Wednesday, October 25, 2017

The Joker and Moon Knight


Rumors of a Joker stand alone origin movie have me scratching my head.  First of all, The Joker - like Wolverine and The Phantom Stranger - is one of the few comics characters that works better for me without a clear back story.  The air of mystery helps him to be more menacing.  I don't really want to understand his psyche, either - He's a mass murdering psychotic that I want to laugh at or be afraid of - not sympathize with.  Finally, while I wasn't crazy about Jared Leto's take, I don't know if audiences are ready for the role to be re-cast once again so quickly.  We'll see if this project ever comes to pass or if it is morphed into a Joker/Harley Quinn film, an idea that has also been floated aound.

23 comments:

AirDave said...

I believe the announcement of a Joker stand-alone "origin" film came after the announcement of a Dr. Doom film from FOX. (My gut tells me that FOX is doing whatever they can to maintain the film rights to the Fantastic Four; by announcing a Franklin and Valeria film and a Doom film.) My gut also tells me that immediately after a Marvel announcement there will usually be a DC announcement. This has been going on for some time now.

Scott D. Parker said...

Is my memory correct? That Joker image is from Batman vs. Hulk?

Ross said...

Marshall Rogers Detective #475 The Laughing fish

Dr. OTR said...

"The Laughing Fish" is possibly the greatest Joker story. (And isn't it amazing how they used to be able to tell fantastic stories in a single issue? Now they need six.)

David Morefield said...

I absolutely agree the Joker works better without an origin, as does Wolverine. I also don't care about James Bond's childhood. There's always been a certain power to characters who arrive fully-formed with a past we can only guess at; filling in the blanks is almost always a bad idea. Does anyone really think Darth Vader is even a fraction as cool after the prequels as he was when we first met him in '77? Does anyone really think the "young Han Solo" films will do anything but dilute the character?

Frankly, I'm tired of origin stories, period. With very few exceptions, no superhero's origin has been their best story, anyway.

Glenn said...

The Joker's Origin is best when it is multiple choice which I think DC realizes. I have no interest in a Joker movie with or without HQ. And yes I also did not like Jared Leto's take so actually a HQ w/o the Joker has even more appeal.

Dr. OTR said...

Origin stories have their place. Imagine Batman with out Thomas and Martha Wayne shot in Crime Alley, Superman without Krypton exploding, or Peter Parker without that spider bite. Sometimes origin stories really flesh out a character.

Anonymous said...

1) I agree with you and Dave Morefield about the Joker's background. Let his pre-Red Hood days permanently remain a complete mystery.

2) I also agree about the inadvisability about ret-conning the Joker again, so soon.

3) In preference to both, I'd rather see a Moon Knight feature film! Maybe played by Matt Damon, so there could be a mistaken identity slug-fest with Ben Affleck's version of Daredevil!

Matthew said...

Joker always worked best as a foil to Batman. A standalone Joker movie doesn't seem that great idea for me.

Anonymous said...

Also Peter Parker with a still-living Uncle Ben.

Carycomic said...

@Anonymous: I second that motion!

Peter doesn't get enough rice in his diet.

ELS said...

ITEM: Dr. OTR - While you are absolutely correct that fantastic stories were so often one-and-done, the Joker Fish story was a two parter; Detective 475 and 476.

ITEM: Jared Leto's Joker was terrible. I compare it to Two-Face in Batman Forever; it's a character with the name and the look, and never mind what's been previously established for character. Denny O'Neil got the character right; Steve Englehart got the character right. And everybody else wants to do THEIR Joker, not the established one. Well, another DC reboot ought to fix it...

ITEM: Ross, perhaps a little credit love for Terry Austin would also be suitable? His inking was superb on... well, on anything!

Unknown said...

"First of all, The Joker - like Wolverine and The Phantom Stranger - is one of the few comics characters that works better for me without a clear back story."
Sounds like a theme for a cover.

Anonymous said...

What Marlow said.

Simreeve said...

ELS said...
"Denny O'Neil got the character right; Steve Englehart got the character right. And everybody else wants to do THEIR Joker, not the established one. Well, another DC reboot ought to fix it..."

At the current stage, according to the Mobeius Chair (when Batman was, briefly, its rider), the main DCU actually has three versions of the Joker active simultaneously!

Anonymous said...

Right now, the Mobius Chair is in the custody of Metron on CW Earth-1 (according to the current season of THE FLASH).

Isaac said...

@Anonymous- Where did you get that info?New Gods on the CW ? Noooooooo!

Carycomic said...

Just check any On-Demand rerun of the first three episodes of this season.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Carycomic. If that ain't Mobius, I'll eat Zatanna's top hat.

Anonymous said...

@my namesake: Mobius is the name of the dimension-hopping chair. Metron is the name of its owner.

You give Anonymice everywhere a bad name. Sheesh!

Carycomic said...

Having just seen the Flash episode introducing Hazard (and the actress playing her definitely looks hot in fishnets!), I would have to change my mind and say that the new Big Bad for this season is either the Thinker...or the Turtle.

Carycomic said...

As of the episode wherein Ralph Dibney debuted as the Elongated Man (in fact, if not in name), it's official. The arch-enemy for this season is The Thinker (nee Cliff Devoe).

Jammerson said...

Major shout out to Super Team family. They’re killing it with these covers. Absolutely amazing 🤩

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