Film Theory: The Joker Actually Saved Gotham From Itself
Maybe he really WAS a Man With A Plan...
Even with several versions of the Joker in movies (including Mark Hamill’s beloved animated version), there’s a compelling case for Heath Ledger’s version in The Dark Knight being considered the very, very best.
And that’s not just thanks to the transformative performance by Ledger, which was the product of incredible preparation and surprising subtlety. It also comes down, in large part, to the complexity of the character as he’s written.
Despite Warner Bros’ attempts to peel back some of the mythology of the character with the Joker Origin movie, The Dark Knight works so well because he’s a chaotic force of nature. He seems to simply manifest in response to Batman’s rise in Gotham and when he says that the Dark Knight completes him, he’s unwittingly saying that the feeling is very much mutual. Light needs darkness for definition.
But what if the Joker’s role in The Dark Knight Rises is more complex even than completing Batman? What if he is actually the real catalyst for Gotham’s rise from the gutter? What if he is actually the saviour Gotham needs?
3. The Joker: The Man With The Plan
He might claim otherwise, but the Joker is a precise instrument whose crimes are complexly and intricately planned. We should have all realised as much from his introduction at the heart of the double-cross bank heist that absolutely could not have existed without a plan.
From there, we see him plan his own prison break - another hugely complex plot involving precise calculations - and he boat gambit, which would have taken just as much planning. He might like to present himself as an agent of chaos - a dog chasing cars - but that’s not his real manifesto.
He actually reveals that he has a plan for Gotham to Batman:
“To them, you're just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don't, they'll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these... these civilized people, they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.”
“I’ll show you.” Three little words, but a massive confirmation that the Joker has a plan. And his plan is essentially just what Batman’s is: to save Gotham. The only difference is that the Joker realises that the thing Gotham needs to be saved from most is itself.