, in the process.
At $1.074 billion and counting, the villain's origin story has since become the top-grossing R-rated film of all time and the first to gross ten figures at the box-office. It's also the third-highest grossing DC movie of all time, surpassing all but billion-selling PG-13 hits The Dark Knight Rises and Aquaman. Joker has even outsold all of the previous movies featuring the title character (including the Oscar-winning and billion-grossing The Dark Knight). Amazingly enough, Joker has also out-grossed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; former highest-grossing movie of all time, Jurassic Park; The Phantom Menace; animated franchise-starter Despicable Me; and Disney hits, Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4, Zootopia, Finding Dory, Dead Man's Chest, On Stranger Tides and the live-action versions of both Aladdin and Alice in Wonderland -- and it did so without a 3-D release or screenings in China.
Joker's best lines:
"What do you get when you cross a mentally-ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? You get what you fucking deserve."
"The worst part of having a mental illness is that people expect you to behave as if you don't."
"I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realize it's a comedy."
3. The Snyder Cut
In the long-awaited Snyder Cut, Joker appears in a post-apocalyptic future caused by Darkseid's successful invasion of Earth, which was aided greatly by the Superman. Ever the pragmatic strategist, the Batman leads a ragtag band of survivors that includes the Jester of Genocide.
2. Suicide Squad
We also see how he met his maniacal girlfriend, Harley Quinn. While a resident of Arkham, the Joker seduces Quinn, a psychiatrist treating him for various mental disorders. After convincing her to free him, Joker recreates the same circumstances that gave him his green-tinted hair and bleached skin: he throws her into a giant vat of toxic chemicals.
But we first see Joker at the height of his power as the psychopathic, tattoo-covered head of a Gotham City crime ring, with Quinn not far from his side. However, a high-speed chase with the Batman leads to Joker's purple Lamborghini in the Gotham River and Harley knocked unconscious and arrested.
Following the death of the Kryptonian Superman, the U.S. government approves a program, Task Force X, whereby convicted criminals with combat skills are recruited for extremely dangerous black-ops missions against threats for which the military is ill-equipped to handle. Participation leads to sentence reductions but the task force's members are fitted with nanite bomb implants that can be detonated remotely should anyone get out of line. When Harley is coerced into joining the program, the Joker tortures a prison employee into revealing the location of the facility where the nanite explosives are manufactured. After he and his goons muscle their way into the building, Joker pressures Dr. Van Criss, the engineer who developed the devices, into disarming Harley's implant.
Later, the Joker and his enforcers commandeer the chopper intended to extract the task force and open fire on the government operatives escorting them at the rendezvous point. The mission commander, Col. Rick Flag, attempts to detonate Harley's implant but because it was deactivated, she boards the helicopter in order to flee. Unfortunately for her -- and everyone else onboard -- the chopper's shot down. Bemoaning the death of her green-haired would-be savior, Harley, who survives, rejoins her squad and continues the mission. During the subsequent battle against an immortal deity known as the Enchantress, the latter provides Harley with a vision of her deepest desire: an idyllic life as the Joker's wife and mother of his children.
Having completed their mission objectives, the task force members are reincarcerated at Belle Reve Special Security Barracks, with a decade shaved off of each of their respective sentences. And the Joker -- alive and well -- and his enforcers subsequently break into the prison and liberate Harley.
1. The Dark Knight
Thematically inspired by two graphic novels: 1988's "The Killing Joke" and 1996's "The Long Halloween", The Dark Knight features the most grounded take on the Bat-Man's illegalist nemesis to date. The movie explores the concept of unintended consequences, in that Batman's practice of adopting a singular motif and employing terrorism to further his agenda inspired the Joker to follow suit, utilizing a clown theme, whereas the former utilizes that of a bat.
We are re-introduced to Gotham City by way of a band of thieves who pull off a successful robbery of a downtown Gotham bank wearing clown masks. When each thief murders a comrade, acting on orders designed to ensure each remaining criminal a bigger cut, a lone bandit with green hair, wearing chalk-white face-paint survives to flee in a school bus with the entire haul.
Later, the bank robber, known only as the Joker, interrupts a summit attended by the heads of Gotham's most powerful criminal organizations and offers to eliminate their biggest threat -- the Batman -- for half of their fortunes. After making the offensive proposal, the Joker ensures that he's allowed to leave in one piece by revealing that he's armed with several hand grenades.
