What are your thoughts on the Joker from The Batman (2004)?
TV DISCUSSIONLiterally everyone in that show was a martial arts master. Even Penguin was flying through the air and doing bicycle kicks on batman
Lol true, and he was even the final boss in that iconic, The Batman online game that I played as a kid where he was in that Penguin machine.
Omg that fking fight was so annoying, with the rocket penguins
I could never get past the level where you’re at the Gotham steelworks around this lava stuff and have to jump on these pulley elevator things because if you don’t do it perfectly you just glide off of them back to the floor and it bugged me so much
Yeah this was something I found quite funny. Everyone can fight
I remember seeing some behind the scenes things where they talked about this and apparently took inspiration from a bunch of Kung fu movies when designing characters and how they'd move. Joker was based on monkey style fighters, penguin was the portly guy who is revealed to be a martial arts master.
Yeah I remember watching the show as a kid and actually being pissed that penguin was probably the best fighter in the universe lol, dude was the most consistent when it came to kicking batsies ass at hand to hand
Them twin asian girls he rolled with that wore the masks and wolverine claws were wild too. I wish they were added to the main comic cannon
They have such an iconic design, and are such a cool concept I'm sad they've not made any other appearances, aside from a brief appearance in the Lego Batman Movie.
This is serious, Everybody in Gotham knows Kung-fu
It's something he picked up from the Orient.
Canonically how does that make sense though? Isn't batman trained in martial arts and Hella strong. And joker is just some dude who mind broke at having a really shitty day?
Jokers bio says that hes a professional martial artist as well
Shoulda been a professional wrestler who took kayfabe too seriously. Like broken Matt hardy
Wrestling and cartoons together ❤️
To be fair most jokers don’t really have their backgrounds explained so what they can know can vary
Fair enough. Outside of batman beyond joker, there's no supporting lore. But I don't remember the earlier animated jokers really going toe to toe right? Normally they just get the shit beaten out of them in a straight up fist fight
To be fair most jokers don’t really have their backgrounds explained
To be even fairer, when we do get their backgrounds, we can't trust it.
Also true a very untrustworthy story teller
This joker always gave me the impression of being a circus performer a la Robin before becoming The Joker. Which, I think it's a fun idea, especially for a cartoon.
Thats exactly how they did this version. He does a lot of flipping.
That’s one theory/interpretation of the Joker. We don’t know his true origin story.
I always thought of the Joker as an ex special forces operator. That’s why he’s able to pull off such complex operations, can handle guns and explosives so we’ll, and while not at Batman’s level, can fight well too.
Some Versions hand wave that the perma clown event at the Ace Chemical plant increased his strength like when Jack Ryder became the Creeper.
Eh, if batman can squat over a ton, why not
As my father once said; "Just because you know martial arts, doesn't mean you can take on a street fighter".
Your dad doesn’t know martial arts
That's the thing people forget about the joker, he's fighting Batman all the time and batman's probably the world's best martial artist next to black canary, the Batman beyond movie does a good job of showing that side of the joker too (although it might just be because he is in tim drakes body)
batman's probably the world's best martial artist next to black canary,
Lady Shiva is supposedly the best, among Batman's enemies.
The thing that makes joker dangerous is typically stated to be that he doesn't think like you'd expect, making him dangerous. Also he's willing to just shoot you.
Reminds of that spiderman episode when Taskmaster is all "You can't stop me spiderman!" Then Deadpool peaks out and Taskmaster has a panic attack.
Great range from KMR too, not using his usual tough guy voice
He was pretty good, solid design & VA. Favorite episode is probably The Laughing Bat. But as the show went on I felt like they overused him in kind of mid episods & he lost too much of his gravitas as a villain (Penguin in the show also had this problem)
Of what I remember of the show, he and penguin were in like every other episode, always remember wishing bane would show up more
Bane showed up like two times in the whole show
Yh, my brother said the same thing when I asked him today. Would've probably been cooler to use him a bit less, would've probably been a more impactful character.
I didn’t like him in the first episode, but he grew on me. As you said, Kevin Michael Richardson played the hell out of the role
Agreed, considering he also did a solid job as The Shredder in the 2012 TMNT show, I would love
It’s hard to thread that needle between “unhinged yet still silly Joker” and “unhinged and dangerous Joker”— not every depiction of Joker needs to be both, but Mark Hamill nailed that balancing act.
