Who’s the Best Joker?
By John DeNardo |
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 at
12:25 am
In this week’s blue scifi babe poll, some have already requested a little sci-fi beefcake. Perhaps I could interest you in some fruit cake?
Pictures are starting to emerge from the filming of The Dark Knight, in which our caped crusading hero fights the clown prince of crime, The Joker, played by Heath Ledger.
Here’s a quick glimpse at some of the more famous Jokers:
Who’s your favorite…Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill or Heath Ledger?
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I say Heath. Because he is the most realistic. He truly is like a madman serial killer. NOT like some fictional cheese ball. I’ve seen all the others, and quite frankly, I didn’t care for them, not at all. But I think The Dark Knight was truly badass because of this new joker.
He is real, he is what we all could be. He has emotions, and charistics that almost anyone could identify with. Freak, or not.
But, we’re all freaks no matter what we do.
cesar sucks. hamill is a cartoon. so eliminate both of them. so it goes heath then jack. they both did excelent jobs. but the other 2 are whack and can easily be forgotten. fuck mark hamill
yea mark hamill blows. and didnt that cesar guy die from aids from being gay or something? heath definatley wins and jack comes in second. i agree wit other guy above. the other two are forgetable
Heath Ledger no question, because he was a freak he seemed more in place in that role than anyone. I mean he gave it his ALL and then Lord rest his soul he dipped out afterwards. he was the fReAk
ledger sooo obviously. nicholson seemed cool at the time, but if you rewatch now it’s nothing special. could have been one of several of his characters in makeup. romero was doing what he was hired to do, but that asn’t much. hammil good voice, but couldn’t have done it visually.
All four were great Jokers. I’m not too familiar with Romero, but I saw the Batman movie from the 60s. So, I’m here to geive you my list!
4. Romero: He was just a little goofy in the movie that I saw.
3. Nicholson: He seemed to have been made to be the Joker, but he was a little goofy too.
2. Ledger: Flawless, perfect, scary… he was just the exact opposite of Batman, which is essentially what the Joker is.
1. Hamill: He may have just been the voice… but watch the Return of the Joker. He was perfect!
Hamill is by far the best, ledger was the most realistic and scary but not funny enough and the other two were just plain s**t
Mark Hamill is the best Joker. He blends criminal wickedness and clown-like anecdotes to form a perfect, insane clown prince of crime. All of you discrediting him because “he’s just a cartoon” don’t understand just how perfect that voice was.
Ledger was amazing, but whenever someone refers to The Joker, I will always think of the Mark Hamill version. To me, Mark Hammil IS the Joker.
Well everyone seems to be saying that Mark Hammil is the best Joker. I’d have to disagree. Sure, his voice is very dark and creepy when he voiced the Joker, but after all its his VOICE. He never really ACTED with his body, facial expressions or anything like the other 3. Don’t get me wrong, he was very good as the Joker, but nothing really compared to the other 3. And besides he will ALWAYS be Luke Skywalker to me.
Cesar Romero was ok. He did play the Joker well, but not well enough. He never really had that creepy and edgier side that the Joker MUST have. To me, he wasn’t the best.
Heath Ledger. He was a VERY VERY talented actor, and when he played the Joker he really took my breath away. He gave something to the Joker’s character that really needed to be there, and for a young new actor playing a role that has been done by 3 other very talented men, he really did hold his own. I loved his preformance
But my vote is for Jack. He is already edgy and creepy as himself, and when he stepped into the role of the Joker, he really really nailed it. He gave something to the Joker’s character that is vvery edgy and dark, and something that I doubt many other actors could master. Plus, with Burton’s creepy dark spin, it really made the Joker what he needed to be. An edgy, off the wall physcotic with a very twisted sense of humor.
Heath Ledger.
Heath did the best job… if you: are in middle or high school, got your mommy or daddy to let you see an “ultra-violent” movie, like thug life and people who drool and slurp like George Burns, and spend the bulk of your time whining and sulking in the corner about how life ain’t fair.
How in the world do people see a walking cliche character as Ledger’s “Joker” as being the best? How in the world is the Joker better off “street”? How in the world is a heavy metal death clown (an idea that’s so overdone it’s an antique) frightening in any way, shape, or form? “What’s the best way to make a character dark?” Nolan & Ledger must have pondered. “A-HA! Make him so obviously evil and scary looking by appealing to the lowest common denominator of what is dark and scary looking!” And the “oscar-worthy” portrayal was born.
Devoid of any humor, class, sophistication, the only thing Ledger managed to do was suck any remaining life from a character that was already being turned into a joke by writers who clearly didn’t understand him. WTF is with trying to make the guy scary?
The animated series version struck the perfect balance between psychosis, deranged merriment, aggression, and darkness. Hamill is #1.
