The Evolution of The Joker

The Evolution of the Joker

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re discussing six decades of film and television interpretations of Batman’s arch nemesis.

The Setup

Tacky suits and grin aside, DC’s Joker is a dark standard among supervillains. The lore of Batman’s arch nemesis has undergone many makeovers in many forms of media. The only constant is a deranged criminal mastermind with a morbid sense of humor. But the public’s sense of him has been affected by his on-screen presence more than anything. The Joker debuted in the first issue of the “Batman” comics. We were introduced to a disturbed vigilante dressed like a bat as our hero, alongside a colorful clown as his villain. Inspired by the mutilated lead in the film “The Man Who Laughs”, the Clown Prince of Crime was deliberately designed around contradictions. This helped set a tone in superhero lore that is subversive now, never mind 1940. If “Batman” is to be done justice in other media, so too must the Joker.

1960s: Warm-Up Acts

Batman first hit the screen in a 1943 film serial. But the Joker wouldn’t be adapted until 1966. He made up for lost time as a recurring villain on ABC’s “Batman”, starring Adam West as the not-so-Dark Knight. The camp classic was an ideal platform for the eccentric crime boss. Sure, veteran heartthrob Cesar Romero’s refusal to shave his mustache was a flaw in the character design. Otherwise, the startling makeup and wardrobe effectively brought Joker to life. The show was a hit, as was the theatrical film released shortly after its premiere. Romero’s tongue-in-cheek menace alone was a pop culture phenomenon. Voice actor Ted Knight brought that flamboyance to the Joker’s 1968 animation debut on “The Adventures of Batman”. The villain would keep TV audiences laughing for years to come, for better or worse.

1970s-80s: Light on Laughs

By the 1970s, a generation of readers had grown up with a Joker characterized in compliance with the Comics Code Authority. The homicidal madness of the ‘40s was toned down to elaborate pranks and heists. That kind of villainy seemed cemented in other media by the Joker’s family-friendly TV work in the ‘60s, then by small animated roles in the subsequent decade. Legendary voice actor Frank Welker later brought the Joker into the ‘80s on the short-lived series “The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians”. The seldom-seen supervillain was a cartoon in every sense of the word through this era. Then, in 1989, things changed forever.

1989: Dancing with the Devil

Leave it to Tim Burton to reconcile “Batman”’s pulpy screen brand with its dark roots. His mega-hit 1989 film inspired future adaptations to take the property more seriously. And the great Jack Nicholson showed how to take a comical psycho seriously. His Joker began as Jack Napier, a gangster deformed and driven mad after falling into a chemical vat. He then takes over the Gotham City underworld with criminal mischief. This Joker was genuinely scary, a formidable match for Batman to a fault. Many felt that his screen time and characterization eclipsed Bruce Wayne’s. Even more controversial was the big reveal that Napier was the hood who murdered Wayne’s parents.

Burton’s “Batman” may not have been the perfect narrative for fans, but Nicholson was the perfect Joker. He was showered with award nominations, which was rare for an actor in a superhero movie. Indeed, the Golden Globe nod was for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Nicholson’s Joker was humorous, but hardly anything to laugh about. There was no going back from this dark image.

1990s-2000s: Dark Comedy

After Nicholson, the Joker became more prevalent in animated shows and features that finally respected his edginess. This renaissance really began with the acclaimed “Batman: The Animated Series”, which ran on Fox Kids from ‘92 to ‘95. Movie star Mark Hamill made a stunning turn to the dark side in a variation of the Jack Napier arc, reprising the role in spin-offs, movies and video games. His blood-curdling voicework became synonymous with the Joker. Even when Roger Stoneburner played him on the WB’s live-action “Birds of Prey”, Hamill dubbed the voice. Of course, Kevin Michael Richardson made an impression in the 2004-08 series “The Batman”. His Joker struck a more dominating figure, with more frantic mannerisms. It was a pretty dramatic departure to still be faithful to the character’s darkness. And yet, nothing could prepare us for his big comeback to the big screen.

2008: Why So Serious?

Christopher Nolan blew audiences away with the gritty “Batman Begins”. Fans couldn't wait to see Bruce Wayne meet his match in the sequel. Well, much of the hype was hushed when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker. Americans mostly recognized the Australian matinee idol for the teen rom-com “10 Things I Hate About You” and the art drama “Brokeback Mountain”. Ledger certainly had the chops; and we don’t mean his Joker’s distinctive Glasgow smile. He ultimately put fans’ fears to rest, sans the visceral ones.

