Joker (2019) Comic Influences

[Silver Nemesis]

Director Todd Phillips has said Joker (2019) was not based on any one particular comic, but lifted elements from several different stories:

"It's funny, because a lot of you guys have probably reprinted something I said in Empire, where I was misquoted. I'm not gonna complain. I like the writer--he wrote a great piece, where I said, 'We didn't take anything from the comic book world.'

"That's actually not what I said. What I said was, 'We didn't take anything from one particular comic.' We kind of picked and chose what we liked from the 80-year canon of Joker."

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/joker-director-says-he-was-misquoted-concerning-co/1100-6469859/

In addition to the title character, several other familiar faces from the source material appear in the movie: Bruce Wayne, Thomas Wayne, Martha Wayne, their faithful butler Alfred and a character who is presumably meant to be Joe Chill. We also have a number of characters that are ostensibly new, but strongly resemble pre-existing figures from the comics.

Three stories in particular seem to have influenced the film: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (1986), Alan Moore's The Killing Joke (1988) and J. M. DeMatteis' 'Going Sane' (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Vol 1 #65-68, November 1994-February 1995). The comic creators responsible for all three of these stories are acknowledged in the 'thanks' section of the movie's end credits. So let's look at each in turn and see what the film took from them.

The Dark Knight Returns

The main thing to be adapted from this story is the climactic interview scene on the Murray Franklin show. Joker appears before the audience by stepping through a curtain with a cigarette in his right hand.

His fellow guest on the show is a female doctor. In The Dark Knight Returns the other guest is meant to be real life sex therapist Dr Ruth Westheimer, better known as 'Dr Ruth', while in the movie she's replaced by a fictional substitute named Dr Sally. In both stories the Joker suddenly kisses her on the lips.

Joker shocks the audience with a violent revelation. They're not sure if he's serious or just kidding.

And of course the interview climaxes with him murdering Endochrine/Franklin. In the comic he also kills Dr Wolper, which may have inspired the final scene in the film where it's implied he murders his therapist at Arkham.

Joker is shown smoking a cigarette in Arkham in both stories.

The depiction of the Wayne murders includes the familiar image of the gunman (presumably Joe Chill) tearing off Martha's pearl necklace.

The Killing Joke

The most obvious similarity between TKJ and the movie is that both present origin stories for the Joker in which he is portrayed as a failed stand-up comedian. The character's name is not mentioned in TKJ, though Batman: Gotham Knights Vol 1 #54 (August 2004) would later reveal it to be Jack. In the film his name is Arthur Fleck.

Both characters are victimised by the lowlifes of Gotham, and these experiences contribute to their descent into despair and madness.

Both characters live with a female family member who dies during the course of the story. In the comic it's his wife, while in the movie it's his adoptive mother.

The Joker is shown to dance gleefully in TKJ, much like he does throughout the film.

Arthur's line "I had a bad day" was almost certainly inspired by one of the Joker's lines in TKJ:

"All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy."

The film presents Arthur as an unreliable narrator, and in the final act it is revealed that some of the things we witnessed, such as his romantic relationship with Rebecca, did not actually happen. This recalls something the Joker says regarding his memories in TKJ:

"Something like that happened to me, you know. I... I'm not exactly sure what it was. Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!"

'Going Sane'

In this story the Joker adopts the name Joseph Kerr and reverts to a relatively normal life after he thinks he's killed Batman. His troubled civilian life has parallels with Arthur Fleck's in the movie. For one thing, both men are on medication and are said to have had prior mental health problems. Arthur's appearance is similar to Joe Staton's depiction of Joseph in the comic.

Both Joseph and Arthur fall in love with a neighbour they meet in a hallway of their apartment building. This woman lives a few doors down from Joseph/Arthur. The character of Rebecca Brown was probably at least partly inspired by Sophie Dumond in DeMatteis' story.

Arthur/Joseph is shown to occasionally laugh uncontrollably during times of emotional stress.

Both stories feature scenes where the Joker watches a Charlie Chaplin film in a cinema.

Both stories also contain an image of Joseph/Arthur mentally transforming into the Joker as elevator doors slide open/shut in front of him.

