But Ledger's portrayal of The Joker brought tension — real tension — to a Batman story for the first time on the big screen. In the first few minutes of the movie, The Joker killed other characters during the robbery without a hint of remorse. This sets the tone for the entire movie and draws the viewer in.
It should be no surprise that Ledger's performance as Joker in The Dark Knight lands the #1 spot on this list. Ledger is almost unrecognizable as the sadistic villain. He is untouchable in every scene and his performance will go down as one of the best portrayals of a comic book villain in history.
1. Heath Ledger. Warner Bros. Heath Ledger's Joker is the absolute embodiment of chaos, as well as a tour-de-force of acting.
Ledger described the Joker as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy". He embodies themes of chaos, anarchy and obsession, expressing a desire to upset Gotham's social order through crime and his conflict with Batman. The Joker's hair is stringy, unkempt, and dyed green.
The psychopathology Arthur exhibits is unclear, preventing diagnosis of psychotic disorder or schizophrenia; the unusual combination of symptoms suggests a complex mix of features of certain personality traits, namely psychopathy and narcissism (he meets DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder).
While the Joker has been reimagined by a vast range of creators, Bill Finger and Bob Kane's original iteration remains the scariest version. While the Joker has been reimagined by a vast range of writers and artists, Bill Finger and Bob Kane's original iteration remains the scariest version.
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight (2008)
This is due in very large part to Heath Ledger's shocking and terrifying version of the Joker.
Cesar Romero is one of the original actors to play Joker, in the campy Batman TV series that aired from 1966 to 1968 on ABC.
JOAQUIN PHOENIX: HE MAKES THE JOKER REALISTIC
Up until Joaquin Phoenix, most fans considered Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker as the most realistic adaptation of a character that had traditionally been played as a campy, theatrical supervillain.
“Heath Ledger as the Joker in 'The Dark Knight' kept us all on edge anxious to see what act of appalling mischief he might commit next. With this bravura performance as well as with a wide range of other roles…
Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," the spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, Ellen Borakove, said in a statement released on Feb.
The above-mentioned characteristics make the Joker's laughing episodes compatible at first sight with the pseudobulbar affect, a clinical entity characterized by episodes of exaggerated or involuntary expression of emotions, including uncontrolled laughing or crying.
Quinn's origin story features her as a former psychiatrist at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum named Dr. Harleen Quinzel who has fallen in love with the Joker, her patient, eventually becoming his accomplice and lover.
Joker of Earth-Two is commonly referred to as the Golden Age Joker, thus being the main Joker that appeared throughout the Golden Age of Comic Books.
In fact, in an interview with Empire back in 2007, Heath Ledger revealed that he locked himself up in the hotel room to prepare for the role and said, “It's a combination of reading all the comic books I could that were relevant to the script and then just closing my eyes and meditating on it.
Joker steals all of Batman's money, Bruce Wayne now a penniless orphan.
Martha reveals that she forced Psycho-Pirate, a villain with extensive knowledge of the entire DC Universe, to tell her the name of the Joker in the main DC Universe. It is then revealed that the Joker's real name is “Jack Oswald White.”
Yes, I'm referring to the Jokers—and no, that's not a typo. There are three of them.
but Heath Ledger's Joker has scars that extend his smile into a freakish sight. The Joker gives a few conflicting explanations for how he got his scars -- first he says he got them from his abusive father. In his second story, he says he gave himself the scars after his wife was disfigured by loan sharks.
The Dark Knight may be the Joker's greatest enemy, but a moment in Batman #128 reveals the threat Nightwing poses to DC's Clown Prince of Crime.
In the latest issue of Batman, fans learn that even Batman's other villains are afraid of the Joker and his upcoming war against Gotham.
Stronger: Bane
Although he may not have been as intriguing of a villain as the Joker, he was almost certainly stronger and far more connected. Bane has a genius intellect and is beyond physically powerful. There's no way that the Joker would last long if Bane used his full physical and mental force against him.
According to the Mayo Clinic, "Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a condition that's characterized by episodes of sudden uncontrollable and inappropriate laughing or crying." Echoing the language on the Joker's laminated card, PBA can indeed occur in people with brain injuries, stroke, or certain neurological conditions such ...