Nicholson’s was a fun, psychotic, twisted ride while it lasted. He’s #2 around here.
The West/Ward television… umm… “mess” is better left unsaid.
What Ledger did should be forgotten, but sadly it won’t.
“Jokerguy” had so nicely included an image I almost forgot to comment on. Take a good long look at it. Then say his name three times.
Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Bee- oh, wait, wrong film. Again, how do people find Ledger’s Joker scary?
Is it Eric Draven? Hmmm… Nope, guess not him, either (it’s closer to the Eddie Furlong “Crow” version, anyway…).
Now just TRY and tell me that those chubby cheeks, those pouty lips, that raggedy hair, doesn’t look like Ledger’s “Joker”.
Only Heath Ledger.Others not so mad
Heath Ledger only because he’s a freak of nature.
Hi i am rajnish saklani.
the biggest joker of univers is Sujani [
ledger
Cesar Romero. I like the new Batman movies but I think they take it overly serious. I like a little more fun in my comic movies.
romero was he who got the joker started but ledger was the most realistic joker however hammel is not onley joker he’s Batman in some stuff but most realistic ledger funiest hammel best ledger
Heath Ledger by far. I remember Jack Nicholson pretty well but I never got grabbed by his characterzation. Maybe it’s because I have a thing for the twitchy crazy guys.
Heath Ledger He is THE BEST by far. I love him as the joker
You know who would have made a better joker in Dark Knight- JIM CARREY!
“Why can’t Ledge be the Joker huh?”
BECAUSE HE WASN’T! Have you Read the comics!? NO! YOU HAVEN’T! I Never even see Ledger’s teeth. Isn’t that The Joker’s signature smile? The wicked teeth?! NOOooooooooo it’s plucking lips and and having scars on your cheeks!
If they could put this makeup on Hamil then i would have a Comicgasim!
“Lets Review”
To Make this Simple,
If you are a true fan (and i mean OWN comics) then you know Ledger was just the Gothic Emo version of Joker that every Sadist minded or little child wanted in life.
PLEASE! You can say ledger was a good joker- I don’t care much- BUT STOP CALLING YOURSELF TRUE FANS!
It’s making me as a comic geek look like “Wanna be Ledger”
…. oh and Hamil had the voice, Closest thing to an acter is Jack…
RIP Ledger- Sorry you couldn’t get a better joker script…
((If you really want a Geekgasim go see Batman: Dead End- On youtube))
Cesar Romero: Haven’t seen a lot of the original TV show or the movie, and since it’s a comedy, I don’t even know if you can mention him here seriously. However, from the bits and pieces I’ve seen, the original show is hilarious.
Jack Nicholson – THIS GUY IS THE SHIT! Seriously, almost everything Nicholson touches turns to gold and this was no exception. He was the perfect Joker and nobody can convince me otherwise. If you look at him on screen, he’s having fun with this role. He plays the Joker as he was meant to be played: a stone-cold homicidal maniac who still retains the demeanor and attitude of a harmless prankster. The first Batman movie still holds up today despite the Dark Knight being incredibly awesome, thanks to both Jack’s Joker and Michael Keaton’s Batman.
Mark Hamill – You know how I said that Jack was the perfect Joker? Hamill’s voice was perfect…er. If Hamill could somehow play the Joker in live action, it would be the greatest Batman movie ever. He put emotion into the character, he really got into his role (as evidenced by an interview I saw on Youtube), and above all he just SOUNDED LIKE THE JOKER! The Animated Series is probably the most faithful of the Batman comic adaptations (except for MAYBE the incredibly awesome Arkham Asylum which takes a lot of cues from the series), and Mark Hamill’s voice really adds to the series. Oh, and his massive reportois of evil laughs… AWESOME!
Heath Ledger – Ok, I loved this Joker. He was scary, funny, and actually strangely intelligent. He was a stone-cold terrorist that tore Gotham apart from the inside with his bizarre “social experiments.” And I also loved the three-pronged storyline and how the three main characters worked off of each other: Batman was the Dark Knight, Dent was the White Knight, and the Joker was wild. It really was an excellent movie. HOWEVER, I have one HUGE complaint: he’s so different that he almost just isn’t the Joker. There, I said it. Heath isn’t the Joker, he’s a terrorist whackjob who likes seeing people die and things go boom. I was disappointed that they didn’t make him out to be a prankster unlike the comics, the TV shows, and the 89 film. He was just a terrorist with a crazy-ass (but true) philosophy and weird makeup. I still love him though.
Everyone is basing who’s the best Joker on things like, which actor was most true to the comics, or who was more sadistic, or who was funnier, etc.
