Is Batman: Caped Crusader's Joker a Nazi?

Batman: Caped Crusader is each astir reinvention. This animated bid takes spot successful a fantastical, noir-infused mentation of Gotham City successful the 1940s. Each of Batman's iconic villains is reimagined to suit this setting, often undergoing a profound translation successful the process. And for nary quality is that much existent than Matthew Needham's Joker, the climactic villain of Season 2.

Season 2 shows america a mentation of the Clown Prince of Crime we've ne'er seen before, 1 that draws arsenic connected the earliest Batman comics and German expressionist cinema. He's moody and somber. He ne'er laughs. He wants to exterminate "the vermin" of Gotham City. Is this Joker an existent Nazi?

That's 1 question IGN posed to Needham successful a caller interview. Read connected to find retired what helium had to accidental astir the concealed origins of this precise antithetic mentation of Joker, but beware of spoilers for Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 ahead!

Redefining Joker for the Caped Crusader Universe

It goes without saying that it's rather a situation to instrumentality connected a relation arsenic iconic arsenic the Joker and effort to permission a people aft actors similar Mark Hamill person defined the character. Fortunately for Needham, helium recovered that the Caped Crusader producers had a precise circumstantial imaginativeness for however they wanted the villain to beryllium portrayed successful the series.

"I would accidental that Bruce [Timm], James [Tucker], and Geoffrey [Thorne], each of the team, it's truly their vision," Needham tells IGN. "Their instructions were very, precise wide that they didn't privation a Joker that we had seen before. They wanted a very, precise antithetic take."

Needham continues, "And arsenic you tin imagine, it's a unusual acquisition being successful the booth inhabiting the Joker. You can't help, oregon I couldn't help, but benignant of descent into the Joker cogwheel arsenic it was. And you commencement to get a small spot maniacal. You commencement to get a small gleeful. And it's truly their superb absorption and their imaginativeness and their absorption which pulled maine backmost to acceptable the signifier that they wanted, which was this precise cold, precise calculating, soft-spoken version, which is very, precise antithetic to different iterations that we've seen."

We were funny if Needham undertook immoderate probe for the role, whether that means poring done Golden Age Batman comics oregon rewatching the movie noir classics of yesteryear. But arsenic helium explains, those projects were truthful burned into his consciousness already that helium was capable to deed the crushed running.

"It was evident from the German Expressionism," Needham says. "I mean, it's Dr. Caligari and things similar that - The Man Who Laughs. Those images are truthful ingrained successful my caput that I didn't request to spell backmost and look astatine them. It was 1 of those conscionable caller things wherever you spell successful and you make it betwixt you. I'd seen capable erstwhile Jokers. I didn't request to spell backmost and look astatine them due to the fact that I tin adjacent my eyes and perceive Mark Hamill. I didn't cognize what helium looked similar either. So, it was each an workout and implicit spot and conscionable turning yourself implicit to the radical successful the booth."

Is Joker a Nazi?

Joker is simply a quality perpetually shrouded successful mystery. As helium erstwhile famously said, adjacent his root communicative is aggregate choice. That's 1 constituent of the quality that doesn't alteration successful Caped Crusader Season 2. We larn astir thing astir his background, with lone his German accent and random musings and quotations offering immoderate penetration into who this antheral is and wherever helium came from.

That said, Needham reveals that helium developed his ain idiosyncratic backstory for the quality portion performing his lines, if lone to link with him a small better.

"I'd travel up with my ain backstory conscionable for me, conscionable truthful I wasn't flailing astir with nary thought of who I was oregon wherefore I was there," Needham says. "And it was interesting, erstwhile we did Comic-Con successful San Diego, maine and Geoffrey spent a batch of clip unneurotic and we were conscionable chatting and we got onto backstory and we recovered retired that we some had beauteous overmuch the nonstop aforesaid backstory arsenic each other, which I thought was absorbing that there's thing successful the penning that is suggestive of this rather twisted and acheronian past. But no, decidedly I had a rather elaborate relationship of however helium got to wherever helium is, which would beryllium a bully amusement successful and of itself, but I don't deliberation they'd bash it."

But does that backstory see a past with the Nazi party? Is this bloodthirsty mentation of Joker a Nazi? Needham changeable down that peculiar theory, saying "I could categorically accidental that that's not the backstory that we came up with."

The Batman/Joker Dynamic

One of the communal elements successful astir versions of the Batman mythos is that Joker feels a peculiar attachment to Batman, seeing him arsenic a kindred spirit. From Joker's constituent of view, they're much similar lovers than existent enemies. Caped Crusader isn't needfully truthful antithetic successful that regard. Joker intelligibly respects the Dark Knight, to the constituent of often referring to him arsenic "brother." Why is Joker truthful fascinated with Batman?

"Well, wouldn't you be?" Needham says. "Like, if this was the real-world and you heard astir there's idiosyncratic successful the metropolis who's dressed arsenic a bat stopping crime, wouldn't you be? I would beryllium like, 'I privation to conscionable that person. I privation to spot what they're about.' And I deliberation the Joker sees himself arsenic this singular entity, this ultimate being. And I deliberation it indispensable beryllium precise breathtaking to perceive astir whoever this feline is retired determination successful the acheronian doing this stuff. I deliberation the Joker conscionable wants to conscionable him and to possibly assistance him uncover his untapped potential, let's say."

Some Batman stories research the symbiotic narration betwixt the Dark Knight and his rogues, asking the question of whether men similar Joker and Riddler would beryllium if not for the advent of Batman himself. So we posed that question toNeedham - would this mentation of Joker beryllium without Batman?

"That's a truly absorbing question," Needham says. "Oh, I would accidental he's determination for Batman, but helium existed successful the world. But I deliberation the beingness of Batman emboldens him successful immoderate ways and sparks his imagination, let's accidental that."

As overmuch arsenic the Season 2 finale is astir Joker trying to obliterate Gotham with his modified Monster Men formula, the villain besides shows a wide tendency to propulsion Batman implicit the edge. He wants Batman to kill, yet becoming who Joker belives helium should be. Even though Batman yet foils Joker's state attack, helium fundamentally employs lethal unit against his nemesis successful the process. Which raises the question - is this a triumph for Joker successful the end?

"I deliberation it's truly absorbing that the 1 infinitesimal you really spot the Joker laughter is erstwhile he's impaled done the gut by a alloy pole," Needham says. "I deliberation it is simply a triumph successful immoderate way. I besides deliberation for the Joker it's truly intriguing and truly absorbing that he's been foiled. And I deliberation there's thing successful him that benignant of similar gets the joke. Do you cognize what I mean?"

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 is presently streaming connected Prime Video. You tin besides cheque retired IGN's reappraisal of Caped Crusader Season 2 and larn however the series' champion occurrence shows a way forward.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.