The Scariest Joker We've EVER Gotten...
Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 Rediscovers The Man Who Laughs
Batman as a character has been presented to audiences in many guises, but there is a modern interpretation that has somewhat calcified over the last two decades. This Batman is usually drawn from the Frank Miller mould, inspired by the masterful Year One and Dark Knight Returns, with a healthy sprinkling of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's The Long Halloween thrown in for good measure. These adaptations tend to adhere to the character's crime-drama components, sidestepping the fantastical or supernatural elements of the comics to juxtapose the neon-filled zaniness of Joel Schumacher's films. (Those films rock, for the record, but DC as a brand isn't so keen.)
It's a sentiment that feels somewhat antiquated in an era of Spider-Verses and Infinity Wars - and there is of course a healthy variety of Batman stories being told across comics, film, and television, exemplified by the Absolute Batman comics and also Caped Crusader - but still, the character persists in mainstream interpretations as a grounded, gritty vigilante bereft of fantasy, as reflected in Matt Reeves' The Batman and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.
The Joker, for the most part, has followed in lockstep, with most modern interpretations drawing upon Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams' iconic reinvention of the character in the 1970s. For film and TV especially, the imperious legacy of The Dark Knight's Joker and Heath Ledger also looms large. Taken together, it certainly feels as if the Joker - like Batman - has experienced a sort of flattening in his portrayal, often being boiled down to a formula of maniacal laughter and drawn-out monologues without the humour to complement.
But again, like our vengeful Caped Crusader, Joker hasn't always been the same character. He's been a Silver Age prankster, a criminal mastermind, and even, in some instances, an unlikely ally. That very multiplicity is also informing his portrayal in Batman: Caped Crusader's second season, with the show taking Joker back to his silent movie roots to conjure a visage of circus horror that's been lost since the character's formative moments. He's stoic, calm, and utterly ruthless, as was teased in the final sequences of Caped Crusader's first season.
In a discussion with Entertainment Weekly, Caped Crusader showrunner James Tucker expanded upon the rationale behind this new interpretation of the character, who it is now also confirmed will be forced by House of the Dragon actor Matthew Neadham.
By following the character's initial inspiration - that being Conrad Veidt's Gwynplaine from the 1928 silent film The Man Who Laughs - Tucker and co. decided to tap into the horror of silent cinema, noting the pale, chalk-white makeup utilised by actors and the uncanny, ghostly feeling it could inspire. This led the Caped Crusader team to "reinterpret Joker as a character who basically came from silent movies, who came from German expressionism." In this case, the temperature of the makeup informed this Joker's personality. "He's kind of a cold character in this interpretation", Tucker says, confirming that this Joker is a huge departure from the criminal jester we're all acquainted with.
The first season of Batman: Caped Crusader was already cinematically minded, pulling from film noir and classic horror to cultivate its unique interpolation of Batman's world, so to see that season two is also leaning into German expressionism is particularly exciting. Disorientation, the dreamlike, the grotesque - these are all qualities that are right at home with Batman, and Joker more than any other character should be the perfect conduit.
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