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FanSided 250: Why Batman/Joker fans are vastly underrated

By Mark Lynch

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: A Batman costume from the 1995 Batman Forever film worn by Val Kilmer and designed by Rob Ringwood and Ingrid Ferrin is on display at the DC Comics Exhibition: Dawn Of Super Heroes at the O2 Arena on February 22, 2018 in London, England. The exhibition, which opens on February 23rd, features 45 original costumes, models and props used in DC Comics productions including the Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman films. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: A Batman costume from the 1995 Batman Forever film worn by Val Kilmer and designed by Rob Ringwood and Ingrid Ferrin is on display at the DC Comics Exhibition: Dawn Of Super Heroes at the O2 Arena on February 22, 2018 in London, England. The exhibition, which opens on February 23rd, features 45 original costumes, models and props used in DC Comics productions including the Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman films. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images) /
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Batman/Joker ranked quite low on the FanSided 250 and it proves that the fandom is underrated.

The FanSided 250 ranks the top 250 fandoms. Each year we see a new list with a plethora of exciting selections. Some picks are obvious – for example, in 2019, it wasn’t shocking to see a lot of Marvel Comics topics with Avengers: Endgame dominating the theaters and pop culture. With so little comic book movies coming out this year, there weren’t as many related topics in the FanSided 250 this year. Despite that, Batman/Joker made the list.

It’s not shocking that it made the list. The Batman/Joker fandom came in at No.193 overall but the comic book duo fared better in movies, landing at No. 8. Nonetheless, the ranking is quite low.

First, it’s Batman and Joker we’re talking about here. They are the epitome of a rivalry. When people talk about feuds, they’re always one of the first to be mentioned.

The Dark Knight alone will consistently make the list. He’s always in the middle of something in the DC Comics universe. This year, Batman has been involved in game-changing events in several of his comics.

These are reasons in themselves to rank him higher than this. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also Robert Pattinson portraying him in The Batman – something that may explain why the Bat’s fandom did so well in the movie category.

Batman/Joker performed well in the movies category

While it was announced in 2019 that Robert Pattinson would be Bruce Wayne/Batman in the upcoming The Batman, it wasn’t until 2020 that we saw our first look of him in costume and even received our first trailer. Major reveals such as these would have driven up fan interest in the film and, by extension, the legendary character.

Plus, everyone wants to know more about the project. When is the official release date? What do the actors look like on the set? What other villains could we possibly see? Speaking of Batman and villains, he may not be in the movie, but The Joker will almost certainly be mentioned.

You can’t have a Batman origin without Joker being mentioned. The Dark Knight Trilogy did it perfectly with Batman Begins as The Clown Prince of Crime was mentioned in the end to get fans excited for the future. Joker is the most popular villain of all time and after headlining his very own movie last year, you can bet fans were talking about the character. If he’s featured in The Batman in any way, we (the fans) would want to know. It’s another reason to get pumped for the movie.

It was a big year in the comics for Batman and The Joker

Beyond the movie, Batman and Joker have had a huge year in the comics. First, there was The Joker War – an event that crossed over the entire Bat-Family. It was marketed as the final battle between The Joker and Batman. While we know there’s no way that could be true, it didn’t make the event any less incredible.

The Joker managed to take all of Bruce Wayne’s money, make him look like a criminal, and he even almost killed The Dark Knight. In the end, Batman won by doing something he’s never done; he left Joker to die. A moment that shocked the Clown Prince of Crime and left him screaming as the building blew up around him.

More from Batman

Then there was the Three Jokers mini series. After finding out that there were three Jokers (hence the title) in Justice League: The Darkseid War, fans wanted to know who they were and how there was more than one. Not only did we get everything we asked for, there was a good amount of character development for Batman, Batgirl, Red Hood, and even the Joker.

We learned more about the four main characters in a short amount of time. It also set up for their future. Will Jason Todd grow out of the Red Hood moniker? Can him and Batgirl become a couple? What’s next for The Joker now that there’s only one and will he find out his family is alive? There’s so much that can and will be done with this in the future. This writer can’t wait to see where this goes.

With everything that was mentioned, Batman/Joker coming in at 193 seems low. This is, after all, two of the biggest comic book characters of all time we’re talking about. Next to the X-Men, they may have had the biggest year in comics. Does this mean anything? Could fans be getting tired of the Batman/Joker relationship? Unlikely because people were clearly still talking about them – especially on the movie front. Nonethless, we’ll have to wait and see if things change in the FanSided 250 in 2021.

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What did you think? Were Batman/Joker ranked too low or too high? Let us know in the comments below.

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