8 Ways Jared Leto's Joker Is Already The Worst Version Of The Character

8. The Reference Tattoos

OK, let's get the Titan-infused elephant in the room out of the way first - what the f**k is up with those tattoos? Yes, there's precedent for it in the comics - Frank Miller and Jim Lee's version inked the Clown Prince of Crime - but there's a big step from a red dragon to self-referential scrawls. All of the tattoos are examples of our own, real world Joker iconography - the "HaHaHa" laughter, the wide grin, the teardrop J - so rather than being examples of his psychosis bleeding out into his body, they're blatant Easter eggs to make this version feel somewhat rooted in the base character when, in fact, it really doesn't seem to be. The big problem, though, is that there's no conceivable real-world logic to these tattoos. Instead of scrawling "Ha"s all over a wall on a whim, Joker's gone through the process of designing this art, then getting it carefully applied. There's a method to this madness, which you just can't buy as genuine to the character.
Contributor
Contributor

Film Editor (2014-2016). Loves The Usual Suspects. Hates Transformers 2. Everything else lies somewhere in the middle. Once met the Chuckle Brothers.