Other Possible Comic Influences

A prominent subplot in the film concerns Thomas Wayne running for mayor of Gotham. Thomas also ran for mayor in Batman: Earth One Volume 1 (2012).

The idea of the Joker's actions inspiring protestors in clown masks might have been inspired by 'Wheel of Misfortune' (Detective Comics Vol 2 #5, March 2012). There was also a similar subplot during the Death of the Family (2012-13) arc.

Towards the end of the film the Joker's actions inspire a riot that leads directly to the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne. The Joker had previously been shown to be responsible for the deaths of Batman's parents in the comic stories 'The Danger of the Deadly Duo!' (World's Finest Vol 1 #166, May 1967), Batman: Dark Joker the Wild (1994) and Batman: Detective No. 27 (2003), as well as in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie.

The detail of the blood splattered across Bruce's face after his parents are gunned down recalls Jim Lee's artwork in 'The Legend of the Batman: Who He Is and How He Came to Be', which was included in the trade paperback edition of Hush.

Irv Novick is one of the comic creators listed in the 'thanks' section of the film's credits. The scrawny appearance of Phoenix's Joker recalls Novick's work on The Joker Vol 1 series that ran in the late seventies. The Joker was often shown dancing in this series, much like Phoenix's version does in the film.

'99 and 99/100% Dead' (Joker Vol 1 #10, written and drawn in the seventies but unpublished until August 2019) ends with the Joker murdering the psychiatrist he'd been speaking with throughout the issue, similar to how it's implied he may have murdered his therapist at the end of the movie.

The following comparison is with a panel from 'Luthor – You're Driving Me Sane!' (Joker Vol 1 #7, June 1976).

One last possible comic influence relates to the character Gary, who is one of the few people Arthur seems to genuinely like in the movie. The comic book Joker has occasionally displayed a fondness for vertically-challenged sidekicks and had several such henchmen in The Killing Joke. He also had a midget accomplice named Gaggy who was his sidekick in the comics before Harley Quinn came along. Like Gary, Gaggy was a vertically-challenged clown who was friends with the Joker. He first appeared in the Silver Age story 'The Joker's Original Robberies!' (Batman Vol 1 #186, November 1966) and was later referenced in numerous Modern Age comics. Actor Leigh Gill, who portrays Gary in the film, has acknowledged the similarities between the two characters on social media.

Earlier Batman Films

In a possible nod to the bat-poles from the sixties TV show and movie, Bruce's tree house is shown to have a sliding pole.

Thomas Gainsborough's 'Boy in Blue' (1770) can be seen on the wall of Arthur's apartment. This was one of the paintings defaced by the Joker and his goons in the 1989 Batman movie.

After killing Murray Franklin, the Joker shoots his corpse as it sits slumped behind his desk. He did the same thing after killing Carl Grissom in the 1989 film.

The exterior of stately Wayne Manor was filmed at the Webb Institute in Glen Cove, New York, which was the same location used for the stately Wayne Manor exteriors in the Joel Schumacher Batman films and the Gotham TV show.

Phoenix thanked his friend Heath Ledger during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, and Joker (2019) appears to have derived a fair amount of influence from The Dark Knight (2008). The nihilistic worldview of the Phoenix Joker reflects that of the Ledger version. He also shares his long hair and use of makeup instead of perma-white skin. The image of the Joker holding the camera as he speaks directly to the people of Gotham appears in both films.

The scene where Joker is enjoying a ride in the back of a police car evokes a memorable moment from The Dark Knight.

The Joker smearing blood across his lips to create a smile recalls a teaser poster for The Dark Knight featuring Ledger's Joker.

Arthur's journal may have been inspired by the Joker diary Ledger kept during the making of The Dark Knight. Both books contain notes on things the Joker finds funny, but which most people would find disturbing. In the case of Ledger's Joker diary, many of these things were copied from Grant Morrison's 'The Clown at Midnight' (Batman Vol 1 #663, April 2007).

And that's all I've got. Can anyone think of anything else worth mentioning?

