#this literally IS a thought i have had to entertain bc of arkham knight joker

[geroya]

last post DID saying DYING which isnt KILLED which is what zoe does to him in like. her canon. but like. i HAVE clutched my head thinking about how . devastating it would be if he did just DIE. of whatever natural causes befell him.

[roguish-gallery]

Did you ever make that joker tier list, I always like seeing what people think of all the different ones. Though if they put Romero last I can no longer respect them.

LMAO I DID! I think I’ve made it kind of obvious in this blog but I... don’t... particularly... care... for... the joker.... unless he’s, y’know, fun to watch. Cause he’s a clown, and clowns are supposed to be entertaining. But since you politely brought it up, and and because I have a deep respect for mutual Romero-lovers, I guess this would be a good time to explain my rankings and just discuss my general thoughts on each clown:

General Thoughts:

For the most part, I don’t really care for the Joker. This is hardly an uncommon opinion here on tumblr, but I definitely fall on the side of the fandom that feels that he gets too much attention from DC. I get WHY they use him so often for films and comics, and I don’t have anything against *most* folks who consider them their favorite Batman villain, but at this point he’s used more for shock value and as a crutch instead of anything interesting. Like, instead of giving attention to the other Rogues, writers (at least for the comics) will try and make up some bullshit story that they can shoehorn the Joker into, ‘cause it sells. It’s tiring, and I feel like the character has lost his meaning; I can only read so many stories about the Joker, I don’t fucking know, wearing a suit made from dead babies and Jason Todd’s flayed corpse before I get sick of it.

I’m at the point where I’ll like any Joker who’s just fun to watch. I genuinely respect those who prefer darker interpretations of the character, but that isn’t me; I vastly prefer the lighthearted takes on him, because... at this point... writers who use the “cleaner” version of him tend to be more creative, since they actually have to write a Joker story that doesn’t rely on gore/torture porn.

TIER ONE:

Joker Baby: Self explanatory. Joker Baby is thematic, thoughtful, and intense. Everytime I watch this video, I shiver with fear and pleasure; something primal in me awakens whenever Joker Baby runs his fingers through his spray-on dyed hair, and ends up smearing green paint on his forehead- it represents the inner turmoil, the chaos, that resides within the disturbed body that is Joker Baby. Nothing can ever hope to top the artistic and cultural impact Joker Baby has had on society.

TIER TWO:

Batman Ninja: I genuinely believe that Batman Ninja is one of the most fun, organic, and creative things to come out from the Batman side of DC comics in like... hmmm... a decade, maybe (I could talk for hours about how much I love this movie but that’s something for a future post). This Joker is easily, and unironically my favorite interpretation of the character, period. I love his energy, his design, everything. This is the most fun I’ve ever had watching a Joker on-screen, and for that I’ve gotta give the film credit where it is due.

Batman ‘66: I looooove Caesar Romero. Batman ‘66 in general is one of my favorite pieces of Batman media, and I absolutely adore this Joker. The show is pure, genuine fun, and it’s nice to turn my brain off and watch a show where the entire cast was allowed to goof around. This Joker is just a cute, goofy little clown-man who likes to commit crimes, go surfing, turn Gotham’s water reserve into gelatin, and have wild orgies with Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler. I massively appreciate the hustle. I love his little mustache and his facial expressions. I’d give him a chaste little kiss on the cheek if I could.

The Batman: EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL TAKE BUT. I think TB!Joker is better than what people will give him credit for. I can only imagine how stressful it must have been to be the first Batman cartoon to follow BTAS and the writers for this show knew they were gonna be fucked no matter what they did with the Joker, so they just decided to try something completely different with him. Personally, I appreciate the new direction- he has a fun, unhinged energy. I’ve placed him higher than BTAS/BTNA!Joker simply because The Batman was the show that got me into the Rogues in the first place, and I’m just a bit closer to this Joker because of it. Also his vampire form was cool as FUCK in Batman Vs. Dracula and the scene where he gets drenched in blood at a blood bank is fucking awesome.

Batman the Animated Series/The New Adventures: Everyone loves BTAS’s Joker, and I’m no exception. Mark Hamill is fucking great, and the writers clearly knew the character well enough to create a version of him that can be fun and threatening. As an aside, I unironically like his redesign in BTNA- I remember Hamill mentioning somewhere that he thought it was neat that this Joker looked more like a shark (I’ll see if I can find a source on that... I think he said it in an interview with Kevin Smith?) and I kinda agree with him. the redesigns in the final season are hit or miss, but I didn’t get why so many people bitched about the Joker’s new look.

