The Joker

The Joker is probably my favorite villain of all. He is Batman's most noted enemy, and he also causes trouble for the Justice League. He has no real history; his origin story is varied according to the writer. The most common origin story is that the Joker was essentially created by Batman. His name in this origin story is usually Jack Napier. Napier was a mobster, doing jobs for a large triad. Eventually, he broke away and tried to form his own gang. Napier and his gang planned to rob the Ace Chemical Plant. Their robbery was stopped by Batman. Either an accident or an attempt to escape led to Napier's fall right into a vat of chemicals. The chemicals were then flushed out into the body of water somewhere around the plant. The chemical bath bleached the Joker's skin, turned his lips red and dyed his hair green; he also became insane. Napier gave himself the name The Joker, and swore to prove his criminal genius.
The Joker has had many, many incarnations between comics, cartoons and the big screen. The most recent incarnation, played by the late Heath Ledger, shows a Joker who is a criminal genius with make-up. The make-up is applied unevenly, but his face is white, the areas around his eyes are black, he has stringy hair with green highlights and a frightening "smile". The smile is red makeup applied from one scar to another; his scars make him seem to be "smiling" all the time. This Joker is from The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's summer blockbuster and sequel to Batman Begins. In The Dark Knight, the Joker has no real origin story. The only glimpse of an origin is his stories about his scars; however, the stories are conflicting and may both be lies. The two other big screen adaptations of the Joker are played by Jack Nicholson in Batman (1989) and Cesar Romero in Batman (1966). Jack Nicholson's Joker is more faithful to the comics, including his fall into a chemical vat and his crude jokes. Cesar Romero's Joker is not heard of much today; the movie and ensuing television series have been criticized for the excessive camp humor.
The Joker has been in a few television series. The first is the series Batman, which followed the 1966 movie. The Joker was played by Cesar Romero. The next few cartoons are seldom heard of, and follow the campy style of Batman (1966). The most popular television incarnation of the Joker is of Batman: The Animated Series. This Joker is somewhat similar to the Joker picture displayed with the article. The Joker was voiced by Mark Hamill, the actor who brought Luke Skywalker to the silver screen in the Star Wars movies. Hamill's Joker appears in the movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, a movie from Batman: The Animated Series, and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, a direct-to-video movie from the Batman: TAS spinoff Batman Beyond. He also appears in a few episodes of the television shows Batman Beyond, Justice League and Static Shock. Hamill's Joker voice seems to have been permanently linked to the Joker's cartoon adaptations; it is used as a comparison for all of the recent portrayals. The Joker also appears in The Batman, a series from KidsWB!, and is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. This Joker has been harshly criticized for the drastic difference in appearance; he has long hair (possibly dreadlocks), wears very different clothes, usually walks around barefoot, and has sharply honed combat skills. He seems to use his feet just as well as his hands, giving the impression that he is a monkey. The most recent cartoon adaptation of the Joker is in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. This show has been praised by many for its seeming mix of Batman: The Animated Series and some of the campier elements of Batman. The Brave and Bold Joker is voiced by Jeff Bennett, and has only appeared in two episodes.
In Batman: Mask of the Phantasm as well as Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, the Joker dies. In Mask of the Phantasm, however, his death is not shown, so there is a possibility he lived. In Return of the Joker, he is visibly killed and, in the animated universe created by producer Bruce Timm, finally given closure. Bruce Timm's animated universe follows a timeline, in which Mask of the Phantasm and Return of the Joker are included. Return of the Joker may be the final event. In the 1989 film Batman, the Joker is seen to be killed by dropping from an extraordinary height. His final joke is a sound recording of his laughter, which goes off when he lands and dies. In The Dark Knight, the Joker is not killed off.
The Joker is, for some reason, the classic villain of Batman. He is always going to be associated with Batman, especially after the movie The Dark Knight. The Joker of the Batman animated series and Justice League cartoons is much more lively than the silver screen adaptations. He always has a name for Batman (Guano-Man and Batsy are among the most common), and he always has a trick up his sleeve. The Joker of the 1989 Batman film is a faithful adaptation who usually has a trick up his sleeve, but does not taunt Batman as much. The Joker of The Dark Knight is a very dirty, grimy, intinimidating man. He taunts Batman not with names but with psychological tricks. He wants to prove that even the best of people can be broken, and does so by breaking Harvey Dent. He also tries to "break" Batman in the interrogation room, succeeding in infuriating Batman. This seems to be all he wants, and proceeds to mess with Batman some more in regards to the two hostages he has taken. The Joker is a very abnormal guy who has no sane explanation for his actions. His motives are widely unknown, and he is the only one who knows what he does and why.