July 18, 2008. A date that has—for Batman fans and casual moviegoers alike—been burned forever in our minds. Three years ago Batman Begins went back to basics—that is, the origin story of Bruce Wayne, soon-to-become the cape and cowl-donning Dark Knight—redeeming the Batman movie franchise with its success and shedding a new light on comic book movies everywhere by bringing them into the modern world of realism and believability.

Besides batarangs and a grappling gun, Batman Begins wielded a meticulously chosen—and not to mention highly talented—cast and the brilliant, capable directing mind of Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Prestige), who decided to end the film with a note that would change things … forever.

Actually, more like a card. The mark of the Joker, Batman’s arch-nemesis and criminal equal.

Now we’re just days away from the release of Nolan’s Bat-sequel, The Dark Knight. But before we get to the now, let’s take a moment to step back and look at the movie’s main villain then. Hold on to your masks, clowns.

Comics (1940):

It all began in 1940 with Batman #1, Bill Finger, and Bob Kane when they created the character—a super villain and criminal mastermind who just was. Finger and Kane found their inspiration in the unsettling appearance of Conrad Veidt in the 1928 silent film called The Man Who Laughs. A sociopath with chalk-white skin, sickly green hair, and bright ruby-colored lips who murders for his own amusement, the Joker—whose real identity is unknown—was born and would forever alter Batman’s life and Gotham City, arguably one-in-the-same.

Over the years the Joker has been written as both a dangerous, psychotic killer and a silly prankster (today he’s considered the former). Later on his origin was explored in numerous explanations with slight variations. But like the Joker says in the classic graphic novel The Killing Joke: if he’s going to have a past, he prefers it to be multiple choice.

In 2006, Wizard magazine crowned the Joker the greatest villain of all time—and rightly so. No one has had such a profound, anarchic, and devastating effect on the Batman mythos as the Joker has, and he’s credited for more than his fair share of tragedies surrounding the Batman.

However, as complex and intense as the relationship between the Joker and Batman is, another character maintains a close—but perhaps not as entwined, albeit strangely complicated—bond with the Joker: the fan-favorite villainess, Harleen Quinzel, affectionately known as Harley Quinn.

Cesar Romero (1960s):

Like one period in the Joker’s existence, Cesar Romero’s portrayal of the Joker in the 1960s campy, live-action television show and the 1966 film of the same name was more that of an annoying, silly nutcase than a dangerous, murdering madman. His crimes were comedic in nature, like turning Gotham’s water supply into jelly and challenging Batman to a surfing competition. (Yeah, you read that right.)

In the movie (yo ho!)—which was horrendously, embarrassingly awful, by the way, and even saying that doesn’t do it justice—the Joker isn’t intimidating, to say the least. You could probably beat this Joker with a fly swatter and he’d run screaming (and giggling) in the other direction. I mean, he was afraid of Catwoman’s “attack cat.” It’s that bad. But in a fictional world where nearly everyone is incredibly cheery and ridiculously cheesy, even the most convincing version of the Joker would look sane next to them. After so long of watching this movie (and the minutes barely drag on), it’s not surprising why it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between a “real” foghorn and a fake foghorn sound made by some guy dressed like a pirate. There are so many random deus ex machinas—the Dynamic Duo’s lives were saved by … rubber foam?—and so much insane logic—apparently “the only possible explanation” for a riddle involving a banana and a Russian is that someone Russian is going to slip on a banana peel and break his neck—that the Joker was really probably standing there dumbfounded amidst the corny acting and badly choreographed end fight scene, thinking, “Okay, the joke’s not funny anymore.”

“Holy … jumble!” Don’t even ask.

Or maybe the Joker just went even more insane. Amusingly, Romero refused to shave his mustache when taking on the role, and thus it was somewhat visible beneath his white makeup. But hey, when you’re surrounded by such preposterous characters and plot threads, why bother to shave? No one cares anyway.

