Ranking Every Joker Origin Worst To Best

2. Mask Of The Phantasm

Joker Mask of the Phantasm
Warner Bros.

Batman: The Animated Series is the definitive version of Batman past or present. It masterfully combined Burton's art-deco Gotham with the comics of yore to impart a truly compelling version of the Dark Knight's world - one that still manages to win affections today.

Sadly, the genius of BTAS didn't always go noticed. When Warner Bros. Animation released Mask of the Phantasm in cinemas in 1992, it bombed at the box-office. This, despite it also being up there with the greatest comic book movies ever made. (Return of the Joker slightly edges it in my books, but that's by the by.)

Anyway, MOTP - like Batman '89 - follows the same model of having the Joker start out in Gotham as a gangster. When a new vigilante known as the Phantasm rides into town, murdering Gotham's mob one by one, the Clown Prince himself becomes a target. During his investigation, Batman discovers that the Joker was a chauffeur for the Valestra crime family, and had in fact murdered the father of Andrea Beaumont, now revealed to be the eponymous Phantasm.

Mask of the Phantasm is the perfect Batman story, and while fans tend to prefer less concrete Joker origins, this one fits the context of BTAS perfectly.

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Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.