2008’s “The Dark Knight” was immediately hailed as a landmark in superhero cinema. Joker earned particular attention as an enigmatic terrorist, whose anarchist philosophies drove the film’s complex social commentary. This made him a major figure in not only pop culture, but academic studies of politics, psychopathy and characterization in art. Ledger’s spectacular performance was equally groundbreaking. His Best Supporting Actor win marked the first time a superhero film won in a major category at the Academy Awards. Sadly, it was a solemn occasion. Shortly before the film’s release, Ledger died of a medication overdose at age 28. But besides many other incredible roles, he’s remembered for one of the defining acting performances of a generation.

2010s: Trying Out New Material

“The Dark Knight” brought prestige to the Joker’s brand. More importantly for Warner Bros., the film confirmed its value and flexibility. They presented Joker in many different incarnations throughout the 2010s. Most were animated, with Mark Hamill returning to the role in 2016’s “Batman: The Killing Joke”. One of the boldest interpretations was on the Fox series “Gotham”, in which Cameron Monaghan portrays two Jokers as twins Jerome and Jeremy Valeska. Unfortunately, the character’s highly-anticipated entry into the DC Extended Universe may have gone too far.

2016’s “Suicide Squad” introduced the Joker as a volatile gangster with tattoos and a silver grill. It was hoped that rock star and renowned method actor Jared Leto could make it work. But he mostly made headlines for on-set antics that threw the legitimacy of method acting into scrutiny. The performance itself polarized audiences, though “Mr. J” was barely in the movie. The backlash was so great that he was merely alluded to in subsequent DCEU films. For all his multimedia salience this decade, the Joker needed a return to legitimacy.

2019: The Headliner

Writer-director Todd Phillips found an unlikely departure from comedy in a certain comedian. 2019’s “Joker” was an R-rated drama about Arthur Fleck’s rise to villainy from poverty and mental illness. It was a radical concept, not just for the DC property, but for mainstream Hollywood. And it was swarmed with controversy for its morally ambiguous depiction of a disturbed man's violent revolution. Many theaters even enacted policies to vet moviegoers. This was in response to the 2012 deadly mass shooting during a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colorado. The shooter was dressed as the Joker.

The film “Joker” commented on such senseless tragedies. Though set in the 1980s, it was an uncompromising confrontation with the apathy and violence of modern society. At least the prestigious Joaquin Phoenix was universally praised. Among his many accolades was the Academy Award for Best Actor. This made Joker the second character ever to win two Oscars, the first being Vito Corleone of the first two “Godfather” films. That's a testament to the elevated artistry of this Scorsesean psychological thriller. As shocking as its critical acclaim was, a global box office gross of over $1 billion challenged the idea of a comic book blockbuster. Phillips and Phoenix pushed boundaries further with the 2024 musical sequel “Joker: Folie à Deux”.

2020s: The Last Laugh

It seems audiences prefer their Jokers dark. Even Jared Leto’s dreary reinterpretation in Zack Synder’s 2021 cut of “Justice League” was considered an improvement over the DCEU’s take. The Internet also had much to say about a small cameo in 2022’s “The Batman”. Revered Irish actor Barry Keoghan is slated to return as a disfigured serial killer in a 2026 sequel. Until then, official screen interpretations of the Joker aren't expected to lighten up. As for the unofficial, Vera Drew won underground praise as writer, director and star of “The People’s Joker”. This unauthorized parody follows the aspiring clown as a trans woman seeking recognition in a dystopian society. In a triumph against studio red tape, Drew’s semi-autobiographical comedy was released in 2024 to assert that there’s no fitting this jack in a box.

Movies and shows have turned the Joker from a pulpy trickster into a popular antithesis of the status quo. Like his principle in comedy and as a supervillain, it’s all about subverting expectations. He may have even had the last laugh in public discourse. Perception of Bruce Wayne’s multimedia brand hasn’t changed much since the 1940s. Meanwhile, his archnemesis has regularly transformed on the screen as a pop icon, comic relief, a political symbol, and more. Though not all adaptations of the Joker have been successful, they’ve made him bigger than comic fans could have imagined.


How do you feel about the on-screen evolution of the Joker and “Batman” through the years? Laugh it up in the comments.