The Batman franchise doesn’t need The Joker to star to thrive

The Batman movie franchise may not need The Joker to star in it for it to be successful

The Batman was a success. It proved that the early Robert Pattinson critics were wrong and kickstarted a new chapter of the series. While this writer may not have loved the film’s version of Bruce Wayne, he had moments of brilliance throughout, especially when he was talking to Alfred or working on the case. He showed that he has the ability to help carry this franchise to even greater heights.

Now we come to the antagonists of The Batman, The Riddler, Carmine Falcone, and The Penguin. Each of them showed us something that we haven’t seen from their respective characters before. More than that, they proved two other things. First, that three villains connected to the plot can work. Sometimes, too many villains can make a movie sloppy, but that wasn’t the case here. Second of all, and more importantly, The Joker isn’t needed for a Batman franchise to survive.

*** This article contains major SPOILERS for The Batman!***

At the end of The Batman, we saw The Riddler in Arkham Asylum. In a cell close to him was a sinister laughing man, who ends up convincing him that his time as Gotham City’s nemesis isn’t over. While it wasn’t officially confirmed, it clearly implied that this was The Joker.

It would make sense that Warner Bros would tease one of the most popular villains of all time. However, does The Batman franchise actually need him to be the lead antagonist?

Why The Joker isn’t needed in The Batman franchise

The Joker is one of the greatest villains of all time. It doesn’t matter what the genre is; he’ll always be top tier. While having him appear in a Batman project is an easy way to make billions (literally), The Batman highlighted how the right actor in the right role can make even The Joker an afterthought. Paul Dano was the perfect combination of psychotic and cartoonish when he played The Riddler and it made him the right kind of villain for this new franchise. It wouldn’t take much to do this again with a different villain.

Batman’s rogues gallery may be second to none. Some of his villains may not have the strength of someone like Darkseid or Doomsday, but that’s part of what makes them impressive. Each of them has a gimmick unique to themselves. It’s what makes Batman stories exciting. Even the strongest of them (Bane) is a genius strategist and this adds a different feeling to each project. It also means The Dark Knight will have to use a different course of action to survive and defeat them.

We can’t forget the stories that come with them as well. Two-Face has a clutch with his coin and an obsession with things in twos – plus, Harvey Dent becoming Two-Face is a story in itself. Victor Fries’ need to help his wife makes him a sympathetic villain and his is a story that everyone loves. There’s also Solomon Grundy and Clayface. They may not be the ones to star in a film, but they would make incredible B-plots.

Would this writer like to see The Joker in another Batman movie? Of course. Who doesn’t want to see The Clown Prince of Crime battle Batman? Nevertheless, maybe it’s time to let that go. We’ve seen him in every version of the Batman franchise and twice in the past two decades. Maybe it’s time to let him be a B-story or not have him feature at all.

What do you think, readers? Is it time to step away from Joker? Let us know in the comments below.