We’ve sampled Jokers from different media and found that, usually, when two are closely comparable, the funnier of the two is the more successful. But even though we’ve looked at about a dozen different examples…
there are dozens more from the comics we could examine…
…and likewise, dozens more from other media.
Even from those twelve, we can observe the “funnier is better” rule has its limits. The Dark Knight outperformed Batman because it had much more to say and could say it while delivering big thrills. The Killing Joke outsells “Death in the Family” but also all other Joker comics, including those where the mood is far lighter.
In his 2022 essay “Why I'm Fed up with the Joker,” Alan J. Porter shows we’re at no risk of a Joker story shortage:
Porter finds similar increases in live-action, animation, and video-game portrayals.
I think that's too much Joker for the Joker's own good, and our own good. But if we take that many Joker stories as a given, the best way to make more of them worthwhile is to differentiate them. And how to differentiate them? By defying expectations, bringing in unexpected elements—the same things you do when you try to make a story funny.
The same old routines won’t be enough. What’s acceptable in comedy changes over decades—some things like fluid sexuality get more accepted, others like casual harassment get less. The Joker’s not exactly bound to what’s acceptable—murdering the audience has always been a no-no in comedy clubs—but he should still make it a reference point.
Also, we’re in a politically divided age, with two sides rarely even agreeing on the same core facts. Our entertainers often seem unsure whether to serve both groups—or pick a side and take a stand. Political humor and the Joker haven’t always worked well together, but in these extreme times, with long-cherished institutions in trouble, he might have more to say that feels relevant.
Then there’s the modern trend of “doomer” humor, which proceeds from wild pessimism about the future and one’s personal prospects. If you take what doomers say online at face value, they might respond to a Joker threat with eager acceptance. “Oh, good, now we don’t have to keep paying out student loans. Just let me post to my socials, ‘I regret this didn’t happen sooner.’”
Relevance to these trends has appeared in recent treatments. The 2019 Joker film has a backdrop of failing institutions and the gap between rich and poor. In 2020, the comics introduced Punchline, who stepped into Harley Quinn’s old role (as henchwoman and “girlfriend”) with an angry doomer nihilism Harley never had. In a superhero universe where most major characters were created decades ago, Punchline is one of the few who feels as young as she looks (Batman #93, 2020).
But neither that film nor Punchline is funny. Just as Mark Hamill’s animated Joker began his existence with a song from 1960s schoolchildren, the path to being both contemporary and funny may come not from official output, but from building on the ideas of fan artists and parodists (like the Texts from Superheroes example above). Writers have to be open to good ideas wherever they come from.
What makes any Joker compelling is the mix of criminality and humor, or at least humor’s signifiers. Anyone who works with the character should put some extra work into his routines.
For fictional characters, bringing death is easy. It’s comedy that’s hard.
(Below: from 2024's World's Finest #25, the Joker's first partnership with Lex Luthor gets off to a rocky start.)
Tomorrow: Micross time!