After being hired by Gotham's top organized crime figures, the Joker leaves the corpse of a Batman copycat outside of the mayor's office. He also delivers a video to the media in which he threatens to kill Gotham citizens every day until the real Batman turns himself in to the authorities. That very evening, the Joker makes good on the threat by murdering Police Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb and the judge presiding over a RICO case involving the aforementioned organized crime figures. The Joker and his enforcers also interrupt a fundraiser held for District Attorney Harvey Dent, hosted by billionaire Bruce Wayne. While interrogating the guests for information regarding Dent's whereabouts (Dent had been ushered to safety by Wayne), the purple-suited anarchist claims that his Glasgow scar is self-inflicted, the result of an attempt to make his depressed former wife smile.
At Commissioner Loeb's funeral, the Joker and his men attempt to get close enough to murder Gotham's mayor, Anthony Garcia, by posing as police officers. While the attempt fails, Lieutenant James Gordon is shot protecting Garcia.
Following Dent's false confession that he's the Batman, the Joker and his men attack the police convoy transporting him to county jail. However, the Batman intervenes in the Tumbler and intercepts an RPG launched at Dent's vehicle. After prompting the critically-damaged vehicle to self-destruct and ejecting in a customized motorcycle, Batman disables the 18-wheeler in which the Joker is riding. The two men then face off in the street, with the armed Joker intent on being killed. After Batman crashes, swerving to avoid hitting his foe, Gordon, who'd faked his death, apprehends the Joker.
When the Joker is arrested, Gotham police discover that the former can't be identified, as there are no matches for his fingerprints, DNA or dental records on file; even his clothing can't be traced. Gordon questions the Joker regarding Dent's whereabouts, as he disappeared following Joker's arrest. When the Batman interrogates him, beginning by slamming his head on a table, the Joker advises, "Never start with the head. The victim gets all fuzzy." He also explains that he never had any intention of killing the vigilante as he has come to define himself by their conflict. Forcing Batman to choose who to rescue, the Joker reveals that both Dent and Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes (whom Bruce Wayne loves) have been kidnapped and are being held in separate locations attached to timed explosives, ensuring that only one can be saved in time.
Though Batman rushes off to rescue Dawes, he realizes upon arrival that the Joker intentionally lied about the addresses at which each was being held and discovers Dent in her place. Gordon, who'd intended to liberate Dent, reaches the site too late and Dawes is killed when the explosives in the building are detonated.
Following his escape from custody, the Joker sets his criminal employers' cash --
and their money launderer -- on fire and feeds a drug-trafficker known only as "the Chechen" to his own Rottweilers. When Coleman Reese, a Wayne Enterprises accountant who deduces that billionaire Bruce Wayne is the Batman, announces his intention to reveal the vigilante's true identity, the Joker places a bounty on his head (as he doesn't want his rivalry with Batman to end prematurely).
Meanwhile, the Joker sneaks into a badly disfigured Dent's hospital room dressed as a nurse in order to recruit him to his cause; he subsequently destroys Gotham General Hospital.
Panic ensues after the Joker announces that he's planted bombs throughout the city. He also reveals that a ferry carrying civilians out of town is rigged with explosives and that those onboard must detonate the explosives on a similarly rigged ferry full of convicted criminals before they decide to do the same.
Gordon dispatches a SWAT team when the Joker is located. But the Batman realizes that the figures who the police believe to be the anarchist's henchmen are actually abducted hostages in disguise. After incapacitating the members of the SWAT team, the Gotham Knight confronts the Joker and throws him off of a high-rise. However, he saves him from plunging to his death -- leaving him laughing maniacally as he dangles.
We are re-introduced to Gotham City by way of a band of thieves who pull off a successful robbery of a downtown Gotham bank wearing clown masks. When each thief murders a comrade, acting on orders designed to ensure each remaining criminal a bigger cut, a lone bandit with green hair, wearing chalk-white face-paint survives to flee in a school bus with the entire haul.
Later, the bank robber, known only as the Joker, interrupts a summit attended by the heads of Gotham's most powerful criminal organizations and offers to eliminate their biggest threat -- the Batman -- for half of their fortunes. After making the offensive proposal, the Joker ensures that he's allowed to leave in one piece by revealing that he's armed with several hand grenades.
