Our mission at SAW is to foster conversations about this thing we all love (or love to hate): film/TV. Many of our features are designed with you in mind. Your opinions, to be more to the point. You have ’em. We want to hear ’em.
Question of the Day (QOTD) is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a film/TV-related question that we put to you, the reader. The comments section below is like the feedback box at work; except, in this example, we actually read what you write and care about what you have to say.
The Joker is a DC Comics supervillain who first appeared in Batman #1 on April 25, 1940. The character has endured a lasting legacy alongside his arch nemesis Batman in various forms of media. Whether it is comics, film, television, or video games, Joker has appeared in it all. He is probably the second most adapted character from the Batman catalogue aside from the caped crusader himself.
With some many different iterations of the Clown Prince of Crime, everyone is sure to have their favorite. So the question I ask today is: who is your Joker?
My answer is two-fold. For film, it is clearly Heath Ledger‘s portrayal in The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight Trilogy are the Batman films I grew up with, and Ledger’s version of the character was a perfect foil to Bale’s Batman. “Why so serious?” is such an iconic quote.
Now for TV, I almost went with Mark Hamill from Batman: The Animated Series. However, I never grew up with BTAS. I only watched the show when I was older. The version of Joker I used to watch everyday after school was Cesar Romero‘s prankster Joker from the 1960s Batman series. The more light-hearted antics of the Joker were how I viewed the character for many years which probably made Ledger’s more radical take more notable. Romero’s Joker never killed. Ledger’s did without blinking an eye. The Joker has many different forms and I’m here for them all.
So what about you, folks? Which version of the Joker is your favorite?
I’ll see you in the trenches.