Batman Unlimited: Hear me out... Hear me out... Clown... funny... and cute... He wears a little crown and gives Solomon Grundy a little smooch on the cheek and it is as delightful as it sounds. Yes the Batman Unlimited films literally only exist to sell toys but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy them on some ironic level.

TIER THREE:

Lego Batman: He’s a gay icon. He has the range. Enough said.

White Knight: This is just a genuinely good, original take on the character, and the art in White Knight is absolutely gorgeous. 

Arkham: My friends and I joke that this Joker is basically a more unhinged version of BTAS! Joker and... yeah. I’m glad Hamill and Paul Dini got to fuck around with the character more, but I never really dwelled on the Joker parts of the games like I might have for other characters. I definitely liked him the most in Arkham Asylum, as he was more fun to watch. Arkham City was fiiiiine, but I think I replayed the game so much that I kinda got fatigued with everything about it. Genuinely hated his part in Origins, and I was pissed that he stole the attention from Black Mask and Bane (who’s the best fucking part of Origins IMO). I’ll admit that I... Haven’t... played... Knight yet (I have it on PC but my laptop is too wimpy to run it) but like... He’s dead at that point, so I’d assume he isn’t the main point of that game anyway. I love Mark Hamill and the fact I can personally beat the shit out of this Joker, so he’s ranked up pretty high for those reasons.

TIER FOUR:

Batman ‘89: TBH this Joker should be a rank higher, but I’m too lazy to hop onto PicsArt to change it. NIcholson was an excellent choice, and I apprecaite how this Joker makes use of the playful and unhinged aspects of the character. Also, his outfits are cute, and I love the museum scene.

Brave and the Bold: Technically this Joker SHOULD be ranked higher since he’s literally based on the more lighthearted comics in the 60′s but... ehhh... I haven’t really watched BATB so I don’t have any strong opinions on the show and how it handles the character. he’s ranked this high through beause I appreciate what they were going for.

Golden Age: The quality of comics are always subjective, based on the creative team behind them. Some I’ll like more, others less so, It’s kind of hard to rank the pre-52 comic version of the Joker because of this.

TIER FIVE:

Killing Joke: Read it, didn’t care for it. I acknowledge how massive the impact this comic had on... everything, but just because I recognize how important this graphic novel is, doesn’t mean I have to like it.

The Dark Knight: Ledger did an excellent job with the role, but uhh... I’m kind of sick of the alt-right chuds who are out there sucking this Joker’s dick. The fanbase definitely ruined the character for me.

TIER SIX:

99′: Eh

Endgame: No

Suicide Squad: NO

Death of the Family: Hate him. Despise him. Lame stupid dumb little edgy bitch.

Gotham (Jeremiah): I don’t particulary care for Gotham in general, but the only reason I ranked this Joker over Jerome is beause I thought it was kinda funny to see that they made him a little rat-man, and I liked watching all the fujoshi on here cry and complain that they can’t ship this version of the joker with the pre-pubescent Bruce Wayne in the show bc he’s too ugly.

Gotham (Jerome): stop shippping this freak (who is fucking eighteen years old) with a literal twelve year old child. what the FUCK is wrong with yall.

UNRANKED:

The Joker (2019): I don’t plan on watching this film, nor will I ever. I know this is ironic, coming from someone who runs a Rogue blog, but stuff that focuses primarily on a character’s deteriorating mental health makes me reaaaaallllllyyyyy anxious (it’s kind of a phobia) and considering that I don’t particularly the Joker, I have no reason to watch something I know will only give my dumb ADHD-ass intrusive throughts.

[dyketectivecomics]

Video game head canon time:

in which Wayne Enterprises has a division in entertainment/technology which includes consoles & game development & totally worked to have a Hand in making the Arkham series /& it exists bc:

-Bruce’s name was mentioned as one of the (discredited) suspects & everyone thought it would be hilarious to develop the game’s story & premise based around the CEO being the Batman

-”cmon, can u even imagine Bruce running on rooftops at night??? hilarious” “hmm he’d have to be really brooding tho, rlly serious. let’s dial up the angst to 11″ “great idea”

-little does anyone one know that this is all an elaborate plot for bruce to get his kids to play the games & see who would best be fit for the cowl. their reactions & his general notes kinda go:

Dick: when he was younger he got easily distracted by the side missions (esp the hunt for the riddler trophies in Asylum. he didn't face joker until he had them all first & all the challenges beaten), but whenever he goes back to play after a year or two, he just focuses on the story & lets the side missions happen more naturally. a lot more hands on & confrontational for some areas that require stealth, but learns from his mistakes.

