G-man at Comicvine posted a question I have pondered on more than once. What if Joker decided to abandon Gotham and the DC Universe and joins the hordes of the Marvel Universe Villains. (And to tell you the truth, if Joker could do it if he should, after the way that some writers have handled his character.)
Anyways, I remember DC joining forces with Marvel and let STAN LEE redesign the DC universe with the Marvel POV (For a little taste of this, catch a few issues of the 2004 miniseries JUST IMAGINE STAN LEE DESIGNING THE DC UNIVERSE). The concept was innovative and fresh for its time, but when I read it I don’t remember Stan Lee even considering redesigning Joker in the series so the question remained unanswered.
Does Joker have what it takes to make a good Marvel villain? And if he does…who would you pair him against?
Let me know what you think guys, I am really curious now….so curious that I would like for you to tell me whatyou think he would look like in that Marvel world. (I personally think he would have a change in attire)
Hm. I think as a Marvel Villain, Joker may have to lighten his tone somewhat. Less of a killer, more manipulative. I think he’d actually fit right in if he were written in more of a Hamill!Joker style rather than the current style of the character in the comics, since almost all of Marvel’s most iconic, great villains are incredible schemers with a lot more of a manipulation bent than a trickster or killer bent. Joker can certainly pull that off and still come across as a threat, so long as the right writer gets on board.
However I don’t quite know if there’s a Marvel hero with quite the right tone to have J as their arch-nemesis. When I think Marvel, I think of something much less dark in tone than DC even if its themes are no lighter. On average, DC just has more stories with a gritty tone than Marvel does, even outside of Batman. So as for heroes? I don’t know. I’d say The Punisher might be close in tone to Batman in terms of grittiness, but the universe of that character is supposed to be more like our own universe – more real. Yes, Punisher has his own share of villains that are unrealistic, but most Punisher tales deal with gangs, crime lords, and other non-supervillains. The Joker would not fit in there because he’s just too absurd – with Batman, it’s obvious why he fits – his nemesis is a dude who dresses in a crazy bat-themed costume and punches bad guys in the teeth. Joker is just as absurd and crazy-looking, making him a good match for Batman and a foil to make him look more serious. With Punisher, he’s already very serious and his hero outfit is mostly a practical outfit. Nothing special expect for massive amounts of weapons. It screams Rambo. The Joker, as an absurd-looking figure and trickster character, just doesn’t work when paired against a character that is written to be more action hero than superhero. Okay, so how about someone rich, like Iron Man? Nope, because Tony Stark actually has the same type of vanity and snarkiness that the Joker has. He’s too laid back. Joker needs someone stiff and rigid to annoy and provoke. Thor? Okay, but he already has a trickster archetype in the form of Loki and too many tricksters spoil the soup. No match with Hulk – Joker is faster and more tricky than Bruce Banner when he’s hulked out (aka, concerned only with smashing stuff). Spider-Man? He’s so angsty he’d whither later under the Joker’s acetic comments, and he’s already a bit of a trickstery, sarcastic jokester himself. J would probably get bored after a while. Anyone from Fantastic Four? Eh… I suppose, but again, I don’t think the tone is right for a killer like the Joker. The X-Men or any other Mutant character? No, he’d be entirely on his own in a world where there’s a war between non-Mutants, bad Mutants, and good Mutants. What purpose would J have other than to maybe pretend he’s a Mutant and therefore be a mole for the bad guys? That’s hardly a fitting position for him.
Okay, so are there any Marvel characters I would like to see him go against? Well, Daredevil might be an interesting concept. I think that Daredevil’s personality might match up just enough with J’s for a battle, but not as a foil. The other one I’d kinda like to see a battle with is Black Widow, because she kicks all sorts of ass. Plus Joker could get snarky with her, and she takes her job seriously enough that it’d be almost like J fighting a much, MUCH lighter, female version of Batman. But otherwise, even though J could fit into the Marvel canon, I don’t think he’d have a foil as good as Batman there.
True that there is no single Marvel hero that could be called the Joker’s “Batman” in the regular roster but two things I think are at play here.
First Joker can’t translate 100% to the Marvel Universe either because, like you stated before, this is a totally different comic world based more on the realism of our world than fantasy. This Joker would have to evolve (Like Ledger’s version of Joker evolved to be a viable version of the clown in a VERY realistic world-the Nolanverse). The Joker is like a chimera and I think he can reinvent himself any way he wants and fit the Marvel universe if he finds he playmate.
Have to admit that I am a Marvelite at heart, having been initiated in the Marvel world even before I met Joker and Batman. So I have to admit that though Marvel’s regular roster might not be suitable for our Joker to play with, some minor characters might do the trick…Here is my humble list of possibilities:
1. THE SHROUD/Maximillian Quincy Coleridge: Lost his parents at 10 and decided to become a hero after the event. He joined the Cult to Cali, lost his sight but gained some abilities. Basically:Transform Darkforce dimension energy into anything imaginable “See” through walls and darkness. Give this hero a base of operation and a Joker that dabbles in the forbidden magic, and you might have a pair.
See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_(comics)
2. MOON KNIGHT/ Mark Spector: Crimefighting with great hand to hand combat abiliites. Has been called a Marvel substitute to DC’s Batman.
See More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Knight
3. NIGHTHAWK: in some aspects, but I am not a hundred percent sure. I added him here because there might be a possibilities according to some sources and what I could find about on the character.
See more at: http://marvel.wikia.com/Nighthawk
4. BLACK PANTHER/T’Challa: you’ve heard of him…the king of Wakanda, but…how do you translate Joker to the African mythology??…that is something that requires a lot of study (then on second thought….there are HYENAS in the African Savannah, no? Hmmm). But don’t deny that Black Panther, is a well trained hand to hand combatant and that his personality resembles that of the Batman’s.
See more at: http://marvel.wikia.com/Black_Panther
Well, this is my little contribution to the discussion…