Is The Joker The Most Famous Fictional Bad Guy of all time?

[Sentinel X]

Wow...ermm, why do people HAVE to mention Satan...its just going to start a pointless mini "My views on God is right and yours is wrong...haha!" debate for no reason whatsoever....I mean really, is Satan that popular of a villain in the movieverse?


Anyhow I say it really has to do with the time period but the biggest villains are: The Joker, Darth Vader, Dracula, Hannibal Lecter, and The Wicked Witch from the West (were witches even concidered green before then? heh)

Out of all of those I think that Darth Vader is probably the most famous...but then again I feel its Dracula because not only is he famous in the movies but he has books and folklore to back him up.

 

[Sawyer]

Vader doesn't deserve to be considered in the same league as Dracula.

Majik, with all due respect, will you get over it already?! Yes, Dracula is a great villain. So is Vader. Some of us just seem to have differing viewpoints on who is a better-known villain. It doesnt mean either of us are wrong. We just have different opinions, is all.

 

[Infinity9999x]

I think in terms of pure "well known-ness" you would have to give the title to Dracula, just for the sheer number of books, movies, comics...basically everything that he's been in or referenced. You'd be hard pressed to find a kid in the world who didn't know who Dracula was, and if not Dracula, then a Vampire...and as we know Dracula is the daddy of them.

Darth comes in second, just because I think you probably could find a third world country out there were maybe a few kids don't know who he is...maybe.

Joker I would say takes 3rd, because this latest movie has pretty much forever propelled him way up there in terms of knowness. I would have said Lex before, but he hasn't been used quite as much in the general pop culture as of late.

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

The classics such as Dracula, Wolfman etc Darth Vader, Michael Myers, Freddy Kruger, Jason and Chucky.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

I think Joker is right up there, but not the most famous. But saying that, I reckon Joker is known from the major cities in the US to the slums of India to the mountains of Tibet.

I remember when I was younger, when I'd eat Spaghetti Bolognese or something messy, and I had all red sauce around my lips my dad would always say "You look like the Joker with all that round your mush!" And he never had a thing for comics or nothing. I wonder if anyone else says that to their messy kids?

 

[November Rain]

hahaha, let's not let the dark knight's sucess get to everyone's heads...

joker most famous?

*chuckles*

 

[Mutagen]

What about the most inspiring villain of all time?

Doctor Doom creates villains everyday, even Vader is known to be based on him. Not to mention a lot of Bond villains.

I think I'll make that thread right now actually.

 

[Yurka]

I dont think Lex holds a candle to the Joker's fame, I think the most famous fictional villains are Vader, Joker, Hannibal.

 

[CFE]

The most recognizable/ famous is Dracula/Vader hands down.

Joker is up there, in one of his many forms, whether it be Romero for the older generation, Nicholson for our parents, and Ledger/Hamill's for our generation.

How old are you!?

Wow...that statement made me feel old...

 

[Mutagen]

Well it was two decades ago, just be thankful it's not Romero...Tell me it's not Romero...

 

[Yurka]

I counted Nicholson as "our generation" until Ledger/Joker, he was the Joker I grew up watching.

 

[CFE]

I count both Nicholson and Ledger as "our generations" Joker...since both were made in contemporary times. I never felt the need to choose between them, I guess.

Maybe I'm just in denial of aging lol the 89 "BATMAN" still feels as fresh to me, personally, as it's always been, again to me...I just never thought of it that way...20 years...jesus...

I mean I'm ONLY 20 (going on 21 this year) but when he said Nicholson was for 'our parents' that threw me for a loop.

 

[Yurka]

I count both Nicholson and Ledger as "our generations" Joker...since both were made in contemporary times. I never felt the need to choose between them, I guess.

Maybe I'm just in denial of aging lol the 89 "BATMAN" still feels as fresh to me, personally, as it's always been, again to me...I just never thought of it that way...20 years...jesus...

I mean I'm ONLY 20 (going on 21 this year) but when he said Nicholson was for 'our parents' that threw me for a loop.

I agree, I remember watching B89' when I was a youngster 15 years ago. Growing up, Jack was my Joker as im sure he was for many, now it feels strange that Heath exceeded everyones expectations and is the #1 Joker.
I'm only a year older than you so it definitely makes me feel old.

 

[Savage]

Okay, going strictly by what the thread title suggests, and not any personal bias, The Joker is definitely in the top 10 if not top 5 most famous fictional villains. Keep in mind, AGE does not equal FAME. People are mentioning Moriarty and Darth Vader but a lot of people can't tell you who Sherlock Holmes nemesis was (if they even know the character had a nemesis) and half the people out there confuse Star Wars with Star Trek so while both Darth Vader and Moriarty are famous, they're not Dracula, Frankenstein, or even Joker famous.

Joker is a character so synonymous with Batman throughout the ages that anybody can recognize that purple suit, white face and green hair. Hell, I'd say more people know of him than they know of Robin or Alfred. Darth Vader is a great villain and famous in geek terms but most if I showed my mom a picture of him (she's 43) she'd probably just say "...The Star...Trek...guy?" while if I showed her a picture of the Joker she'd probably say who he is and even bust out a "Nana nana nana nana Batmaaan" to go with it.

Not sure why I focused so much on the Vader thing but as much as he is an American pop culture icon, I don't think he's as famous as the Joker. Even BEFORE The Dark Knight even went into production I would say the same. That's all. Want to test a character's fame? Ask your local jock, cheerleader, pizzaboy, or bus driver. Not the geeks who study this stuff. Just weird seeing names like Vader and Hannibal Lecter thrown around.

Dracula, Frankenstein, King Kong, Godzilla, THESE are truly famous fictional villains (using the term loosely since some people wouldn't consider these guys villains but hey, it's what they're known for).

 

[Majik1387]

Okay, going strictly by what the thread title suggests, and not any personal bias, The Joker is definitely in the top 10 if not top 5 most famous fictional villains. Keep in mind, AGE does not equal FAME. People are mentioning Moriarty and Darth Vader but a lot of people can't tell you who Sherlock Holmes nemesis was (if they even know the character had a nemesis) and half the people out there confuse Star Wars with Star Trek so while both Darth Vader and Moriarty are famous, they're not Dracula, Frankenstein, or even Joker famous.

Joker is a character so synonymous with Batman throughout the ages that anybody can recognize that purple suit, white face and green hair. Hell, I'd say more people know of him than they know of Robin or Alfred. Darth Vader is a great villain and famous in geek terms but most if I showed my mom a picture of him (she's 43) she'd probably just say "...The Star...Trek...guy?" while if I showed her a picture of the Joker she'd probably say who he is and even bust out a "Nana nana nana nana Batmaaan" to go with it.

Not sure why I focused so much on the Vader thing but as much as he is an American pop culture icon, I don't think he's as famous as the Joker. Even BEFORE The Dark Knight even went into production I would say the same. That's all. Want to test a character's fame? Ask your local jock, cheerleader, pizzaboy, or bus driver. Not the geeks who study this stuff. Just weird seeing names like Vader and Hannibal Lecter thrown around.

Dracula, Frankenstein, King Kong, Godzilla, THESE are truly famous fictional villains (using the term loosely since some people wouldn't consider these guys villains but hey, it's what they're known for).

Thank you.