After being hired by Gotham's top organized crime figures, the Joker leaves the corpse of a Batman copycat outside of the mayor's office. He also delivers a video to the media in which he threatens to kill Gotham citizens every day until the real Batman turns himself in to the authorities. That very evening, the Joker makes good on the threat by murdering Police Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb and the judge presiding over a RICO case involving the aforementioned organized crime figures. The Joker and his enforcers also interrupt a fundraiser held for District Attorney Harvey Dent, hosted by billionaire Bruce Wayne. While interrogating the guests for information regarding Dent's whereabouts (Dent had been ushered to safety by Wayne), the purple-suited anarchist claims that his Glasgow scar is self-inflicted, the result of an attempt to make his depressed former wife smile.
At Commissioner Loeb's funeral, the Joker and his men attempt to get close enough to murder Gotham's mayor, Anthony Garcia, by posing as police officers. While the attempt fails, Lieutenant James Gordon is shot protecting Garcia.
Following Dent's false confession that he's the Batman, the Joker and his men attack the police convoy transporting him to county jail. However, the Batman intervenes in the Tumbler and intercepts an RPG launched at Dent's vehicle. After prompting the critically-damaged vehicle to self-destruct and ejecting in a customized motorcycle, Batman disables the 18-wheeler in which the Joker is riding. The two men then face off in the street, with the armed Joker intent on being killed. After Batman crashes, swerving to avoid hitting his foe, Gordon, who'd faked his death, apprehends the Joker.
When the Joker is arrested, Gotham police discover that the former can't be identified, as there are no matches for his fingerprints, DNA or dental records on file; even his clothing can't be traced. Gordon questions the Joker regarding Dent's whereabouts, as he disappeared following Joker's arrest. When the Batman interrogates him, beginning by slamming his head on a table, the Joker advises, "Never start with the head. The victim gets all fuzzy." He also explains that he never had any intention of killing the vigilante as he has come to define himself by their conflict. Forcing Batman to choose who to rescue, the Joker reveals that both Dent and Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes (whom Bruce Wayne loves) have been kidnapped and are being held in separate locations attached to timed explosives, ensuring that only one can be saved in time.
Though Batman rushes off to rescue Dawes, he realizes upon arrival that the Joker intentionally lied about the addresses at which each was being held and discovers Dent in her place. Gordon, who'd intended to liberate Dent, reaches the site too late and Dawes is killed when the explosives in the building are detonated.
Following his escape from custody, the Joker sets his criminal employers' cash --
and their money launderer -- on fire and feeds a drug-trafficker known only as "the Chechen" to his own Rottweilers. When Coleman Reese, a Wayne Enterprises accountant who deduces that billionaire Bruce Wayne is the Batman, announces his intention to reveal the vigilante's true identity, the Joker places a bounty on his head (as he doesn't want his rivalry with Batman to end prematurely).
Meanwhile, the Joker sneaks into a badly disfigured Dent's hospital room dressed as a nurse in order to recruit him to his cause; he subsequently destroys Gotham General Hospital.
Panic ensues after the Joker announces that he's planted bombs throughout the city. He also reveals that a ferry carrying civilians out of town is rigged with explosives and that those onboard must detonate the explosives on a similarly rigged ferry full of convicted criminals before they decide to do the same.
Gordon dispatches a SWAT team when the Joker is located. But the Batman realizes that the figures who the police believe to be the anarchist's henchmen are actually abducted hostages in disguise. After incapacitating the members of the SWAT team, the Gotham Knight confronts the Joker and throws him off of a high-rise. However, he saves him from plunging to his death -- leaving him laughing maniacally as he dangles.
His best lines:
"Why so serious?"
"Let's put a smile on that face."
"There's no going back. You've changed things...forever."
"I believe that whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you -- stranger."
"See I'm not a monster; I'm just ahead of the curve."
"Why so serious?"
"Let's put a smile on that face."
"There's no going back. You've changed things...forever."
"I believe that whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you -- stranger."
"See I'm not a monster; I'm just ahead of the curve."
Originally Posted 7/17/19
Related:
The DCEU's 13 Sickest Villains
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