Background
“The Joker” is a fictional character, who plays a negative role in the superhero series of Batman. The supervillain, which is created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, first appeared in the very first comic book of Batman, which was published by DC comics, on 25th of April, 1940. The character of Joker is one of the most celebrated and endured villains in the history of comic books and superhero films. Joker is portrayed as a criminal mastermind, who is also recognized for his insane and evil sense of humor and lunatic personality.
The character of Joker is presented as a twisted personality with unpredictable actions. He has a history of crimes and homicidal maniac attitude, which leads him to pull off absurd pranks and impose dangers to others to prove his point. Joker as a villain has been developed over time, showing various personality traits. Initially, the Joker appeared as a goofy prankster, but he progressed to show darker and evil traits by the early 1970s. The Joker has played a crucial part in shaping the story of Batman and contributing to his characteristics. He is the one to be blamed for the death of Batman’s allies such as the second Robin and Barbara Gordon.
Both of the characters are shown on several occasion to be dependent on each other as they seek their purpose in the actions of the opposite. The Joker holds a significant position in the story of Batman and finding a reason for him to protect the City of Gotham. In the movie, The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008), Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker won the audience appreciation and left a mark on the history of villains.
Origin
The origin story of the Joker has been discussed in several comic books with almost similar plots. The background story has been brought to light on several platforms. One of the origin stories is about the Joker being a comedian who falls for helping a group with a heist. The heist is caught by Batman, where the Joker falls into a vat of chemical waste and results in his white skin, red lips and a permanent grin. The consequences of the failure of the heist are the deaths of his wife and unborn child, which drives him crazy and makes him the ultimate supervillain, the Joker.
Analysis
The Joker is associated with pure evil. His character is built upon the basis of insanity and psychopathic behavior. He isn’t known to have any mental disorder or any history that justifies his approach towards crime and pranks. The Joker is the definition of everything that opposes Batman. He plays two personalities, one as the mischievous clown who tricks people and executes terrifying pranks on people to prove his point, while the other character is of a psychotic killer who uses strange ways to hurt his enemies and enjoy their physical pain. The Joker is known to have killed over 2,000 people, in the comic book issue of The Joker: Devil’s Advocate (1996).
In the comic book of “The Killing Joke” published by DC comics, sheds light upon the story of Joker and the reason behind his villainy acts. He narrates his story stating how he lost his family which made him turn towards evil, unlike Batman who responded to the loss of loved ones with helping others. The Joker claims that he finds pleasure in making others feel miserable and torturing them to death. The Joker’s motive is to make the world appear in a true state, where people’s reality and hidden evil is shown to the world. He aims to bring out the worst in the people, claiming that they would eat each other alive if they are required to do so for their benefit.
The Joker is known to be a psychopath, deadly, prankster, and trickster and has his own form of villainy. He doesn’t function like a typical villain. He plans his missions and pranks using his brilliant mind and his various tools which include explosives, gigantic guns, and other weapons. He doesn’t rely on a single plan when implementing his mission and goals; unlike most villains, the Joker uses his genius strategies to prepare for the actions of Batman that might result in his plan’s failure. The supervillain always has surprising factors, which leaves the viewers in shock. His tools such as the flower-like tool on his lapel which shoots acid, venom, and fire. There are also his exploding toys such as the dice and the device on his hand that he uses to control most of his explosives.
The Joker is known to have no weaknesses or fears that can be sued against him. He has been defeated by life much earlier in his life when he lost his family, now he sees the world to be pointless and life to be meaningless, which is why it isn’t afraid of dying. The only purpose of his life is to challenge Batman on every level. He seeks his joy in the despair of others and causing them similar pain that he has suffered. The Joker is very similar to Batman when it comes to lacking inherent superpowers. Both of them use their genius brains to create machines and gadgets that can aid them in defeating their enemy.
Villainy and Evil
The character of the Joker is one of the greatest supervillains in history. He is known for his trickster qualities, where he shamelessly displays his cunning intelligence, wittiness and violent nature to execute his evil agendas. He uses immoral disciplines to shed light on the moral codes and the weak nature of humanity. He aims to address the hypocrisy that exists in the society, which has created greater problems for the human kind than villains like him can ever plan to. He employs his engineering qualities, brilliant mind and sadist sense of humor to implement his plans of destroying the City of Gotham.
Considering Joker’s background, he wasn’t always evil. He planned a mere heist to benefit financially and support his family, which had tarrying consequences. He chose evil after his defeat from the Batman and the loss of his family. His incentive is to take revenge from Batman, targeting his loved ones which include the whole city. At the same time, he aims to show the real face of humanity and the hidden cruelty in everyone’s heart. His pranks involve putting people in situations where they have to make a difficult decision, which may include their life or the lives of their loved ones. In such desperate times, they make selfish choices to protect their family.
The Joker is one of those villains who acknowledges his dark side and flaunts it to his enemies. He flourishes his evil personality and talks about it on several occasions. He realizes how he causes pain to others and is openly accepting these flaws. He is aware of his thirst for the sufferings of others to soothe his wounds. He is aware of his situation and claims that he would never get out of it. The Joker falls into the Svendsen’s (2010) category of demonic evil. He seeks his joy in the pain of others. Joker is the definition of pure evil and wickedness. He has entirely given up on the goodness in the world and the hope to return to the bright side of the world. Svendsen’s categories of evil divide villains into different forms of evil, which identifies their actions and mentality. The Joker is demonic, and his sole purpose is to cause pain to others as he finds it comforting.
Summation
The Joker appeal to the audience in many ways because of his unique and striking persona. His mentality and humorous approach towards evil are one of the most distinctive qualities, which was introduced to the world of villains for the first time. The concept was later adopted by many creators and writers to develop a character similar to the Joker. His characteristic of going against the society and not obeying the dominant discourses imposed on humanity is an intriguing feature to the audience. This is because everyone can relate to this dark side of the Joker since everyone wants to be a rebel and reject the rules and standards set by the society.
The Joker doesn’t follow the mainstream way of thinking and approaching different aspects of the rule book. He creates his own path and follows his own way of doing various tasks, without a worry about the consequences or the guidelines imposed by the society. There is a part of everyone who wishes to do something similar. The character holds a significant place in the Batman series and the world of villains. The Joker has no bounds when it comes to committing evil and proofing his point, which makes him heinous but admirable for his capabilities of seeing the world differently. His striking personality, unpredictable behavior, a psychotic way of implementing his evil missions make the Joker one of the greatest villains of all times.
References
Svendsen, L. F. H. (2010). A philosophy of evil. Dalkey Archive Press.
Nolan, Christopher. The Dark Knight. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008.
Dixon, Chuck. “The Joker: Devil’s Advocate.” 1996