I only judge the best Joker based on ONE thing…. which portrayal could I not take my eyes off, and who would I want to see again the most?
And there’s only one answer to that…. Heath Ledger. Regardless of anything about the Joker character itself, I base my answer on performance alone. Everytime Heath was onscreen, not only could I not take my eyes or attention off of him, I also could not recognize him in the slightest. His voice, his posture, makeup, costume, Chicago accent…. it all just completely transformed him, and if I had to pick any Joker incarnation I’d like to watch again, it would have to be The Dark Knight. Isn’t the draw of the performance that’s the most important, over little character traits that are inevitably going to change over the years anyway (i.e. humor, how sadistic, how cunning, etc.)?
Heath Ledger is the best!
Well, isn’t this obvious?
Heath is the joker of course.
HEATH LEDGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
love his character and the way he does it
(i’ve already got his joker walk down, and the voice and laugh. HECK I COULD BE THE HEATH LEDGER JOKER!!!!!)
i LOVE the dark knight and started screaming exitedly whenever heath was on screen. I even repeted ALL of his lines! im dressing up as the heath ledger joker for halloween and im gonna run around with a plastic knife (cuz u know, i cn’t uz a real 1) and and ask people “WHY SO SERIOUS?!”
HEATH LEDGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Heath Ledger and Mark Hamill are the two best Jokers!! Heath Ledger did a perfect job at acting the part for the live-action movie, he brought the evil, sadism, darkness, goofy and psychotic behavior that is The Joker right out of the comics. Heath’s Joker wasn’t overhyped either. It’s just the jack and cesar fans that say that because they know that those two jokers were surpassed by Mark and Heath, and they use Heath’s death as an excuse to say that Heath was overhyped. Heath’s Joker easily surpassed the hype.
Mark Hamill’s voice acting was perfect for the cartoon, in fact it was every bit as excellent as Heath’s live-action performance, bringing in the same elements.
Jack Nicholson and Cesar Romero just don’t even compare, even for their time period, their Joker’s were just too campy, cheesy, and inauthentic, and not nearly violent or psychotic enough. If you want to know the truth it was Jack’s Joker that was overhyped, everybody thought that his Joker would be awesome just because it was Jack Nicholson, it wasn’t.
Mark Hamill and Heath Ledger all the way!!!!
Mark Hamill. Doh.
heath ledger is the best joker of allllllllllll time!!!!!!!!!!!!! i mean he had that dark side and he was crazy but most of the things he was saying made so much sense, plus the others didnt have that i mean they didnt really have a dark side and thats what the joker is all about!!!!!!
I would have to say Jack.The 89. Batman had a better dialog and music soundtrack which are a + for me.Also Jack killed more people then heath in the movie so saying that he is more psychotic is just boloney.The scenario was pretty childish in the TDK i mean the face painting was such a chezzy gimmick to attract kids to imitate the tdk joker also Heats fan base doesn’t mean much to me,mostly people that weren’t even born before the 90-es are it.
Jack is the best Joker,Hands down.
Okay, when I was growing up i thought the joker was a panzy. None of the other Batmans did it for me. I thought batman sucked, i thought his villians sucked, and i thought it was all a push over.
UNTIL HEATH LEDGER CAME ALONG.
When Heath did the joker, the joekr went from my least favorite all time villian to my hands down favorite. If you look at it from which of them nailed the ideal joker, its heath. He isnt funny, he isnt retardedly pyscho, and he isnt some fucked up loser. He is a legit psycho who “just wants to watch the world burn.” He isnt a moron like the others, he actually OWNS gotham at one point, he is in total control. He nailed it because he did the perfect psychotic joker that wasnt in it to kill Batman, he was in it because Cops and the Mob were just to damn easy for him. Heath played a perfect villian that was in every way just as brilliant as Batman was, and everyway creepier and much much more disturbed than the other Jokers.
I dunno if you die hard batman fans will agree with me, but Heath Ledger made the Joker my hands down favorite villian of all time. Not the classic joker, but the joker that isnt some skinny freak, the joker that is a master in the arts of terror and chaos is my favorite Joker. The Joker that nearly broke the batman twice. The Joker that controlled all of Gotham City for most of his movie. The joker that gave me chills when i first saw him and made me sit there and go HOLY SHIT the Joker isnt a persistant push over panzy that gets butt raped by Batman whenever he comes out of Arkham. This is the Joker that was destined to do this forever, this was the Joker that Batman was ment to clash with for all time.
And this is deffinately the Joker that Batman Arkham Asylum is closest to. Batmans best game + Batmans best movie = own. Heath Ledger is a fucking hero. When you find a villian that did better than Heath Ledger, we’ll talk. But Heath is the best. HANDS DOWN.
