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WhenDC Comicsintroduced the world to a godly variant ofBatman’sfiercest opposition , EmperorJokernever quite come to fear into the hearts of readers as much as DC had intended . DC Comics first introduced this interlingual rendition of the Clown Prince of Crime during Jeph Loeb , Joe Kelly , J.M. DeMatteis , and Mark Schulz’sEmperor Jokerstoryline . In it , the sorcerous and whimsical Mister Mxyzptlk thought it would be comic to give a fraction of his powers to a random member of the DC Universe .
That fraction incidentally stop up being 99.9 % when The Joker discovered Mxyzptlk ’s real name , in perhaps the jester ’s keen trick he ever pull . Joker instantly used that king to remold the universe in his range , literally and figuratively . The way thatthis God - alike interpretation of The Jokeris portrayed throughout the story , it seems like DC intended him to be misleadingly terrific . After all , the theme of Batman ’s most dangerous foe have an limitless source of realness - deflect power should , theoretically at least , be terrifying .
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Yet , the execution fails where the cartoonish art style ( while stylish ) does n’t sour when juxtaposed at what ’s theorize to be Joker ’s perceived reign of little terror . It just comes off as a silly Joker in a zany costume doing punch-drunk thing without a right balance alongside the existent terror . astonishingly , though , it took a live - action cosplay garb fromJames Deeley of All or Nothing Cosplayto lastly strickle that balance .
That proportionality between scary and funny has always been a slick balance to nail downin any interpretation of The Joker , be it animated , hot - action mechanism , or in the comics . He ’s a goof , so he should be funny on some level with over - the - top silliness , but he ’s also a psychopathic felon with a lecherousness for violence . Very few interpretations have struck that residual in stride and when it fails , losing just one of those qualities loses what makes the whole of The Joker such a compelling role .
Refreshingly enough , James Deeley is able to hit that equaliser to a tee without the pauperism of a million - dollar bill Hollywood budget . Deeley nails the externally suspect aesthetic that was always capturedin the original comic Bible plot line , while also achieving an underlining menace that is perhaps difficult to illustrate on the page , but translate resplendently in mortal . If this was the version of EmperorJokerthat theDC Comicsuniverse had to deal with , Batmanand the respite of the submarine sure enough would have had their hand full .
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beginning : James Deeley
