Before Joker was even released, the quote about him realizing his life wasn’t a tragedy, but a comedy was immortalized by fans who were glad to see the sinister aspect of the character was returning in live-action.
To this end, fans figure Joaquin Phoenix might have gone full method with his acting and stopped being a funny guy in general since his version of the Joker is supposed to be someone who has an innate sadness within him. If that really is the case, then we can guarantee to make Joaquin laugh by presenting him with these 10 memes that make light of DC’s latest Joker film.
Updated by Saim Cheeda on January 31th, 2020: Joker’s stellar list of nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards has renewed interest in the Clown Prince of Crime. With Martin Scorcese’s adverse comments against superhero genre films also in mind, we think it’s time to revisit our pal Arthur Fleck and his impact on pop culture.
What’s important to remember is that memes give the otherwise dark outlook of Joker a more positive spin, also reminding you to take things lightly and that the film’s message shouldn’t be taken too literally.
Bruce Wants That One
It’s a shame we never got to see a match-up between the DCEU Batman and the Joker, as this dynamic is the main draw on DC’s arsenal. However, some do agree that it was for the best since the DCEU Joker just didn’t seem like a good fit for this Batman.
On the other hand, the current Joker would make for an awesome foe for DCEU Batman, what with him being the right kind of diabolical to go up against. For this reason, we endorse Bruce checking out Arthur Fleck.
Sounds About Right
If you were to show this meme to Arthur, then it would guarantee get a laugh out of him. That’s because picture reflects Arthur’s own problems with his psychiatrist, who didn’t give him any time of day for his problems.
Most optimistic people don’t get that simply telling someone to be positive helps in no way, so perhaps we should show this meme off to all those handing out unhelpful advice. Arthur’s psychiatrist sure could’ve used it as an eye opener for herself.
All For Nothing
There was more to Arthur’s laughter than met the, well, ear. Had his boss taken the time to actually hear the guy out, perhaps Arthur would never have become the Joker, seeing as him getting fired was one of the catalysts for this.
The funny thing is that his mannerisms do seem rather relatable when it comes to the matter of the office, since we all know it feels to laugh at your boss’s lame jokes just to please them, only to be ignored when the time for getting promoted arrives.
We’ve All Been There
When there’s so much hype surrounding a movie, those who eat up this hype just can’t wait to watch it. And so, we get thousands of pirated versions of the film that get downloaded in bootleg quality, which usually have Korean subtitles for some reason.
Those who went crazy over Joker watched the film dozens of times, with the side effect of this apparently being that they ended up learning Korean. If you’re familiar with the film’s ending, then you definitely let out a chuckle at this meme.
So Much For That Idea
The Joker craze really took everyone by surprise; what was supposed to be a small-time movie took a life of its own. By the time Halloween rolled around, the Joker had become the go-to costume for people, only it seemed everyone had the same idea.
Since people don’t like to have the same costume as everybody else, this posed a bit of a problem. We ended up getting a lot of variations to the get-up, although some were still dismayed having to share the Joker spotlight with many others.
How Times Have Changed
One of the more well-known quotes from The Dark Knight was the scene where Harvey Dent explained how even a hero can become a villain if he lives long enough. This quote has been applied to numerous real world situations, with Joaquin Phoenix now falling under this.
Evidently, Joaquin used to play Superboy when he was a child actor, which is all kinds of ironic now as he’s taken a hard turn into supervillain territory as the Joker. In this case, Harvey Dent really was speaking the truth.
Dance Off, Bro!
Spider-Man 3 fans will instantly know what this meme means, although the sight of Tobey and Joaquin dancing together should be enough to make one laugh out loud. In the aforementioned movie, Peter Parker became evil due to the venom symbiote controlling him, but his “evil” actions involved having cookies with milk.
This way, you can imagine Joaquin’s Joker reacting the same way as Tobey did, seeing as Tobey’s Peter had done the same dance after he’d had his cookies. If there was ever a time for the Batman universe to crossover with Marvel, this should be it.
You Know It’s True
Jared Leto is often considered as the worst Joker we’ve had so far, so much so that Joaquin’s fine performance in this role has meant Jared is considered a total joke by man fans now. You can’t even argue with this claim, though, since Jared has been dropped from future DCEU movies.
Also, seeing as Joker has been said not to have any sequel in sight, it means fans despise Jared’s version so much that they would rather have Joaquin’s one-time appearance rather than the possibility of Jared’s Joker appearing in multiple future movies.
Know Your Facts!
A popular meme running around was one where it pointed out that the Joker of today didn’t need any big backstory, and that his turn to the worst was simply because society totally blows nowadays. A comparison was made with Jack Nicholson’s version, who at least had a valid reason to go crazy.
However, these people miss the obvious fact that Joker is set in 1981, meaning all that talk about society being terrible nowadays can’t apply since the events of this film are set almost forty years ago. That’s a full eight years before Batman in 1989.
Not Loving It?
The great thing about Joaquin’s version of the Joker is that he actually looks the part rather than his appearance being tacked on like Jared Leto’s had been in Suicide Squad. However, this has brought up comparisons with another well-known clown in Ronald McDonald.
The mascot of McDonald’s has given more than a few children nightmares in his time, and perhaps a child who still carries that trauma as an adult thinks the likeness between Joker’s character and Ronald McDonald is eerily similar. How awesome would it have been if this had been a simultaneous origins story for McDonald’s as well, though?
On My Way
There had been panic in the streets when the film was about to be released due to the notion that Joker might influence some people out there to take the movie too seriously and start riots the same way the film had depicted.
So far, thankfully, we’ve only seen people like the one who created this meme out in the streets. Those who went to the early shows of the movie will no doubt have seen hardcore fans running amok, with most of these guys having the same kind of make-up Joaquin Phoenix had in the film. Now that’s a crazy fandom for you.
Friends Fans Will Know
No matter how long it’s been - and it has been over 25 years now - Friends fans will be ever present, and these guys seem to have gotten their hands on some Joker memes themselves.
If you’re not familiar with the joke, Season 1 of Friends had Chandler answer an excited Rachel’s “Guess what?” question by suggesting all 5 supposed dentists inquired over Trident Gum were now recommending it. Since our friend Joaquin here looks like he might have been chewing some mint gum, seeing as he’s flashing his teeth so proudly, maybe Trident does carry a 100% approval rate now.
Same Difference
If you’ve played even one fighting game in your life, you’ll know that two players choosing the same character means the game will automatically have alternate costumes appear during gameplay.
This is most striking in games like Tekken, and we’re sure the Joker would’ve appeared something like in the above picture had he been a playable character. For most fans, Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix are the best versions, so it makes sense that those would be the two costume choices available. At least it’s not the Jared Leto version, right?
Why So Serious?
This meme is also a nod toward the rumor that there might have been violence in cinemas during Joker’s screening, with the joke here being the paranoid filmgoer reacting to anything odd around him.
Joker isn’t meant to be funny in the slightest, as the “jokes” are actually a representation of a sad man’s life taking a dark turn. This is why it would freak people out if someone in the audience started laughing at the movie. In this case, we see why one would be paranoid.
The True Joker
A major guys comic books fans had with the casual audience who watched Suicide Squad were the fans who couldn’t stop gushing over how “hot” Jared Leto’s version was. The argument was that the Joker was never meant to be attractive, and the idea behind him was that he was supposed to scare you.
Seeing Joaquin Phoenix in full Joker garb here staring straight at you does evoke something other than attraction for sure, and it would be interesting to know if the fans still think of this character as a lover boy. Maybe we should also tell them how Joker really treats Harley Quinn, eh?
