“Leto’s Joker is better than The Batman’s Joker”: Snyder Fans are Calling Jared Leto a Better Joker Than Barry Keoghan as Reports of Snyderverse Being Killed Resurface

Jared Leto vs Barry Keoghan: Whose Joker is winning?
Advertisement

Despite the reverence of the DCEU among the fans, witnessing Jared Leto’s Joker back in all his vainglorious actions seems like a fat chance. The rumors about Zack Snyder not coming back to DC was pretty much established by the frayed relationship between him and Warner Bros. 

Featured Video

With the coming of Black Adam, that rumor has become a fact, especially as The Rock has been claiming to revive a new DCEU and bid farewell to the old management. It would make sense then if the old management’s cast and crew too suddenly found themselves on the street, including the AyerVerse Joker played by Jared Leto.

Jared Leto as the Joker in Suicide Squad
Jared Leto as the Joker in Suicide Squad
Advertisement

Also read: “His Cast Members Are Going to Be Terrified”: Jared Leto Gets Cast in the Hatbox Ghost, Fans Concerned About His Intense Method Acting

Fans Mourn the Loss of SnyderVerse and Jared Leto’s Joker 

When first introduced to the cinema, Zack Snyder’s universe of familiar DC characters with an unusually darker subliminal tone to their stories became an instant treasure. The universe, popularly dubbed the DC Extended Universe, soon gave way to parallelly moving timelines which included the villains of the DC world. And they were everything that was needed to complete the colorful palette of DCEU. 

Jared Leto brought his own madness to the role
Jared Leto brought his own madness to the role

Also read: Jared Leto’s Joker Makeup Test Revealed For Suicide Squad

Advertisement

But as all good things come to an end, so did the original run of DCEU with the advent of The Rock’s Black Adam. Now the fans bid adieu to the actors (hopefully apart from Henry Cavill) from the SnyderVerse and its adjoining AyerVerse. And for the fans, that has brought back some considerable memories of the good old times when Suicide Squad had been introduced into the world. 

The motley group of characters, with their unruly eccentricities and dysfunctional nature, were lovable. But the villain with the familiar laugh among the ill-fitted crew was the one that sealed the deal as well as became a point of contention for most fans. 

Jared Leto’s Suicide Squad Joker: What Made It So Good?

Jared Leto’s Joker in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad was something of a misplaced prodigy. Sure he had the green hair and the psychopathic smile, but he was placed on the pedestal after the Oscar-winning performance of Heath Ledger whose character was immortalized by his tragic passing. And more attention was paid to what Leto lacked as compared to Ledger than what he brought to the screens. And he was bringing quite a lot.

Jared Leto in Suicide Squad
Jared Leto in Suicide Squad
Advertisement

Also read: 5 Jared Leto Movies That Prove He Is One Of The Greatest Actors Alive

Jared Leto’s Joker was artfully crafted keeping in mind Leto’s strengths and his weaknesses. He was not physically built like the other Jokers before him but Leto had an unusual take on bringing the “crazy” alive with his idiosyncrasies and he took full advantage of it. The purple-suited, night club-running Joker was flamboyant in his own way. Metal grills for teeth, extravaganza, and HA-HA-HAs running up and down his arms, “damaged” written on his forehead, and a substitute for his scarred smile tattooed on his hand — Ayer’s Joker was an entirely new creation, and Leto made his Clown Prince as strikingly garish as he was depraved and manipulative.

There was no ebb and flow of intentions or master plan in motion that Leto could build up to. There was no soft launch of his character or a grand ending with Batman where he could face off his mortal archenemy one-on-one. It was simply Jared Leto as the Joker in the midst of characters whose story it originally was about. For once, he was the impetus to the story instead of being the drive behind Batman’s heroic arc.

Advertisement

Also read: Best Acting Performances By Jared Leto, Ranked

What Makes Jared Leto Better Than Barry Keoghan as Joker?

Leto was later transformed into his much battle-hardened, long-haired, and devoid of tattoos look in SnyderVerse representation. But initially, with Jared Leto’s Joker receiving hate due to the creative effects, David Ayer described his intentions behind the villainous representations:

“Joker killed Robin and Batman basically smashes his teeth out and locks him up in Arkham Asylum. It’s in the asylum where Joker would have done the ‘damaged’ tattoo as a message to Batman saying, ‘You’ve damaged me. I was so beautiful before and now you’ve destroyed my face.’ That’s where the grill comes from.”

Jared Leto's Joker in SnyderVerse
Jared Leto’s Joker in SnyderVerse

Also read: Matt Reeves Reveals Horrifying Barry Keoghan Joker Still Incomplete

Advertisement

But Barry Keoghan, introduced in Matt Reeves’s The Batman, is not the maniacal self-validating Joker that Jared Leto had going on for him. Keoghan relies heavily on factors of fear and disgust through his physical appearance and falls under the generic archetype which has defined every evil representation since eternity. The most memorable of all villains, even across franchises, the Joker is known for his element of restless madness. But where Jared Leto succeeded, Barry Keoghan fails as he resigns to his sad prison walls while planning revenge on the one he feels antagonized by.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Typically, that is supposed to be the eternal cycle that the Joker is looped in, but a transgression or two beyond the established and saturated narrative is sometimes rather appreciated (cue: here comes Todd Phillips with Joker: Folie à Deux).

The Batman is now streaming on Prime Video.

Advertisement

Source: Twitter

Avatar

Written by Diya

Articles Published: 1460

With a degree in Literature from Miranda House, Diya Majumdar now has nearly 1500 published articles on FandomWire. Her passion and profession both include dissecting the world of cinema while being a liberally opinionated person with an overbearing love for Monet, Edvard Munch, and Van Gogh. Other skills include being the proud owner of an obsessive collection of Spotify playlists.