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“ | Jack? Jack is dead, my friend. You can call me… Joker! And as you can see, I'm a lot happier. | „ |
~ The Joker taking up his new identity before killing Carl Grissom. |
“ | Tell me something, my friend. You ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? I always ask that of all my prey. I just like the sound of it. | „ |
~ The Joker to Bruce, serving as foreshadowing of the fact that he killed Bruce's parents. |
“ | "Winged freak terrorizes…?" Wait'll they get a load of me! | „ |
~ The Joker laughing at a newspaper about Batman. |
Jack Napier, better known as the Joker, is the main antagonist of Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman, the first installment of the Burton/Schumacher Batman quadrilogy.
He is a Gotham mob enforcer-turned-crime lord formerly under Carl Grissom's payroll and Batman's arch-nemesis, as he killed the latter's parents back when he was a child in the mid-20th century.
By the late 1980s, Napier is found out by his boss to be in a relationship with his mistress Alicia Hunt, so Grissom sets him up to be killed by the Gotham City Police Department, but a fateful encounter with Batman drastically changes him both physically and psychologically, leading Napier to don the mantle of his favorite deck card, overthrow Grissom, and set himself on taking over Gotham City for himself.
He was portrayed by Jack Nicholson, who also played Colonel Nathan R. Jessup in A Few Good Men, Jack Torrance in The Shining, James R. Hoffa in the 1992 film Hoffa, Daryl Van Horne in The Witches of Eastwick and Frank Costello in The Departed. As a younger man in a flashback, he was portrayed by Hugo Blick. In a flashback sequence in Batman Forever, he was portrayed by David U. Hodges.
Biography
Past
Jack Napier was born in Brooklyn and came to live in Gotham City. In his school years, Jack proved himself to be emotionally unstable and prone to violent mood swings, but was highly intelligent, showing aptitude in art, science, and chemistry. When he was 15 years old, Jack was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon.
Years later, as a young man at the age of 26, he and Joe Chill mugged Bruce Wayne's parents, Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, while they were walking home from the movies. When Thomas interceded to protect his family, Napier stepped from the shadows and shot both him and Martha in the chest, killing both of them. Napier then took aim at Bruce, inquiring "Tell me, kid… you ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight?".
Before Napier carried out the deed, his panicked partner urged him to leave, saying "Let's go, Jack" (which caused Napier to turn to his partner with a puzzled look) and snapping him out of his dissonance. Napier decided to spare the boy and left, saying "See you around, kid."
Little did Jack know that his prediction would come true — that he and Bruce would meet again someday and that same man would be the death of him.
Batman
Meeting Batman and Becoming the Joker
“ | Eckhardt! Think about the future! | „ |
~ Jack, as he is about to kill Lt. Eckhardt. |
Years later, Jack became the right-hand man of the crime boss Carl Grissom. Things went further sour between them when Grissom found out that Jack was sleeping with his moll; Alicia Hunt, and out of vengeance he called corrupt GCPD Lieutenant Max Eckhardt to kill his right-hand man: who (along with his men) was trying to erase evidence of criminal activity in the Axis Chemical Factory. Jack doubted the competence of Grissom's leadership of the crime family and also snidely retorted to a news broadcast of Harvey Dent's speech about decent people living in Gotham: "Decent people shouldn't live here - they'd be happier somewhere else" as well as implied that he would kill Dent brutally if the latter even attempted to move in on Grissom. When Grissom informed Jack of his entrusted task with stealing incriminating documents from the plant, he consulted his lucky deck to pull a random card's face towards him. The card happened to be a Joker (which, coincidentally, was the very thing that he later became). Silently strong armed by Grissom, Napier reluctantly agreed to help him, despite the card's advice.
Breaking into the chemical plant with his men, Napier discovered the ruse after they broke into the main office vault to discover it was empty. Whilst his men kept the GCPD busy, he activated machinery around the plant to make detection more difficult and cover his escape and inadvertently caused several of the vats to fill up with an uncontrolled mixture of hazardous chemicals. Grissom's plan went awry thanks to intervention by Commissioner Gordon, who took charge of the officers and demanded they spare Napier, and Batman: who subdued several of the hoodlums and tracked Napier as he fled.
