Warning: Contains spoilers for The Batman.
Matt Reeves has teased a new origin for toward the end of The Batman, but his cameo teases a sinister partnership in a future installment. Reeves’ explanation for the Joker’s new appearance, mostly obscured by darkness, risks copying an overused trope common in James Bond films.
Set during his second year of crimefighting, The Batman sees Robert Pattinson’s vigilante track down the serial killer The Riddler (Paul Dano). Confronting Gotham City’s rampant corruption alongside Lt. Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), Batman encounters various of his rogues' gallery. However, The Batman’s cut Joker scene would have seen him come face to face with his greatest enemy. Instead, the psychopathic clown receives just a few seconds of screen time, consoling Riddler in Arkham Asylum.
Although Barry Keoghan is simply credited as “Unseen Arkham Prisoner,” it’s obvious he is the Joker. His face is barely visible, but it’s apparent he has scars around his mouth, akin to Keoghan's Joker has had his scars from birth, his permanent smile the result of a disease. It only serves to continue the outdated trope of facial wounds and scars signifying a character's villainy. It’s possible The Batman’s Joker will avoid No Time To Die’s villain mistake, but having scars as the origin of his murderous inclinations could send the wrong message.
Reeves was inspired by The Elephant Man but flipped the core idea – instead of being a beautiful person on the inside, the Joker is filled with hatred. The change to the Joker’s scars suggests he turned evil because of the way people treated him, similar to Joaquin Phoenix’s controversial portrayal of the character. However, using scars to indicate the Joker’s villainy reinforces harmful stereotypes that are far too common in film and TV, which is that disfigurement or conventional "ugliness" equates to evil. It’s a lazy visual trope that is often an excuse for weak characterization. No Time To Die’s Safin (Rami Malek) is one of several Bond villains whose scars are clearly meant to signify his antagonism. The Lion King’s Scar is literally named after his disfigurement. Star Wars’ Darth Vader takes a different approach, in that his scars represent his tragic fall and Faustian bargain, but there iss still a man capable of redemption deep inside. Unfortunately, the prequels reinforce the disfigurement cliché by giving Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) an unexplained scar to illustrate his descent into evil.
Scars can be used effectively in movies, but they must carry meaning, such as Two-Face’s visual manifestation of his split personality. The Batman isn’t the first movie to feature a scarred Clown Prince of Crime. Jack Nicholson’s Joker had a permanent grin, although that visual arguably fit Tim Burton’s heightened world, and he was already unstable before falling into the vat of chemicals. Heath Ledger's Joker scars were the most memorable component of his design. They were unnecessary, but their origin was left ambiguous. Jared Leto’s Joker scars were the least noticeable, simply used to tease his prior battles with Batman (Ben Affleck), and not reflective of his evil persona. Conversely, heroes can bear scars to represent overcoming adversity. The Joker’s original design was inspired by The Man Who Laughs, in which Gwynplaine (Conrad Veidt) was scarred as an infant, but never let himself be corrupted by people's cruelty.
The Batman’s Joker is clearly taking the opposite approach. Changing his origin to emphasize his facial wounds risks repeating a harmful trope that often compensates for lackluster writing, as with No Time To Die's disfigured Safin. Matt Reeves can deliver a complex Joker that goes beyond his scars by not making them his defining characteristic.
