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

3. It€™s Not A Definitive Take

Since The Dark Knight, there's been plenty of new, unique versions of the Joker - the Arkham games' and Death In The Family's ones are the standouts - which goes to prove a singular point about the brilliance of Heath Ledger's Joker - it wasn't a definitive take. He was certainly iconic and far and away the best version of the character on screen, but Christopher Nolan tailored it so specifically to the tone of his Gotham that it was conceivable someone else could do the character without offending the Oscar-winner's memory. Not only did that make any future versions of the character trying to avoid Ledger pointless, it also gave Suicide Squad an exciting opportunity; they could deliver the definitive screen Joker. Previous versions of the character have all been unanimously great (the films they're in may have their drawbacks, but you can't fault Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson or Mark Hamill for their work), but none (except Hamill, although he's obviously animated) have felt like they're the one-and-only Clown Prince of Crime. With the DC Cinematic Universe intended to be the big bringing together of all the comic publishers characters, now was the perfect time to aim for that level. The Killing Joke imagery even hints at that approach, but there's nothing in the picture itself to suggest this is anything more than another edgy version of the character. Reboot in five years?