Biggest Differences Between Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker and Heath Ledger’s

The Joker is arguably the most famous villain in fiction. He’s a murderous clown, a psychopath who will kill you and then crack a joke about it afterward. Ever since the 1930s, when the Clown Prince of Crime made his grand comic book debut, the Joker has been the archnemesis of Batman. Their rivalry has become iconic in fiction, ranking among other legendary rivalries like Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty, or Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, or Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. There have been a number of famous live-action portrayals of the Joker over the years — and two of them have won Oscars.

We’re talking about Heath Ledger’s Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker in Todd Phillips’ Joker and its recent sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux. These two versions of the Clown Prince of Crime share many similarities, but they also share some stark differences. They may both be the Joker, but they’re two very different characters. Let’s now pit these two psychopathic clowns against each other and identify their biggest differences.

10

Different Suits and Make-Up

In the comics, the Joker is disfigured by chemicals, which bleach his skin white, his hair green, and his lips red. Jack Nicholson’s Joker in 1989’s Batman and Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide Squad are both victims of this chemical accident. Joaquin and Ledger’s Jokers, however, are not. Unlike their comic book counterpart, these versions of the Clown Prince of Crime both wear make-up, though there are some subtle differences between them.

Joaquin’s Joker has a more clown-like appearance with a red nose, red eyebrows, and blue facepaint around his eyes, none of which the Joker has in the comics. We also see him without makeup for much of the film.

Ledger’s Joker has a more sinister appearance. His make-up looks hastily and roughly applied, and there’s black facepaint around his eyes. We see him without make-up only once, and it’s for all of 30 seconds. The fact that Ledger’s Joker wears make-up for most of the film reinforces the idea that the Joker is his identity. This version represents the more traditional appearance of the Clown Prince of Crime, and not just with make-up. Ledger’s version also rocks the iconic purple suit that the Joker is known for. Joaquin’s Joker, on the other hand, wears a red suit and doesn’t wear purple in either of his movies.

9

The Voice

It’s not just their appearance that’s different; it’s also how these two characters sound. Heath Ledger ditched his Australian accent and totally changed his voice for his role in The Dark Knight. His Joker’s voice was as erratic as his personality, ranging from gravelly malice to high-pitched squeals. There was an air of charisma that came with this Joker; you listened whenever he opened his red lips to speak.

Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, on the other hand, sounded like…well, Joaquin Phoenix. He didn’t change his voice at all, except for when he was imitating a Southern lawyer in the courtroom. Ledger’s role in The Dark Knight, by comparison, feels like the more transformative performance. Between his character’s voice and mannerisms, you really don’t see Heath Ledger at all in this Joker.

8

Ledger’s Joker Is a Criminal Mastermind

Heath Ledger’s Joker scoffs and criticizes the very notion of a plan. He just goes with the flow, he claims. “Do I really look like a guy with a plan?” he asks the deformed Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) while wearing a ladies’ nurse outfit. And yet, the Joker literally plans everything in The Dark Knight.

That’s because, much like his comic book counterpart, Ledger’s Joker is a criminal mastermind. He executes several meticulously planned schemes, starting with the bank heist that kicks off the movie. Ledger’s Joker successfully kills numerous city officials, manipulates and destroys an entire criminal organization, and converts Gotham City’s good-hearted district attorney to the dark side, all while evading Batman. The Joker even plans his own capture and arrest, leading to that brilliant and iconic escape scene.

Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker looks pretty tame by comparison. He doesn’t plan or execute any schemes. His only crimes in 2019’s Joker are murders, which feel more like impulsive acts of violence, aside from Murray Franklin’s (Robert De Niro) death at the end of the film. And in Joker: Folie à Deux, Phoenix’s Clown Prince of Crime actually doesn’t commit any crimes at all, not even murder. Toward the end of the film, a car bomb randomly explodes outside the courthouse, allowing Joaquin’s Joker to escape. Now, if that was Heath Ledger’s Joker, he would’ve been the one to plant that car bomb.

