Joker in other media City villains the Penguin, the Riddler and Catwoman. Jack Nicholson played the Joker in Tim Burton's 1989 film "Batman". The "Newsweek" review of the film stated that the best scenes are due to the surreal black comedy portrayed in the Joker. In 2003, American Film Institute ranked Nicholson's performance #45 on their list of 50 greatest film villains. Hugo Blick and David U. Hodges play younger versions of the character in flashbacks in "Batman" and "Batman Forever", respectively. In the film, Jack Napier is the right-hand man of mob boss Carl Grissom prior to his transformation into the Joker. During
Joker (character) villain, shortly after Batman's debut in "Detective Comics" #27 (May 1939). The Joker initially appeared as a remorseless serial killer, modeled after a joker playing card with a mirthless grin, who killed his victims with "Joker venom": a toxin which left their faces smiling grotesquely. The character was intended to be killed in his second appearance in "Batman" #1, after being stabbed in the heart. Finger wanted the Joker to die because of his concern that recurring villains would make Batman appear inept, but was overruled by then-editor Whitney Ellsworth; a hastily drawn panel, indicating that the Joker was still