Kevin Michael Richardson also nailed the balancing act, but in a completely different way, and I think that’s impressive and worth remembering. He gave us a fascinating version of the Joker that’s worthy of the pantheon
Doing the balancing act in a different way is a perfect description of KMR's Joker. Where Hamil's Joker was deliberately sadistic, but in a funny way, KMR Joker is instead callously indifferent to the suffering he causes. Hamil Joker does a prank with the intent purpose to hurt people. KMR Joker does a prank because he finds it funny, and doesn't care that it hurts people.
The character visual was jarring but, but KMR killed it.
A lot of people hated the martial arts thing but I didn't mind it. If you're doing a martial arts heavy Joker, I think a mad monkey style is exactly what you would go for.
KMR's voice is underrated. Thanks to Hamill I always rate the Joker based on their laugh. KMR did a descent laugh.
The episode where Joker becomes Batman and tries to turn Batman into the Joker is legit one of my favourite Joker stories of all time in any medium.
Over all, I think this version of the Joker is underrated. They were able to get a lot of mileage out of him. It helped that Joker and Penguin got the most exposure but I think there was a descent amount of variety like the episode where Batman and Hugo Strange got into Joker's head or Joker being responsible for turning Ethan Bennet into Clayface or some of the sillier episodes like the video game episode.
The episode where Joker becomes Batman and tries to turn Batman into the Joker is legit one of my favourite Joker stories of all time in any medium
Honestly my favourite aspect of KMR and Ledger's Joker is that they could be genuinely funny it was just really dark Death To Smoochy/Death of Stalin style comedy. I also liked that they were both thoroughly insane, like "Tyler Durden laughing maniacally while getting punched in the face" level insane. I feel like if someone turned the tables and threatened KMR/Ledger Joker with a bomb they'd find it more amusing than scary, because they're insane.
Joker being responsible for turning Ethan Bennet into Clayface
I always love pointing out that this series had the balls to do a version of the killing joke where joker actually wins, and clayface is the result.
Yep.
And no over the top violence required. Just Joker giving someone one bad day and knowing exactly which buttons to push. .
The show also did a better version of Knightfall in Bane's first episode. No Azrael, no Arkham prison break, no Shondra Kinsolving, but it captured the core of what Knightfall was about: Bane broke the Bat.
Loved the bold design. BTB had, overall, very good chara designs.
Very big fan of the character designs in this show. Just started rewatching it again as I’ve always been a fan of this particular series. One of my top 3 favourite jokers.
I love how "sharp" the character designs are.
Yes, I really love how they made it their own, there are some wild swings, like Riddler, but even that works. Love huge Mr Freeze Really love Ragdoll's muted filthy grey and mustardy yellow, Grey melting Clayface, Also there's something about Banes regular man form that's so sleek and awesome looking.
I felt like I finally knew what it would be like if Blanka from Street Fighter got hit with Joker toxin.
i like how indepedant he is, i normaly have a problem that joker has to many henchtmen when most of his crimes is non profitable; in this adaptation he can hold his own against batman and only has like 3 followers
He has 2 major ones; punch and Judy
Harley shows up in one major and one minor appearance, and prank in one major.
prank isn't hardcore enought so it leaves him after his episode.
and with punch, judy and harley; you have 3 followers, wich was what i was talking about
I remember I was shocked by the hair style and was so against liking this Joker because his outward appearance wasn't the Joker I was used to... But the writers absolutely crushed it.
One of my favorite jokers He was awesome
Weird design, but overall, a great take on the Clown Prince of Crime.
Love him. Hot take but I loved the initial straightjacket design, focusing more on the "batshit crazy" side of joker instead of the "clown prince of crime" side. This show offered many new perspectives on joker, and the voice acting was top notch, I'd even say it's on par with Hamill.
For a cartoon, I thoroughly enjoyed him.
If it was live action, I’d probably hate the movie.
His movements don't really translate to live action.
Kevin Michael Richardson's performance as the Joker might be one of my favourites. His laugh is perfect. I would love to hear him return in a future project.
The Joker looking somewhat like a demented Cirque du Soleil performer with a monkey motif has since grown on me. Especially now that there have since been worse designs.
