Laughter is the best medicine. Laughing is the best thing for the soul. Laughing is contagious. Everyone enjoys a moment so joyous they express in laughter. For the length of that laugh, all the grim things seemed to fade away for a moment. However, a villain – a certain villain – loves to laugh during grim moments. In fact, he commits them to enjoy it. A mad man, a deranged jester, a clown prince of crime; The Joker. Throughout his history, The Joker has committed sadistic acts, all ranging from petty robbery to having the ambition to launch nuclear weapons. The acts he has committed go beyond acceptable and reasonable. Yet, for some reason, there is a liking for The Joker among the comic book community. In some ways, he is a folk hero on to himself. The amount of liking for The Joker rivals that of Batman and Superman. It’s odd that a supervillain has as much affection as some of the better heroes in the grand world of comic books. But why?
The Joker is a supervillain that lacks extravagant superpowers. He is not a creature. Not an alien. Not an android. He is a mortal man. Insane, deranged, twisted, and chemically altered, but still a man. While Darkseid, Doomsday, Ra’s al Ghul, and Ares are enhanced beings and rely on that to conquer foes and territory, The Joker has known of that. He relies on intellect, something that is much more obtainable, naturally embedded, and common compared to godly levels of physical strength. And yet, just armed with intellect and aggressive methods, The Joker still commits the same amount of destruction. Doomsday has wiped out the Justice League with his brute strength in Superman: Doomsday. The Joker has done something similar in Joker: Endgame, all with wits. The heroes of DC have fought many different variants of enemies, but The Joker remains a mortal man who does the same amount of damage. Rarely does The Joker venture into a grand power state to do what he wants. While Lex Luthor does what he can to go into the same power level as Superman and Darkseid, The Joker is contemptuous of being a mortal man to do his crimes. Perhaps setting up common ground for someone in the audience. Or shows how scary a somewhat normal man could do, which stirs a degree of flawed fascination.
Some things The Joker is synonymous with are insanity and madness. That leads him to do actions that try to cause the most amount of hurt to an area, a person, or people. These plans range in complexity. However, it disguises what The Joker really is: a simple man. Because of his versatility of plans, it keeps the GCPD, DC heroes, and obviously Batman on their toes. It’s a guessing game with him. No one knows his plans for the day. It might as well be the same for The Joker. He does as he feels he wants to do. One day, it might be poisoning Gotham. Next, he might be interested in targeting Batman’s allies. The week after, The Joker may want to break out all incarcerated criminals in Arkham. The Joker isn’t cornered to a specific trope like an evil conqueror or evil scientist. Anything is on the table for The Joker to do. He can fit in any mold, too. This is where versatility is plainly simple. The Joker is dangerous because he does what he wants in any way he wants. He isn’t tied down to a belief, a fate, a destiny, a blood right, none of that. His freedom is scary. It might be easy to make preparations for an enemy that has obvious intentions and means to meet them, but The Joker is unpredictable in his ways. That type of unpredictability is what makes audiences stay on their toes and hold their breath. It puts them in the dark and keeps them guessing what will happen, a sign of good storytelling.
Another element The Joker has is he is an icon that has endured. The Joker is a generational character. His infamous smile and laugh have been seen and heard in groundbreaking graphic novels, acclaimed series, innovative video games, and top-of-the-line movies. However, DC can tell a great story, and The Joker has been in it or around it. He has large exposure – which can be a double-edged sword – but for the most part, his outings have been received well among fans. Because of this exposure and success, The Joker has been the mascot for DC villains and arguably the face of villains overall. To put it more boldly, maybe even the face of DC comics. There’s no escaping The Joker. And with each outing, like any good character, there is a different side, a slightly different interpretation of the clown prince of crime. For an insane clown, he doesn’t get dull. One version may have him be more psychological—another, more deranged. One may rely more on the criminal element. The other may expand his madness globally. The Joker never dies because of this. He gets passed on to new generations of writers, who change him up a bit, and fans who are waiting to see what has changed about him. Not only is he generational, but fans have grown up with him much the same as Batman and Superman. At an early age, they may have found his evil cackling entertaining and anticipated when they could hear it again or see it written in a comic book.
And the love for The Joker may be an extension of the love fans have for Batman. Batman is one of the most famous characters in comic books and perhaps even overall. The Joker is not just one of Batman’s enemies. The Joker is THE villain for Batman. The Joker and him have an odd relationship where hate, respect, and brotherly love collide. No matter what Batman does to bring down The Joker, The Joker keeps coming back. The Joker does what he can to get Batman’s attention. It’s a never-ending war between them, a vicious cycle that ripples out to a lot more people than just them. These are the two perfect foils. When anyone envisions Batman, it’s a vision of a large, muscular man who wears black and dark grays, knows every fighting style, and has a plan for everything that broods. The Joker, on the other hand, is a man who is tall and lanky, wears bright purples and greens, brawls ugly, has a plan for every day of the week, and laughs a ton. This is a villain that knows how to get under Batman’s skin, keep him off balance, and make him uncomfortable—rare feats. What makes a heroic character a good character and makes them feel believable and relatable is to make them flawed. Many jokes are out there that say Batman is perfect, but The Joker proves that isn’t the case. The Joker wins some, and Batman wins some. It’s what makes this rivalry such a damn good one. And oddly, at times, The Joker shows that Batman could be a villain. That is another sign of a good villain.
The Joker may have admiration due to the fact he could be a dark, twisted reflection of society’s lure to things that have an edge and are dangerous. However, this is a comic book character that has fans. There is no denying that. He has carved his own path and left his own mark on the comic book genre. Some have been canon and permanent. Many aspects that make characters iconic and lasting are the look, the gimmick, the appeal, and the silhouette. The Joker’s energy and mentality go a long way. It doesn’t make any scene he is in dull—unless it’s in a certain movie where he has many tattoos. His laugh, his giggle, manner, and unpredictably make a scene heavy. Puts audiences on the edge of their seats to see what he might do next. There’s always confidence and charisma in him. Add all that has been said, it makes a character appreciated, no matter if they are heroes or villains.
