With a Best Actor win at the SAG and Golden Globe Awards and an impressive 11 nominations at this year’s Academy Awards, it’s clear that a majority of Hollywood are fans of Todd Phillip’s Joker. Fans ate it up as well, evidenced by the film’s box office draw of roughly one billion dollars.
Although a very compelling take on the character, the film skews far enough from the source material to have fans asking, which version is the most authentic? Here are 5 Reasons Why Joaquin Phoenix's Joker Is The Definitive Clown Prince Of Crime (& 5 Why The Comics Are Better).
10 FILM: He’s Got a Name
Part of the allure and mystique of the character is the fact that the true identity of the Joker is unknown, with no real name or backstory that can be pointed to definitively.
But in this day and age, it’s hard to believe that with the latest in crime-fighting technology and techniques being utilized by the supposed “World’s Greatest Detective,” that the identity of the most high-profile and prolific serial killer in Gotham’s history would be unknown, especially considering how many times he’s been in the hands of law enforcement. By giving the Joker a name in Arthur Fleck, the film gives a definitive legitimacy to the real-life tragedies that birth the character.
9 COMICS: His Origin Is A Mystery
For an unbelievable 80 years, DC has shied away from giving the Joker a definitive origin story. Instead, they have opted to explore the “multiple choice” approach, whereby the character’s own admission, he remembers his beginnings in different ways. Aside from affording generations of writers the fluidity in exploring their own versions of the Joker’s origin, this approach added to the character’s popularity and lent him a mystery and mystique that is still felt to this day.
Although certain elements remain immutable, such as his dip into a vat of chemical waste and his descent into madness, this approach has proven definitive in keeping the character fresh for almost a century.
8 FILM: His Laugh
One of the elements that the film adds to Joker lore is the origin of his trademark laugh. A legitimate psychological condition called pseudobulbar affect, the film heavily alludes to it having been caused by the physical abuse Arthur suffered at the hands of his mother's boyfriend when he was a child.
Manifesting an uncontrollable laugh in socially tense or awkward situations, the laugh can be pointed to as the catalyst for the subway incident that started Arthur down his path to madness and violence. Although the Joker's laugh didn't particularly need an updated origin, the film manages to give it one that fits the character definitively.
7 COMICS: The Toys
As much as his arch-nemesis, the Joker is known for having a wide variety of gag-related, lethal paraphernalia. From poisonous joy buzzers to acid-squirting flowers to explosive chattering teeth, the Joker can kill you with a seemingly innocuous prank item.
When those are not available, a simple handgun, sticks of dynamite or even a crowbar would be enough to get the job done, as Jason Todd can personally attest to. Granted, the Joker film was an origin story and it's highly questionable as to whether Arthur Fleck will be the same Joker that plagues Batman in the future, but it's still kind of weird to see the Joker without his trademark arsenal at his disposal.
6 FILM: He's Understandable
Part of the appeal of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is that he has an everyman quality. A victim of horribly adverse circumstances since birth, Arthur Fleck’s life seemed doomed from the start and his subsequent attempts at a normal life were crushed by an unfeeling society.
Watching this engenders feelings of pity and sympathy in audiences, who can empathize with and understand Arthur’s descent into madness. This level of pathos draws them intimately close to the character, providing them with a definitive version whose actions they ultimately can’t condone, but can understand the genesis of.
5 COMICS: Pure Random Chaos
Sporting an utter disregard for social norms and reveling in the idea that “all it takes is one bad day” to drive someone to insanity, the realization that rules and norms are arbitrary and unbinding allows the Joker the freedom to do whatever he wants. In the comics, the Joker’s “chaos-ophy” has led him beyond murder and theft to some truly dark and surreal territory, such as poisoning fish with Joker venom to gain his trademark smile and removing his own face in a ploy to reinvent himself before his final showdown with the Batman.
Whereas Arthur Fleck’s actions following his descent into madness can be interpreted as a twisted justice against those who wronged him, the comic book version has no rhyme or reason for his actions- he’s pure chaotic entropy, which is one of the character’s defining traits.
4 FILM: Gotham’s Son
Gotham City has earned its reputation of being a corrupt and lawless burg infested with crime at all levels of its infrastructure. Most comic book narratives underscore this by pointing to the Waynes' brutal murder and its impetus in creating the Batman as evidence of Gotham’s extreme lawlessness but never before has the Joker’s origin been so intricately tied to the city’s woes.
Suffering from an uncaring bureaucracy in his mental health treatments, two violent physical assaults, and a televised public humiliation pushed Arthur Fleck into striking back at the society that treated him so badly. In much the same way that Gotham birthed its greatest champion, it also birthed its greatest villain, inextricably linking him to the city in a definitive way.
3 COMICS: History
By all accounts, the film version of the Joker is probably not the one who will eventually match wits with the Batman, unless their confrontations will consist of Wayne pushing a geriatric Clown Prince of Crime down Arkham’s halls in a wheelchair. That being said, a vital element to the Joker is missing in the film version that the comic version has in spades: history. The enmity between Batman and the Joker stems from the heinous things the Joker has done to Batman and his allies over the years and forms a core element of his character.
Without a history that references the Joker’s killing of Jason Todd and Sarah Essen, crippling of Barbara Gordon, or even he and Batman’s fight to the death, an essential facet of the character is lost. Thankfully, the comic book version of the Joker has this fully realized.
2 FILM: Arthur is the Inspiration for Chaos
Arthur’s actions on the subway had an unintended ripple effect through Gotham City, igniting a class war that saw the marginalized and disenfranchised rise up against the rich and affluent to try to gain some rights and equality. Instead, it led to riots and lawless chaos that culminated in the fateful murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. In being the impetus for this movement, Arthur has injected Gotham with an ideology based on chaos that will continue to inspire maladjusted psychopaths for generations to come.
Among them will presumably be the individual who will eventually square off against the Batman. In introducing this love for random violence and chaos into the city, Arthur cements his place as the definitive version of the Clown Prince of Crime.
1 COMICS: Fear Factor
Perhaps even more than Batman, the Joker inspires fear in friend and foe alike. The mere mention of his name sends shivers up and down the spines of those who hear it, and even DC rogues admit that “when super-villains want to scare each other, they tell Joker stories.”
Although a certain level of apprehension was afforded Arthur in direct proportion to his heinous acts, mental health professionals and law enforcement did not indicate the same level of terror in encountering him that his comic book counterpart inspires. With a reputation that enters the room before he does, the comic book Joker’s ability to terrorize others through stature alone makes him the Joker to contend with.