The Joker, as even non-geeks know, is Batman’s arch-foe. Dubbed the Clown Prince of Crime, and the Harlequin of Hate, Joker is the penultimate bad guy. Fans debate whether or not Batman should break his vow to never intentionally take a life in Joker’s case, but keeping this evil nutcase alive is in DC’s best interest, what with him being perhaps the most recognizable villain in their stable of bad guys.
If you want to learn more about Joker, check out this article about Joker’s first appearance, in Batman #1, published way back in 1940.
Joker is one of my favorite Batman villians. You may ask why that is so. Ok, here it is…he is the perfect Batman villain because he represents, in his current form anyway, the polar opposite of Bats. Batman is most often portrayed as self-controlled, humorless, secretive, and controlling. He represents order. Joker, on the other hand, is, in the modern day especially, seen as out of control, sees (sick) humor in everything, loves the limelight, and leaves chaos in his wake. He is, in effect, an agent of chaos. He strives to bring chaos and disorder to everyone.
For instance, one of the most notable Joker stories is “The Killing Joke,” in which he tries to create so much chaos and pain in the life of Commissioner James Gordon, that Gordon would break his own personal ethics. We see this theme also in the hugely popular Dark Knight movie, in which the late Heath Ledger played the Joker.
While other major DC villains have changed significantly over the years (Lex Luthor in the Golden Age, Silver Age, and now the Modern Age are all quite different from each other), Joker has stayed more or less the same. The Golden Age Joker was written as not really insane, just evil and odd, but the basic character is the same. The latest Joker version in the movies will be Jared Leto in Suicide Squad, and we will have to wait and see what that version of Joker is like.