"Hmm! And that gives me a tremendous idea -- an idea that only the Joker could think of! Ha ha! Slapsy, go out and get me some baking dough, a picture frame, some firecrackers, and some barrels of red paint!"
The Joker, "The Wizard of Words"
He is the ultimate villain...in so many ways! But by far his greatest virture as a villain is his style: the clothes, the clues, the theme crimes, the joy he takes in his work. Other villains scheme painfully for years and ruin their lives just to have their revenge on one person (that reminds me, must visit Animal-Master in prison). But for the Joker, a stick of chewing gum or discarded soda bottle will inspire a series of heists that net him millions of dollars, force Batman to wear a French maid's costume while spanking Robin with a hairbrush, and increase tooth decay in Gotham by 12 percent.
In the hands of a regular criminal, even the robbery of Fort Knox can seem quotidian. In the hands of the Joker, the robbery of hot dog stand can become a work of art.
All because of style!
2 comments:
In the Batman cartoon, there was once an episode in which the Joker took hostages, threatened the city, made Batman run a gauntlet of death traps ... all so the Joker could shove a pie in his face.
The man deserves either the electric chair or the Nobel Prize.
The pie thing was the single greatest moment in human history.
Well, not really, but it was definitely up there.
Also, Merry Christmas!
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