Love the design
Weird but memorable
I’m currently on season three on Netflix.
The design was unique. Also, Kevin Micheal Richardson's performance is underappreciated.
Loved him. A super unique take on the character and Michael Richardson knocked it out of the park when it came to his performance as the character.
But I mean, it's not like there is a time that guy ever doesn't give it his all.
I really didn't think about it at the time, but the joker from the Batman seems like he personifies chaos and disorder more so than earlier jokers, who are mostly depicted as human gangsters with varying levels of unpredictability, and wild streaks, due to their little acid bath.
I’m currently rewatching this show and I absolutely think he’s great. I love what they did with the characters in the show. It’s interesting seeing Mr Freeze just be a diamond thief instead of the scientist we know
Original and really entertaining my second favorite joker
Didn't like the design, always thought the animation felt cheap, and the voice actor plays a lot of background roles in other shows. Resulting overall in a Joker that felt.. ugly and cheap.
Severely underrated when listing Jokers
Genuinely one of my favorite interpretations
Underrated
Hamill is always the gold standard but I really like this Joker. They saw what came before and pretty much ran the other way. Deep booming voice, longer hair, red eyes, acrobatic kinda, memorable teeth and clothing design.
Part of me hopes they do something similar in the Gunn-verse Batman movie. Keep the core of the character obviously but just go in the complete opposite direction and give us something completely different.
Fantastic, Kevin Michael Richardson made the role his own. Vampire Joker gave me chills in Batman v. Dracula.
The Batman vs Dracula (which features this Joker) is probably my favorite animated Batman movie, I watch it every year around Halloween. Great followup to Mark Hamill as Joker, I'm glad they both exist and don't see it as a one or the other type thing!
My favorite joker hands down. I lobe Mark Hamil but kmr just killed it with this one
Looks cool and fights with actual martial arts. What’s not to love?
Funny and madcap and KMR is certainly... a choice, but he kinda makes it work??
And considering the nature of the show he gets to do a lot more silly stuff (Kill the major by feeding him chili through a hose from a firetruck for instance) but then again his silly nature allows them to also pull off absolutely heinous stuff like Clayface
Bro was terrifying lmao
I'm really fond of him even though I think objectively he was kind of a dumb character in a dumb show. His voice actor was great and I think they made the right choice just going a totally different direction with him to avoid any real comparisons with Hamill Joker - he's a lot more "wacky" than smart and savvy, and obviously more of a physical threat.
Probably my least favorite Joker design.
Hate the character design intensely. Voice acting was fine.
At first I hated him. I even think I stopped watching, but I gave it another chance and while he's definitely different he is still the joker.
I like every joker because they all fit the settings they are in while retaining the core of the character in some way
Love everything about this crazy-ass palm tree
Used to love him when i was a kid. Just looks and sounds so different from the other versions, which is pretty refreshing imo.
One my favorite takes on the clown prince of crime. Kevin Michael Richardson kills it in the role. I also really like the design being animalistic take on the Joker
Most fun joker in my opinion :3
I actually really like him. They tried something really different and it went really well I think
I wasn't a big fan of how creative that show got with their character designs, but in terms of characterization (writing and performance), it was very on-point. That's how I feel about this version of Joker. The writers understood the character, and Kevin Michael Richardson's voice acting knocked it out of the park. But the visual design is a little much for me.
love love lovedddd him. one of my first introductions to the character
Kevin Michael Richardson is the best Joker alongside Mark Hamill
One word, smash
Goat
The same as the last 17 versions of this weekly post
I liked how athletic he was, overall was okay with the design, but the lack of shoes pissed me off.
I understand that it’s not for everyone but personally, I like it. It’s a very different but fun take on the character and I like how he’s a more physical threat with his more acrobatic fighting style.
I hated his look I hated his voice I hated his style. He's not the joker. He's a joke
Sucked
Worst animated Joker design
I hated this take so much it’s one of the reasons I never gave this series a chance.
However: I think I was projecting my wants onto it. It wasn’t the thing I wanted so I never considered whether or not it was something good in its own right I still haven’t rewatched the show to say one way or the other
Nah
Best version of joker. Fight me.
