The results are in! Everybody’s favorite version of the Joker is Heath Ledger. I mean, we said as such in our ranking of every major portrayal of the Joker.
And, that makes perfect sense, because Ledger played the Clown Prince of Crime in pretty much everybody’s favorite Batman movie, The Dark Knight.
But, what if I were to tell you that he was never my favorite Joker, nor was the animated version voiced by Mark Hamill in the greatest animated TV show of all time, Batman: The Animated Series? Nope, my favorite has always been (and likely always will be) Jack Nicholson from the 1989 Batman movie. Here’s why.
I Have Deep, Childhood Trauma From Watching Jack Nicholson As The Joker
Man, I saw Batman when I was way too young. I was born in 1983, so I was a very impressionable 6 year old when my mom took me to see Batman in theaters, and man. I will never forget it.
There were many moments that truly traumatized me (just like Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker) such as the scene where Joker reveals his face after Vicki Vale threw water at him, leaving his skin streaked in white, or when he stabs a man in the throat with a quill pen.
However, the scene that still haunts me, even today, is when the Joker requests to see his face after undergoing surgery. The scene itself is a masterclass in tension, because we don’t actually get to see what he looks like until later. All we get is his silhouette and his haunting laughter, which gave me goosebumps back then, and is still giving me goosebumps even while I write this today.
I think a great deal of credit has to go to Tim Burton, as Batman is one of his best films, by far. Unbeknownst at the time, Burton was the perfect choice to direct it, because he could take the surreal and make it make sense in his own special way.
Gotham City is a character in itself, and Nicholson’s Joker fits perfectly into this world. This Gotham is both dark and eerie, but also playful in a way that still hasn’t been matched (except for in Batman Returns) to this day.
So, it wasn’t just Joker that scared me as a kid, but Gotham itself. Nicholson’s Joker was the city personified, which is why I think it was ultimately so effective in scaring the hell out of me as a kid. I’ll just never forget that fear.
And Yet Today, I Find His Performance Hilarious
Do you want to know my favorite movie as a kid (and it might just still be my favorite movie as an adult, as well)? Big Trouble in Little China. I’ve written about it a number of times on this website, and it just never gets old for me.
Well, the reason why I’m bringing that up is because that movie scared the ever-loving crap out of me when I was younger, and it’s only now as an adult that I realize that it was meant to be a comedy.
The same kind of goes for 1989’s Batman. I mean, the movie itself is not very funny, but Nicholson’s Joker is hilarious. When I watched the film again as an adult and he proclaimed that Gotham City needs an enema, I legitimately shot soda out my nose, since I definitely didn’t understand that line when I was 6.
Oh, and when he’s dancing through the Gotham City Museum to Prince, I have a goofy grin on my face just like the Joker. I also love when he reaches down into his pants and pulls out that gargantuan gun, only to fire one shot at the Batwing, and take it down with expert precision.
What I love the most, though, is how certain scenes that really terrified me as a kid, like when he uses the joy buzzer and turns that guy to ash, actually get a laugh out of me today.
In every way, I love how his Joker is the perfect blend of sinister and silly, and I honestly don’t think we’ve gotten a Joker like that since. In fact…
He Set The Bar For The Character On The Big Screen
Jack Nicholson wasn’t the first major Joker to grace the big screen. That would be Cesar Romero in 1966’s Batman: The Movie. And, look, I love Romero. No other actor has been as outright silly as his version, and it definitely fits the comedic tone of that film.
That said, Romero’s Joker wasn’t scary. Like, not even in the slightest. In fact, I don’t even think people with coulrophobia would be unnerved by Romero’s portrayal of the character. He’s just too silly to be taken as a threat.
However, Nicholson’s portrayal is absolutely perfect. His Joker actually seems like he’s having a good time hurting people, whereas other versions of the character, like Ledger’s, and especially Phoenix’s, seem more like tortured souls, rather than whimsical sociopaths.
In fact, I don’t even think Mark Hamill’s version in the animated series, which is my second favorite version of the Joker, matches that high bar set by Nicholson.
No, his Joker truly set the standard for all future versions. I think the only reason why Ledger’s and Phoenix’s iterations really work is because you have Nicholson’s performance to juxtapose them against. It’s little wonder that despite the actor’s extensive career (both with his famous roles, and also for his more forgotten performances), the Joker is still one of his greatest characters.
He Represents The Lighter Side Of Comic Book Villains, Which I Prefer
Lastly, and this might be because I’m a ‘90s kid, but I really miss when comic book movies actually felt like they came from comic books. Sure, the MCU pulls a great deal from its source material, and it has definitely leaned a lot more into being comic-booky than movies like 2000’s X-Men, which almost seemed ashamed of being associated with comics.
But, I also love how ‘90s comic book movies, like Judge Dredd (which I have a soft spot for), felt like they were trying to capture the actual mood set in the comics.
This Batman definitely feels like it comes from a comic book, most notably withthe Oscar winner’s portrayal of the Joker, which truly is larger than life. I feel this way because his character is not too serious, but in this cartoony version of Gotham City, everybody takes him seriously.
Like, could you ever imagine Ledger’s Joker sending a package to a reporter, and telling her to put on a gas mask while he pours gas into the room? Or, could you imagine Jared Leto’s “damaged” Joker having a pistol the length of a rocket launcher stored away in his pants (never mind the phallic implications)?
No, because those Jokers aren’t meant to have a lighter side. They’re meant to be terrifying. That’s fine (well, not Jared Leto’s Joker, because I hate that version); I like Ledger’s and Phoenix’s. They certainly fit the world that they’ve been placed in.
That said, I much prefer Jack Nicholson’s much lighter, more comedic version. It takes me back to a time when I used to read comic books religiously, and I appreciate that.
Are you like everybody else who thinks that Heath Ledger’s Joker is the best, or, are you on my side in believing that Nicholson is the greatest live-action version of the character? Either way, keep on smiling.