IGN: Why So Serious? - The Many faces of the JOKER
The Joker's character has gone through some significant changes in interpretation over the years.
He began as a homicidal foil to Batman in the 1940s, then transformed into a goofy and mischievous prankster in the 1950s and '60s, before finally reverting back to his original murderous and maniacal form in the 1970s. Throughout his years as one of the most iconic and recognizable villains in pop culture, Batman's greatest nemesis has also underwent some significant changes in appearance, a visual evolution that includes a variety of different artistic interpretations of the character.
Sure, the basics have always been there: The Joker's maniacal grin, his green hair, red lips and purple suit. With that said, like any character that's been around for so long, the Joker's look and feel has changed with each writer, artist and director that has handled him. With The Dark Knight trailer hitting theatres everywhere this Friday, and the movie's first six-minutes attached to IMAX prints of I Am Legend, IGN Stars decided to take a tour of the Clown Prince of Crime's many different looks
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Name of Look: Golden/Silver Age Joker
First Appearance: Batman #1 (1940)
The Look: While the Joker's overall facial and body structures have changed since his first appearance in the debut issue of Batman (the Dark Knight had appeared exclusively in the pages of Detective Comics until then), his specific facial features white skin, ruby red lips and green hair have remained a trademark of the character, as has his signature purple suit. Although writer Bill Finger remains officially un-credited for his role in creating Batman (as well as the Joker and a variety of other iconic Batman villains), the story goes that he gave artist Bob Kane a picture of actor Conrad Veidt in the silent film The Man Who Laughs, based on Victor Hugo's novel, and Kane combined the actor's pale face and eerie grin with the basic look of a joker playing card. Thus, the most iconic villain in all of comic book history was born. It would take years, however, until the Clown Prince of Crime would take on the lankier, awkward body structure that has become standard.
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Name of Look: 1960's Television Joker
First Appearance: Batman Episode 5, Season 1 (1966)
The Look: When the Dark Knight was brought to life on ABC's campy and ridiculously zany Batman television show, starring Adam West (flabby physique and all) in the title role, alongside Burt Ward as Robin, it didn't take long for this popular villain to get the small screen treatment. In the fifth episode of the first season, entitled "The Joker Is Wild," actor Cesar Romero stepped into the role of the Clown Prince of Crime. Romero's appearance as the Joker did not differ much from his comic book incarnation at the time, with one strange and rather baffling exception: Romero refused to shave his mustache for the role. So in each of his eighteen featured episodes, the Joker's white face paint was applied directly over Romero's ridiculous facial hair.
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Name of Look: 1970's Joker
First Appearance: Batman #251 (September 1973)
The Look: In 1973, as legendary comic book writer Denny O'Neil and his longtime collaborating artist Neal Adams began ushering Batman stories into a new, darker age, away from the 1960's camp, the Joker likewise underwent some significant changes, in both personality and appearance. While Denny O'Neil abandoned the Joker's previous modus operandi of committing exceedingly goofy and mischievous crimes and began writing the character as a gruesome murderer, Adams transformed Joker's rather normal body structure into the gangly, long-boned figure we see in comics today. The effect was striking and unsettling, with his trademark murderous grin taking on a far more terrifying look thanks to his new extended jaw. The look was later adopted by legendary artist Marshall Rogers, who added a long overcoat and fedora to the Joker's wardrobe.
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Name of Look: The Dark Knight Returns Joker
First Appearance: The Dark Knight Returns #3 (1986)
The Look: In 1986, Frank Miller boldly re-imagined the Batman and his world like never before in his opus, The Dark Knight Returns, arguably the most influential and celebrated Batman work of all time. Miller set his story in the near future, when a crime-plagued dystopian Gotham landscape forces a fifty-something, alcoholic Bruce Wayne to return from retirement and continue his war on crime. The Joker, who remained in captivity within Arkham Asylum during Batman's retirement, also returns to his old ways, as his nemesis reappears as Gotham's defender. Miller's visual take on the Joker was as starkly different as his dark and haunting conceptual approach to Batman; Miller abandoned the lanky frame of previous Jokers, giving him a more muscular and bulky physique. At the same time, he gave the Clown Prince of Crime a distinctly feminine appearance, even adding the notion that the Joker's ruby colored lips are the result of lipstick. It's a testament to Miller's abilities as both a writer and artist that this drastically different Joker was somehow scarier than ever before.
