In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Martha Wayne is the Joker (and even resembles Heath Ledger's portrayal as seen in The Dark Knight). After Bruce Wayne is shot and killed by Joe Chill, Martha is unable to cope with her loss, so she cuts open her cheeks to create a faux smile. [182] Hall, Ellie (May 31, 2013). "Heath Ledger's Creepy Joker Diary Revealed". BuzzFeed. New York City . Retrieved September 29, 2015. Much of the popularity of Trump has emerged from his presentation of himself as an outsider to the elite willing to lampoon and ridicule power - never mind that, as a rich New York City businessman, he is power personified. Van Luling, Todd (April 4, 2015). "5 Stories You've Never Heard Before About Heath Ledger As The Joker". HuffPost. New York City . Retrieved September 29, 2015.

In the 1988 story "A Death in the Family", the Joker beats Jason Todd, the second Robin, with a crowbar and leaves him to die in an explosion. Todd's death haunts Batman, and for the first time he seriously considers killing the Joker. [50] The Joker temporarily escapes justice when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appoints him the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, giving him diplomatic immunity; however, when he tries to poison the U.N. membership, he is defeated by Batman and Superman. [31]Acuna, Kirsten (August 23, 2013). "Everyone Was Also Furious with the Initial Casting of Heath Ledger As The Joker". Business Insider. New York City: Axel Springer SE . Retrieved September 29, 2015. Manning 2011, p.183 DC birthed the Dark Age with the twelve-part Crisis on Infinite Earths. Not only did the series kill off Silver Age icons the Flash and Supergirl, it cleared out decades of continuity bramble... In Batman: Leatherwing, the Joker is represented as the "Laughing Man", the deformed and insane pirate captain of the ship Pescador. He is the adversary of Captain Leatherwing, a Batman analogue. Fleisher, Michael L. (1976). The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume 1: Batman. New York City: Macmillan Publishing. pp.234–250. ISBN 0-02-538700-6 . Retrieved March 29, 2020. In the context of the incel movement - in which men rally around the perception of their own unjust victimhood - a narrative of a violent folk hero forming through the failure of his dreams of celebrity glory seems strikingly poignant.

Film critics, co-stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Michael Caine, and many of Ledger's colleagues in the film community joined Bale in calling for and predicting a nomination for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in recognition of Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight, which he would go on to receive and win. [72] In 2022, Clayton Davis of Variety ranked Ledger's portrayal as the Joker the best superhero movie performance in the past 50 years. [73] Influence on other villains [ edit ]a b Collura, Scott (November 7, 2006). "The Dark Knight: Heath Ledger Talks Joker". IGN. San Francisco, California: J2 Global . Retrieved September 29, 2015. Beall, Mark (October 11, 2006). "Nolan Defends Heath Ledger Casting". Moviefone.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015 . Retrieved September 29, 2015. Ledger was allowed to shoot and direct the threat videos the Joker sends out as warnings. Each take Ledger made was different from the last. Nolan was impressed enough with the first video shoot that he chose to not be present when Ledger shot the video with a kidnapped reporter ( Anthony Michael Hall). [28] That’s presuming Phillips will recreate New York, New York the way he recreated portions of Taxi Driver in the first film. It is possible he will choose less homage this time around and, perhaps, reveal what Gotham is really like. As it happens, location shooting in downtown Los Angeles already suggests an expansion of what Gotham City is – from an economically depressed New York of the 1970s to, perhaps, a neglected, but operatic burg constantly displaying its architectural ghosts? Couch, Aaron (August 5, 2016). "Making the Joker: Heath Ledger and Jared Leto's Makeup Artists on the Job of a Lifetime". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries . Retrieved May 27, 2018.