No you’re right
Nope! Dont care if he has green hair, or laughs meniachly. If hes not behaving like an unfunny comedian throwing dangerous temper tantrums, then hes just a loony. Difference between pulling a bart simpson level prank, and just being a cracked out juggalo. Honestly didnt like that Heath Ledgers joker was just a terrorist in makeup.
Don't like the design
Fun interpretation, wish they'd stuck with his Episode 1 outfit instead putting him the suit and spats.
Not the best Joker, but has some great moments. There is something delightfully disturbing about having a voice actor with a deep booming voice do Hammil-esque vocal contortions...
Reminded me of Blanka from Street Fighter
Reminds me of one of my crackhead uncles that family members told me to stay away from
Didn't like the character design, liked the character writing.
I didn't know what to think about this guy until that one time he became Batman for a bit. Very funny episode.
Hot af. His monkey like stance and acrobatics were an odd decision, so is the deeper voice he has sometimes, but has the best design Joker's ever had.
For anyone in the UK who wants to watch this show, it's on Prime Video to buy, the entire series is there, but for some reason season 1&2 are merged together as "season 1" so season 2 is actually season 3.
He's a physical menace and in a way a yang to the DCAU Joker.
Not a fan, but that’s a testament to the flexibility of these characters. There’s always going to be versions you like or dislike because these characters exist in many different contexts.
Couldn’t tell if they got their inspiration from Blanka from street fighter or Ratigan from the great mouse detective
Didn’t like his design at first. Mainly cause its so different to what i normally see. But i actually love it now!
Hated it as a kid but he grew on me
He cool, he got hands (and feet)!
I love it, top 5 jokers for me
Second favorite animated adaptation, kevin Michael Richardson kills it.
I honestly can't belive he's and educator
As great as TAS Joker is, when you get down to it he’s just a gangster with a gimmick, which was his schtick when introduced in the comics. All his schemes revolved around making money and murder. This version is probably more akin to what I want the joker to be. He’s an absolute engine of chaos, and you can’t ever know what he’s gonna do. Joker venom one weak, faking Batman the other, making a robotic clone that betrayed him. He was more like the artist the Burton version claimed to be. He just came off as a bigger threat, and an incredibly dangerous fighter.
Annoying in the first episode, but he really grew on me later on.
This series was amazing. I don’t understand the hate it gets.
He’s cool
Worst design ever made.
Going to sound harsh but it's one of the dumbest takes on Joker tbh
I like how he seemed like Hyde or Jekyll smart and cunning but crazy and devious. Athletic and yet not always relying on fighting He was a unique take but a fun take that I think is second to Hamill's version. Definitely was a great foil to batman and was a good change to the character
I liked this version
As a kid I thought of him as a funny monkey
Points for effort. Minus points for execution. The Joker is not some kind of circus freak gone wrong. That's what they gave us here.
Really awful take. Probably the worst
I really love Mark Hamil’s Joker in BTAS (and related) and I think it served The Batman well that the creative team developed such a different version of the character.
This is my favorite version of The Joker
It was a fun rendition. Not the best, but it was always fun to watch.
I just remember the batman Dracula movie where he ate a roach
Didn't really like how most of Batman's villains in this series were in some way martial artists
Kinda ruined their gimmicks
Obviously the best one. Especially since he was the first iteration of The Joker that I was introduced to. He's clever, he can fight and, the best of all, he can actually be funny at times and has gotten in a few murder jokes despite the fact that this is supposed to be a kid's show. He was awesome. And there'll never be another Joker like him.
The hair is a bit weird, but overall i like him.
Terrible.
As bad as Jared Leto
Hate the design. Love Kevin Michael Richardson and he gives it his all, just don't know that it was the right fit.
I haven't seen enough to know if the writing was solid or not, but this was specifically what turned me off of the series. There is "different take" and there is "this should just be a different character and it would be fine". This falls in the latter camp for me.
Lame
He is my favourite animated joker, plus he becomes a vampire after meeting dracula and vampire joker is awesome
I think that animated series doesn't get enough love.
Fantastic performance, terrible design. Kevin Michael Richardson isn't the first person I would have thought of for Joker, but he pulled it off effortlessly.
I call him Coachella joker
I remember how much everyone hated his design at the time while I thought he was cool. Gave me a circus freak vibe instead of just a mobster in makeup.
