In the DC comic world, there are three classic character settings: heroes, villains and clowns.

Who is the clown?

He is the fatal enemy of the Dark Knight, the ultimate madness of evil human nature, and the concrete manifestation of boundless chaos...

This neurotic criminal who does not play by common sense has his own secret. A crazy philosophy that is extremely evil. Therefore, although he does not have the arrogant ambition to rule the world, he has become the ultimate existence that surpasses all villains!

Some people say that in every superhero story, there is a classic super villain.

In 1940, less than a year after Batman was born, Batman authors Jerry Robinson and Bill Finger drew inspiration from the 1928 movie "The Man Who Laughs" and created The Joker is a villain with a weird and charming smile.

Thus, the Joker began his journey of love and death with Batman.

In the 1966 TV series, the clown made his first appearance on the screen.

Since then, it has been out of control, and many outstanding actors have shown their talents and performed the clown in their hearts.

The unique charm of the clown is intensified by their careful interpretation. In turn, their superb acting skills inject new vitality and meaning into the core of the clown's character.

Among the previous actors who have played the Joker, Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger undoubtedly contributed the most outstanding performances.

"Oscar King" Jack Nicholson fully demonstrated his "crazy energy" as early as 1980 when he participated in the thriller "The Shining" directed by "The Great God" Kubrick. ".

In the film, the writer Jack, played by Jack Nicholson, suffers a mental breakdown due to unknown reasons. The scene where he wields a giant ax and hunts down his wife and children is terrifying!

The Joker portrayed by Jack Nicholson in 1989's "Batman" makes people truly feel what "the devil" is.

He used the sharpest eyes to see through the corrupt nature of Gotham City and the origin of Batman's fear, and became a terrifying nightmare that makes Batman sleepless and sleepless!

When the time came to 2008, Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" was better than his master, and performed an almost insurmountable image of the Joker at the cost of his life!

In order to better immerse himself in the crazy inner world of the Joker, Heath Ledger sealed himself in his apartment room and isolated himself from the outside world a month before filming started.

The clown he played transcended individual existence and became the embodiment of chaos and disorder, shrouding the sky of Gotham in despair, eating away at the sanity and humanity of ordinary civilians.

This year, Joaquin Phoenix's version of "Joker" returns to its original intention and restores the Joker's mental journey with a cold and realistic touch.

In the film, the clown whose real name is "Arthur" was originally just a marginalized person struggling to survive at the bottom of society. He also had hope for the world and treated the world with enthusiasm and kindness. However, under layers of pressure, Arthur finally extinguished the fire in his heart and chose to plunge into the darkness.

The film was a hit at the Venice Film Festival and won the Golden Lion Award, elevating superhero-themed films to a new artistic height!

The Joker once said such a famous saying in the comics-

This world is just a terrible black joke.

In the clown's concept, "human beings are inherently evil in nature". Chaos and disorder are the essence of human beings. The so-called kindness and justice are just false packaging to cover up the ugly human nature!

"Everyone will fall into madness due to random tragedies." This is not only the clown's unique insight into the origin of the world, but also the principle he pursues in all his crazy actions.

To analyze the inner world of the Joker, "Batman: The Killing Joke" created by comic genius Alan Moore is a masterpiece that must be mentioned.

Although this work is only 48 pages long, it can be called the best clown comic in history.

"On the day when an ordinary man made up his mind to commit a crime to improve the life of his pregnant wife, he was informed of the unexpected death of his wife. During the operation, he met Batman. In horror, he fell into a poisonous world. of chemical waste. When he climbed out, he could only let out a long series of crazy laughter under the physical and mental shock..." "Batman: The Killing Joke" is the "random tragedy" surrounding the Joker. ” theory.

In the comics, this "ordinary man" who transformed into a clown after experiencing a "random tragedy" kidnapped Commissioner Gordon and his daughter Barbara. He humiliated Barbara in every possible way, even shooting her to paralyze her, and dumped Barbara's nude photos in front of Sheriff Gordon.

And this is all to drive Sheriff Gordon crazy to prove his theory.

In "Batman: The Dark Knight", the Joker takes this experiment on human nature to the extreme!

Harvey Dent, a hateful prosecutor, is regarded as a symbol of justice in Gotham City. If Batman is the "Dark Knight" of Gotham City, then he is the "Light Knight" who is expected to sweep away the decadence and gloom.

However, the Joker targeted him.

The Joker not only killed his beloved girlfriend Rachel, but also disfigured him. After suffering severe physical and mental injuries, Harvey collapsed completely and became a crazy and cruel "Two-Face".

In order to further implement his concept, at the end of "Batman: The Dark Knight", the Joker designed the famous "Two-Ship Experiment" with the lives of two people on board as a bet.

There are two moving ships, one is full of ordinary people, and the other is dedicated to transporting criminals. The Joker arranged bombs on the two ships in advance and handed the detonation button to the other party.

Should we risk being killed by a bomb to do the "right thing", or should we take the initiative and prove the "darkness of human nature"?

This issue tests every party involved on both sides.

In the film, the director tried his best to give us a warm ending: everyone on the ship chose to believe in each other.

However, the real world is often desperate.

On July 20, 2012, at the premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises", a horrific shooting incident occurred. The murderer dressed up as a clown and fired wildly at the audience. In the end, 12 people were killed and 58 injured.

What a black joke!

The Joker once said to Batman——

You make me more complete!

For Batman, why not?

Precisely because of the Joker, Batman's own charm has been sublimated. They transcended the ordinary relationship between heroes and villains and became twin trees entangled with light and darkness.

In the Joker's opinion, he and Batman are the same type of person. The "random tragedy" years ago made himself the agent of chaos, while Batman went to the other extreme after witnessing his parents being shot.

In the comic "Flashpoint Incident", The Flash traveled through time and changed history. On the night Bruce Wayne and his parents were robbed, Bruce was killed, but his parents survived.

The deeply hit Waynes took a completely different path under heavy pressure. Thomas becomes a revengeful version of Batman, and Martha chooses to become the Joker.

The difference between superheroes and supervillains may be a fine line.

If "piercing the false lies of humanity and driving everyone into chaotic madness" is the ultimate pursuit of the Joker, Batman, who represents the ultimate justice, is undoubtedly his dream prey.

The clown does not seek fame, profit, or even his own life or death.

The purpose of all this is to enable Batman to cast aside the shackles of morality and break the bottom line of the rules.

There is only a difference between having a superhero break the rules zero times and a hundred times.

In the comic "Injustice", Superman accidentally killed his pregnant wife because of the Joker.

In a rage, Superman punched the Joker and embarked on the path of darkness, becoming the "god of injustice" feared by the world.

In a way, the Joker is invincible.

He can practice his "evil ways" unscrupulously, but Batman must restrain himself and act in accordance with the rules.

Once Batman breaks his own bottom line, he will eventually become the next Joker!

When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.

It can be said that every fight between Batman and the Joker is the ultimate battle between justice and evil.

This is destined to be a never-ending "war on humanity."

This concludes our appreciation of the classic comic character the Joker, I hope you like it!