Eventually, Napier meets Batman for the first time. Before he was going to escape, he kills Eckhardt after he told him to think about the future. Napier then quickly found himself in Batman’s grip, who reluctantly releases him when Bob threatens to kill Gordon. Maintaining his composure, Napier comments on Batman’s wardrobe before attempting to turn the gun on Batman with a sinister grin. This backfired, however, and he catches a ricocheted bullet through his cheeks. In agonizing pain, and in a fearsome panic, Napier stepped off a catwalk over a vat of a toxic chemical as he fell. Though Batman caught Napier's arm and attempted to pull him back up to safety, Napier's leather glove slipped through Batman's grip and he plummeted into the chemical vat below him.
Napier somehow survived and the reaction of the chemicals left him with chalk-white skin, green hair, and red lips visibly scarred and constantly shaped in an untrustworthy sneer. The exact reason for this is when he tried to do plastic surgery to heal his cheek wounds, but it did more harm than good as the sheer extent of the damage had severed critical facial nerves and his plastic surgeon lacked the effective tools to properly fix them, so he was left with a wide and ridiculous rictus smile. He began to realize his insanity after looking through a mirror, much to the surprise of the surgeon. He returned to Grissom's office to kill him in revenge for his attempted murder, which he did and became the new crime lord known as The Joker. When sitting at his now-deceased boss' desk, he picks up a newspaper that reads "Winged Freak Terrorizes Gotham's Gangland", and scowls, deciding to get revenge for his disfigurement and "outdo" Batman, whom he felt had gotten too much press. He says with a smile "Wait 'till they get a load of me", and then laughs heartily.
Crime Spree
The Clown Prince of Crime then engaged in a violent and chaotic crime spree. When Joker tried to present himself in a more "normal" light, he applied various cosmetic products to give himself a more normal-looking skin tone and hair color that resembled his original appearance. When he learned about Vicki Vale, Joker fell in love with her and tried to steal her from Bruce Wayne. He made a remarkable and drastic entrance near the city hall where he killed a fellow crime lord with his quill pen. His mime henchmen then started to shoot all over the place and kill the crime lord´s allies, with Bruce Wayne being "hit", but surviving. He then heads for his limo and solemnly waves goodbye to Bruce before taking off.
The Last Laugh
“ | And now comes the part where I relieve you, the little people, of the burden of your failed and useless lives. But, as my plastic surgeon always said, if you gotta go… GO WITH A SMILE! | „ |
~ Joker during the parade. |
The Joker begins his "parade" at the start of the Gotham City Festival that celebrates the city's 200th anniversary, bringing very hefty sums of cash to all Gotham's citizens. Along with his parade were his precious and cartoonish balloons filled with the deadly Smylex gas made from the ingredients used to create his cosmetic Smylex products. He notices Batman's Batwing up in the sky and proceeds to go as planned with his balloons. After throwing the money to everyone in the streets, Joker wrapped up his speech saying that everyone should "go with a smile".
But after Batman stopped his maniacal festivities and saved everyone from Joker's Smylex via his Batwing, he shot and killed his right-hand man Bob the Goon out of anger towards Batman for foiling his scheme, and eventually went on to face Batman while his men ordered everyone to leave the money-littered, panic-stricken streets. Joker used his comically large peashooter revolver from his waistband and shot down the Batwing with an explosive round. He then found Vicki Vale near the Batwing in front of the old Gotham City Cathedral and takes her hostage (telling her "Darling, I've got to get you to the church on time.").
Batman followed them into the cathedral. While Batman battled his thugs, Joker dances with Vicki before the Dark Knight finally faces him.