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Name of Look: The Killing Joke Joker
First Appearance: The Killing Joke (1988)
The Look: Just two years after Frank Miller turned Batman's world on its head with The Dark Knight Returns, writer Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland set out to explore the origin and psychological makeup of the Dark Knight's greatest foe in the pages of their seminal graphic novel, The Killing Joke. Together, Moore and Bolland humanized the Joker for the first time, showing how one bad day turned a lowly stand-up comic into a homicidal maniac. Thanks to Brian Bolland's beautiful artistic approach, the Joker's personality wasn't the only thing that became more realistic and believable; Bolland drew the Joker far more anatomically correct than his predecessors, and in doing so, breathed a sense of terrifying realism into his homicidal grin. There was an unmistakable insanity behind the villain's grin, and the visual composition of The Killing Joke continues to haunt readers to this day.
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Name of Look: Batman '89 Joker
First Appearance: Batman (1989)
The Look: Its more than fitting that the 1980s a decade that saw the Joker come to life in the pages of Batman comics like never before would end with the more iconic and memorable big screen representation of the Clown Prince of Crime. In director Tim Burton's stylistic 1989 film, none other than legendary actor Jack Nicholson stepped into the role of Batman's greatest nemesis, donning the Joker's trademark purple suit, green hair and iconic grin. Nicholson's performance and appearance in the film brought the homicidal undertones of Brian Bolland's take on the Joker to life. If there was one glaring fault to this cinematic interpretation, it's that it was sometimes difficult to get past the fact that it was Nicholson one of the most recognizable movie stars of all time behind the face paint.
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Name of Look: Batman: The Animated Series Joker
First Appearance: Batman: The Animated Series, Episode 2, "Christmas with the Joker" (November 1992)
The Look: With the success of Tim Burton's film and its sequel, Batman Returns, it didn't take long for the Dark Knight to hit the small screen once again, this time in animated form. Together with writer/producer Paul Dini, artist/producer Bruce Timm borrowed the dark, gothic look of Tim Burton's films and took them to even more extremes, adopting a simplistic, almost cubist take on Gotham City and its famous costumed inhabitants. Just as they did with their title character, Timm and Dini redesigned the Joker's look to fit the streamlined style of their animated series. Voiced by Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, this animated take on the Joker featured a square jaw and long pointy nose, far more in line with the character's original appearances in the 1940's than anything else. This visual incarnation of the Joker would carry on into future animated series appearances, such as The New Adventures of Batman, Batman Beyond, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, all animated shows handled in some capacity by Timm and Dini.
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Name of Look: The Dark Knight Joker
First Appearance: Joker - The Dark Knight (2008)
The Look: As soon as audiences watched Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) hand Batman (Christian Bale) a joker playing card in the closing moments of 2005's Batman Begins, Batman fans everywhere were eager to see what this brave new take on Batman would deliver. Earlier this year, fans finally got what they were begging for when Warner Brothers released the first haunting images of actor Heath Ledger as the Clown Prince of Crime. This new Joker, who will serve as the main villain in the 2008 sequel, features a far different visual interpretation than anything fans have seen thus far.
Adhering to Christopher Nolan's more realistic approach to the Batman mythos, Ledger's Joker has a look fitting of a homicidal maniac, with a grin that's literally cut into his face in jagged scars. This Joker's pale skin also appears to be the result of makeup and not acid scarring, as is the case with all other iterations of the character. Further driving home Ledger's terrifying look is the fact that his purple suit seems to have been haphazardly sewn together from a variety of fabrics. The overall effect is powerful and disturbing, to say the least. Though we've yet to see this Joker in action, all that will change when IMAX theatres everywhere premiere the first six minutes of the Joker's first appearance in The Dark Knight, immediately preceding prints of I Am Legend.
July 2008 cannot get here soon enough, but we hope Stars trip through the Joker's many dastardly looks tides you over until comic's evilest character brings his ever-evolving look to the big screen yet again.
