The Three Jokers - DC on Film Opinion

21st Century Jokers on film.
Joaquin, Ledger, and Leto.

Joaquin Phoenix and director, Todd Phillips, gave us another interesting take on the Joker from Batman's rogues gallery, with their movie Joker. This has lead me to think about the three modern movie Jokers of the 21st century, i.e. Heath Ledger, Jared Leto, and, of course, Joaquin Phoenix. Specifically how they fit in relation to the character and in relation to Batman.

Joker - Joaquin Phoenix

This interpretation of Joker can definitely be seen as Day 1 Joker. He's just an unhinged guy in clown makeup. He's no match for Batman but he doesn't need to be since Batman is barely an idea in Bruce Wayne's head.

This Joker needs a few years to mature before going up against Batman. The fact that Joaquin's Joker would be older than Batman may give him some air of authority over Bruce that a Joker of equal age wouldn't command.

I personally don't buy that the Joker is a response to Batman. They may become yin-yang to each other but Joker's origin was never really as shallow as wearing a costume because Batman does (or because he's scared of clowns in the same way Bruce was scared of bats).

I've also never seen Joker as someone who would go up against Batman in a hand to hand fight. He's far too smart for that. Joaquin's Joker isn't dysfunctionally insane either. Sure he sees things from time to time that are all in his head but he's very clear on his plans when he sets his mind on a goal.

Personally if we see this Joker again I'd love to see him a few years on, going up against a Batman that's still finding his feet and refining his detective skills.

The Joker - Heath Ledger

Heath's Joker could be Joaquin's Joker with a few years under his belt. When we meet him in The Dark Knight he's fully realized as the Joker but has not yet made a name for himself in Gotham City. However he's connected enough to have henchmen and to orchestrate some pretty major blows against the city and its mob bosses.

As much as Heath's Joker claims not to scheme or make plans, destroying a hospital is not something you do on a whim - there's some serious behind the scenes logistics going on there. Not to mention sewing a mobile phone detonator inside a person in order to escape jail must have required some pre-planning.

Heath's Joker is widely regarded as the best on screen Joker in terms of being true to the character. It really is a shame we only got to see him in one movie.

That said, Joaquin's take on the character, while not the same as Heath's, clearly could exist in the same kind of world, giving that similar vibe of uneasy edginess the character needs.

The Joker - Jared Leto

Suicide Squad's Joker, played by Jared Leto, wasn't well received by fans. Personally, it's not my favorite version but I didn't dislike this interpretation either.

I think the key to Jared's Joker is understanding that this version has been the Joker for a long time. Just like Ben Affleck's Batman, in this DCEU, this Joker is world weary, and even more established as a crime boss. He has the resources to commandeer military equipment and even a military helicopter.

He seems less about causing chaos and more about being evil and threatening just because he can. He's much more a force of nature than even Heath's Joker.

He may not be my favorite Joker but I'd still be happy to see him be given a proper film where he goes up against Ben Affleck's Batman. This Joker should never have been relegated to a cameo in a Batman spin off movie.

With more time audiences could have understood what Jared's Joker was all about. I'm hoping there's still a chance given this DCEU isn't dead with the upcoming releases of four movies set in the same time line including; Birds of Prey, and Suicide Squad 2, which both have direct connections to Jared's Joker.

---o ---o--- o---

Anyhow, those are some of my thoughts on these three 21st century Jokers. Since we're unlikely to ever see Heath's Joker again (unless they Peter Cushing or James Dean him), would you like to see Joaquin's Joker go up against Batman? What about Jared's Joker? Would You like to see where that version was going with more screen time and story?

Comments

Australian Federal Election 2025 - World's Most Boring Government Re-elected by Landside - We're Even More Fine!

Anthony Albanese Victory by ChatGPT and TET. W hen I started writing about the 2025 Federal election the polls were suggesting the world's most boring government was crusing to a defeat . As it turns out, boring is good, and Australia wants more of it, handing the current government a landslide win with a majority vote. Anthony Albanese became the first PM since John Howard to win a consecutive term, and the first Labor PM since Bob Hawke to do so. Some of that comes down to the leadership revolving door both major parties had through the mid 2000s. Although Anthony is my preferred PM over Dutton the irony is Dutton sounds more like a leader with a fairly commanding voice and an ability to speak well, without sounding like he's waffling and dodging questions, even if he is. Anthony, on the other hand, does have the ability (and speech writer) to say a lot of inspiring things but it gets lost in the delivery. He doesn't seem to know when to emphasise a point for effect. In h...

