Batman’s history on the big screen has been full of ups and downs, and it all began in the 1940s with two serial movies, followed by the film adaptation of the TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward in the 1960s. Batman’s first hits in the realm of film arrived in 1989 and 1992 with Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns, but it all went down with Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997).
After a long break, the Caped Crusader returned to the big screen in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, forming the Dark Knight Trilogy, and while all movies were successful, the one that stands out for many reasons is The Dark Knight. The movie introduced Heath Ledger’s Joker, who arrived at Gotham City to kill Batman, play with the mob, and create chaos all over the city, and he succeeded in the latter. However, as chaotic as he was and as much damage and pain as he caused, his actions can be seen as somewhat heroic, and his plan was the one that saved Gotham, at least for a while.
Although the Joker is one of Batman’s most famous villains and his actions throughout The Dark Knight caused a lot of destruction and death, he might have actually done some good for Gotham. A the Joker really is a “man with a plan”, contrary to what he says in the movie), which unleashes a chain of events involving the mob, Batman, city officials, and Harvey Dent.
The Joker killed criminals and corrupt officials while Dent and Batman battled for Gotham’s “souls”, and the author even adds that Gordon’s promotion to Commissioner was part of the plan to make Gotham better, and the Joker’s clapping during his promotion scene wasn’t sarcastic but genuine. At that point, the Joker was now on his way to get rid of organized crime and corrupt officials, but there was a big obstacle on his way: Batman. At the beginning of The Dark Knight, it’s shown that there were a lot of copycats and wannabe vigilantes that even dressed like Batman, so the real one had to be stopped but not killed as that would make him a martyr, so the goal was to break him from the inside. Joker succeeded at this by giving him the wrong address and killing Rachel Dawes, and he managed to make him look like a villain after Dent’s death, which sent Bruce Wayne into an eight-year retirement. As for Dent, he was a better symbol and martyr for the city and the Joker knew that, after Rachel’s death and the explosion that left him disfigured, Batman would have no choice but to get rid of him. Dent’s death ended up making way for the Dent Act, which wiped out organized crime by imprisoning all criminals, thus bringing the Joker’s plan to an end.
By The Dark Knight, and in the end, every viewer will decide if the Joker was the secret hero of the movie or if he was just a man who loved chaos.
