Batman Fans Say New Joker Changes Have “Ruined the Character”

Batman fans have suggested that recent changes to Joker have all but “ruined the character.” The Batman supervillain debuted all the way back in 1940 via Batman #1. Created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson, the Joker is not just the signature Batman villain, but has grown beyond the role as recent standalone movies suggest. Over the years, the character has had many iterations, but by and large hasn’t deviated too much from the original creation. However, Batman fans have suggested recent iterations of the character are indeed starting to lose the essence of the villain, and they aren’t happy about it.

One of the top posts on the Batman Reddit page this weekend is a post inquiring whether anyone else misses the more campy Joker of yesteryear compared to the more serious iteration we have seen in recent Batman films and the standalone Joker movies. As the post points out, the character is supposed to be more comical and like a clown, or at least that was the original intention of the character.

The popularity of the post, and the many comments, confirm this is not an isolated hot take. It appears many Batman fans are starting to get burned out by the Heath Ledger-inspired Joker that has dominated his media appearances over the last decade. Obviously, Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy was not only unique at the time, but an iconic realization of the character. It was a huge hit, and since then follow-up portrayals of the Batman villain have been chasing it.

Judging by the replies to the post, what Batman fans miss the most is that the character is no longer funny. Hardcore and old-head Batman fans know this used to be a key component to the villain, but it’s been lost over time.

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“The writers took all the wrong things away from Heath Ledger’s Joker,” writes one fan. “They overly focus on the metaphors, everything he does has a reason, completely ignoring the comedic aspect of Heath’s Joker, and that Joker is most importantly of all ‘the clown prince of crime’. Emphasis on clown. He does bad things because he finds them funny, laughable, a twisted punchline.”

A second fan adds: “I don’t mind Dark Knight’s Joker, it fits in the universe but now DC uses him as a reference and that’s why I say Heath Ledger was so good that he ruined the character.”

A third fan further adds: “People forget that he’s supposed to be trying to be funny. Like everything he does, as nefarious and evil as it is, needs a punchline. He’s not just a generic crazy evil guy.”

It’s hard to imagine older versions of the Joker — such as Jack Nicholson’s take on the character or Mark Hamill’s take on the character — to resurface anytime soon. The character is more relevant than ever, and it’s been on the back of this “we live in a society” version. That said, while the mainstream market may not be burned out on this new iteration of Joker yet, it seems Batman fans increasingly are.