Broken Frontier

Like the majority of the comic reading net-nerds in the US, I’ve been staring at the picture of the Joker released a couple weeks ago. Of course, there will be fans that are appalled by its drastic difference from what the Joker looks like in the comics. But some fans are genuinely excited. I am one of those fans.

One of the common misconceptions in the medium today is that comics are meant for kids. Now, you and I know that’s not the case, but John and Jane Q. Public walk past the graphic novel section at the book store with nary a second glance. Many of them that consider comics to be just another genre of action films would never consider picking up a comic.

Now, I’ll spare you my typical rant of how the objective of comics making it to the big screen is to draw attention to the comics themselves. Rather, let’s just focus on making these films as entertaining as possible. Never mind making them both entertaining and faithful to their source material (the two rarely go hand in hand). And let’s be fair, sometimes the original stories, often times written way back in the ‘60s, won’t hold up to the scrutiny of today’s moviegoers. And many of the original stories were in fact written for a much younger audience.

So then the question becomes: do you make a film that will appeal to audiences of all ages, or do you make the film you should and hope it doesn’t traumatize children too badly? The marketing department will be up and arms. Heaven forbid the film doesn’t drum up enough toy sales… though, it’s nearly impossible to not make millions on a film like this. Even if the movie was called ‘Batman Goes to Texas’ and was written by the Wayans Brothers, fans would still run like lemmings to see it.

This is why Christopher Nolan and the rest of his crew in charge of the current Batman films are geniuses. They’ve managed to create a franchise that will appeal to younger viewers but with all the darker elements that the older viewers prefer. They did all this while managing to capture the essence of the character and transformed him to fit our modern age. Batman Begins was quite an achievement. And the next Batman film is shaping up to be the same.

The Joker is one of the most well-known villains ever. He’s been drawn by hundreds of artists and performed by a handful of different actors. Each version different than the last. But which Joker would be appropriate for this new modern Batman? It appears the film-makers have made their decision, and it was a wise one indeed.

Rather than go for a silly, maniacal Joker, they’ve opted to go for a darker and sinister Joker. This Joker is more Ted Bundy then Jack Nicholson. This is how the Joker should be—twisted and frightening, like Alan Moore’s Joker in The Killing Joke.

Granted, I’m making a lot of assumptions by just a single photo, but we can also look for proof in the casting. To my knowledge all the big names surrounding the casting were just rumors. But fans heard names like Johnny Depp, Robin Williams, and Jude Law being tossed around. Heath Ledger eventually was handed the role, and I’m confident he can pull it off. In one interview, he described his part as the Joker as "more nuanced and dark and more along the lines of a Clockwork Orange kind of feel. Which is... what the comic book was after: less about his laugh and more about his eyes". I think I’m in love. We can thank the likes of Nolan for his wise selection. There was a time when such a role would go to a larger, less deserving name such as Nicholas Cage or (shudder) Keanu Reeves.

They’re not striving to make a kid-friendly film here. This isn’t the Joker you’re going to see on T-shirts at Wal-Mart. This is the Joker parents are going to want to see before letting their kids watch the movie. This is the Joker that when you make his picture your desktop background at work people are going to report you to HR. This is the Joker that is meant to be on the big screen.

Or so I hope.