The Batman Pushes Joker’s Scars Much Further Than The Dark Knight

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Batman. 

Barry Keoghan’s Joker scars in The Batman push things much further than those of Heath Ledger’s Clown Prince of Crime in The Dark Knight. The Batman introduced a new version of the Joker, although largely kept him in the shadows. Mr. J isn’t particularly visible from his cell in Arkham next to the Riddler (Paul Dano) but a deleted scene offers more insight into The Batman‘s Joker’s backstory, scars, and general persona by showing him much closer up and in more detail, which also allows for a clearer comparison to previous versions.

The Batman‘s deleted Joker scene, which sees Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight confront the Clown Prince of Crime in Arkham in order to gain more information about the Riddler reveals that Batman himself is responsible for Joker being in Arkham, with the latter referring to their “anniversary.” Although The Batman was right to cut its Joker scene, since it’s a five-minute segment that doesn’t add a whole amount to the movie itself, the release of it online gives a best of both worlds result in showing off this take on the character, who will perhaps return in The Batman 2‘s story.

Regardless of whether Joker returns, it’s already clear from the deleted scene just how different The Batman‘s version is, in particular to that of Ledger. The Dark Knight‘s Joker remains the hold (or rather, green-and-purple) standard to which all other iterations of the character will be compared, and that’s even more the case of Keoghan’s, since Matt Reeves’ The Batman has been heavily compared to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy. It’s impossible to say yet whether Keoghan will be a better Joker than Ledger, but from what’s been shown it already takes the character further in some ways, especially his scars. Keoghan’s Joker scars and marks are covering his whole body, suggesting a huge amount of injury has been inflicted upon him that goes far behind what happened to The Dark Knight‘s Joker.

In The Batman, Joker’s scars around his mouth are a result of a congenital condition the character was born was, leaving him with a permanent smile that has clearly taken a toll both physically and mentally on him. Beyond that, though, there are lesions all over his body, which could suggest a fall into a vat of acid, even though Reeves has suggested this Joker’s origins aren’t tied to ACE Chemicals like in the comics. There’s also deep scarring at the top and especially to the back of his head: whether The Batman‘s Joker cut off his face, like in DC’s Death in the Family comic, is unclear and arguably unlikely (there’s deep tissue injury but no sign of the stapled-together facial work of the comics), but what’s more important is the point here that it could be possible. That Keoghan’s Joker is so scarred, inside and out, that he would believably go so far as removing his own face pushes the character’s psyche far beyond even that of The Dark Knight‘s Joker.

In a sense, The Batman‘s Joker flips one of the most iconic aspects of The Dark Knight‘s. Ledger’s take was defined by one big question that loomed large over his mostly mysterious character: how did The Dark Knight‘s Joker get his scars? It remains unanswered to this day, but there is already an answer for Keoghan’s, in part, because of Reeves’ reveal about his medical condition. That means while The Dark Knight asks of the origin of Joker’s scars, The Batman makes Joker’s scars his origin, twisting him into the villain seen in the movie itself.

This all speaks to the difference between Reeves’ Gotham and Nolan’s take on the city, because this is a more heightened version of the character to suit its weirder, more out-there location. Ledger’s Joker could just as easily fit into Reeves’ Gotham, of course, because it feels like a world just about anyone could inhabit, but it’s harder to argue for Keoghan’s Joker, with his deep scars, semi-bald head, bubbled skin, and hyena-esque laugh, fitting into Nolan’s more grounded reality. That’s not necessarily better or worse, but The Batman‘s Joker perfectly highlights just how much further Reeves takes some core elements of the character and his mythos.

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