Death
“ | Sometimes, I just kill myself! | „ |
~ The Joker's last words, ironically foreshadowing his death seconds later. |
During their deadly confrontation, in which they identify each other and their motivations, Batman then takes down his goons and finds the villain himself with Vicki. Upon confronting him, he asks the same similar quote that the latter asked him earlier on before repeatedly beating up Joker and managing to finally clarify his own motives in full detail. When Batman specifies why he wants to kill him, Joker in sheer horror attempts to explain, in the midst having his archenemy knock him off the balcony. After the other two look over the edge, the Joker reached up and managed to pull over Batman and Vicki. Finding themselves holding on for life from a narrow ledge, the Joker tauntingly stomps and dances on the ledge to show the ancient bricks won’t help them. The Joker's helicopter arrived just in time to retrieve him to safety, but Batman used a grappling hook to tie Joker's ankle to a large, heavy gargoyle. Unable to break free from the heavy burden of the gargoyle, and his dim henchmen not realizing this and taking him further from the edge, things certainly didn’t look good for him. Joker eventually lost his grip on the helicopter's rope ladder and fell screaming, hitting the cathedral's flight of steps below and breaking every bone in his body, killing him instantly.
Commissioner Gordon found Joker's corpse, hearing a tinny, pre-recorded laugh. He reached into Joker's tailcoat and pulled out a laugh box that had been activated by the landing, playing on a loop.
Legacy
Batman Returns
Despite the Joker's reign of terror finally meeting to an end for good and Bruce's parents finally avenged, the decline of the Gotham mob and the Joker's initial rise paved the way for the appearance of numerous villains. These ranged from those within Gotham's higher society with dubious morals, such as Max Shreck, and criminals with similar theatrics to the Joker, such as the Penguin and Catwoman. As for the people of Gotham, they remain haunted by the chaos the Joker has spread throughout his short-lived reign.
Earth-97
Batman Forever
“ | Dick Grayson: You can't understand. Your family wasn't killed by a maniac. Bruce Wayne: Yes, they were. We're the same. |
„ |
~ Bruce explaining to Dick about his parents being killed by Napier. |
Even though Bruce's parents were finally avenged, Napier's murder of them would cause the latter to continue to have nightmares about it for several years, as well as regrets of continuing to be Batman. This eventually led him to get psychiatric help from Dr. Chase Meridian during his attempts to stop the Riddler and Two-Face with the help of Dick Grayson aka Robin.
Batman & Robin
“ | Death and chance stole your parents. But rather than become a victim, you have done everything in your power to control the fates. For what is Batman, if not an effort to master the chaos that sweeps our world? An attempt to control death itself. | „ |
~ Alfred explaining to Bruce about why he became Batman, thanks to Napier. |
Bruce is still struggled with death and continues to mourn the loss of his parents at the hands of Napier. After getting into a difficult argument with Dick about how overprotective Bruce has become during their attempts to stop Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze, Bruce's butler Alfred Pennyworth reminds him that his refusal to give up is one of his greatest strengths. Bruce then acknowledged that after all these years of being afraid of loss, he had to accept it because there are even some things even Batman can't stop. Eventually, he finally gets over the trauma, ultimately ending the Joker's madness he has done to the Dark Knight.
Earth-89
Batman '89
“ | Reporter: And you, sir, do you feel your costume glorifies a dangerous criminal? Citizen: Who said that? Reporter: The gentleman in the, uh, Batman suit. Citizen: Oh. |
„ |
~ A reporter asking a citizen why he is wearing a Joker costume. |
In the Earth-89 timeline, which takes place after Batman Returns and ignores the events of the Schumacherverse, the Joker's actions would inspire a group of criminals to continue his legacy by causing trouble on Halloween which would result in Harvey Dent's campaign against Batman and Commissioner Gordon.
Batman '89: Echoes
“ | In his defense, he did have a really bad day. With the toxic waste and all that. | „ |
~ Dr. Q talking about her late father's disfigurement. |
Two years after Two-Face's death, Napier's daughter Dr. Harleen "Q" Quinzel would team up with Dr. Jonathan Crane to get revenge on Batman for killing her father.
