The Joker Is Overrated

Let’s be honest, the Joker has become the most overexposed villain in all of comics.

Yes, he’s iconic. Yes, he’s chaotic. But at this point, DC and Hollywood have turned him into a one note obsession. Every new Batman movie? Joker tease. Every “serious” comic arc? Joker’s back. He’s less a character now and more a marketing machine.

The problem is that Joker stopped evolving years ago. He’s always the same… an agent of chaos, a mirror to Batman, a killer who can’t be reasoned with.

That worked when Alan Moore wrote The Killing Joke or when Heath Ledger reinvented him in The Dark Knight. But today? It’s stale. Meanwhile, Batman’s rogues like Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, and Clayface can deliver emotional depth, horror, and tragedy that Joker simply can’t anymore.

The truth? Joker isn’t DC’s greatest villain he’s just the safest. He’s the studio’s crutch, their fallback plan when they don’t want to take risks.

And fans keep eating it up, even as fresher, more compelling villains sit in the shadows collecting dust.

Maybe it’s time to put the Clown Prince of Crime back in the deck and give someone else the spotlight.