Who Is Batman A Hero

The phrase “a hero is only as good as their villains” is truer for no one more than Batman. Batman is one of the world’s most popular heroes for his stoic demeanor and tough view on justice. This also goes for his rogue gallery which includes the like of Catwoman, Bane, Scarecrow, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, and finally the Joker. Of these villains, the most famous and popular of them all is the Joker. The character of the Joker appeared first in the comic Batman Issue 1 and since then since then has been Batman’s archnemesis. The version the Joker, played by the late actor Heath Ledger, that I will be discussing is the one displayed in the 2008 film by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight, which is the second entry in Nolan live-action Batman trilogy.

He says he is just a pin that“dog chasing cars” and that he “wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught [one]” but it’s all an act (Nolan). He is able to outsmart almost all the characters in the movie by being unpredictable. The Joker is able to outmaneuver the mob by lying to them about his intentions and luring them into a false sense of security by making them think that he is one of them but really he's trying to betray all of them. By the end of the movie he is the only gang leader left in town because he either killed the other ones or the police have taken them down. Then there is the police who Joker outsmarts at all turns especially when he gets captured by Gordon and brought to the precinct. He baits one cop into a fight and blows the precinct and taking the witness the police had to mob activity and the Joker who might actually talk in a courtroom. Finally, Batman, while Batman is an intelligent individual the Joker is an enigma to him. Batman has only had to deal with common thugs in mob members only looking for money. The Joker has this goal of chaos and flipping Batman's, Harvey's, and Gotham city's own moral code on themselves. That's why Batman has a hard time combating him. He can't figure out the Joker’s next move or what the end goal

While most villains have masterful plans of controlling the world, becoming powerful, or getting rich and in the Joker’s own words, “It’s not about money… it’s about… sending a message” (Nolan). The Joker says this after burning a giant pile money given to him by the mob to further his motivations. He is not in the crime for profit like the different gangs and the mob is. He is doing whatever it takes to makes chaos and to achieve his one goal, to send a message. That message is that everyone is evil or at least has the potential to become evil given the right circumstances. He starts doing this by threatening to kill people causing others to do some very questionable things. When Coleman Reese threatens his plans the Joker threatens to blow up a hospital and then sends crowds of people out to try and kill him. Sure the possible loss of hundreds in exchange for one life is understandable but still killing and innocent man and playing into the hands of a mad man. Then after making another threat to the city the police send two escape ferries of civilians and of prisoners. The Joker rigs both to blow at midnight but will let one live if the people on one boat blow up the other first. This is another test on the people of Gotham to see if the Joker can turn ordinary citizens into murderers. Some people on the ferries might say that those prisoners did wrong things and deserve to die more than the civilians