When Hollywood legendJack Nicholsontook on the iconic role of the psychopathic gangsterthe Jokerin Tim Burton’s 1989 filmBatman, he set a precedent for future iterations of the DC villain and truly made the character his own.
The Academy Award-winning actor beat out fellow cinema greats like Robin Williams, Tim Curry,and Willem Dafoefor the sensational part, garnering widespread critical acclaim for his performance and rightfully earning a Golden Globe nomination for his exceptional work.
Nicholson famously appeared opposite thebrilliant Michael Keatonin the fan-favorite ‘80s adaptation, with the duo dazzling moviegoers all across the world and helping the movie rake in over $400 million during its run.
The overwhelming success ofBatmanhelped pave the way for the modern superhero film genre, and Nicholson’s unparalleled performance went down in history as one of the silver screen’s finest. In honor of the flick’s 35th anniversary, here are Jack Nicholson’s 10 best quotes as the Joker, ranked.
10"Decent people shouldn’t live here. They’d be happier someplace else."
Before he became the painted faced villain with an everlasting smile, the Joker was the right-hand man to ruthless crime lord Carl Grissom and went by the name of Jack Napier.
1989’sBatmanwas one of the first adaptations of the beloved comic that actually revealed the iconic villain’s name and backstory, with his name referencing both Jack Nicholson and English actor Alan Napier, who famously portrayed Alfred Pennyworth in the original'60s TV series.
Joker’s Disdain for Gotham City
Prior to the disfigurement that caused him to go insane, Jack was just a straightforward criminal who felt no remorse for the violent and wicked things he did, in large part due to him being psychologically unstable as a boy.
Jack loved that Gotham City was a cesspool for the morally-compromised and, after watching a news segment discussing the efforts to clean up the city, mocked the very idea of any “decent” people living in the troubled town.
9"This town needs an enema!"
Never one to mince words, the Joker made no attempt to hide his all-consuming hatred and disdain for thepeople of Gotham City, a place he believed was crawling with low-lifes and criminals who needed to be exterminated.
Frustrated with the constant media coverage his arch-rival Batman is always getting, the Joker crashes a press conference by shockingly murdering Vinnie Ricorso with a feather pen, after the low-level criminal attempted to take over as Gotham’s reigning crime boss.
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The Joker’s Mounting Frustrations
The Joker shows up with dramatic flair and confronts Ricorso in front of City Hall, swiftly ending his competitor’s life and further traumatizing those in attendance with an onslaught of bullets. Bruce Wayne looks on in shock as police officers are gunned down around him and the Joker escapes with a grin, waving goodbye.
The iconic villain is later left frustrated by the lack of news coverage over the affair, as he questions why a man dressed as a bat gets all his press, hilariously declaring, “This town needs an enema!” to one of his henchmen.
After undergoing a shocking physical transformation and embracing his disfigured appearance with his trademark flair, Jack Napier becomes the Joker and plots histakeover of Gotham Cityand all the chaos and carnage he will cause its residents. The villain begins his reign of terror by first taking out his criminal competition, savagely killing his former crime boss Carl Grissom and pondering all the ways he can create mayhem to anyone that dares cross his path.
Challenge Accepted
The Joker discovers that in order to become the most feared and infamous figure in all of Gotham, he’s going to have to capture the attention of its citizens and go toe-to-toe with the news-making Batman. When he quickly reads the Gotham Globe’s newspaper headline discussing the masked vigilante’s targeting of the city’s nefarious underbelly, the Joker takes the caption as a challenge and makes it his mission to truly terrorize the community in all senses of the word, gleefully declaring, “Wait’ll they get a load of me.”
7"Where does he get those wonderful toys?"
Equally jealous and appreciative of the many wondrous gadgets Batman has at his disposal, the Joker can’t help but hide his amazement everytime his tenacious enemy shows up and uses one of his neverending technological gizmos.
After the mentally-unstable gangster and his henchmen vandalize priceless works of art at the Flugelheim Museum, he continues his quest for chaos by targeting Vicki and interrogating the photojournalist over her knowledge of Batman.
Envious of Batman’s Marvelous Gadgets
When the fearless protector makes a spectacular entrance and comes crashing in via the skylight, a caught-off-guard Joker marvels at his arrival and allows Batman time to rescue Vicky with the help of a cabling line.
A thoroughly impressed Joker witnesses the dazzling act in awe and appreciatively asks his minions, “Where does he get those wonderful toys?”, clearly envious of the hero’s exceptional contraptions.
6"And where is the Batman? He’s at home, washing his tights!"
Always the eternal showman, the Joker attempted to seek out the favor of the public by delivering a rousing speech bashing Gotham City’s ultimate protector. Whenthe legendary supervillainattempted to carry out his plot to murder the citizens of the crime-prone city by exposing them to the deadly chemical Smylex via balloons, he tried to capitalize on the moment by taking some side-splitting jabs at the masked vigilante.
The Ultimate Showman
Batman shows up just in the nick of time to protect Gothamites from a bizarre death that would have caused them to laugh until they died, and the Joker grabs a microphone and pokes fun at the caped crusader’s former penchant for wearing superhero tights in the comics and original ’60s series.