7

Joaquin’s Joker Gets an Origin Story

Interestingly, the Joker is the one Batman villain with no clear origin. Numerous comics over the years have given the Joker an origin story, such as the iconic graphic novel by Alan Moore, Batman: The Killing Joke. But as the Joker says in The Killing Joke, “I’m not exactly sure what happened. Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another. If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!” All we truly know is that, generally, he fell into a vat of chemicals, usually because of Batman, and he emerged as a psychotic clown.

At the end of the day, this character has no definitive origin. This notion is perfectly reflected in The Dark Knight. From minute one, he is the Joker. We have no idea where this guy came from or what created him. He just seems to materialize out of thin air, ready to cause chaos.

Todd Phillips’ Joker is a departure from how we usually perceive this villain. In this film, Phillips gives the character an origin story and explains how tragedy and hardship transformed him into the Joker (sort of, but more on that later). Here, he starts out as an impoverished, mentally ill guy named Arthur Fleck, who’s down on his luck and desperate for attention. And his Joker persona is his means of escape.

6

Ledger’s Joker Wants to Watch the World Burn

In The Dark Knight, Christian Bale’s Batman is puzzled by the Joker’s motivations. But as his trusty butler Alfred (Michael Caine) tells him, “Some men just want to watch the world burn.” And it’s true. Ledger’s Joker has no grand aspirations, no clear motivations or purpose, aside from toying with Batman. He’s an anarchist, an evil force unlike anything Batman has ever faced, a self-proclaimed agent of chaos. This Joker doesn’t just create the chaos; he thrives in it. You’ll never find this Joker dancing in a scene — not unless he’s dancing on the world’s ashes.

Joaquin’s Joker is very different. Arthur Fleck spends two whole movies searching for a sense of identity, for a sense of belonging. He’s not trying to burn down the world; he’s trying to find his place in it. Enter the Joker. Arthur uses this persona to get back at the world that wronged him and carelessly tossed him aside. Sure, he creates some chaos along the way, but that’s not really his intent. He wasn’t looking to upend Gotham City and inspire riots and maniacal followers.

Arthur feels like the victim of his own chaos, not the driver of it, like Ledger’s Joker. The courtroom car bomb in Joker: Folie à Deux is another example of this. Arthur Fleck didn’t plant that bomb; the chaos that his Joker inspired did.

5

Joaquin’s Joker Gets a Harley

Created for the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn has become one of the biggest and most popular DC Comics characters. Often portrayed as a trickster in a black-and-red checkered costume, Harley started out as the Joker’s psychotic girlfriend and his righthand minion. With her zany personality and infectious charm, Harley has conquered everything from comic books, to animated shows, to live-action movies.

Harley Quinn is famously played by Margot Robbie in several DC movies like 2016’s Suicide Squad, where she’s paired with Jared Leto’s Joker. Harley recently returned to the big screen in Joker: Folie à Deux. This movie pairs Joaquin Phoenix’s Clown Prince of Crime with Harley Quinn, played here by Lady Gaga.

Interestingly, their roles seem to reverse from what we’ve seen before. In Joker: Folie à Deux, Gaga’s Harley is the more dominant and toxic partner, who manipulates Joaquin’s desperate character into doing what she wants. And then, at the end of the movie, Harley carelessly tosses him aside, as we’ve seen the Joker do to Harley so many times before.

Regardless of the outcome, Joaquin’s Joker has been craving and fantasizing about love ever since the first movie — to have someone who cares about him and acknowledges his existence. Joker: Folie à Deux makes it very clear how important Harley’s romance is to him. It becomes his purpose, his biggest motivation. Ledger’s Joker, on the other hand, is a lone wolf. Even Nicholson’s Joker had Vicki Vale and Alicia Hunt, whereas Ledger’s Joker…he has only Batman.

4

Ledger’s Joker Is Defined by Batman

As mentioned earlier, Batman and the Joker have a classic rivalry, and that’s partially because they share a yin and yang relationship. They’re two sides of the same coin. And, some might argue, they both reflect cases of insanity. The Joker defines himself by his rivalry with Batman, a characteristic that’s very much reflected in The Dark Knight.

