u2018The Joker’ is no doubt one of DC’s most iconic villains to date, with every incarnation bringing something a little different to our screens. The first Joker most audiences ever saw was Cesar Romero’s, in 1966-68 TV and film versions of u2018Batman’, and what a brilliant starter block he created. His refusal to shave for the role made his moustache prominent underneath the make-up, and his u00a0slapstick style fighting throughout, and the exaggerated laugh made him and the first version u2018The Clown’.







The next version to grace our screens was Jack Nicholson’s from Batmanu00a0in 1989. Jack’s outfit and laugh felt a lot closer to the mark. His stretched out unnatural smile also made him quite scary to look at.

Throw in a bunch of professional criminals and suddenly he was a force to be reckoned with, and not just another Batman villain. If Cesar Romero was the clown, then Jack Nicholson’s version was no doubt u2018The Gangster’.

Next up was Heath Ledger’s version in The Dark Knight back in 2008. This version was no doubt my favourite to date and brutally took the character places it hadn’t gone before.

His make-up and demeanour were deliberately messy, his character switching between intelligent calm to crazy clown with the drop of a proverbial hat. Heath’s sublime performance cemented him in iconic movie history by famously winning a posthumous Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his efforts. His version was obviously u2018The Anarchist’.

The next and latest actor to take on the mantle was Jared Leto, starring in 2016’s Suicide Squad. This version again took the character in new unexpected ways. His subtle make-up, grilled-teeth, array of tattoos and expensive clothes easily separated him from what had come before.

His style of acting on the other hand seemed familiar; it seems like Jared has drawn influence from all of the actors that come before. I can see a little bit of Cesar, Jack, and Heath in his performances (deliberate or not), but I also see Jared as his own Joker, u2018The Psychopath’. But what was most interesting about this version was seeing emotions we hadn’t seen in a Joker character before. Jealously, lust, and possibly even sympathy, all brought-on by fellow psychopath Harley Quinn (Brilliantly played by Margot Robbie).

These aren’t the only Jokers we have seen of course, but they are the mainstream versions most people will have seen and heard of. We have also seen a bunch of cartoon versions, the best of them is probably one of the most recent, u2018The Killing Joke’, where the Joker is played fantastically by Mark Hammill. Hamill also provided the voice of u2018The Joker’ for the game u2018Arkham Asylum’.

Another version we saw was in the TV series Gotham, albeit briefly (if it is even him!). Sound complicated? It is. Cutting the long story short, there is a character that is basically the foundation of what the Joker would go on to become and he was fantastic too.