The Dark Knight: 5 Reasons Heath Ledger’s Joker Is Still The Best Comic Book Movie Villain (& His 5 Closest Contenders)

[tldr_position]Superhero movies started being taken seriously as an art form when Christopher Nolan reimagined Heat with its L.A. setting switched out for Gotham City in The Dark Knight, the second chapter in the Inception mastermind’s acclaimed Batman trilogy. Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the film’s villain, the Joker, overshadowed the rest of the cast, including the titular hero.

In an age of lackluster comic book movie villains pulled straight from the cookie cutter, Ledger’s Joker remains a high benchmark. So, here are five reasons why Heath Ledger’s Joker is still the best comic book movie villain of all time, as well as his five closest contenders.

10 Joker’s Still The Best: He Stole The Show From Batman

Every time the Joker enters a scene in The Dark Knight, he robs the spotlight from every other character on-screen. Heath Ledger’s genuinely chilling portrait of a violent psychopath dares you to look away.

He even managed to steal the show from Batman. A Batman movie where Batman isn’t the most popular character would’ve seemed like an impossibility before The Dark Knight hit theaters.

9 Close Contender: Loki (The Avengers)

Although he previously appeared in 2011’s Thor, it wasn’t until Joss Whedon wrote Loki into 2012’s The Avengers that he became a great villain. Whedon found the fun in the character’s powers of mischief, and this allowed Tom Hiddleston to have a blast playing him.

Loki didn’t make for a particularly intimidating villain in The Avengers, as his plan was predictable and he posed no physical threat (remember when the Hulk thrashed him around Tony Stark’s penthouse?), but Hiddleston’s hammed-up performance was a joy to watch.

8 Joker’s Still The Best: Ledger Won An Oscar

Heath Ledger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor — the second posthumously-awarded Oscar after Peter Finch’s Best Actor win for Network — for his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

The Academy had never taken a comic book movie seriously before, but Ledger was the clear front-runner for the award. No portrayal of a comic book villain before The Dark Knight had ever even warranted consideration for an Oscar, but Ledger’s Best Supporting Actor win was a no-brainer.

7 Close Contender: Magneto (X-Men)

The last couple of X-Men movies under Fox were underwhelming, to say the least. So, it can be easy to forget that the studio’s first run of the franchise’s films were fun, thoughtful, entertaining blockbusters that went a long way toward popularizing superhero cinema.

At the heart of those movies was the ongoing chess match between Professor X and Magneto, and acting legends Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen played the roles brilliantly.

6 Joker’s Still The Best: He’s The Embodiment Of Chaos

A few times in The Dark Knight, the Joker says that he’s an agent of chaos. His only motive is to disrupt law and order. When he’s awarded a mountain of cash, he lights it on fire. Sometimes, great villains are sympathetic and have relatable motives, which makes them feel human.

But what makes the Joker a great villain is that he’s quintessentially inhuman. His actions aren’t governed by logic or reason; they’re governed by the joy of watching the world burn.

5 Close Contender: Killmonger (Black Panther)

The most terrifying thing about the Joker is that he’s right. When he talks about the virtues of chaos and the downside of social order, it’s hard to disagree with him. The same goes for Black Panther’s villain, Erik Killmonger, who wants to use Wakandan resources to exact revenge against the oppressors who colonized the world and put themselves on top.

It’s easy to see where Killmonger’s rage against colonizing nations is coming from. Michael B. Jordan played Killmonger with enough passion to make him sympathetic. His death scene doesn’t feel like a victory for the hero; it’s heartbreaking.

4 Joker’s Still The Best: He Carries The Film’s Themes

Broadly speaking, The Dark Knight is a movie about Americans living in uncertain times, fearful that terrorism will make its way to a major city. These themes are conveyed through the rise of the Joker, and Gotham P.D.’s powerlessness to stop him.

Compare this to generic supervillains, like Thor: The Dark World’s Malekith and Justice League’s Steppenwolf, who merely speak about their vaguely defined evil plans in trailer-friendly soundbites.

3 Close Contender: Doctor Octopus (Spider-Man 2)

Following Willem Dafoe’s hammy portrayal of Norman Osborn in Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie, Alfred Molina played Otto Octavius as a tragic hero in Spider-Man 2, as he’s a scientific genius whose mind is corrupted by his robotic tentacles.

Molina brought nuance to the role, but he also had plenty of fun with it, which is the perfect recipe for an on-screen portrayal of a supervillain.

2 Joker’s Still The Best: He’s A Perfect Counterpoint To The Hero

The best villains are a counterpoint to the hero, and the Joker is a perfect counterpoint to Batman. The Bat is a meticulous planner who refuses to kill, whereas the Joker is an agent of chaos who kills people for fun.

Throughout The Dark Knight, the Joker pushes Batman to his limits, with the goal of getting him to break his only rule, purely because he enjoys messing with him.

1 Close Contender: Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War & Avengers: Endgame)

After six years of build-up beginning with The Avengers’ post-credits scene, Thanos finally took on Earth’s mightiest heroes in Avengers: Infinity War, and then again in Avengers: Endgame. Thanos’ plan to wipe out half of all life in the universe is narrow-minded. Sure, it would work, but less genocidal plans would also work — he could double the resources instead of halving the people.

The fascinating thing about Thanos as a character is that he refuses to change his mind. He’s set his heart on his insane plan, and he’s powerful enough to see it through.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3465 Articles Published)

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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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