The Dark Knight’s Joker (Heath Ledger) is easily one of the most iconic villains to ever grace the silver screen, and it could be argued there has never been a better Joker. Iconic make-up, Ledger’s own acting choices, and brilliant speeches about Gotham’s soul bring this performance and character to life. But there is one question never answered about the Joker, and he’s the one who keeps teasing us with the same rhetorical question: “Do you want to know how I got these scars?”
Many have different theories about where Joker’s Chelsea smile originated, some believing one of the Joker’s various stories, others deriving theories from character details shown throughoutThe Dark Knight. Even Warner Bros. was interested in giving the Joker an origin story, as revealed byThe Dark KnightwriterDavid S. Goyerin an interview with ComicCon@Home. Thankfully, this did not happen as it’s not the Joker’s potential origin that makes the character interesting, butthe Joker’s choice not to reveal his past keeps us engaged.
The Dark Knight
When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
The Joker’s Different Stories Contradict That He’s An “Agent Of Chaos”
ThroughoutThe Dark Knight,the Jokerhas different interpretations about how he got his scars, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. For Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the Joker uses the idea of giving himself the scars for love, unnerving her by playing the role of some crazed boyfriend who’d do anything to make his love happy, invoking violence against women.
For the mob boss, Gambol (Michael Jai White), Joker uses the idea of his father being a drunk, though, at the end of the scene, he reveals, by looking at Gambol’s henchmen, that the story was for them. This effectively portrays the Joker as the father when he finishes his speech with “Why so serious?” and tells the henchmen to kill each other with a pool stick for a spot-on Joker’s team. In both scenarios,the Joker uses the story to put himself in an immediate position of psychological power.
In doing so,the Joker reveals he is not an “agent of chaos,“as he claims to Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), but a meticulous thinker who knows exactly what he is doing and why he is doing it. It reminds us ofThe Killing Joke,where the Joker (Mark Hamill)admits he’d rather his past be multiple choice. His point is to remind us that everyone is one bad day away from being like him, the same thing he is trying to argue inThe Dark Knight, that society will go crazy when pushed.
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“Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?”
The Joker Should Never Have An Origin Story In A Battle Against Batman
There is thetheory that the Joker is an ex-military officerwho could’ve gotten his scars from combat, and that’s why he references the injustice of no one caring if a truck of soldiers dies, as well as his tactical prowess and competent use of weaponry. However, even if this was true, it adds nothing to the Joker’s character. All it could do is give sympathetic motivations to the Joker, and at no point are we supposed to feel this way about the character. Maybe the Joker makes points about society we can understand, but never ones we want to be true.
2019’sJokergave the Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) an origin story as a mentally ill person forgotten and suffering in a broken Gotham run by corrupt elites like Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen). This path worked for the character of the Joker, but not because every Joker needs an origin or because simply flipping the narrative perspective makes a Joker origin enjoyable. This only worked because there was no Batman, so there was no shining light of hope to cling to. There was no way we could take Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker’s points as false because we were given no examples to disprove his points. Despite all this, evenJokershows that the audience shouldn’t trustthe Joker as a wholly reliable narrator. Ultimately, ifThe Dark Knighttook this route, then Batman (Christian Bale) would become less of a hero, and Ledger’s Joker would become someone it is okay to root for, which, in a story with Batman, should never be the case. It lessens Batman’s heroic deeds as a hero who never gives up.
Above all else, the fact we don’t know howThe Dark Knight’s Joker actually got his scars makes the character so much more interesting. It gives the character more power with his specific interpretations.The Joker’s choice in how he presents his past is so much more fascinating than what his past could actually be.On top of this, it gives Batman a far greater enemy to go up against. A Joker who just wants to watch the world burn is far harder to beat than a sympathetic Joker one can reason with.
The Dark Knightis available on Max in the U.S.
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