Joker Confirms Which Movie Adaptation He Hates Most
There have been many live-action Joker adaptations across a number of shows and movies throughout the years, with a nearly constant debate raging in the fandom over which adaptation is the best one, and now the Joker himself has thrown in his two-cents after declaring which live-action version of him he hates most.
In Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey #2 by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, Harley has returned to Gotham City to seek vengeance on those responsible for the assault on her friend in the previous issue. However, her trip wasn’t as smooth as she thought because when the Joker heard she’d be back in town, he decided that he’d stop at nothing to kill her. With him to help in that murderous mission, Joker recruited a replacement for Harley Quinn who goes by the name Harley Sinn, a villainous woman who is just as obsessed with the Joker as Quinn used to be. When the two suit up to go after Quinn, Joker finally reveals his least favorite version of himself.
Joker gives Sinn a new outfit as her original one reminded him too much of Harley Quinn, a new outfit that covered up much of her tattooed body. When Sinn asked the Joker if covering her tattoos was deliberate, he replies, “There was a time I found them attractive, but these days they’re a trigger” which is seemingly a reference to Jared Leto’s interpretation of the character in the film Suicide Squad as that is the clearest connection between the Joker and tattoos, as Jared Leto’s version of the Clown Prince of Crime was heavily tatted.
If the Joker actually was referencing Suicide Squad’s version of him with his negative comment then he isn’t alone. The nearly universal consensus is that Jared Leto’s Joker is the most hated version of the Clown Prince of Crime from both fans and seemingly the DC Universe. There have been two separate incarnations of the Joker in live action since Leto’s portrayal in Suicide Squad, and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn (who debuted at the same time as Leto’s Joker) has appeared in two subsequent movies without him, so it doesn’t look like the version the Joker himself seemingly hates isn’t coming back any time soon.
While it isn’t strictly confirmed that the Joker hates Suicide Squad’s version of him, it makes sense that he would reference the depiction as he has shown signs that he’s aware he’s a comic book character within a fictional world. It has been revealed that the Joker isn’t insane but super sane, meaning he is well aware of his fictitious existence which is why he has no value for the lives of his universe. Because of this, he knows that there are live-action movies about him, and it adds up that he would have a favorite, or in this case a least favorite, among them. Based on his comment in this issue, its seems as though Joker's least favorite so far is the one that appeared in Suicide Squad as it was seemingly enough to ruin tattoos for him forever.