Why Ledger and Phoenix’s Joker are the same person

The Joker character has had a number of iterations that have been both unique and bizarre. Cesar Romero was a kooky incarnation playing opposite of an equally goofy Batman. Jack Nicholson played the role darker and closer to the comic-book character with a flair for dancing, and then there was Jared Leto’s Joker who was largely maligned by the fanbase.

The most acclaimed iterations have been that of Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayals of the Clown Prince of Crime. Both actors have been hailed as milestones in comic-book performances and have won Oscars for the same role.

While their perspective movies have taken place in différent timelines of the Batman universe, both incarnations have a vibrant and fresh sense of the character and are unique in their own interpretation.

Both The Dark Knight and Joker have had a slew of theories and interpretations, but what if both Joker’s are actually the same person?

Disclaimer: This article reflects the views of the author. (Spoilers ahead)

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Ledger and Phoenix are the same Laughing Joker

They both have uncertain origins

Ledger and Phoenix as the clown prince of crime (Image via Warner Bros.)

In 2008’s The Dark Knight, Ledger’s version was most notable for killing victims with his trusty knife, but before doing so, he would often tell a tale of how he came to get his scars on his mouth. However, he would change the story with every victim and the audience never fully understood what the truth was.

In Joker, Arthur Fleck is seen at the end of the film laughing at an unspecified joke while having a vision of Bruce Wayne and his dead parents. The film teases that the events leading up to Fleck killing talk show host Murray Franklin and the ravaged Gotham City were all fabricated in his mind and possibly never happened.

Both men have an inconsistent grasp on reality and their stories are still shrouded in mystery. Unlike other iterations, these two have a shared thread in the displacement of reality and seem like they could be one and the same.

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They both share the same dialogue

Two Laughing Clowns in Gotham or perhaps one? (Image via Warner Bros.)

While Harvey Dent was writhing in pain and tied up in the hospital, the Batman foe revealed himself and told Dent that he was in custody when Rachel Dawes was killed in an explosion. Dent claimed that it was Joker’s plan and the villain responded, “Do I look like a guy with a plan?”

In Todd Phillips' 2019 epic comic-book adaptation, Fleck is on the Murray Franklin show and has just revealed that he killed three Wall Street men on the subway and similarly asked Murray, “Do I look like the kind of clown that could start a movement?”

The two both interact with their “victims” in a similar condescending manner, with a very similar tone and phrase of words that almost seems too obvious not to see. It’s like the comic-book character evolved over time with his schemes and his speech.

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They thrive in anarchy

Admittedly, most Jokers have a flair for anarchy, but Phoenix and Ledger’s characters embed themselves into it, not going into campy grounds like Cesar Romero or Jack Nicholson’s versions of the character and not being overly zealous and bombastic for no reason like Jared Leto's Joker.

Ledger claimed that his villain was an agent of chaos and Phoenix grew to love the destruction that ravaged throughout Gotham City after inciting riots because of his outbursts on live television. The two have a knack for using societal mayhem as a driving force for their personalities.

This could be an indication that the two are the same. Phoenix could have just been playing a younger version of Ledger’s clown when he got a taste of violence and then he upped the ante in The Dark Knight, which would make the theory that much more mind-blowing.