Rank Every Joker From Worst To Best

[Travesty]

Hamill
Joaquin
Nicholson
Romero
Ledger
Leto

 

[geosphere]

Obviously there are gonna be a lot of disagreements here but I think we can all agree that Leto is the worst.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Eh, I remember that Stellar Tellaaaaaar guy digging Leto's interpretation, lol.

 

[Schlosser85]

Obviously there are gonna be a lot of disagreements here but I think we can all agree that Leto is the worst.

I'd really hope no one would put Ledger or Phoenix beneath Leto. I don't personally care much for Nicholson's version either, but that's more just a matter of taste and how we like our Jokers than it just abjectly sucking like Leto's.

 

[The Batman]

I think Nicholson is underrated as well. IMO he's the most comic accurate classic Joker from looks, theatrics, personality and origin. The only thing he doesn't have is height (Cesar Romero therefore is visually the most accurate).

IMO, Romero is the only Joker who is truly underrated. He was the most accurate in more than just the visual sense. He was essentially the Silver Age Joker come to life. No other live action actor has come as close to perfectly embodying a comic book incarnation of Joker.

 

[TheGuy]

 

[Lantern Venom]

Only doing a rank for live action, the actors who had to physically bring the character to life. Best to worst;

1. Ledger
2. Phoenix
3. Romero
4. Nicholson
5. Monaghan
6. Leto

I'm glad to see that other big Joker fans were satisfied with this. One of my oldest friends is an absolute Joker fanatic, and he was very skeptical when he first heard about this. He was pleasantly surprised.

 

[jolldan]

Obviously there are gonna be a lot of disagreements here but I think we can all agree that Leto is the worst.

 

[Lantern Venom]

In terms of live-action, I'd rank them:

1. Ledger
2. Nicholson
3. Phoenix

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Hamill since his voice is what I hear in my head when I read comics with Joker as a character.

That leads me to another question. Can anyone think of a truly great Joker voice outside of Hamill? I recently watched the old Adventures of Batman and The Super Powers Team (Superfriends) and neither Ted Knight's version of Frank Welker's version struck me as timeless.

 

[jolldan]

In terms of live-action, I'd rank them:

1. Ledger
2. Nicholson
3. Phoenix

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Hamill since his voice is what I hear in my head when I read comics with Joker as a character.

That leads me to another question. Can anyone think of a truly great Joker voice outside of Hamill? I recently watched the old Adventures of Batman and The Super Powers Team (Superfriends) and neither Ted Knight's version of Frank Welker's version struck me as timeless.

Troy Baker would be my second favourite voice but dunno if that counts since it seems like he's basically mimicking Hamill.

Im not really a fan of much else of his Joker but for some reason I really enjoyed John DiMaggio's Joker voice in Under The Red Hood. I agree with you its still not a patch on Hamill's but it was a refreshing take.

 

[InCali]

Ledger
Phoenix
Nicholson
Romero

Ledger's Joker was a straight up psychopath and adrenaline junkie. He was absolutely fearless and was as devious as they come. While he may not have been exactly the Joker from the comics, his performance was amazing.

 

[Schlosser85]

Ledger
Phoenix
Nicholson
Romero

Ledger's Joker was a straight up psychopath and adrenaline junkie. He was absolutely fearless and was as devious as they come. While he may not have been exactly the Joker from the comics, his performance was amazing.

I'd say personality-wise, he's probably the closest to the comics of any live action version so far.

 

[danlav05]

TOP 5

Hamill
Nicholson
Ledger
Romero
Monaghan

 

[InCali]

I'd say personality-wise, he's probably the closest to the comics of any live action version so far.

I guess it might depend on which comics you have read. From the ones I've read, I don't think anyone quite got the comic character. Ledger's Joker was crazy brutal. Maybe they couldn't do that in the older comics....

 

[Schlosser85]

I guess it might depend on which comics you have read. From the ones I've read, I don't think anyone quite got the comic character. Ledger's Joker was crazy brutal. Maybe they couldn't do that in the older comics....

I don’t think any live action Joker has hit all the bases. Ledger’s is more grungy and, while his wardrobe is technically fairly comic accurate, doesn’t have the debonair Joker look, not to mention obviously he isn’t perma white. But IMO in his general personality and M.O., and in his dynamic with Batman, he’s more comic accurate than Nicholson.

 

[Captain Tired]

It's funny. I remember way before Joker came out, people were always trumpeting Nicholson as the more comic accurate Joker, while still giving Ledger his due as the version you'd probably be more likely to encounter IRL, and thus more threatening. Now that a version's come out that's even more grounded in reality and thus even more unsettling for certain viewers, suddenly Ledger's being reframed as a supposedly comic accurate Joker, with Nicholson now not even being in the running, where comic accuracy is concerned. I don't agree, personally. I think Ledger's version is a great take on the character and an even greater example of the craftsmanship and dedication that can go into a performance, but I don't think it was particularly comic accurate.