And the scene in The Batman VS Dracula movie in the blood bank will forever be scarred in my memory
I think I made a similar comment in the past, but I don't remember much about this one. But one thing is burnt into my memory as a kid being the blood bank robbery during the Dracula stuff
Genuinely my favorite. Refreshing take on a classic villain.
Don’t like the design
He's so skrunkly, I love him. One of my fav iteration of Joker.
Possibly the best depiction of a Joker who can go toe-to-toe with Batman physically. I'm glad they kept his wit and also made him able to fight Batman.
love him. I like that this joker can actually go to to toe with batman
Good character, garbage hair. Looks like it got styled by the Arkham Asylum electric chair
He had his own style. And he was pretty faithful to what the Joker is. Also, vampire Joker still gives nightmare...
trash
I hated his design back then since I Always prefered his classic gangster variant, but now I think its interesting to explore alternatives in non-canon or multiverse timelines (I guess its non-canon right?).
The voice acting was really good!
Should be the basis of an Indigo Tribe Joker.
Stupid
Excellent
Wasn’t a fan.
It’s definitely a different take compared to the almost cookie cutter joker adaptations that exist. It’s not my favorite though since this design reminds me of sabretooth or something. Just a much more primal vibe to him in contrast to his usual “clown prince of crime”
I like the character and KMR's performance, but I hate that design.
I love this joker. Dude knew how to throw hands and he was still diabolical. He planned some outrageous ass things and escaped prison so many times lol They were keeping count. Only time he escaped and took a huge L was in the Batman VS Dracula movie. Which is peak fiction.
I thought it was a cool take. His episodes were amazing.
Different in a good way
Very underrated Joker. I like that they did something different with the character instead of trying to make it like a BTAS 2.0.
I like the circus freak vibe this Joker had, with his body shape and acrobatic skills. Also Kevin Michael Richardson is one of my Top 5 Joker voices and I think he should play the character again.
I wasn’t a fan. It was one of those times where I would been fine if there wasn’t a Joker.
Really awesome and unique. Kevin Michael Richardson did a great job, his upbeat hectic voice with gravely undertones was a intimidating take on the character he both looked and sounded like someone I wouldn’t want to be with in 10 miles of
I liked this design of the Joker from "The Batman" (2004). And it was better when he wore his iconic suit as opposed to his Arkham Asylum attire. Plus this Joker gave me nightmares when I was younger as though he is underrated, he's almost as scary as Mark Hamill's portrayal of the character and the way they designed Joker's lips in this show, wish they would have thought about that during "The New Batman Adventures" instead of designing Joker without the lips.
He can overstay is welcome with how frequently he appears in the show, but genuinely he’s one of my favorite takes on the character for how unique he is, and is largely the inspiration for my own Joker design, namely his straight jacket look (feel kinda bad he lost it iibh). His Va also did an amazing job, especially off the heels of Mark Hamill, and while I would say I do believe that Btas Joker is definitely better, he’s pretty on par imho
PEAK 🗣️🙏
Put on some fucking shoes.
baller
He's a creepy little bastard and I love it.
This guy is easily in my top 3 of Joker portrayals. Really gives off those insane vibes.
I thought he was even better than the first cartoon version
My second favorite joker behind Mark Hamill. Unlike the others, he can actually hold his own against Batman and his style is like the drunken style, which fits him. His straitjacket design in the beginning was my favorite. The suit doesn't fit him much. KMR played the hell out of Joker and his laugh is up there as well.
Honestly one of my favorite Joker designs out there. As for how he was written, I honestly don't remember all that much.
He’s not that great design wise
I don't love the character design, but I still think it's a very good take on Joker.
Looks dumb
His teeth look like a zipper
He’s such a unique and great take on the character. He’s also enjoyable to watch.
Weird. And still weird.
Way too cartoony doesn't even look human
Did anyone ever look human on this show?
It sucked.
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In my opinion, following up after the Joker from BTAS was no small feat, but they managed to create a Joker with some intriguing twists. I loved how they portrayed him as not just a mastermind, but also a skilled martial artist and acrobat who was literally throwing hands at Batman. It added a whole new dimension to his character. Plus, that voice acting from Kevin Michael Richardson was top-notch! What did you all think of this take on the Joker?