Jason: worse in that regard. goes out of his way to stop every goon on the way to the next objective. dies a lot bc of this but also levels up rlly easily. was NOT amused by how on the nose Knight was, (”bruce. did you tell them??? what happened to secrecy??” -jay u literally told me to fight you five times at the last gala. let the developers have their fun- “touche”) still enjoyed the game. never finds all the riddler trophies bc he's stubborn about them being impossible

Barbara: is constantly accused of hacking the game or exploiting glitches. which she only does after completing the game through & being the first one to post walkthroughs online. no one knows that she does that, but she feels a moral obligation to help others through the game esp when those trophies aren't straightforward. completes side missions as they're assigned but never quite gets through them before the story is finished

Tim: is shameless about taking advantage of glitches and tries to beat barbara to the punch on writing up walkthroughs (he’s always juuuuust behind on that front). takes time with side missions before progressing through the story again. Somehow is able to find all the trophies before completion??? (everyone thinks he cheats somehow but he just??? gets right on them)

Cass: Pure story mode for asylum, Tim still doesnt understand how she beat the story mode and refused to pick up a single riddler trophy. City & Knight were more natural for her to make her way through the side missions but she still prioritizes the main story. very careful about balancing head-on confrontations & strategizing her attacks.

Steph: Plays all the games on easy bc she's there for a good time & to see what everyone’s complaining about with the riddler trophies. Can and will have someone else help her when she gets stuck on a really tricky one “steph. u need the freeze gadget for this” ‘what freeze gadget’ “... back at the studio.. its sitting like. right there” ‘motherfu-’ wants to wrap up side missions before getting back to the story, but for City she didn't even unlock some & play thru 50% of the story mode without those ones

Damian: NEVER plays if theres another sibling there that might be watching him (”Grayson doesnt count”) but tries to complete it the fastest. his speed runs are legendary. & he skips every cutscene that he can. ran all over gotham in Knight bc he couldn't find a riddler informant to show him the locations of the last few trophies or screen grabs he needed.

Duke: balances the side missions really well with the story but the riddler trophies are super easy for him. actually known to find maps & hints only after finding 80% of the trophies in the first place. everyone swears its witchcraft but hey! it’s kinda how he started with all this bat-business after all. usually is the one who’s ready to make a deal in asking for help. (’i’ll get you that trophy but you need to help me with this one boss fight i cant get past. the batmobile is impossible to navigate’)

Harper: she & cullen had no idea that the games were part of bruce’s plan to see how fit they were for the crusade. & they actually ruined the experiment bc they switch off who’s actually playing & take turns while also making fun of the game (its for their let’s play channel: Gotham Gay-mers. they’re p popular)

...

the batkids somehow convince the batadults to play (& UNDERSTAND THE PAIN)

bruce: once he gets the hang of the controls he’s a natural at it. focuses mostly on the story & the mission at hand, except in knight when its easier to balance those missions. realizes that it may not be such a good test after all. when the fam gathers to watch him play he asks irl alfred & oracle for help and back-up much too regularly. when babs was fridged in knight they all cried as a family & bruce kept denying it (up to a certain point when he really hit acceptance & it was immediately dashed by the Twist) Still would ‘call Oracle’ irl for Babs advice or hints with the side missions

kate: very heavy story focus, but knows how most of the puzzles work from catching some of the kids playing every once in awhile. not super stoked when she gets stuck on something & very stubborn abt completing the task when she is.

selina: doesnt even entertain the thought of playing the full games, but loves watching the kids playing. has been known to take controllers to play her own stints in City (”bc who knows what i’ll do better than me?”) helps them out with her trophies bc she's watched & played enough to know exactly where they are

alfred: “unfortunately i have no such time for those, but I am grateful for your concern Master Dick” -similar response for various batkids when they ask for his opinion/help/advice while thinking ‘alfred knows everything.