There are times, when words are not enough. I am an eternal proponent of the written word, and I am at a loss when I find myself in a position where this happens. I admit this only under times of extreme duress – I am speechless. I am at a loss for words.
This is one of those times. I don’t need to say anything about the above. I don’t need to critique it. Your brain is doing it for you. You have taste. You understand what is acceptable, and what is not.
The question, is, naturally, how and why on earth did this design concept make it past the drawing board, let alone through the approval process? If you have an answer, and if that answer is cogent, and well reasoned, please let us know. Please.
There were questions when the Batman vs. Superman trailer was leaked. There were more questions when the official version of that trailer was released. Those questions were legion, but could largely be summed up with the following: has DC lost its mind?
I might have argued against this up until today. After today, I would say: It looks like the answer is yes.
Today, an image of Jared Leto’s Joker from the upcoming Suicide Squad was released. It was not released to universal fanfare, or acclaim. It was, rather, released to something between absolute outrage and completely justified satisfaction – but the satisfaction of long-time detractors of the DC Universe. This does – and all that this does – is establish that DC has gone off the rails.
I know what the Joker looks like. You know what the Joker looks like. He looks like this:
Or this:
What you see above – and in many of the films – are, on many levels, a revisionist design. They’re not quite the archetypal Joker, and that’s fine. It’s OK to innovate. It’s OK to make changes. It’s OK to push the limits. But we all know that this is what the Joker looks like:
It’s that guy. It’s this guy:
Adaptations of comics are, naturally, a playground for experimentation, and they should be. But I don’t think that it’s unreasonable to expect those adaptations to be reasonable. Or sensible. Or good.
What he doesn’t look like, is the promotional image ‘tweeted’ earlier today. The Joker may, or may not have a tattoo; he is not covered in them. The Joker does not have a grill. But most importantly, and on a very serious level, the Joker does not have a tattoo on his forehead that says: “Damaged.” The Joker does not think he is damaged. His world view has to deny that.
World view is a very important thing in a character. The Joker isn’t insane. He isn’t damaged. He is, rather, the only sane person in his world. And that world doesn’t exist unless he holds the most pivotal understanding of its function – he is the hero in his story.
But furthermore, even if he did, he would not admit it. He certainly would not tattoo it on his forehead. I think that, in and of itself, displays a lack of understanding for the character and what he represents that builds a great case for skepticism for the future of Suicide Squad.
I don’t want to come off as overly judgmental. We haven’t seen a trailer. We haven’t really seen a mock-up for the other characters. There’s still a possibility that this might … make sense, in a twisted way. I’m not holding my breath for it, but I’m not ruling it out. Stranger things have happened. Rarely, but they have.
Not to completely undo the last, I’d like to leave you with this, care of the PG Staff:
Outraged? In complete agreement? Let us know in the comments. Check back for further coverage of the now unquestionably dubious Suicide Squad.