Quotes
“ | He can't run this city without me. And besides, he doesn't know. | „ |
~ The Joker. |
“ | It's me, sugar bumps. | „ |
~ The Joker to Carl Grissom. |
“ | Fried? Is that what you heard? You set me up over a woman. A WOMAN! You must be insane. | „ |
~ The Joker complaining to Carl Grissom that the latter set him up over Alicia Hunt. |
“ | I've been dead once already. It's very liberating. You should think of it as… therapy. | „ |
~ Jack Napier talking to Carl Grissom. |
“ | Honey, you'll never believe what happened to me today! | „ |
~ The Joker showing his new grin to Alicia Hunt. |
“ | Well, Tony, nobody wants a war. Can't do business? We'll shake hands and that'll be it. | „ |
~ The Joker before killing a crime lord in front of the late Carl Grissom's fellow crooks. |
“ | Ooh, we've got a live one here. Oh, there will be a hot time in the old town tonight! | „ |
~ The Joker. |
“ | Batman? Batman? Can somebody tell me what kind of a world we live in, where a man dressed up as BAT gets all my press? This town needs an enema! | „ |
~ The Joker sees Batman on the news. |
“ | I have given a name to my pain and it is Batman. | „ |
~ The Joker about Batman. |
“ | Never rub another man's rhubarb! | „ |
~ The Joker after shooting Bruce Wayne, not realizing that he survived. |
“ | Why is it every time I come for you, someone always gets in the way? | „ |
~ Joker to Vicki Vale |
“ | I'm only laughing on the outside. My smile is just skin-deep. If you could see inside, I'm really crying! You might join me for a weep. | „ |
~ The Joker to Vicki Vale. |
“ | Joker here. Now you fellas have said some pretty mean things. Some of which were true under that fiend, Boss Grissom. He was a thief and a terrorist. On the other hand, he had a tremendous singing voice. He's dead now and he's left me in charge. Now, I can be theatrical and maybe even a little rough — but one thing I am not is a killer. I am an artist. I love a good party. So truce. Commence au festival! And I've got a surprise for Gotham City. At midnight, I will dump 20 million in cash on the crowd. Don't worry about me, I've got enough. You heard it, folks. 20 million. And there will be entertainment — the big duke-a-roo. With me in one corner and in the other corner, the man who has brought real terror to Gotham City, Batman. Can you hear me? Just the two of us; mano y mano. I have taken off my makeup. Let's see if you can take off yours. | „ |
~ Joker's televised message challenges Batman. |
“ | If you gotta go… GO WITH A SMILE! | „ |
~ The Joker in his infamous advertisement. |
“ | I'm gonna need a minute or two alone, boys! | „ |
~ The Joker ordering his goons to tell the surviving Gotham City citizenry to leave and clear the city streets for himself right after killing Bob. |
“ | Batman: I'm going to kill you! Joker: You IDIOT! You made me, remember? You dropped me into that vat of chemicals. That wasn't easy to get over, and don't think that I didn't try. Batman: I know you did. |
„ |
~ The Joker to Batman about him being the latter's creation, right before Batman beats him up some more. |
“ | Batman: You killed my parents. Joker: What? What are you talking about? Batman: I made you; you made me first. Joker: Hey, bat-brain, I was a kid when I killed your parents. It's just I made you, ya gotta say you made me. How childish can you get? You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, huh, would ya? Huh? |
„ |
~ The Joker before Batman punches him off the balcony. |
“ | What are you laughing at?! | „ |
~ The Joker to an inanimate gargoyle while laughing because Batman and Vicki are about to fall to their deaths. |
“ | Oh, they don't make 'em like they used to! Do they, eh? Eh, Batsy? | „ |
~ The Joker to Batman while trying to make him and Vicki fall to their deaths. |
Trivia
- Jack Nicholson's name is often listed in the credits before that of Michael Keaton (who plays Batman), except in the end credits.
- His name "Jack Napier" is a homage to both his actor, Jack Nicholson, and Alan Napier, who played Alfred in the 1966 Batman TV series.
- The 1989 film's Joker inspired the physical appearance of his DCAU counterpart.
- Also in the animated series, there have been hints that the Joker's full name is Jack Napier; later on, it's revealed to be one of Joker's many aliases leaving his true name like many incarnations of the Joker unknown.
