David Ayer provides proof that Leto’s Joker portrayal is comic accurate

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Love it or hate it, you have to admit that Jared Leto's take on The Joker in SUICIDE SQUAD is unlike any other portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime. Leading up to the film's release, many fans of the character were turned off by his copious amount of inexplicable tattoos, gangsta grill, and almost pimp-like presence, but director David Ayer begs to differ. While Ayer is naturally going to defend the design he had a major part in creating, the filmmaker has recently taken to chronicling just how accurate Leto's Joker is when compared to the annals of DC Comics history.

Recently, a Twitter user by the name of T.J. Bravo tweeted a series of side-by-side comparisons between Leto's Joker and that of the killer found in the pages of DC comic books. In hoping to silence haters who cared not for Ayer's layered version of the classic Batman villain, Bravo called upon the artwork of artists the likes of Frank Miller, Alex Ross and Greg Capullo to prove his point.

You can check out Bravo's tweet along with Ayer's spirited "This is what I've been saying the whole time" response below:

After reviewing the evidence, I have to admit that the look of Leto's Joker is more comic book accurate than I originally gave it credit for. That said, nothing explains the tattoos included on Leto's version, but honestly, who has the time to fret over such things? I'm of the mind that Joker can and does exist in many forms, and that Ayer's version is just one in a long line of extreme takes on the character. Variety is the spice of life, my friends. I say let Leto's Joker exist in all of his outlandishness.