Review: ArtHelper - The All-In-One AI Writing + Marketing Assistant for Artists - 'ChatGPT for Artists'

ArtHelper prides itself on being all 'human-made' art. T he idea of an AI, trained specifically on art business marketing, that can not only offer advice on marketing your work, but also assist with creating all the content too, is certainly appealing. Especially to those of us who would rather spend more time creating our art than trying to sell it. ArtHelper does just that whilst attempting to be your 'home' on the internet. A destination for your profile and portfolio, a marketplace for your art, and a directory of artists as well, with one distinction - all the art must be human made. Which, for you AI artists, doesn't count the prompt for AI generated art - because the idea, according to ArtHelper's creators, isn't the art. Which is a fair point, in terms of promoting art 'made by a human', but can get kind of murky when you understand that not all AI art is generated from a single prompt... and 'found object art' isn't actually ...

Is AI Art 'Art'? The Say NO to AI Art Movement, and Why Human Artists Will Adapt

AI Art No T-Shirt by TET Also available on other items . Right now there is a big debate over not just whether AI art is 'art' but whether AI's are actually ripping off the work of actual human artists, without their consent, to create their images - particularly images 'in the style of' specific artists. From my own observations this debate started to get more traction when artist's signatures began appearing in the output of AI Art image generators. Is It Art? Cool Froyd the Cat Sketch by TET. My style is very much influenced by classic Disney and WB character styles. To get some clarity on how real human artists work (of which I am one)... we, that is all of us... take influences from the art that has come before. i.e. whatever artists we like, have studied, seen etc. we are influenced by. It shows up in our work, intentionally or not. If you really study my own cartoony art style you'll see I'm heavily influenced by early Disney and Warner Bros cart...

West Beach Skatepark, Adelaide, South Australia

Main Vert Ramp, West Beach. West Beach Skatepark , Adelaide, South Australia, is one of my favorite skateparks, even though I can barely skate anything in it well. Most of the park is way above my ability. Located not far from the end of the runway at Adelaide Airport it can be a bit disconcerting seeing how low the planes get as they come in to land. From certain vantage points you'd swear they're about to crash into the park instead of fly over to the runway. The park is nearly an hour's drive from my house in Gawler so the only time I get to visit is if I'm dropping my partner off at the airport (which is a rare occurrence). This particular day was a hot 41 degrees celsius. I didn't think I'd skate but the heat guaranteed the park to be virtually empty (except for one other skater who lasted about as long as I did before giving it away). Below is a video with some highlights from my, about an hour long, session. As you can see, my ability is l...

The Liberal Party Attempt to Win Back One Nation Supporters By Stepping More to the Right

Federal Liberal Party Leader, Angus Taylor, and Deputy Leader, Jane Hume. Image: Gemini and TET. G enerally I try to keep one eye on Australian politics, mainly at the Federal level because that affects the whole country. State based politics really only become interesting at state election time, as they're something of an indicator of how the various parties might fare in a Federal election. As indicated by the gains One Nation has been making at state level, with a recent Australian Financial Review/Redbridge Group/Accent Research poll suggesting the party is now the most popular party on primary support . Much of this surge has been at the expense of the Liberal Party of Australia with former supporters seemingly agreeing that you may as well be voting for Labor since the parties are so similar (they aren't but they're both close enough to the political 'middle' it can certainly seem that way). It seems the all new Liberal Leadership of Angus Taylor, and Deput...

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de...

Book Review: Around Australia at 80ks by Meredith Schofield

A s someone who has written a travel diary about driving across three states of Australia , and owning a frog van that became very much a character in touring my own state of South Australia at sometimes well below 80ks, I have some affinity for Meredith Schofield's book, Around Australia at 80k's . I'll definitely tip my hat to Meredith and her husband Sean for going way further in a bright yellow, unairconditioned, mid 70's kombi van, than they were ever designed for. Also kudos to them for traveling with their dog Bandit. My partner and I have also taken our dogs on our holiday adventures and, even though South Australia is likely the most dog friendly state in Australia, it's still a challenge planning a trip where you can all stay together. Particularly, your dog will keep you out of most national parks. Meredith's book is a road trip adventure across five Australian states, NSW, SA, WA, NT, and Victoria (technically four states and one territory I guess)...

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog