He’s called the Joker…because he was a failed comedian, get it? One guesses that this is the logic behind Todd Phillips decision to have Joker’s origin in his film be that of a failed 80’s comedian. One might think this relationship might be a little ‘on the nose’ but those same folks might question the merits of a Joker solo film in the first place…so what do you know. According to The Wrap the story is said to have nods to Martin Scorsese’s (who is producing) 1982 film “King of Comedy” starring Robert De Niro (who is now suffering from terminal Trump Derangement Syndrome…let’s have a quiet moment of mourning for poor Bobbie D).
Over the course of the Joker’s history there has been many back-stories, none are definitive, but the closest to that according to fans is the one laid-out by Alan Moore in his acclaimed graphic novel The Killing Joke. In that, the Joker quits his job as a lab assistant and tries to become a stand-up comedian to support his pregnant wife. He ‘fails’ and turns to a life of crime where a chemical accident serves as a catalyst to him becoming the Joker.
I didn’t like that idea from Moore and I don’t like the idea now. I don’t like the ‘failed’ part. I think it’s too cliché. In fact, I think that if you’re going to go down the route of actually having someone called the Joker be a comedian I think you should have him be a good one. Most comedians are dark, tormented SOB’s, I think the Joker should be shown as a hilarious comedian who is just about to break into the mainstream.
Someone who is one his way…when things go horribly, horribly awry. Being so close to success and having that snatched away…
That’s the kind of thing that would bring that darkness to the surface.
That’s the kind of thing that causes a guy to snap.
But that’s just one man’s opinion.
