Ahead of Batman Daythree iconic versions of Joker have taken over Arkham Asylum. The costumes that have come to define three versions of the Clown Prince of Crime on the big screen will show guests how the character has evolved in recent portrayals.
Arkham Asylum at Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Hollywood has a new exhibit on Stage 48: the costumes worn by the Jokers in The Dark Knight (2008), 1989’s Batman, and 2019’s Joker. These were the costumes worn by Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson, and Joaquin Phoenix, respectively.
The three Jokers offer a closer look at how Batman’s greatest foe has evolved
The Joker has been one of the most important villains in Batman‘s mythos. Current iterations of the character have portrayed him as a sinister, dark figure, somewhere between a terrorist, a gangster, and a career criminal. However, there are versions of Joker that just end up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The display “brings together costumes worn from the three acclaimed performances, giving guests a closer look at how Batman’s longtime adversary has evolved.”
Ceaser Romero’s version of Joker was campier than most, but Jack Nicholson‘s Joker expanded on the character’s mythos. Given a backstory and even an alter ego, Nicholson’s Joker was first introduced to audiences as Jack Napier. This name became a go-to alias for the character in other versions of the story as well.
Heath Ledger‘s version of Joker is perhaps the most popular of the three displayed. This version of the character was inspired by The Killing Joke, but famously did not depict the character with chemically bleached skin. Instead, a psychopathic anarchist decided to color his hair green and smear his face with white makeup.
The third version of the character, as portrayed by Todd Phillips in Joker, was a mentally disturbed comedian who begins a violent revolution against Gotham’s elite. This version did not have a criminal background but did suffer from a pathology in which the character would laugh uncontrollably, often at inappropriate times.
Originally reported on SuperHeroHype.