Come on, can you honestly say that any of the other Jokers can match Heath Ledger’s performance? Oh and Heath has the Oscar to prove he’s the best.
R.I.P. Heath Ledger, you rocked the movie business and you changed the way villians would be played. Forever. You set the bar higher than anyone can reach.
I believe that many of the other Jokers are good. Like some said, yes the other generations will choose the Joker in their generation. But my belief is that Heath Ledger is the best. To me the other Jokers looked like their skin was white and did really have big red lips. Heath showed that it was just makeup as you can see it smears through the movie. He has that straggly hair, thats the Jokers hair! It shows chaos that he’s been through. Come on, how do you go through all the joker goes through and not have straggly hair. He’s sarcastic, funny, great, but also a pyschopath, murderer, genius of a criminal, and brings the Joker to life. The laugh, smile, everything. And for everyone out there, thats not Heath’s Voice. Sounds nothing like him in real life, and that laugh… he worked hard on that laugh. Lastly, the fact that he died right after he finished his shots is sad but a tribute to the late grate Heath Ledger. He once said in his last interview about the Joker, “It was the most fun I’ve ever had and probably will ever have playing a character.”
Thank you Heath for playing the Joker, you brought him alive and sure caught my attention. Thank you.
The Best is Heath Ledger! sorry Jack… You are second
Heath is the joker. Case closed.
the best one is heath ledger
Heath Ledger, the best Joker ever.
Regardless of opinions, there are some pretty stupid comments. Like that Heath and Hamill were pretty much the same… Hamill was a fan of the comics, and just like the show itself, he combined all the things that made the Joker great to begin with. Heath was a good actor, but simply not a Joker…
Jack Nicholson still stands as the iconic Joker. It was a flawless performance that never went out-of-character. All of his mannerisms and actions just translated perfectly from what you’d imagine in the comics, and the laugh is just perfect. Sadly, we never got to see a sequel with him.
Mark Hamill is definently the voice of the joker and Jack Nicholson is the face.
Nicholson is good but Heath Ledger (R.I.P) Is the BEST
………. Romero fà skifo
they’re all good, but Heath is the best!!
The Joker of Heath Ledger is different… the ultimate lunatic, however we have to wait for the new one!!!
Heath Ledger made me one of the biggest fan of JOKER….Ledger was scary and funny aswell. I also strongly believe that Ledger has a better voice than Mark Hamil. HEATH LEDGER FTW….
Mark is a classic Joker. The best. Then it’s between Heath and Jack. The writers do have a major part to play as their sucky lines can weigh down a great actor
i guess it all comes down to if you’re looking for “grown up,” “campy” or “kiddie”… there’s no other real way to compare them without first making that distinction.
(the Hub is replaying all the old 60s episodes, if anyone wants to wax nostalgic – i am).
anyone who appreciates them in other than the chronological order of their filming (i.e. newer=better) must be more nostalgic than impartial. the entire vibe of batman begins and dark knight are camp-free, intended to be representative of the more “mature” batman mythos, focused on the gritty realism that later batmans and the TPBs portrayed. i had heard/read that nolan gave ledger a copy of “the killing joke” for inspiration. true or not, it and DK portray the joker not as clowning, but insane. that makes him much more intimidating. the pencil thing, blowing up the hospital, embedding the cell phone, 14 knives and lint, burning the money. there was no discernable rhyme or reason to relate to joker. when alfred says his line about “some people just want to watch the world burn” (paraphrasing) — that is what made joker so fearful: his lack of moral grounding, lack of seeming intent (he wasn’t after money or revenge, he was just having “fun”), and willingness to do whatever whenever. “let go of her!” “careful what you ask for” made his performance so riveting. what’s he gonna do next?
so for me, ledger was, hands-down, the best joker for my criterion. in the end, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but iron man, thor, captain america… all the modern comics take a more mature perspective. i appreciate the update to the more in-depth characters and realism, but respect that some people just want to keep their love for the campy batman of their childhood.
In my opinion the best is heath ledger he is scary sickly funny and classy.
now that dosnt mean that he is the best you might think that one of the others is the best because nicholson is superb in Batman forever but hamill is good wel his voice is but you dont see the way he moves you dont see his view.
Jack Nicholson is the best joker
I think Mark Hamill is the best joker because of his Infamous laughter
Romero- I think he was Roman, had werid accent whether he talked but he is cheesy, and campy. Althought he had a normal laugh.
Nicholson- Nice guy. He looked happy in the role especially the ballon parade.
Hamilll- I liked his laughter and I liked his voice. He himself said that even though after 20 years he liked but is probably going to retire after Arkham City.
Ledger- He was scary. I get why people vote for him.
For me, hands down, Heath Ledger and Mark Hamill for me is the best Joker. No Matter what.