As Ledger’s Joker tells Christian Bale’s Batman in that famous interrogation scene, “I don’t want to kill you. What would I do without you? You…you complete me.” And he’s not joking; he really does mean it. Throughout the movie, Joker’s insanity clashes beautifully with Batman’s rage, capturing their yin and yang relationship, showing what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. “I think you and I are destined to do this forever,” he tells Batman gleefully in their last scene together.

Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, on the other hand, is not defined by Batman. These two archnemeses have never, and will never, even meet in this DC universe. Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker exists separately from Batman and predates him by almost a decade. Bruce Wayne is still a child in the first movie and has a long way to go before he becomes Batman.

3

Joaquin’s Joker Inadvertently Creates Batman

We all know how Bruce Wayne became Batman. His parents were gunned down, right in front of him, when he was only a boy. Since then, Batman has been prowling the nights of Gotham City, trying to prevent the violence that claimed his parents’ lives. We’ve seen this moment play out so many times. 2019’s Joker puts a fresh spin on Bruce Wayne’s tragedy by connecting the Waynes’ murderers to the Joker.

By the end of the film, Joaquin’s Joker has inspired a horde of maniacal followers. And we see one of them whip out a gun and murder Thomas and Martha Wayne in front of a young Bruce, the gunman’s face hidden by a clown mask. This scene implies that the Joker inadvertently created Batman, adding a new layer to their iconic rivalry.

This is also a twist on the comics, where it’s Batman who usually inadvertently creates the Joker. This is also the case in Christopher Nolan’s films. At the end of Batman Begins, Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) laments over the problem of escalation:

We don’t need to see the calling card to know that Gordon is talking about the Joker. This scene implies that Batman’s presence inspired the creation of the Joker and other costumed villains, a fascinating idea that’s often explored in the comics.

2

Ledger’s Joker Is Still Alive in His Batman Universe

The last time we see Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight, he’s hanging upside down, laughing maniacally at his own scheme. And sadly, this is the last time we ever see this character. It’s implied that the Joker is arrested by the Gotham City Police Department and remains alive in Nolan’s Batman universe. Like he tells Batman earlier, “I think you and I are destined to do this forever.”

That was originally Nolan’s plan. The third Batman movie was supposed to include Ledger’s Joker, most likely as a secondary villain. Ledger’s tragic and untimely death made Nolan change directions, and what we got instead was The Dark Knight Rises. Joaquin’s Joker actually gets the opportunity to appear in a second film. But the second film, Joker: Folie à Deux, ends with Arthur Fleck getting stabbed and dying in a pool of his own blood — which finally brings us to the biggest difference between these two characters.

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1

Joaquin’s Joker Apparently Isn’t the “Real” Joker

There’s really no other way to say it. Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is not the Joker. As we discussed earlier, 2019’s Joker was the origin story for this iteration of the character. Many fans assumed that Arthur would be the Joker as soon Joker: Folie à Deux began. But for most of the film, Arthur is just…Arthur. His Joker persona is nowhere to be found, until Harley Quinn yanks it out of him about halfway through the movie.

Finally, we see Arthur put on the clown make-up and give us a show — only for him to renounce his Joker persona about five minutes later. Arthur claims the Joker isn’t real and takes full responsibility for his actions, rejecting the Clown Prince of Crime both mentally and emotionally.

But that’s not all. In the very last scene, a random inmate that we’ve never seen before approaches Arthur and tells him a joke about a clown and a psychopath. As he’s delivering the punchline, the inmate whips out a knife and brutally stabs Arthur in the stomach. Arthur dies from his wounds, while his attacker laughs maniacally in the background.

The real kicker, though, is when this character seems to cut a smile into his face, a reference to Heath Ledger’s Joker. This twist ending has proven controversial and divisive among fans. Arthur’s death implies that the unknown inmate is the real Joker, the future archenemy of Batman, and the future lover of Gaga’s Harley Quinn. Is he actually supposed to be Heath Ledger’s Joker? That point is unclear. What is clear, though, is that Arthur Fleck was nothing more than a precursor to the Joker, the inspiration for Batman’s most famous villain. This movie series is literally called Joker — and yet, this ending implies that we haven’t really been watching the Joker at all.