 

[The Joker]

One of the great things about Ledger's Joker is he is a Joker of many flavors. There's inspirations all across the comic decades pumped into him;

Jokerfan's Blog

 

[InCali]

I don’t think any live action Joker has hit all the bases. Ledger’s is more grungy and, while his wardrobe is technically fairly comic accurate, doesn’t have the debonair Joker look, not to mention obviously he isn’t perma white. But IMO in his general personality and M.O., and in his dynamic with Batman, he’s more comic accurate than Nicholson.

Oh yeah. More so than Nicholson (whose Joker I thought was entertaining) for sure.

I watched TDK the other night. The disappearing pencil trick and that whole scene in general was just, I don't know quite what the word is....brilliant? Shocking? Ledger just absolutely killed it. You saw him get impatient and annoyed, ultra threatening, and a complete distain for anyone's (including his own) safety.

 

[Schlosser85]

Oh yeah. More so than Nicholson (whose Joker I thought was entertaining) for sure.

I watched TDK the other night. The disappearing pencil trick and that whole scene in general was just, I don't know quite what the word is....brilliant? Shocking? Ledger just absolutely killed it. You saw him get impatient and annoyed, ultra threatening, and a complete distain for anyone's (including his own) safety.

I also like the scene where he burns the huge pile of money. It just illustrates how he doesn't give a **** about typical things like money, and his disdain for more conventional criminals like the mob.

And I think one of his great throwaway moments are where he's toying with the fake Batman, playing with him and giggling, and suddenly roars "LOOK AT ME!".

 

[InCali]

I also like the scene where he burns the huge pile of money. It just illustrates how he doesn't give a **** about typical things like money, and his disdain for more conventional criminals like the mob.

And I think one of his great throwaway moments are where he's toying with the fake Batman, playing with him and giggling, and suddenly roars "LOOK AT ME!".

He was AWESOME!!! There were so many great moments....like when he was trying to blow up the hospital. A moment of consternation to be sure. LOL.

 

[Schlosser85]

He was AWESOME!!! There were so many great moments....like when he was trying to blow up the hospital. A moment of consternation to be sure. LOL.

Oh yea, there’s just all kinds of little things that make his performance endlessly watchable.

 

[InCali]

Oh yea, there’s just all kinds of little things that make his performance endlessly watchable.

Good thing he had the nurse's dress on. It helped him fit in with the landscape. When you're a criminal it's best to travel incognito.

 

[Schlosser85]

Good thing he had the nurse's dress on. It helped him fit in with the landscape. When you're a criminal it's best to travel incognito.

And a Harvey Dent campaign pin.

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

And media said that Joker would cause violence...

Five teenagers including 13-year-old girl arrested after 'machete' brawl during Frozen 2 viewing

A 13-year-old girl is among five teenagers arrested over a mass brawl involving youths armed with machetes at a Birmingham cinema.

Families were watching Frozen 2 at Star City when the disorder broke out late on Saturday afternoon, sparking a mass evacuation of the complex.

Police said up to 100 teenagers were involved in the “major disorder”, where people were armed with machetes.

“Dozens of officers were sent to the complex after a 999 call just after 5.30pm reporting a group of youths with machetes,” a spokesperson for West Midlands Police said.

“Two machetes were seized during the trouble, which saw pockets of fighting and seven police officers left with minor injuries as they dealt with the crowds in and around the cinema.”

Armed police were deployed to the scene, drawing Tasers to restore order following a “very hostile response”.

Officers were left with facial injuries, and a knife was recovered from a nearby roundabout.

Five teenagers have been arrested. A 13-year-old girl, another girl and boy aged 14, and 19-year-old man were held on suspicion of assaulting police officers.

Another boy, aged 14, was arrested for obstructing police.

Cinema managers closed the complex for the rest of the evening and police issued a dispersal order, giving them powers to move crowds on and arrest those who refused.

 

[InCali]

And media said that Joker would cause violence...

Five teenagers including 13-year-old girl arrested after 'machete' brawl during Frozen 2 viewing

If anyone thinks the Joker "caused" violence, I think they are oversimplifying the matter. TDK didn't "cause" people to blow up hospitals, Donald Trump didn't "cause" people to commit hate crimes aimed at those who didn't pander to him (OK, I may have overstated that last point, because he's, you know, the President of the United States and has called the media "The enemy of the people). There's a lot more to be said, but I don't think any responses I have are appropriate to this particular thread.