- This is only the first of two versions of the Joker that is responsible for killing Bruce's parents, the other being is 2019 incarnation. A key difference however, is that while this version personally killed them both, his 2019 counterpart indirectly caused their deaths by orchestrating a riot.
- He looks similar to Cesar Romero's Joker from the Adam West Batman TV series, except his hair is more green than yellow, and his suit is more purple than fuchsia.
- He is the only main antagonist of the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher series that does not share the role of the main antagonist with another. The villains of Batman Returns are the Penguin, Max Shreck, and Catwoman, the villains of Batman Forever are Two-Face and the Riddler, and the villains of Batman & Robin are Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane. In fact, Two-Face from Batman '89 is another main antagonist that does not share the role of another.
- Joker (again played by Jack Nicholson) was planned to appear in the canceled fifth installment in the Burton/Schumacher series titled Batman Unchained in which he would have appeared in a hallucination when Batman was exposed to Scarecrow's fear toxin. Also, Harley Quinn was to appear in the film as Joker's daughter (instead of his lover/sidekick, as she is usually portrayed). However, with the failure of the 1997 fourth installment Batman & Robin, the project was scrapped.
- Ironically, something similar would happen in Batman: Arkham Knight as the game features Scarecrow as the main antagonist and Joker appearing in Batman's hallucinations. However, with the release of the new comic book series Batman '89: Echoes, a sequel to Batman '89, which is an alternative continuation of the first two films in the series, this event will finally happen.
- According to a tie-in book, the money that Joker threw into the crowd at the parade was counterfeit. This makes sense, given that the Joker previously mentioned that he would love to see his face printed on a dollar.
- Jack Nicholson was the first of four Oscar-winning actors to play an incarnation of the Joker, followed by Heath Ledger (2008), Jared Leto (2016) and Joaquin Phoenix (2019). However, while Nicholson and Leto won their Oscars for other acting roles, Ledger and Phoenix won their Oscars for specifically playing the Joker.
- Joker's role as the killer of Thomas and Martha Wayne is typically taken by Joe Chill in the comics and other media.
- Before going to Axis Chemicals, Jack pulled out a Joker card from his deck of cards which foreshadowed his transformation.
- Nicholson’s Joker has the highest kill count of any live-action Joker. Nicholson's Joker kills 50 people while Heath Ledger's Joker kills 38 people.
- The name Jack Napier was later used as the Joker's real name for the 2017 comic book Batman: White Knight.
- Jack Nicholson was previously considered for the role of Lex Luthor in Superman.
- In the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event of the Arrowverse, in the scene where Alexander Knox appears on Earth-89 (the designation given to the universe in which the Burton/Schumacher films take place), there's a headline of the Gotham Gazette that reads that Batman captured the Joker. While this suggests that Batman is still active by 2019, this seems to create a continuity error as the Joker from the 1989 film died and was never captured. As such, it can be inferred that the Joker was somehow resurrected after his death and has returned to fight against Batman since then on, faked his death or more likely that someone took over his mantle after his demise.
- In the 2019 movie named Joker, in a similar way to this Joker, the Joker in the movie has a name, and that is Arthur Fleck. Unlike in this movie, where Jack Napier fell into a chemical vat and that turned him into the Joker, Arthur Fleck was driven into insanity for a while before he made his move. Another difference is that Arthur becomes dangerous to society over time, while Jack was as vile even before his transformation.
- Joker's actor, Jack Nicholson, received top billing above Batman's actor Michael Keaton himself.
- This is currently the only live-action movie incarnation of Joker to die.
- Jack Napier is one of the four Jokers who have had their name revealed, the others being Martha Wayne, Jeremiah Valeska, and Arthur Fleck.
External Links
- Joker on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Joker on the DC Wiki
- Joker on the Batman Wiki
- Joker (Earth-89) on the Batman Anthology Wiki
- Joker (Earth-97) on the Batman Anthology Wiki
- Joker on the DC Extended Universe Wiki
- Joker on the VS Battles Wiki
- Joker on Wikipedia
Film Series Villains | ||
Batman (1989) Batman Returns Others Batman Forever Batman & Robin |