The Joker. Geek Out.
Batman Begins was a good movie. Two of Batman's recurring villians from the comic books made their way on-screen, and it wasn't exactly his "main" two. Scarecrow and Ra's al Ghul are not the first two evil guys people would think of when thinking of Batman's greatest villians. Even a comic book stud like myself would place several others before these two, yet there they were. And I say Bully For Them.
It probably took some amount of guts to tell Those Of Higher Up that the real main villian would be a person that anyone unfamiliar with comics would not know. Ra's al Ghul definitely had many good and major plotlines throughout Batman history, but he does not wear a flashy suit or rob banks or look like a penguin, as does his foe The Penguin.
I think it's how he got his name.
So good for them. Got some lower tiered, as far as the general public goes, villians to thwart Batman.
Now bring it on.
The Joker is easily my All-Time Favorite Villian. Across the board. As far as heroes go, Batman runs third in my book, with Spider-Man and Wolverine holding the top spots. The Joker, however, is the best villian ever. Want to know why? Thought you might.
He's crazy.
He looks like a clown.
He pulls off a purple suit like no other.
He's smart and devious.
But best of all, he's a homicidal maniac.
This clown kills people without any regard. His henchmen have been killed for not laughing at his jokes, for asking questions about a caper, and for not telling him Batman had one of those... things. Poor Bob.
The Joker kidnapped Commissioner Gordon after putting a bullet through the Commish's daughter's spine, then showed him naked pictures of her during a funhouse ride. The Joker kidnapped a whole roomful of babies, and when the Commish's wife came to rescue them he tossed one to her then shot her when she caught it, killing her. In Frank Miller's awesomely sweet Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, he kills about 300 people in one sitting during a talk show appearance, then poisons about a dozen Boy Scout students before finally having his back broken by Batman. After a short talk with Bats, he twists around until he breaks his own neck.
On top of all that, he is also personally responsible for what could be considered Batman's greatest failure. After meeting up with Arabian arms dealers, he traps Robin (the second one, Jason Todd) in a shed with his mother and beats him to a pulp with a crow bar. Then, he ties up Robin's Mom and leaves them both, Robin barely breathing. Robin manages to untie his Mom, but then they notice a bomb about to go off. It goes off. Scratch one Robin.
I could go on and on, but I'm not going to. No villian has ever matched the pure joyful viciousness the Joker has displayed. If I seem to be going to far in my depiction of him, being that it is a comic book character, it is only because my Inner Geek demands it of me.
So I told you all that to show you this, the first picture released of Heath Ledger as the Joker in the new Batman movie coming; The Dark Knight.
It probably took some amount of guts to tell Those Of Higher Up that the real main villian would be a person that anyone unfamiliar with comics would not know. Ra's al Ghul definitely had many good and major plotlines throughout Batman history, but he does not wear a flashy suit or rob banks or look like a penguin, as does his foe The Penguin.
I think it's how he got his name.
So good for them. Got some lower tiered, as far as the general public goes, villians to thwart Batman.
Now bring it on.
The Joker is easily my All-Time Favorite Villian. Across the board. As far as heroes go, Batman runs third in my book, with Spider-Man and Wolverine holding the top spots. The Joker, however, is the best villian ever. Want to know why? Thought you might.
He's crazy.
He looks like a clown.
He pulls off a purple suit like no other.
He's smart and devious.
But best of all, he's a homicidal maniac.
This clown kills people without any regard. His henchmen have been killed for not laughing at his jokes, for asking questions about a caper, and for not telling him Batman had one of those... things. Poor Bob.
The Joker kidnapped Commissioner Gordon after putting a bullet through the Commish's daughter's spine, then showed him naked pictures of her during a funhouse ride. The Joker kidnapped a whole roomful of babies, and when the Commish's wife came to rescue them he tossed one to her then shot her when she caught it, killing her. In Frank Miller's awesomely sweet Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, he kills about 300 people in one sitting during a talk show appearance, then poisons about a dozen Boy Scout students before finally having his back broken by Batman. After a short talk with Bats, he twists around until he breaks his own neck.
On top of all that, he is also personally responsible for what could be considered Batman's greatest failure. After meeting up with Arabian arms dealers, he traps Robin (the second one, Jason Todd) in a shed with his mother and beats him to a pulp with a crow bar. Then, he ties up Robin's Mom and leaves them both, Robin barely breathing. Robin manages to untie his Mom, but then they notice a bomb about to go off. It goes off. Scratch one Robin.
I could go on and on, but I'm not going to. No villian has ever matched the pure joyful viciousness the Joker has displayed. If I seem to be going to far in my depiction of him, being that it is a comic book character, it is only because my Inner Geek demands it of me.
So I told you all that to show you this, the first picture released of Heath Ledger as the Joker in the new Batman movie coming; The Dark Knight.
I cannot freaking wait for this movie. Jack Nicholson was spectacular as the Joker. But that was a Tim Burton film and had an element of camp to it. Loved it, but this is different. This might be the Joker I have always liked better.
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