So I recently watched The Batman and enjoyed it for the most part. Sure, Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne hasn’t quite mastered the happy-in-public/brooding-in-private nature of the character, but then again, this is set early in Batman’s career, so it makes sense that Bruce hasn’t quite mastered his dual-persona. As for villians, the Riddler’s plan is appropriately complex, and Paul Dano’s portrayal of Batman’s most cerebral villain is both compelling and creepy. Gotham City is perfectly grimy, and Colin Farrell fits right in with his scenery-chewing Penguin (which any good Penguin should be!). Batman’s tense relationship with the police is wonderful, and Jeffrey Wright is probably my favorite on-screen adaptation of Commissioner Gordon yet. Sure, we could have used more Alfred, and the Batman/Catwoman romance doesn’t quite get time to blossom into the cat-and-mouse dynamic they have in the comics. But over all, I like this take on a young and inexperienced Batman.

That being said, a while back, a deleted scene made its way onto YouTube featuring Batman’s most notorious nemesis: The Joker (portrayed here by a heavily made-up Barry Keoghan). Though he’s intentionally kept out of focus, this Joker bears significant scars on his hands and head. Large patches of hair are missing. His swollen knuckles bear cuts and scabs. Grotesque folds of skin surround his lips and eyes. Again, while we never see his full face in full focus, everything about him seems monstrous. And… well… I’m just not feeling it. Here’s why:

Just as it’s hard to get Batman right, the Joker has always been a little tough to capture on screen. What makes this character work in the comics is his perfect symmetry with Batman.
Batman embodies order; Joker embodies chaos.
Batman is goodness clothed in fear; Joker is evil disguised as joy.
Batman is gritty and intense; Joker is lighthearted yet maniacal.
Batman relies on discipline and self-denial; Joker revels in masochistic hedonism.
Batman takes everything seriously; Joker sees existence itself as a joke.
Batman protects life; Joker dispenses death with a smile.
Batman navigates a secret identity; Joker simply is who he is.

I don’t think there’s a more perfect pair of opposites in comics, but that’s hard to translate to the tone of a movie. If Joker goes too hard into the lighthearted, it derails the darker tone of a good Batman story. If Joker more closely matches Batman’s grim nature, the characters lose their perfect contrast. Joker’s scariness stems from a place of malice masquerading as mirth, and it’s so so hard to get this balance right on screen. Most performers have leaned a little more toward one side or the other of this character:
Cesar Romero played up Joker’s impulsiveness.
Jack Nicholson brought a theatricality to Joker.
Heath Ledger made him an anarchic calculating menace.
Joaquin Phoenix brought terror to Joker by showing what happens when a “nobody” finally snaps.
And Jared Leto famously played into Joker’s monstrosity but completely lost the character’s joy in the process.

Honestly, my favorite Joker remains Mark Hamill’s portrayal in Batman: The Animated Series. Joker here is that perfect mirror to Batman. Everything from the vocal quality to the color palate is a direct reversal. Batman lives in dark grays, blues, and black, while Joker sports bright purples, greens, and a chalk-white face. While Batman speaks in an intimidating baritone when costumed and goes up into a more peaceful tenor as Bruce Wayne, Joker maintains a gleeful squeal for much of his dialogue but dips into the lower register whenever his cruelty is on full display. He almost never has a hair out of place, and there’s nary a wrinkle in his bright purple suit. But despite his squeaky clean exterior, he’s clearly an abusive monster (especially in his relationship with Harley Quinn, which is never portrayed as healthy or aspirational), and this monstrosity cloaked in glee makes him the ideal antagonist to this incarnation of Batman.

Because The Batman has taken its titular hero in such an introspective direction, I would love to see a more clean-cut Joker rise up to match him. This Batman doesn’t need a scarred-up monster; he needs a nihilistic psychopath with the appearance of revelry to contrast his brooding. As meticulous as this Batman is, he needs a chaotic clown to oppose him. We’ve already had an intellectual rival in Riddler and a secretive mob boss in Carmine Falcone; we need a Joker who’s a force of nature— a caricature of happiness masking a homicidal cruelty. Would such a Joker work with the tone they’re trying to set? Maybe not, but for the sake of these characters, I’d love to see it. One thing’s for sure though: when I saw the overly-scarred Joker in that deleted scene, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

Real fear doesn’t need grotesque scars and skin folds. With the Joker, it’s as simple as knowing there’s a monster hiding behind that smile. I really hope Matt Reeves and the creative team behind The Batman will lean in that direction for the sequel.