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With December cover of Empire Magazine featuring new photos of DC’s upcoming Suicide Squad movie, I thought it necessary to clear up some rumors about Jared Leto’s highly anticipated performance as The Joker. There have been many suspicions about how Leto will play him. Will he be more of a mischievous clown, or will he pay homage to Heath Ledger by turning the psycho-knob up to 11? Between the trailers for Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad and numerous leaked photos of Jared Leto’s Joker, there are a few Joker facts from the Batman comic books that I can definitely confirm Leto will bring to the roll.
Number Five: This Joker Has a Harley. We’ve all seen the stunning photos of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, but this is the first time that Harley has ever been portrayed on the big screen. Harley Quinn was created for the 90’s cartoon Batman: The Animated Series as a sidekick character for The Joker. Originally voiced by Arleen Sorkin, Harley’s thick Brooklyn accent, silly antics and self-destructive devotion to The Joker immediately won viewers hearts. Harley was later introduced into the DC comic book universe – the first character ever to be introduced into the comics after first appearing on television.
Number Four: The Joker’s Skin Is Bleached White. From the photos and trailer it appears that, unlike Heath Ledger’s Joker, Leto’s WILL have bleached white skin and not face scars and makeup. The white skin signifies something important: this Joker must’ve come into some kind of chemical to make his skin turn white. The most common backstory for the comic book version of The Joker is that at some point during the early days of Batman’s career, he ran across a z-list criminal called The Red Hood and then fell into a vat of unknown chemicals at Ace Chemical Plant.
Number Three: A Permanent Grin. Much fuss has been made in the geek circles about Joker’s grill seen in the picture above. Many fans have bemoaned that it’s “not canon.” Joker never had metal teeth in the comics, so how can he have them in a movie? The answer is simple: Batman punches him in the face repeatedly. After many years of battling The Bat, it only seems natural that Joker would have metal teeth installed. He also tends to be a biter in a fight.
Number Two: The Joker Killed (a) Robin. In the Batman v. Superman trailer, we got a glimpse of an older more experienced Bruce Wayne in his Batcave staring at a red suit encased in glass with the words “HAHAHA Joke’s on you Batman” spray painted on it. Internet sleuths discovered a yellow “R” embedded on the suit and came to the conclusion that The Joker had killed Robin The Boy Wonder. This excited comic book fans, because in the mid 1980s, the second person to take up the Robin persona, Jason Todd, was killed by The Joker. Beaten mercilessly with a crowbar and then blown-up in a warehouse, The Joker escaped punishment by becoming the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations. While I don’t think the Ayatollah will make an appearance in Suicide Squad, I think it’s still safe to assume that The Joker has killed at least one of Batman’s close friends.
Number One: This Joker Isn’t Joking. Underneath the endless psycho-babble and torturous laughter, The Joker is a calculating, sentient, evil man. No character in the DC universe is more despised than Joker. Even gods of darkness and death can’t stand to be in the same room with him for longer than a minute. The Joker is a scientific genius, being able to concoct various kinds of toxins and poisons to keep Batman on his toes. If the new photos of Leto are any indication, his portrayal of The Joker is going to be more reminiscent of Joker in Grant Morrison’s Batman RIP, and I couldn’t be happier.
