Joker (Nolanverse)

"Some men aren't looking for anything logical like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just wanna watch the world burn."

- Alfred Pennyworth to Bruce Wayne on The Joker

The Joker depicted in Dark Knight is often considered the darkest version of the Clown Prince of Crime since his early beginnings in DC comics (prior to a softening of character) - perhaps somewhat due to the popularity of Dark Knight some of this Joker's extreme sociopathy has began to sink into the mainstream Joker but in general they are still considered very different criminals in the way they act and think.

The Joker (Dark Knight)
The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, is the main antagonist in the movie The Dark Knight. The Joker is a psychotic villain who claims to be an "agent of chaos," seemingly doing it for the sake of destroying the plans of others and causing maximum psychological and physical damage. In the film, the Joker rescinds his comic weapons in favor of explosives, knives and firearms. He is responsible for the death of Rachael Dawes and for the wounding and psychological manipulation of District Attorney Harvey Dent into Two-Face among others.



The Joker states that he won't kill Batman because he is simply too much “fun” and Batman won't kill him because of his “moral obligation.” In the movie, instead of trying to kill Batman, the Joker attempts to show Gotham and subsequently Batman that anyone can be as bad as the Joker under the right circumstances.

Possible Philosophy on Batman
The Joker is Batman’s greatest foe. His history is so intricately defined by his opposition to Batman that the two are perversely inseparable. The Joker's obsession with Batman is unique compared to other villains. On numerous occasions, The Joker shows a perverse sense of identity with the Caped Crusader, enjoying their battles and constantly mocking him, hinting he may want to make Batman as insane as he is.

"I just wanted to bring down your grim facade and for *once* make you see the world as i see it, giggling in a corner and bleeding...." -Quote from the Joker in Batman: Arkham City.

The Joker is Batman's greatest enemy. He has caused more physical and psychological damage to the Dark Knight than any other villain. Behind all of his gags and jokes, the Joker houses a vehement dislike for the Caped Crusader because of his interference with the Joker's plans to take over the Gotham crime syndicates and execute his plans. He has loathed Batman ever since the vigilante chased him into a chemical plant and he fell into a vat, disfiguring him and driving him insane. The Joker is very competitive with other rogues and has reserved the right to kill Batman himself, because of their fierce rivalry. This being said, The Joker defines himself by his opposition to the Batman, and even has shown a reluctant admiration of who Batman is. This is typified during one particular comic when The Joker knocks out Batman and could have easily finished his vendetta right then and there but he chooses not to.

“No, I cannot kill him. It cannot end like this. I use my insanity, he uses his detective work, Batman must live”.

Strangely, The Joker and Batman have a mutual respect for each other that goes beyond that of all other Batman villains. During the 1980’s, a series of comics with a strong identity crisis of the Batman came out. A crime boss named Rupert Thorne paid a psychologist called Hugo Strange (one of Batman’s earliest foes) to find out the true identity of the Batman. Thorne’s idea was to learn the identity of the Batman and on-sell it to the highest bidder. Fortunately, Dr Strange had a change of heart when he found out that Batman was Bruce Wayne and refused to part with the information.

This is where The Joker comes in again. Aware that Rupert Thorne was close to finding out the true identity of Batman, The Joker threatened Thorne saying as follows:

“Only one person may kill the Batman, and that is me, when I decide”.

Again, The Joker never shows a desire to kill Batman. Superman even points out that The Joker’s psychosis places him clearly in Batman’s world. To the Joker, his opposition of the Dark Knight defines who he is, he is nothing without Batman and Batman is nothing without The Joker.