Jack Nicholson (1989):

“Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

In the 1989 Batman film, the Joker had a habit of asking all his victims that before he killed them. Just because he liked how it sounded. With a permanent twisted and silly grin, Jack Nicholson plays one psychotic Joker whose identity was deemed Jack Napier for the movie. Nicholson’s Clown Prince of Crime had his laughing gas and parlor tricks (like acid-squirting flowers) and ridiculous Prince music to dance to on the streets of Gotham and in museums as he vandalized art into something more suited to his “homicidal artist” tastes.

He was made even creepier by the nontraditional decision to make Jack Napier the man who killed Bruce’s parents. As Bats (played by Michael Keaton) points out when he confronts the Joker about his parents’ murder: he may have made the Joker when he caused him to fall into a acidic vat of chemicals, but the Joker made him a long time ago—on the night Bruce swore to rid Gotham of the evil that killed his parents.

Mark Hamill (animation):

Mark Hamill’s (yes, Luke Skywalker from Star Wars) voice as the Joker in numerous cartoons is one of the best incarnations of the Joker ever. Of course, others have done the Joker’s voice in various animations—like Lenny Weinrib in The New Adventures of Batman (1970s) and Kevin Michael Richardson in The Batman (2004–2008)—but Mark Hamill’s Joker portrayal is as classic as Kevin Conroy’s when it comes to Batman (in fact, most fans consider Conroy’s voice to be the voice of Batman).

And I have fond memories of both voices from my childhood. Mark Hamill voiced the Joker in the highly successful Batman: The Animated Series (one of my favorites), which debuted in 1992. He also provided voice talent for the Joker in the fantastic movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, five episodes of The New Batman Adventures, The Batman/Superman Movie, four episodes of Justice League, three episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, and another personal favorite, the movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

Heath Ledger (2008):

Through an extremely successful use of viral marketing, the hype for this film is unbelievable. Showings have already sold out, forcing theaters to add more show times to meet strong ticket demands. Once again there is a fantastic cast, including actors both old—Christian Bale reprises his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Morgan Freeman is Lucius Fox, Michael Caine portrays the loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman continues to play now-Lieutenant James Gordon in a role he was born for, and Cillian Murphy cameos as Jonathan Crane aka the Scarecrow—and new—Maggie Gyllenhaal picks up where Katie Holmes left off as love interest Rachel Dawes and Aaron Eckhart joins the cast (among other newcomers) as District Attorney Harvey Dent and his alter ego Two-Face.

Of course, the player whose sad fate made the most powerful impact was the performance of the late Heath Ledger: the Clown Prince of Crime himself.

The people who have seen Heath act on set as the Joker say he was incredible—that every scene he did was over the top and unique, that he blew things out of the water and was even better than Jack Nicholson. We’re talking (posthumous) Oscar-worthy here, folks. Shock rumbled through those already dark waters (due to the tone of The Dark Knight) when Ledger died from an accidental overdose on January 22 of this year. Uncertainty and rumors spread like wildfire, adding to the chaos like the Joker himself breeds in the film. But after much consideration, the decision was made: Nolan and Warner Brothers would honor the last finished work of the young actor by showing the world his heart-and-soul efforts without exploiting his death. It was careful treading from there on, and the question continues to circulate (in some regard) as to whether Heath’s demise will make the movie too tenebrous for audiences still getting accustomed to his death.

Nevertheless, while Ledger’s passing is tragic and unexpected, those who have been lucky enough to see the film already say they weren’t really bothered by that revelation simply because his performance was so captivating. They were enthralled by him—but when the credits rolled and they exited the theater, the sad fact hit them with a heavier weight. Heath is gone, and his talents untimely went with him.

So when you see Heath in The Dark Knight come Friday, don’t be afraid to (love to) hate him as the Joker. In the darkness of the theater, surrounded by fans like yourselves, get lost in the raw emotion and power of his portrayal and the movie itself. The worst thing you could do is worry about reacting the way you would if he hadn’t died. Be honest about it—laugh at the Joker’s sick jokes that are, indeed, funny in a twisted way, and curse him when he does something appalling or heart-wrenching. Because the greatest act of disrespect is one of apathy.

About the Author: WITA is the lead comics writer for Hollywire’s sister site The Girls Entertainment Network. Please visit the site to view more of WITA’s comic coverage.