One of the most awaited comic-book movies of the year ‘‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ was released this week. With the resounding success of Joker (2019), fans have had a lot of hope. It is close to two decades from when Anurag Sharma, a Mumbai fan, was first introduced to Joker. Being from Generation Z, or Gen-Z, as they are popularly known, he shares, “I first saw Jack Nicholson as the Joker in Batman (1989). It was in 2006 when I started exploring the films after watching Batman Begins (2005).” After that, he did not look back. “My fondest memory came through the television cartoon show called ‘Batman’, the animated series. I watched it in 2007, and I remember it like yesterday.” Sharma is one of many fans in the city, who like Batman, but may love Joker more than many other DC Comics fans.

For the longest time, the larger-than-life character of Batman has overshadowed Joker in cinema by limiting him to being the villain in the films over many decades. However, things changed when Joker got his movie in 2019. Everything that followed was poetic not only for Joaquin Phoenix, who played the titular character as Arthur Fleck and won the Oscar the following year, but also for fans, who till then were talking about Batman’s arch nemesis only in comic book circles. It probably gave them the limelight to discuss their fascination with Joker’s character in the open and be proud of the ‘nerd mode’ they went into, every time somebody broached the topic of Joker.

He explains, “The whole chaotic villain and a badass hero concept was still new to me and Joker from that series had some amazing jokes, disturbing plans and was a pure menace,” shares Sharma, adding, “It got me into reading comics and then I finally got to watch Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker and that remains one of my favourite incarnations of the clown prince.” The fact that he is mysterious and wants to prove a point because he has an ideological conflict with Batman, makes him interesting.

While the 1989 film was the peak of Millennial fandom, Batman was already popular before that and the love for the comic book character has trickled down to generations of hardcore fans. This was long before the villain got his movie with Joker in 2019, played by Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck. Ever since then, it would be right to say that Joker fans have been more pronounced in pop culture than ever before because not only does their favourite character get the due credit but even most of them would feel seen for their love for the character that starts with the comics but extends to the films.