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The Joker is probably the most iconic villain in the DC franchise. Fans got different iterations of the characters over the years since it has always been a fan-favorite. It is still unclear who created the character as the main creators Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, have had some issues. Kane claims that he and Bill Finger created the character and Robinson had nothing to do with it. On the other hand, Robinson has claimed that he is the reason why the character exists.
However, all of them agree on one thing: The Joker was inspired by German-British actor Conrad Veidt’s character in the 1928 movieThe Man Who Laughs. The grin on Veidt’s character, Gwynplaine’s face, and the origin story directly inspired Joker.
Also read:“Without Kevin Conroy as Batman..”: Mark Hamill Retires From Playing The Joker and the Reason Will Make You Respect the Star Wars Legend Even More
The Man Who Laughs(1928) is the reason why Joker exists
1928’sThe Man Who Laughswas an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 1869 novel of the same name. In the film, actor Conrad Veidt played the role of Gwynplaine, an English nobleman who was mutilated by King James II after his father offended the monarch. His mouth was cut into a horrible grin and was condemned “to laugh forever at his fool of a father.” As perCBR, this character inspired Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson to create the Joker.
Initially, the character was planned to be killed off but then some editors decided to spare him, allowing the character to become an archenemy of the superhero Batman. The creators of The Joker never gave the character an origin story to allow different filmmakers to create fresh reinterpretations of the character.
Also read:Joker 2 Could Rectify First Movie’s Biggest Plot Twist as Joaquin Phoenix Looks To Deliver Yet Another Oscar Earner
Who created the Joker?
Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson all of them have shared conflicting stories regarding the creation of the character. In a 1994 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bob Kane said,
“Bill Finger and I created the Joker. Bill was the writer. Jerry Robinson came to me with a playing card of the Joker. […] But he looks like Conrad Veidt, you know, the actor in The Man Who Laughs, by Victor Hugo. There’s a photo of Conrad Veidt in my biography, Batman & Me. So Bill Finger had a book with a photograph of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, ‘Here’s the Joker.’ Jerry Robinson had absolutely nothing to do with it.”
On the other hand, Jerry Robinson has remained firm for many years that he has created the character. In a 2006 interview with Newsarama, he said,
“What happened was Bill Finger knew of Conrad Veidt because Bill had been to a lot of the foreign films. Veidt was a great star of European films and in the film, Veidt had this clown makeup with the frozen smile on his face. When Bill saw the first drawing of the Joker, he said, ‘That reminds me of Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs.'[…] I think in Bill’s mind, he fleshed out the concept of the character.”
Guess we’ll never know who actually created the character but today, it stands as one of the most iconic and beloved characters in the DC franchise.
Related:2 Marvel Superheroes Joaquin Phoenix Refused to Play Before Winning an Oscar For DC’s Joker
Farhan Asif
Articles Published :1696
Farhan Asif is a gaming writer at FandomWire who specializes in video games/franchises like Helldivers 2, GTA, and Call of Duty. Apart from 1600+ published articles for FandomWire, he has also written more than 750 articles for AnimatedTimes. He has a passion for coding and is pursuing a degree in computer science. During his free time, Farhan loves to play video games and hopes to create a video game of his own one day.
