The Indelible Dark Knight Joker Costume

When Christopher Nolan began working on a screenplay about the origins of Batman in 2003, he knew he was onto something big. Of course, it was a somewhat difficult sell, mostly because Batman, as a franchise, has always had a quirky place in culture and also because the recently resurrected series of films started to flop. However, 2005’s Batman Begins, his new take on the dark beginning of Bruce Wayne’s somewhat sinister secret, changed the way people viewed the Caped Crusader. With the 2008 sequel, The Dark Knight, Nolan again succeeded in redefining the franchise, featuring Heath Ledger in Joker costume, cackling and rambling like no other actor before him.

The Joker costume quickly became very popular among teens and young adults who found the iconic character both darkly comic and deeply intriguing. Of course, Ledger’s portrayal of the DC Comics villain was worlds apart from the work of previous character actors, most recently Jack Nicholson’s less-energetic but equally entertaining version of the character in the Batman film of 1989. Unfortunately, Ledger’s stellar, breath-taking turn came at the end of his colorful, but short-lived career, leaving the indelible image of his final character lasting in the memory of movie goers and pop fanatics alike.

There were many people who wore a Joker costume for Halloween that year. In fact, it was probably the most popular costume of 2008. Since the character was such a huge success, though, it was very important that the recreational portrayal of the screen icon do it justice. This saw many people scrambling to find the right collection of pieces, so as to not be the person with the cheapest representation at the party. It also found many people wearing the same costume. Arguably, then, whomever could do the best impersonation would be the one who wore the costume better.

As described in the movie, the Joker Costume should appear to be handmade. Obviously, not too many people have the money or time to hand tailor or custom order a suit like this one, so it was equally important to find one that fits properly. You also would need to make sure that it contains all of the appropriate pieces. As you may recall, the trousers and jacket were both a deep shade of purple. The jacket was more like a trench coat than a blazer, with a green vest between it and the wing-tipped collared shirt that cinched the tie.

No Joker costume would be complete, however, without the proper makeup and hair style too. Unlike Jack Nicholson’s joker from the earlier Batman movie, Heath Ledger’s Joker did not wear a hat of any kind, which is also a departure from the comic book. Instead, his wavy, mousy, sandy locks provided a much more effective allusion to the madness of the character. Also, the human features of his face, which was highly exaggerated in the comic back and cartoon series, was only slightly injured by the scars at the edge of his “smile.” With the makeup complete and appropriate, and the matching suit pieces, this was one of the most unmistakable costumes of the time.