Christopher Nolan’s brilliant execution of The Dark Knight trilogy has been appreciated by fans and critics. But what intrigued them most was Heath Ledger’s character, The Joker. Although the character in Nolan’s The Dark Knight didn’t have an origin story, the iconic character was highly applauded.
Ever since the release of the film and Heath Ledger’s prolific performance as The Joker, fans have been trying to fill the gaps about the character. In 2018, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt offered a theory about The Joker’s origin that impressed one and all. Later on, that theory was rationalized in seven ways to confirm Joker’s background with the military.
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Patton Oswaltʼs Theory About Joker’s Background
Appearing for the first time in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger stole the hearts of millions with his representation of The Joker. Despite having no origin story, the character turned into one of the most interesting ones. Later on, fans got overly involved in finding a theory that suits Joker’s origin. In 2018, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt came up with his theory about Joker’s background.
“I’ve always liked the theory that Heath Ledger’s Joker in Christopher Nolan’s DARK KNIGHT is a war veteran suffering PTSD. His referencing a “truckload of soldiers” getting blown up, his ease with military hardware, and his tactical ingenuity and precision planning all feel like an ex-Special Forces soldier returned stateside and dishing out payback. I love films that contain enough thought and shading to sustain post-screening theorizing like this.” Oswalt‘s Facebook post via Reddit.
Years later, a user on Reddit came up with a way of rationalizing the existing theory about Heath Ledger’s Joker’s background and explained it in seven ways that confirmed the character’s association with the military.
1 The Way Heath Ledger’s Joker Interacted
Arguing about how during Joker’s first interaction with various heads of the organized crime groups, he used a pencil to kill one of the henchmen, the Reddit user implied that it’s a skill that highly trained government agents have. It was even touched upon in the John Wick films.
2 Joker’s Technical Skills
The fact that the Joker is military trained is one of the biggest proof that he was a former soldier. His capacity to get his hands on military hardware and his technical skills in the use of various firearms and explosives are what tell us all about his experience in the military.
3 The Character’s clothing and His Background
His clothes lacking tags and appearing to be hand-made is another theory that suggests his association with the military and such groups. Considering his clothing was free from any markings or tags, hinted that he already knew that people might use it to find his identity, and therefore he custom-made them and removed tags.
4 Joker’s Identity Was Shielded
Bruce Wayne and Alfred finding no record of the Joker in his system that is tied into Wayne Enterprises, also confirms the character’s association with groups and organizations that purposely shield data from public systems and records, like the military. His records being blacklisted prove that he is some sort of agent whose identity had to be protected.
5 Heath Ledger’s Joker Was Aware of Squealers
Joker’s idea about the squealers is a theory that also confirms torture being a part of Joker’s background. Understanding a person’s pain tolerance by their body language is a skill that is also visible in highly trained agents.
6 The Interrogation Scene Between Joker and Batman
The interrogation scene between Batman and Joker is the biggest example that he is a highly trained professional. His idea about interrogations being clearer than Batman is solid proof. Asking Batman to never beat the head because that makes victims concussed is a way of telling that Joker has been skilled in interrogations.
7 Joker’s Way of Shifting Stories
Lastly, Joker’s way of constantly shifting stories isn’t a coincidence, it’s a way of messing with people. Trained to confuse his interrogators and to prevent people from uncovering the truth is one of the important strategies that is implemented by the Joker which proves his previous training as a military.
After such clarifying theories it appears that Joker’s background story as an ex-CIA is indeed a valid explanation about his origin.
