[The_Return]

Do I think that he was the ultimate embodiment of the character? Yes.

Do I think that anyone else could live up to Heath's spellbinding performance? Christ no.

But to retire the character outright? These people are fucking retarded.

Part of the beauty of The Joker's character is that he changes, constantly. In Arkham Asylum, he is described as not having any real personality, reinventing himself daily to suit his own mood.

Every portrayal of him shows a different aspect of his scarred psyche. The Joker in Dark Knight is totally different from The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, and even further removed from Nicholson's take in Batman. To go farther, none of these versions really match the comic: depending on the writer, he is either brutally sadistic, menacingly playful, harmlessly amusing and absolutely everything in between.

Personally, I think Heath Ledger's take on The Joker is damn near the perfect embodiment of the character. His portrayal lives up to my own perfect idea of what the Joker should be - and I'm just about the biggest Joker fanboy you'll ever meet. Does that mean I think they should stop using the character? Fuck no...this is a major step in the character's evolution. To let him die here would be a greater affront to Heath's memory that re-casting him would be.