Why Return Of The Joker Is Secretly The Best Batman Movie

3. The Tone Is Nightmarish

The best Batman stories all tend to have an element of mystery about them, and though Return of the Joker is no different, there is another classic Bat-related element that differentiates it from the competition - the emphasis on horror.

Anyone who's familiar with BTAS will be able to wax lyrical about how it managed to balance both the light and dark aspects of Batman to impart a definitive version of the character, or even those episodes that left them with nightmares at an early age (looking at you, Joker's Favor), but in almost every aspect, Return of the Joker is more terrifying, to the point where the version that originally aired was heavily censored.

The original, uncut version is the superior product, and it shows. Mark Hamill is at his terrifying best as the Clown Prince of Crime, with his initial introduction where he kills an unruly thug turning the creep factor up by a whole other notch. Even then however, there's an almost imperceptible element of horror at play, and it stems from the emphasis on the Joker's supernatural elements. Terry is still Batman when he arrives on the scene, but he's naive; he considers the villains of Bruce's past to be gimmicky and unthreatening, and though the former Batman never encouraged that perception, McGinnis saw the Joker as the most ridiculous of all.

Of course, the audience knows otherwise, which adds another level of horror to the proceedings. Add to that the mystery behind the character, along with the nasty visuals of the uncensored cut and the sequence where he invades the Bat-Cave, and you're left with a surprisingly unnerving tale about the Joker's dark and twisted legacy.