Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight will forever be the platonic ideal of the supervillain. Batman’s entire cinematic output in the 16 years since exists in the impact crater he left behind — especially when it comes to portrayals of the Joker. From Jared Leto’s controversial take in Suicide Squad to Joaquin Phoenix’s method acting-infused performance to Barry Keoghan’s creepy delivery in The Batman, they all seem to follow the same wavelength as Ledger. He not only changed the way we see the character in movies, but he raised the bar for what we expect from the people playing him.
He also solidified the idea that the Joker is best if you never quite understand why he acts that way. Ledger’s villain is a force of nature, a chaotic backlash to Batman and the police’s attempt to instill a new sense of order into Gotham City. The Joker frequently regales others with different versions of how he “got these scars,” but we’re never assured of their validity. This isn’t the first time we’ve been treated to the idea that Joker is ultimately an enigma. The most famous comic book story about Joker, Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, features the character saying that he prefers things to be “multiple choice” when it comes to his origins (while also showing us one interpretation of that origin story).
