9 Crazy Facts About The Joker
- The Joker was once merged with Sabertooth.
The '90s were a really weird time for comic books. Thanks to The Death of Superman, the entire industry almost came crashing down. The result? Publishers threw everything at the wall and hoped something would stick!
One of the strangest of these was Amalgam Comics, a 12-issue miniseries published by both Marvel and DC that saw their characters fused together into new heroes and villains that seemingly had existed for generations.
In this universe, the Joker was combined with Marvel villain Sabertooth to become the Hyena, the arch-nemesis to Dark Claw -a Batman/Wolverine hybrid.
- Jared Leto's Joker uses tattoos as mementos.
One of the big gripes about Suicide Squad was its version of the Joker, who went from playful yet evil clown to straight-up gangster crime boss complete with piercings, gold chains, and tattoos galore. Fans specifically cringed at the "damaged" tattoo the character wore across his forehead.
- Harley and Joker's almost baby.
In the normal canon, the Joker and Harley have a very abusive relationship in which he seems to not want anything to do with her outside of using her for his criminal deeds. However, in both the Arkham games as well as the DCEU the two appear to be more of a couple, with Mista J. and Harley showing compassion for each other.
The relationship between the two was almost taken to the next level in Batman: Arkham City. After the Joker passes away, Harley is heard during the credits singing "Hush little baby." Players also noticed a positive pregnancy test on the floor of Joker's hideout earlier in the game.
It is revealed in the DLC Harley Quinn's Revenge that it was simply a false positive; as several negative tests litter the floor when Batman returns to the same hideout at a later date.
- Cesar Romero refused to shave his mustache for the role.
The '66 Batman show starring Adam West and Burt Ward was the pop culture phenomenon that put the Dark Knight on the map in the public sphere.
In a hilarious twist of fate, the actor refused to shave off his trademark mustache for the show.
Every time the Joker appeared on the show the makeup crew just had to paint over the facial hair with white paint, leaving the 'stache obviously visible to the audience.
- Jared Leto actually shaved his eyebrows for the role.
There's a lot to take in when you look at Suicide Squad's Joker. There are all the tattoos, the grills, the flamboyant outfits, and jewelry, yet perhaps the most unsettling thing about this Joker is the fact that he has no eyebrows. This makes it harder to read his emotions and always leaves him looking like he's a predator about to strike his prey.
- Heath Ledger actually wanted Christian Bale to beat him up.
The method acting of Heath Ledger gave us one of the greatest performances in comic book history, if not in cinema history. Ledger kept a journal charting the Joker's thoughts and dreams as well as did his own makeup every time the character went on screen. When he was in character, everybody was mesmerized.
However, he may have taken things a little bit too far during the interrogation scene. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Christian Bale revealed that Heath Ledger asked the Batman actor to actually beat him up during a pivotal scene.
Though Bale refused to actually injure his partner, the hard hits you see on screen are legitimate.Ledger violently threw himself into the walls and tables to make the scene look realistic!
7. Joker was voiced by Luke Skywalker -- for 20 years.
Not everyone is aware of Mark Hamill’s illustrious voice acting career (seriously, he does a LOT), but he officially holds the crown as the longest-running Joker in the character’s history. Beginning with “Batman: The Animated Series,” Hamill brought new life to the character with his deep, raspy and slightly psychotic voice. He recently hung up the clown shoes though, announcing that the video game “Batman: Arkham Asylum” would be his last stand as the clown prince.
8. The Big Grin on the Big Screen.
The Joker’s cinematic debut was in Tim Burton’s Batman movie, as played by Jack Nicholson. Nicholson launched an iconic role and left his mark not only by giving a great performance; he actually even chose the makeup design for his Joker, working closely with Burton to build the character.
9. Joining the family.
We all know that Joaquin Phoenix will be playing the Joker in a stand-alone Joker origin story. To play six degrees of separation for a moment, Phoenix’s sister Summer is married to Casey Affleck, the brother of Ben Affleck (AKA Batman himself).
