Which joker is better

Well, at least as a voice actor, he did. It took about five seasons for the show to finally reveal the real Joker of the series, with producers throwing countless misdirections along the way.

Monaghan did a fine, albeit short-lived take on the laughing nemesis. Though players like Leto and Ledger both offered increasingly maniacal and revolting portrayals of Mr. Others say it was just too cartoonish. Whether you think Joker should be gritty or silly, no one can deny that Romero has left a huge fingerprint on the enduring legacy of the character.

He uses this as an excuse to carry out a number of horrible acts that incite violence across Gotham. But, it feels as if, at times, Phoenix is doing too much. This character, the people of Gotham, the audience—we learn nothing.

Note: while dozens of actors have donned the clown makeup in various incarnations, only a handful can stake a claim to be the best Joker. So, to trim the field, we're only listing the major Joker interpretations. That means the likes of Zach Galifianakis' LEGO Batman movie portrayal is out, while Jared Leto who has tapped into the cultural zeitgeist far more readily is in, despite each only making one appearance as the Joker.

Widely derided at the time, Jared Leto's Suicide Squad cameo as the Joker isn't as bad as the critical reception would have you remember. Still, during his fleeting moments on-screen, Leto's version commands your attention with his erratic behaviour and slimy menace. Ultimately, following Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning portrayal of Joker was always going to be an uphill battle, though that could be reversed somewhat thanks to an upcoming new look for Joker in Zack Snyder's Justice League.

The jury's still out, but early signs are promising and offer a shift in the right direction. Baker also had to follow an iconic Joker performance — taking over voice acting duties from Mark Hamill in Batman: Arkham Origins. That makes this Joker merely a pale imitation of what came before and leaves you aching for the real thing.

His initial reveal, having hidden behind the Black Mask, though, is well worth a re-watch, just to see Joker get more and more frenzied as his adopted persona begins to slip. Consider the "pencil scene" from The Dark Knight. The Joker's twisted, depraved, and disturbing sense of humor shines brightest with Ledger's depiction.

We'll never know what Heath Ledger would have done with an origin story for his Joker, but Joaquin Phoenix created a character who is well-rounded and fleshed out, with both sympathetic and deplorable qualities. Arthur Fleck is a flawed man with layers, which make him complex and not two-dimensional. He lives with his ailing mother, and he can't afford to live anywhere but in a dingy apartment, which feeds his depression. He has a horrible paying job.

He wants to be liked, to find romance, and to matter in a cold and unfeeling world, but he's alienated for his mental illness. This characterization makes it possible to believe there is no one aspect about him that led to his creation of the Joker persona. If there was one thing that Heath Ledger's Joker radiated other than insanity, it was danger. There was something murderous and malevolent about his presence. He was prone to extreme violence without showing any signs of remorse, and his brutality was often on a grand scale.

Ledger's Joker didn't require a firearm to feel powerful. In fact, he could kill a person with a pencil or even worse, manipulate people to kill for him. Being alone in a room with him meant a high probability of getting hurt in some manner.

He needed to be that dangerous to become Batman's primary focus. Joker stands on its own as a film separate from the DCEU. It doesn't mention Batman, and only makes tertiary references to the Batman mythos. Phoenix's Joker persona didn't appear as a direct result of Batman and therefore isn't defined by him at all.

Other Joker incarnations are defined by Batman's presence. He has everything it needs," Twitter user Abdul Hakeem Aiman wrote. If Ledger's a straight flush, Phoenix's a full deck. Another fan tweeted , "I thought it would take a long time before someone delivers Joker better than Heath Ledger. As it turned out it only took 11 years and a certain Joaquin Phoenix [ A Twitter user by the name of Jess Lister wrote that Joker was "amazing" and "a total masterpiece," and that "Joaquin Phoenix did a better job than Heath Ledger.

Over at KoiMoi. His verdict? Phoenix wins.