The Joker

This was originally posted on January 31, 2009 on an animation blog I had. Today I decided to close out that blog and delete all the posts I wrote for it. However, this one is my favorite, so I decided to repost it here.

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Ever notice how The Joker (aka Joker) is the one villain in the Batman series that has gone through the most changes. Since the first appearance in the DC comics, he has changed both in looks and in situations. He has been everything from just a guy wearing face paint, to a guy that fell in acid and his face is permanently like that. In some versions of the story, Joker is the one that killed Bruce Wayne's parents, in other versions he wasn't the one. He has also changed in the degree of terror; in some versions he is just a run-of-the-mill villain, in other versions he is the most dangerous villain Batman ever faced.

In the most recent move in theaters - The Dark Knight - The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, was a very dangerous man. He didn't want money or power, he just wanted to watch the world burn and at the same time proving that everyone deep down was at evil as he is. Batman had to go to great measures just to beat him.

On to the animated shows/films. In Batman: The Animated Series The Joker is the one villain that just can't be caught, and as soon as he is, he escapes. In "Batman Beyond" one thing Bruce tells Terry when talking about the gang know as "Jokers", Bruce told him "They are not The Joker" in a rather serious voice to convey compared to Joker, these "Jokers" were nothing. Batman Beyond movie Batman Beyond: The Return of Joker, both Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gorden warn Terry to stay away, that this villain was too much for him. Bruce even had a look of fright on his face. I don't ruin the ending for anyone that hasn't seen the movie...

Other Villains stay pretty much the same, some minor costume design changes, but other than that; Mr. Freeze is the same, Catwoman is the same, The Riddler is the same, Twoface is the same, etc. However, with every new movie and TV series, Joker chances. If we look back at the first live action Batman TV series with Adam West, through all the movies to the most recent movie, every time we see Joker he becomes darker and darker in both personality and degree of danger.

The Joker is a psychological reflection of society. Every human on the planet have two sides to themselves (this would actually be a pretty good Twoface metaphor, but oh well), one good and one evil. Most people can suppress one or the other enough to keep within one of the two social norms; the "civilized society" and the "criminals". Joker however, doesn't just suppress the good side, there is no good side. He is a representation of what can happen when people ignore the morals of the society they live in, and decide to make up their own morals. The Joker and Batman are two sides of the same coin, the yin and yang as you will, you can't have one without the other. It is because of this that (in the animated shows at least) neither of them will succeed in killing the other one. Batman won't kill the Joker because of his rule never to kill, Joker won't kill Batman because without him there is no reason to continue his life of crime. Ledger says it best with the quote "I won't kill you, you're too much fun"

Just like Kryptonite is to Superman, The Joker is to Batman. He is the only villain that can make Batman feel uneasy. The only villain that Batman has a hard time defeating. The only villain in the Batman series work blogging about. Joker is the ultimate Batman villain, and if he was real, could possibility be more terrifying than Osama bin Laden.