Joker (Suicide Squad, 2016)

Note: This page will mostly focus his portrayal in the Suicide Squad film.

The Joker is a major antagonist in the DC Extended Universe, appearing as a major antagonist in the 2016 superhero film mh:awfulmovies:Suicide Squad, and as an unseen yet pivotal antagonist in mh:awfulmovies:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He is Batman's archenemy, the lover of Harley Quinn, a psychopathic crime lord, and a terrorist mastermind.

Along with Lex Luthor, he was widely criticized for reasons.

Why He Sucks

 * 1) One of Joker's iconic features of being a psychopathic criminal, a well-written character, and his iconic laugh, is known to be one of DC's best villains. But unlike his previous counterparts, this version is nothing but a generic edgy gangster wannabe rather than a madman who enjoys chaos.
 * 2) While he has his classic green hair, white make-up, red lipstick, and purple suit, his design is just awful. And also, why does he even have tattoos and silver teeth?
 * 3) * The Joker ended up looking like he was inspired by a real-life rapper named 6ix9ine. He even looks like a gangster ripoff of the Babadook.
 * 4) Underwhelming performance by Jared Leto.
 * 5) *Even Leto himself complained that his best scenes were left on the cutting-room floor and that the remaining scenes didn't do the character justice.
 * 6) He hardly serves any purpose to the plot other than being fan service and Harley Quinn's love interest.
 * 7) He lacks the charm, charisma, and everything that makes the Joker a really good villain. There are plenty of scenes that he feels like another character other than the Joker.
 * 8) * He is hardly the Joker we all know and love from the comics, the Arkham video games, the cartoons, or even The Dark Knight.
 * 9) He was hyped as the main antagonist of Suicide Squad in trailers, TV spots, and promotions, but it turns out that Enchantress (who isn't a much better villain either) is the main antagonist, while the Joker is a minor character, making him almost completely pointless.
 * 10) Telling instead of showing. He literally said the line: "I'm an idea, state of mind.", rather than just demonstrating on how much of a dangerous/cunning person he is.
 * 11) Both Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix have nailed the roles in their respective movies. One had stated that Joker wasn't meant to be a person, but an idea and representation about what's wrong with society, while the other is a broken man criticizing its unfair system, its corrupt government, and terrible citizens. Even Jack Nicholson's version from Batman (1989) served to illustrate how one sufficiently bad day could drive someone to do the most monstrous things. But since this version only exists just to be Harley Quinn's love interest, what is Jared Leto's incarnation of Joker supposed to represent anyway?
 * 12) While he had his iconic laugh, it mostly sounds like a dying owl and Squidward Tentacles from Spongebob Squarepants rather than insane.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) He could've been a good Joker if he had more screentime and a much more important role, or in this case, the main antagonist.
 * 2) Jared Leto is not completely at fault for why this Joker is very lacking in character.
 * 3) His characterization was almost redeemed in the Snyder Cut of Justice League:
 * 4) * His villainous relationship with Batman was much more fleshed out and indeed mentioned the death of Batman's sidekick, Robin.
 * 5) * Instead of being a gangster, he is now a philosopher questioning where honor had been lost, while wanting to cause chaos at the same time.
 * 6) * He has a different design, which almost resembled Heath Ledger's Joker.
 * 7) "I'm not gonna kill you. I'm just gonna hurt you. Really, really bad."
 * 8) * "We live in society where honor is a distant memory... Isn't that right...Batman?"