Online Petition to Retire The Joker

So far, more than 20,000 fans have signe an online petition to lock the vault on The Joker and throw away the key. The Ultimage Joker wants the character officially retired from the Batman universe, at least in terms of movies. The message is clear: It won't get any better than it was in The Dark Knight, so you might as well leave us with the best possible image you can. Says the site: "If you are one of the many who believe Heath Ledger is the best Joker ever, sign with us to ask for the character to be withdrawn for good, to never again be used in any future Batman sequel." It's a noble mission, I suppose, but I should point out how many observers thought Jack Nicholson's performance could never be topped. So you never know. I don't think that Christopher Nolan will ever bring The Joker back. He's too smart to invite the comparison that could damage reaction to a future film. But down the line, maybe another 20 years or so, we'll see The Joker again. And why not? The character is one of the best in all of American fiction. That's like seeing Olivier do Hamlet and mute Kenneth Branagh from playing it 40 years later. But sign up if you want; I am interested to see how many people actually feel that way about The Joker.

Comments

[Chris]

Really? I'm sorry, but as a Batman fan, I thought Ledger's Joker was one of the worst I've seen. Well, I should qualify that. As an actor, I think Heath did a fantastic job at embracing the character he was given to work with, so I honestly think the problem goes more to the writing than the performance. I know I'm in a minority on this, but it just felt like so much of what I look for in the Joker was missing in "The Dark Knight". I wanted the Clown Prince of Crime, not the Dingy Punk of Anarchy. I know, I know... I'm getting away from the topic here. I'm sorry. I'll go sit quietly in the corner with my animated series dvds and leave all the Ledger lovers alone.

[JOAN AKA NIIKITATYE]

there is no one who can do it any better than heath ledger did, there will never be a btter joker. I love the joker. leave well enoghf alone. let the joker R.I.P. with Heath Ledger I am sure thats the why heath would have wanted it. bring in a different villin like cat woman or make it two face but joker died with heath ... miss u much and love u much also joan aka nikitatye <@:)

[mdelmege]

God you look like a fucking tool with your lack of ability to fucking spell. Go die.

[curtis]

I love Heath more than any other actor. But all he did with the Joker was raise the bar a little. To talk of retiring the Joker is just silly.Heath especally, would not want it that way.These so called fans better read up on the real Heath before acting on his behalf. They would see he is all about the art of it. He would wish the next Joker all the best. So do I.

[MovieFan]

I think that he played the role quite well, but if you watched a lot of Nicholson movies, like I did, you will see a lot of him back in the performance of Heath Ledger. So Nicholson did set the the tone and Heath raised the bar, but without Jack we would never have a Joker character like we have right now. If you ask me, keep it as it is right now, with two great perfomances. Let the Joker rest in peace.

[curtis]

I still like the thought of watching the next big Joker wow. Is that not what the art is all about ? The next wow. Look forward, savor the past.

[Amol]

This is sheer injustice.Heath was great as Joker. He deserves and will get the Oscar. But to say that no future actor will be able to play the Joker as good as Ledger or better than him is a little overboard this time. No need to retire The Joker or whatever ridiculous bizzare demand that was. Afterall Ledger was only twenty-eight years old. We have The Joker since 1939.

And ...No Actor is Larger than the Character he plays. Period.

[SQUEE]

Okay, this is just ridiculous. Heath's Joker was great, but it isn't the best, and it won't be the best. We should give others the chance a try at the character in the future. Joker fans are taking this way too far.