[thecolorsblend]

I was waiting for a thread like this so that I could bang away about all the similarities to Going Sane. Looks like you beat me to it though. The only halfway connection to Going Sane that I would add (and this is really tenuous) is the conclusion of JOKER and the conclusion of the Joker's story in Going Sane feature the character locked in Arkham, laughing.

[The Dark Knight]

Brilliant feature. I think you've covered everything, but I'll give it some more thought and see if I can muster anything else. The only thing at the moment would be JOKER's version of Arkham State Hospital.

[The Joker]

Man, Silver Nemesis is an absolute BEAST in these threads!

Actually, these "comic influences" threads are my favorites on the forums to be perfectly honest. Just on the content alone. I've been waiting on this one. As always, it did NOT disappoint.

[Silver Nemesis]

I was waiting for a thread like this so that I could bang away about all the similarities to Going Sane. Looks like you beat me to it though. The only halfway connection to Going Sane that I would add (and this is really tenuous) is the conclusion of JOKER and the conclusion of the Joker's story in Going Sane feature the character locked in Arkham, laughing.

I didn't say much about the ending, so that's definitely a parallel worth mentioning.

Most people on other sites appear to be focusing on The Killing Joke as the film's primary inspiration, but we can't overemphasise just how strong the similarities with 'Going Sane' are. Phillips' movie is as much a loose adaptation of that story as it is TKJ. Perhaps more so.

Brilliant feature. I think you've covered everything, but I'll give it some more thought and see if I can muster anything else. The only thing at the moment would be JOKER's version of Arkham State Hospital.

I missed these on my initial viewing, but there are a couple of Easter egg references to other villains during the Arkham scenes. Penny Fleck's doctor at Arkham is Dr. Benjamin Stoner. In the comics Dr. Benjamin Stoner (aka Anti-Fate) was a character created by J. M. DeMatteis who formerly served as head doctor of Arkham Asylum. His inclusion in the film is another reason why DeMatteis is acknowledged in the 'thanks' section of the end credits.

In a possible nod to the Riddler, there's also a green question mark on the wall of the lift at Arkham Asylum.

A few more minor things.

The Joker is usually depicted with a long coat, but Phoenix's version wears a shorter jacket. This reflects Neal Adams' depiction of his outfit in 'The Joker's Five-Way Revenge!' (Batman Vol 1 #251, September 1973). He also wore similar jackets in some of the Golden Age comics.

Here's a visual comparison with a panel from 'The Joker's Happy Victims!' one-shot (1966).

Another example of a diminutive ally of the Joker would be Tino from 'The Case of the Joker's Crime Circus' (Batman Vol 1 #4, December 1940).

Others might disagree with me on this, but I'd summarise the comic book foundations of the four classic live action Jokers as follows:

Romero's version is the comic book Joker of the fifties and sixties.

Nicholson's is the Steve Englehart Bronze Age version mixed with elements of the Golden Age Joker.

Ledger's is the Grant Morrison Post-Crisis Joker mixed with the original 1940 version.

Phoenix's Joker is a mixture of the Alan Moore and J. M. DeMatteis versions.

I know these descriptions are a tad reductive, and there are more influences at play than those mentioned, but I think this is probably the most succinct and accurate way of summing up each version.

An even more succinct and reductive way of putting it would be to say that Romero and Nicholson are the Pre-Crisis comic book Jokers while Ledger and Phoenix are the Post-Crisis versions.

Man, Silver Nemesis is an absolute BEAST in these threads!

Actually, these "comic influences" threads are my favorites on the forums to be perfectly honest. Just on the content alone. I've been waiting on this one. As always, it did NOT disappoint.

I've got some more of these threads in the works, including a Spider-Man 3 analysis I finished last year. I never got around to posting it, but I'll try to get it done soon.

[The Dark Knight]

Flipped through TKJ and saw some thematic similarities that may not be influences but nonetheless haven't been touched upon here.

Joker daydreaming about a past life/what he wants life to be:



Joker fighting back from the ground from an apparent sense of weakness:



Becoming animated while recounting a story to someone:



Plus an inversion:

Joker arrives at an apartment and shoots Barbara - Gordon attempts to attack Joker with a pair of scissors.
Randall and Gary arrive at Arthur's apartment and he kills Randall with a pair of scissors.