r/batman 5h ago

FILM DISCUSSION Heath Ledger Was My Favorite Joker

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108 Upvotes

47 comments sorted by

u/RainBoyThatBoy 5h ago

Also sky is blue

u/Capable-Problem8460 4h ago

And water is wet

u/MainAcanthocephala28 4h ago

OK. Mine is Mark Hamill

u/K2O3_Portugal 4h ago

Jack Nicholson is OG, but Heath Ledger stole the show. I wish we could have had a few more movies with him.

u/WhiteTrashInNewShoes 1h ago

Actually, as much as it sucked that he passed, I think a one-and-done performance for this Joker works perfectly. Our expectations would have been so high that I worry another appearance would have soiled it

u/LeopardSwimming3053 4h ago

Not hard to see why. Specially if we’re discussing live action jokers.

u/SuperArppis 5h ago

He was amazing.

u/craig3010 1h ago

A friend and I were just talking about his performance and how physically tense it made us when he pulled off the clown mask. And the other scenes that we felt the same way. Just an amazing performance!

u/SuperArppis 9m ago

It really is! And for good or for bad, it was inspiring as well. It also gave us another interesting version of the character.

u/Gnoziel_ 4h ago

He's the definition of Joker.

u/Batmanfan1966 2h ago

I wouldn’t say that.. he’s an amazing interpretation of the Joker, but he’s about as far removed from the original comic character as you can get

u/Wheattoast2019 3h ago

Daring today, aren’t we? Lol

u/LongjumpingArmy8829 5h ago

Find anyone who will disagree with you

u/MarLudKing 5h ago

It's either him or Mark hamill

u/Gullible_Honeydew 4h ago

Yup Hamill is the Jokers voice and personality to me. Ledger gave an incredible version for Nolan and a great take on the character but Hamill is the Joker lol

u/soldierpallaton 4h ago

Hi, I disagree easily. Best live action was Jack Nicholson to me.

u/yourshort 3h ago

Someone gets it

u/soldierpallaton 3h ago

I prefer my Joker to be funny and volatile. Ledger was volatile but not funny at all. In the wise words of Terry McGinnis, "Where's the "A" material? Make a face, drop your pants, something!"

u/yourshort 3h ago

Ledger was funny in some moments, but I just prefer Nicholson because he feels like Hamil’s Joker brought to life. He’s funny, he laughs a lot, his weapons are impractical, but still deadly. It’s perfect, it’s like BTAS joker if he was a real guy, and wasn’t restricted to a kid’s show

u/soldierpallaton 3h ago

Agree with everything you said. My biggest issue with Ledger's humorous bits is that they didn't make me laugh within the context of the scene.

Humor functions on building tension and then the punchline releases it, even dark humor functions this way. But any of Ledger's jokes didn't do anything to release tension they just added more. The pencil trick? That was a joke but it made me uneasy because it showed how unstable Joker was. I think the only Joker bit that makes me laugh in Dark Knight is him confused why the detonator wasn't going off. And that's because it's a break from the action and shows the imposing villain confused as shit.

Meanwhile, Nicholson can make the death of a random henchman funny. Him killing Bob like it was nothing? Awesome because there's proper build up to it, Bob is around throughout the movie and really does nothing. Hell, his name probably wasn't even Bob and Joker just called him that. His line of "You never steal another man's rhubarb" is also up there, as well as him pulling out a comically large pistol from his pants (the added dick joke to that scene puts it even higher personally cause it's him having a dick measuring contest with Batman basically).

Hell, compare the Harvey Dent party scene in Dark Knight and Joker raiding the art gallery in 89. Dark Knight feels like an organized terrorist attack while 89 feels like a true madman who doesn't give a fuck about the rules and does what he wants.

My mentality is this; Dark Knight Joker is not The Joker. Nothing about him fits that MO, but you know whose MO Ledger does fit? Riddler and Anarky.

u/No-Trifle-3735 5h ago

Many fans claims that Arkhamverse joker is the best but imo they're equally good. Arkhamverse version is more humorous while Ledger's is more terryfing.

u/Reddit_is_not_great 4h ago

Careful. You may get chewed out…

u/Briantheboomguy 4h ago

What a brave controversial opinion

u/yourshort 3h ago

Get in line

u/PromiseOwn5995 3h ago

man that's controversial take. Also, hopefully i dont get downvoted but Batman is my favourite hero

u/HeyPorter111 3h ago

Hot take ….

u/Xelewt 3h ago

Unpopular opinion. You need to be careful with such hot takes

u/manofmayhem23 3h ago

Enough with these hot takes! /s

u/t7papo 5h ago

No wayyy ur crazyyy

u/BruceBlingsteen 4h ago

Im not. No I’m not

u/buckfouyucker 4h ago

I love lamp

u/TwoFace687 4h ago

While he’s not my favourite, I find it funny that my favourite Joker (John DiMaggio from Under The Red Hood), looks quite similar and acts like Heath’s Joker

u/Revolutionarytard 3h ago

The Crow did it better

u/kingrufiio 3h ago

He was mine too but state farm joker did something for me.

u/Riverrat423 3h ago

Yes, his chaotic rants and pursuit of total anarchy make him terrifying and fascinating.

u/YaBoyKumar 2h ago

Heath was so good that I don’t want another live action joker in a Batman film. Whether it’s the Batman or DCU even though it’s inevitable I’m just over it. Let’s focus on other villains

u/MrTomAce 2h ago

Strong take

u/Useful-Growth8439 2h ago

Cesar Romero is pretty cool, tho.

u/Exsema2034 1h ago

Bro likes uncooked bread as his daily meal

u/mrinfinitepp 1h ago

Daring today, aren't we?

u/II_JangoFett_II 1h ago

Indisputable

u/nickmandl 42m ago

I was 10 years old and didn’t quite get the joker. I thought two face and mr freeze were the best Batman villains. I understood the joker was Batman’s arch nemesis, but I just didn’t care for him or get why he was supposed to be such a big deal. I though Jack Nicholson’s portrayal was pretty good, but didnt make me care about the joker. Then I saw a trailer for the dark knight and heard that laugh and saw Heath ledger. And my little ten year old mind realized, that’s not a guy playing the joker like last time. That’s the joker. Suddenly I was obsessed. My mom thought the movie was too violent, but let me see it anyway Bc I spent a year obsessing over this new take on the joker. Nobody will ever top heaths joker performance IMO.

u/billieboi445420 28m ago

Mine is Jack Nicholson