10 Best Joker Movie Moments

4. Why So Serious? (The Dark Knight)

Heath Ledger Joker
Warner Bros.

The Joker isn't afraid of power, or authority - he isn't afraid of mob bosses, gangsters or thugs. As this scene demonstrates, he can kill, injure and attack anyone, at any time he wants, and it's this that makes him such a terrifying threat.

The Joker, threatened by Gambol in an earlier scene, decides to take matters into his own hands. Playing dead and infiltrating his hideout in a bodybag, The Joker precisely picks his moment and pounces, taking Gambol at knifepoint. He then proceeds to tell the tale of exactly how he obtained his facial scars (well one version) before slashing Gambol's mouth in a similar manner to his own.

The Dark Knight carries a 12a/PG-13 rating, but it's a testament to the skill of Ledger and director Nolan that this scene is completely tense, atmospheric and legitimately frightening without showing too much.

And that just completely defines The Joker doesn't it? He's a clown after all - clowns are the stuff of nightmares, but they also have a light side.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!