10 most memorable scenes from Batman ’89
By Mark Lynch
Credit: Warner Brothers; from Batman (1989)
6. Joker takes over
Carl Grissom was at home and assumed his plan to kill Jack worked. Grissom here’s his door open and calls out to his lady. Nope, it was Jack. Back from the dead with a gun in his hand. After trying to get his gun, Grissom asks Jack to make a deal. Jack replies, “Jack? Jack is dead, my friend. You can call me Joker. And, as you can see, I’m a lot happier.” Joker then puts two bullets into Grissom and fires the last four goofily.
Later, Joker killed one of the mob bosses with a supercharged hand buzzer. A classic Joker weapon. He even added a joke saying, “There’ll be a hot time in the town tonight” as the guy fried to death. Joker even added an insult by having a fictional conversation with the guy and then said, “That’s why I’m glad you’re dead.” And laughs maniacally at his own joke.
Why it makes the list
Joker’s intro and transformation were perfect. Grissom thinking he was safe only to be surprised started everything off right. Hiding the Joker’s appearance until he was ready to shoot Grissom made for an eye-catching reveal. Joker killing one of the mob bosses with a joy buzzer was a fantastic way to show everyone he in charge and things were going to be run differently.