The Joker was trying to bait Batman, who showed up in spectacular fashion to protect the city and thwart the villain’s deadly and elaborate plan.
5"Haven’t you ever heard of the healing power of laughter?"
Known for his unnerving perpetual grin, garish make-up, and manic cackle, the Joker is fond of ridiculously bad jokes and loves erupting into a fit of frenzied laughter when he thinks he’s made a particularly amusing zinger.
After he shows up to a tense and important meeting attended by some of Gotham’s most notorious crime bosses, the Joker tries to unify his fellow criminals in an effort to take a stand against the constant thorn in their sides, the formidable Batman.
The Sweetest Revenge
After mobster Antoine Rotelli hinted that he was not on board with the Joker’s plan to join forces and become a united front, the psychopathic gangster uses a high-voltage palm shocker to brutally murder Rotelli as the other crime bosses uneasily look on.
The aforementioned and ill-fated Vinnie Ricorso is an equally brave and foolish criminal who asked if the Joker had lost his mind, to which the unhinged villain responded with the cheeky quip, letting out his signature maniacal laughter.
4"You can call me… Joker. And as you can see, I’m a lot happier."
Jack Napier’s transformation from being an everyday criminal working for a powerful mobster to becoming Gotham City’s most legendary maniacal supervillain is one of the comic world’s most sensational evolutions, and fans were able to witness his descent into madness throughout the course of the flick.
He reintroduced his crazed new self to the dangerous underworld at a crucial meeting, showing off his startling trademark grin (without his signature make-up) and proving just how vicious he truly can be.
Vengeance is Served
Before crashing the gathering, the Joker showed up at the house of his former boss Carl Grissom after he attempted to have him murder, and it was apparently clear that revenge was on the killer clown’s mind.
A deeply unnerved Grissom addressed the villain by his former name, to which he let it be known that Jack was dead and that he was going by a new name now: the Joker. The epic reveal was a huge moment for theunforgettable DC character, and he exacted vengeance against his former employer by gleefully shooting him repeatedly in cold blood.
3"As my plastic surgeon always said, ‘If you gotta go, go with a smile!'"
The Joker’s all-consuming disgust for the citizens of Gotham City is well-documented, and his master plan to poison its unsuspecting residents via the lethal chemical Smylex was unsurprisingly foiled by Batman.
The antagonist hammed it up for the audience, and his anticipation for his impending wicked act was palpable, as he gleefully took the microphone and delivered this on-the-nose zinger for the excited crowd. The Symlex would have caused those exposed to the chemical to develop a rictus grin, while simultaneously killing them.
Batman Thwarts the Joker’s Grand Scheme
His elaborate ploy to murder them while they attended Gotham’s bicentennial celebration never came to fruition, because Batman was able to remove the deadly balloons before he could make them burst, much to the Joker’s overwhelming frustration and rage.
After shootingthe powerful Batwingdown from the sky, the Joker attempts to take one final stand against the unrelenting Batman and kidnaps his girlfriend Vicki, setting up an epic showdown between the iconic foes.
2"I have given my name to my pain, and it is Batman."
The Joker and Batman’s mutual disdain for one another only intensified as the acclaimedTim Burton filmprogressed, and the unhinged criminal’s hatred and frustration for the caped crusader threatened to completely consume him.
Despite attempting to destroy Gotham City and its citizens on numerous occasions, each and every one of the Joker’s elaborate plans were foiled by Batman, and he was beginning to lose his cool over the constant complications and setbacks.
Related:How The Joker Still Holds Up as Batman’s Most Important Villain
A Thorn in Joker’s Side
Batman was the reason Jack Napier emerged as the deranged Joker, as he was unable to save the criminal after he fell into a vat of chemicals and became severely disfigured because of it.
When he embraced his new, diabolical persona, the celebrated superhero stopped the Joker from poisoning the air and killing Gothamites, and also swept in and saved the object of his obsession, Vicki Vale. A fed-up and downright irate Joker took out his frustrations by shooting his television and expressing this painfully accurate quote.
1"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
Widely regarded as one of the Joker’smost iconic phrasesand a line synonymous with the fan-favorite DC character,“Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?“was famously uttered by the supervillain when he challenged Batman to a fight after luring his lady love Vicki Vale to the Flugelheim Museum.
Batman rescues Vicki and takes her to the safety of his Batcave, then ends up having another showdown with the demented clown in a pivotal moment in the thrilling adaptation.
A Devastating Revelation
Always the first to play dirty, the Joker had no qualms pulling a gun on Bruce Wayne when he showed up to Vicki’s apartment, violently confronting the couple. While Bruce was prepared to protect Vicki with a fireplace poker, the Joker whipped out a pistol and pointed it directly at the wealthy philanthropist, asking him the unforgettable question, which stops the hero cold in his tracks.
He recognizes the question as the same one asked of his parents all those years ago, right before they were murdered in cold blood — and Bruce realizes the Joker was responsible for their deaths.
