El Joker is next to Batman, one of the DC characters that has had the most faces and it is normal since it appears in numerous films. Some exclusively his, such as the one recently starring Joaquin Phoenix. These are All the movies in which the Joker appears.
who is joker
The Joker, who is also known in some countries as Joker or Joker, is one of DC's most popular characters and one of Batman's great enemies. Although the most significant thing about the character is that, unlike many others, he has managed to penetrate the fans to the point of being one of the favorites of many. But what are his origins?
El Joker was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson for DC and saw the light for the first time in the first number of the Batman comic book in 1940. Since then, he has been one of Gotham City's most notorious criminals and the Batman's main enemy.
Regarding its origins, the story has been changing as new comics, books, series and movies were published. But if there is something that is maintained in practically each and every one of these productions, it is the personality with psychopathic airs and a rather twisted humor.
Despite all this or because of all this, the character of the Joker has managed to captivate many of us and they have earned him to be one of the best known villains. What's more, there are those who think that there is no better antagonist of any other hero than him. And they may be right, especially when you see some interpretations that certain actors made of it in the cinema.
What is your favorite Joker?
This villain is surely one of the best known and remembered of any comic you can imagine for the amount of nuances it has, depending on the version that the directors or screenwriters have chosen. And it is that unlike other enemies that are more granitic in terms of their staging, within the cinema we can find three variants to which more disturbing of the Joker.
The Criminal Joker
He was the first to appear with the first volume of the comic of Batman in 1940 and is not exactly characterized by smiling because its true nature is criminal and delinquent. He doesn't care to smile or stage anything. To this category belongs the Joker of The dark knight. No?
The Joker Clown
This character variant grew up in the heat of comics in the 40s and 50s of the last century and to that criminal instinct he adds a histrionic, noisy and at times cheesy staging. So you will remember him for some of the gags that he starred in the comics of those times. Without a doubt, César Romero's Joker is the most similar.
The Joker Comedian
It is the most modern of all and the work of the great Alan Moore (creator of Watchmen or V for Vendetta) in the killing joke, and here there is no room for doubt. The joker is a psychopath who shows no compassion for his victims, whom he torments with smiles and huge laughs. Don't you think that Jack Nicholson is the perfect example of this Joker?
All movies where the Joker appears
As we have said, the Joker is one of the most popular characters in the DC universe and Batman stories. That has meant that the character has been seen in movies on several occasions. Some of them even as the main character. So, if you like it and it interests you, these are all the occasions in which Joker appeared on the big screen.
Batman: The Movie (1966)
Adam West was the first Batman in history and how could it be otherwise, the Joker was his enemy. In Batman: The Movie, a film directed by Leslie H. Martinson, the role of Joker was played by César Romero.
Like that first Batman, Romero's role as Joker was neither as dark nor sinister as it would become years later. If in some stories the one also known as Joker or Joker was simply dedicated to playing bad jokes, here that simpleton role exploded. Even so, he remains there as one of the first to make this psychopathic clown his own.
Batman (1989)
En 1989 Batman premiered, a film that many of us will remember for various reasons and one of them being the interpretation that the popular actor made of said character Jack Nicholson.
In Tim Burton's film the origin of joker, a Gotham criminal who after falling into a container of acid is disfigured with that particular and disturbing "smile." Without a doubt, one of the best Jokers or so we believed, until other actors arrived with much darker roles.
Batman Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
This animated film was a phenomenon at the time and had among its cast of original voices no more and no less than Mark Hamill, the actor who gave life to Luke Skywalker in The Wars. So we can also assign him the merit and one of the many reincarnations that the Joker has had during the last decades in the world of film and television. Do you want to listen to him? Press play on the trailer above...
Mark Hamill's Joker is histrionic, like the cartoon he represents and tthe character was still good, that years later the video game development studio Rocksteady called the actor back to play the villain Batman's best known in the trilogy games Arkham Asylum. So we can say that, removing all the actors who have played him on the small or big screen, the authentic voice of the joker It's Luke Skywalker's.
The Dark Knight (2008)
There were many successes The Dark Knight that Christopher Nolan directed and that placed Christian Bale as Batman, but there is no discussion that the best of all was to choose Heath Ledger as Joker.
The actor left us with one of the most faithful interpretations of the idea of ​​Joker that many of us have in our heads after reading numerous comics. And it is that among the much more mature and dark tone of said Nolan trilogy, the clown who showed us this second installment was exquisite in every way.
It is true that other great actors would arrive later playing Joker as we will see, but after seeing Ledger's big role, many decided that there was no turning back: he would be the best Joker in history ever since.
Suicide Squad (2016)
En Suicide Squadron the Joker appeared, but by far with the leading role he has had or enjoyed in other films. Here, played by Jared Leto, his aesthetics drew a lot of attention, despite retaining some characteristic elements such as the psychopathic smile, he also provided a much more excessive vision with tattoos and piercings.
It is a pity that in the final cut of the tape you could not see all that work that has been talked about even by the actor himself. And it is that there was much more and hence Leto's criticism and his intention to forget the character due to the lack of opportunities to demonstrate what he was capable of doing when he played him.
Joker (2019)
One of the best movies of 2019, at least for all of us who love the world of comics and the DC universe. Played by Joaquin Phoenix, this was not another Batman movie in which he would play his role as antagonist but would be the exclusive protagonist of it.
With a fabulous interpretation, Joaquin Phoenix introduced us to the story that gave rise to the Joker. A character that is not really discovered as such until the end of it, when... Well, we won't tell you anything to avoid possible spoilers and so that you still have an interest in seeing it. Because you should, it's an amazing movie.
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
In the latest version of Justice League, the Snyder Cut, we see the Joker again and he is played by the same actor who gave him life in an accidental way in Suicide Squad: Jared Leto.
The actor did not have the opportunity to show his full worth in that first film. Decisions in the editing room seem to have deprived us of greater depth in a character who this time painted differently from how we normally knew him. With many tattoos, piercings and other excesses, now in the new Justice League movie it will be possible to see again and what future could await the actor as Joker.
Batman (2022)
Few of us expected that our Dear Joker would appear in the most risky proposal about Batman in recent years, so the surprise It was even greater to discover that he also had his minute of glory reserved on the tape. Without being by any means the main villain, the character appears, as we noted, at the end of the film, when Batman decides to go see him in his cell to ask for advice about a serial killer.
We thus see that Matt Reeves, the director of the film, also wanted to imagine what his Joker would be like, betting this time on Barry keoghan, whom we don't even see clearly at any time. It is expected that the character will acquire much more relevance in The Batman 2, for which there is still no release date. Have to wait.
Other Joker that have been seen on the screen
Although the actors who have given life to the Joker on the big screen are the most recognizable and the ones who have helped to get to know the character the most, the truth is that he has also been played by other actors in productions such as live action television series. and even animation.
In live action there are some actors who have also been able to give Joker a unique personality and style. Maybe not always achieving the best version of the criminal, but even so they are worth being known too.
For example, César Romero not only played him in the film but also in the 22 chapters of the Batman series where he once again shared the cast with Adam West as Batman. Although the most recent of all may be Cameron monaghan, who played the clown in the gotham series.
Of course there are interpretations so varied in tone, style and character that surely everyone has their favorite Joker. Many will agree that Heath Ledger has been the most successful of all while others will bet on Joaquin Phoenix. Whatever it is, the best news is that this character has a lot to say and there are numerous actors capable of giving him their own personal stamp so that we continue to enjoy his maddening laugh.