Everyone who can plug a computer into a wall knows that Empire Online is slowly revealing a new pic of the Joker and acting like we’ve never seen an image of him before. While they spend their sweet time doing that, here’s a look at the cover of their new issue, showing Heath Ledger’s Joker in casual “won’t you take a peek at my crotch?” mode.
So what’s the deal with this crazy character? Michael Caine talked with Batman on Film about how Ledger compares to Jack Nicholson in the role, as well as spills WHY this particular Joker looks the way he does – and it sounds pretty… dirty.
“The problem was, how do you top Jack Nicholson as The Joker? Heath Ledger plays the Joker and he is fantastic. I couldn’t see how Jack could be topped but he’s at least equal to him. It’s extraordinary. Jack’s Joker was a very nasty old uncle, this Joker is a maniacal, murderous psychopath… When you see the make-up — he looks like he’s mentally gone. He puts the make-up on to disguise himself and then goes and never takes it off again, or washes, so gradually it looks like leprosy.”
So obviously Ledger’s Joker isn’t chemically scarred or anything like that – he just refuses to take a shower.
Finally, Ledger spoke about the interesting new kind of make-up applied to his face with SFX: “It’s made up of three pieces. It’s a new technology. It’s not a prosthetic. This guy created these silicone pieces and they stamp them on. It’s a lot quicker and super flexible. You hardly even know it’s on your face. If it were a prosthethic, I’d have to have my whole neck and jaw done.”
Wait, was Caine talking about the Joker, or Ledger?