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The Joker is one of the most iconic and popular villains in history. And we're not just referring
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to the history of comic books when we say that - Batman's arch-enemy stands up alongside
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the likes of Professor Moriarty, Darth Vader, The Wicked Witch of the West, Cruella de Vil
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and the Devil himself as one of the most recognizable bad guys in fiction. As a result of his popularity,
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there have been countless adaptations of the character across various media platforms.
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As well as appearing in comic books and graphic novels, The Joker has appeared on television,
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in movies, in video games and on all manner of merchandise and paraphernalia.In terms
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of mainstream versions of the character, the ones that have appeared in movies are undoubtedly
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the most well known, and it's pretty amazing how fresh the character has remained in each
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depiction - and this video is going to run through them in chronological order, discussing
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each version and how they differ from each other. Welcome to The Evolution of The Joker
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on the big screen. Cesar Romero
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The late Cesar Romero was the first man to portray the Clown Prince of Gotham in live
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action on the big screen, reprising his role from the Batman television series in a 1966
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movie. In the movie, The Joker teamed up with The Penguin, The Riddler and Catwoman to form
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the United Underworld - a quartet that posed a very significant threat to Adam West's Batman
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and Burt Ward's Robin.This version of The Joker was the lightest of them all - which
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was fitting with the era and the tone of the television series and movie in which he appeared.
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He was unashamedly camp, wore a bright pink suit, and was more like a pantomime villain
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than a ruthless criminal overlord.He first appeared in the TV episode "The Joker is Wild"
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and made his last appearance in the episode entitled "The Joker’s Flying Saucer". In
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between those, he appeared in twenty more episodes, as well as the aforementioned movie.
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As he appeared more, his schemes and gadgets got more and more crazy and elaborate - and
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he even had his own version of Batman's utility belt, which held devices with names like "strangling
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screamers" in it. Incidentally, Romero refused to shave his moustache for this role, so The
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Joker's white face makeup was simply heavily smeared over it whenever he played the character.
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He remains one of the most memorable versions of the character to this day, in spite of
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the fact that he last appeared 48 years ago. Jack Nicholson
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In 1989, the man who was clearly born to play The Joker took on the role of the character
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- and he did so brilliantly. That man was, of course, Jack Nicholson, and he made his
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one and only appearance as the character in Tim Burton's Batman. The Joker had appeared
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on the small screen in numerous animated series since Romero's version had last been seen,
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but this live action, big screen return was long overdue.Nicholson's Joker still possessed
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an element of campness - you could clearly see the influence of Cesar Romero - but Burton
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and Nicholson took the character down a much darker route.This version was violent and
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temperamental and, even when he was being light and funny, those moments would be juxtaposed
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with acts of physical brutality. In the same vein, his bright purple suit and constant
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sickly smile were in stark contrast to the drab and very grey version of Gotham City
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created by Burton for this movie - something that gave the character an edge and made him
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even more unsettling.His line "have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight"
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has become one of the most iconic in cinema history and defines Nicholson's interpretation brilliantly.
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Many still argue that this version is the definitive Joker, but that's simply
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a matter of opinion. Mark Hamill
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Although this video is mainly focusing on live action adaptations of the character,
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no such video would be complete without mentioning Mark Hamill's animated version of The Joker.The
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Star Wars legend has loaned his voice to the character since 1992 - commencing with Batman:
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The Animated Series - but his credits extend to a variety of other DC-based cartoons, and
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indeed three movies.The first movie in which Hamill's Joker appeared was 1993's Batman:
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Mask of the Phantasm, which got a theatrical release, but he has also appeared in the direct-to-video
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Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker from the year 2000, and he will reprise the role in
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the eagerly anticipated Batman: The Killing Joke, which will also go straight-to-video
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in the summer of 2016. In addition to those productions, he has voiced the character for
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various theme park attractions and video games.Hamill's Joker clearly took influence from both Romero
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and Nicholson's portrayals of the character, combining laughter, campness, mayhem, totally
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crazy schemes, wickedness and dark humour brilliantly. He looks very different to any
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version of the character that came before him - although he does still wear the signature
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purple suit - and Hamill has received almost universal praise for his voice work with the
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character. Heath Ledger
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The Dark Knight Trilogy was a huge success. Christopher Nolan brought a level of gritty
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realism to the world of Batman that had never been attempted before with Batman Begins,
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The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises between 2005 and 2012. But the highlight of
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the trilogy was undoubtedly the late Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker.His sole appearance
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came in The Dark Knight, in which he was depicted as a sociopath and a bringer of pure chaos.
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He was completely reimagined and his appearance was far more rugged and shabby than that of
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any version of the character seen before and, frankly, he was the darkest, most unpredictable
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and most violent version as well.To prepare for the role, Ledger reportedly locked himself
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away in a hotel room for weeks; perfecting his mannerisms, totally immersing himself
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in the character. Some people have theorised that getting inside the head of such a maniacal
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character contributed to Ledger's death, but that is, of course, just a theory.Ledger's
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passing came just before the release of The Dark Knight in 2008, but he received universal
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praise for his performance and even earned a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting
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Actor for it. His iconic line "why so serious" will forever live on in cinematic lore.
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Jared Leto. Next in line to play The Joker on the big
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screen is Jared Leto - a man who will put as much into the role as Ledger did back in
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2008 (he's already terrified his fellow cast members by remaining in character at all times
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on set - and he's famously sent them some very strange gifts, including bullets and
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dead animals).Leto has the responsibility of taking on the role in the DC Extended Universe,
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starting with 2016's Suicide Squad and, potentially, in several other movies going forward in the
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franchise .This version looks more different to any that came before it than any other
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version, with his slicked back green hair, silver teeth and body covered in tattoos.
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He looks as though he revels in the pain of other more than other versions, and fans and
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critics are completely divided about him, based on what they've seen of him in promotional
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material and trailers so far, with some claiming it looks as though Leto and the people behind
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Suicide Squad are "trying too hard to be different".It remains to be seen how he will be received
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once Suicide Squad is actually released, but the likes of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger
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are undoubtedly tough acts to follow, and Leto will need to have brought his A-game
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to his performance in order to garner favourable reviews. All we can say is that we remain
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hopeful of this drastically different version being as brilliant as his predecessors.
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Thanks for watching our documentary about the evolution of The Joker. Which version
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of the character is your favourite? Our good friends over at the CBR Youtube channel decided
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to tackle this question head on and have produced an amazing animated video pinning all of the
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Jokers against eachother in a hilariously awesome Joker Debate. Click the preview here
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or the link the description to check it out and don’t forget to tell them that Screen
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Rant sent you!
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That’s all for us, are you looking forward to seeing Jared Leto's take on the character?
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Let us know in the comments section below and be sure to subscribe to our channel for
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more great videos like this one.