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Best and worst Joker designs

This cosplayer did it right:

amazing-joker-cosplay.jpg


just google "ridiculously photogenic joker"
 

kess

Member
The Joker requires a bit of kitsch to really pull off right, that said, the Bolland design works because you can see echoes of his old persona flash through. I still prefer the classic Joker color design, though.

batman-366-walt-simonson.jpg


I love that cheesy "Joker" logo, which is exactly as it should look, like Richie Rich went psychotic.
 

dan2026

Member
They literally wrote DAMAGED on his head.

How did no sane person in the production look at it and say, 'wait, this is fucking awful'?
 
Unpopular opinion, but I think Ledger's Joker was bad as a Joker, but good as its own thing. He was a modern design of a villain that really resonated with people, but to do it they threw out way too much of what makes the Joker in the first place.

He was a different, great character that got called the Joker because they had to.
 

ElRenoRaven

Member
I love em all except Leto. That Joker is without a doubt the worst hunk of shit ever put on screen/paper when it comes to Joker. WB should be ashamed of it and should never be allowed to live it down.
 

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Weighing on on the bad ones... I'ma go with staple-face Joker as the worst:

130207221158-joker-page-2a-horizontal-gallery.jpg


Young Justice Joker didn't quite do it for me:

latest


I don't give a fuck that he is Cesar Romero, shave the 'stache for the role, dude:

joker-romero-195717.jpg
 

Nev

Banned
Injustice 2 joker is like they tried to make a less edgy Leto but failed and created some bland in-between.

Leto is the absolute worst. Trash for 16 yo edgelord/lady deviantart/tumblr kids.

It is to Jokers what Twilight is for vampires.
 

Einchy

semen stains the mountaintops
I'll be honest: Ledger's joker is still a terrible design. There's a reason people balked at it when they first saw it; he sold it 100% on the strength of his performance, while the aesthetic design remained completely terrible through and through.

Not, like, Jared Leto wangsta Joker terrible, mind, but it's still low-tier design work.
I don't remember this at all.

I remember people being iffy when that black and white picture came out since you really couldn't see the design well but everyone changed their tune once the trailer and final images came out.
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
I have a soft spot for Brave & the Bold's Joker design because just about everything about that show is underrated and underappreciated as fuck.

batman-the-brave-and-the-bold-death-race-joker_1259108123.jpg
 
I have a soft spot for Brave & the Bold's Joker design because just about everything about that show is underrated and underappreciated as fuck.

batman-the-brave-and-the-bold-death-race-joker_1259108123.jpg

That show was underappreciated because 75% of it was in-jokes you already had to be a DC nerd to actually get. On the surface it wasn't a particularly great show.
 

gfxtwin

Member
Dig the Ledger and Arkham jokers the most. Wasn't feeling the Suicide Squad or most recent one from Injustice at all.
 

Burbeting

Banned
I personally don't like the "thrown into acid" backstory much, so I prefer the joker designs were his face is more clearly make-up, inperfect and muddied. So I guess I like TDK joker most? TAS Joker is the best one out of the acid-jokers though.

Suicide Squad Joker looks like what Joel Schumacher would have put into his film. So that is the worst.
 

The Adder

Banned
And I personally really, really liked Kevin Michael Richardson's performance. Very high energy, and could turn it up even higher or tone it down appropriately. He could really do a less refined and less mafia bossy Joker.

Easily the best Joker after Hamill.
 
People are in here criticizing the DAMAGED, and for good reason, but even that looks clever and subtle compared to faceless Joker. It's contrived, trite, and gratuitous.



Spoopy

I thought it was amazing the way different artists drew his deteriorated mask. But visuals aren't everything as strong writing will carry your design, which Leto Joker didn't have.
 

Salsa

Member
imma go Bruce Timm's purely because I think his version of The Joker is the most recognizable and he brought it down to basics, you'd recognize him just by silhouette

1763bf5b75addb59205477f436c2a42e.jpg
 

Dipper145

Member
Really liked jared letos joker look, definitely one of the best, and heath ledger.

Recently started reading older comics as well and almost can't believe the old joker designs, doesn't even look like its possible for a face to be actually shaped in the way he was portrayed, If everyone is stylized with non-human faces in a similar manner its fine, but when it's pretty much just the joker being a triangle head its real bad. It's really unfortunate that joker is most often portrayed that way.
 

J-Tier

Member
I like most Joker designs. TAS may be my favorite though.

Meh on Injustice 2 Joker. Too close to Leto Joker for my taste. Try-hard edgy.

Hate Leto Joker with a fury.
 

J-Tier

Member
Still ultra bad. Walking around growling at everything and his over extended animations and features for every action he did was groan worthy.
The smile tattoo he has on the back of his hand was particularly stupid for me. The way he put it up to his face...
 
The original Joker is pretty great. TAS, too. Bolland's Killing Joke, obviously. I think Capullo's is pretty good. The best videogame depiction is Arkham: Origins.

There is no great film depiction, but Ledger's is the most interesting one.

The worst are Nicholson and Leto. I also kinda hate the non-Origins Arkham ones, especially the first game.
 

Serrato

Member
imma go Bruce Timm's purely because I think his version of The Joker is the most recognizable and he brought it down to basics, you'd recognize him just by silhouette

1763bf5b75addb59205477f436c2a42e.jpg

Impressive how that version of the this Joker is better with just the red lips.
 
People are in here criticizing the DAMAGED, and for good reason, but even that looks clever and subtle compared to faceless Joker. It's contrived, trite, and gratuitous.



Spoopy

Different strokes, I loved this look. You don't get the artist that drew Spawn for a decade on a Batman run and then ask him to do a completely straight edge adaptation of the Joker.
 

cr0w

Old Member
25969f6c6e603829db67827c17badccf.jpg


Giving a nod to Norm Breyfogle Joker.

Breyfogle's art was always incredible. I loved his style. He's been having a rough go of it the past few years, I've kept up with him on FB. Had a stroke, lost use of his drawing hand, and just generally had a bad time. He seems to be doing better though.
 

Loxley

Member
Since all the greats have already been mentioned, I really liked the look of the Joker in the Batman: Dead End fan film from a decade ago:


The hair could use some work, but overall it's perfectly creepy.
 
Leto Joker is a mixed design. I like some parts, hate others, but I don't mind the attempt - Suicide Squad has this weird "faux-gangsta" feel to its characters and he fits that world.

Absolutely awful performance though. Just bafflingly bad. Between that and Lex Luthor is was a rough year. But on sheer design merits? I can live with it.

The best, though? Shout-out to Gotham Central. There's something super unsettling about a pudgy, middle-aged man in clown makeup. If you go too far, he's just "scary" and you lose the uncanniness. He's a wolf in sheep's clothing to the Nth degree.

Yeah, Gotham Central's design is extremely underrated. It helps that for the short time appears he's written great too, being a complete wild card for the police to try and handle.

Another underrated design in my opinion is the Man Who Laughs Joker.

I really like the black fingernails and yellow and green eyes really stand out.

 
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