We rated internet fan art of Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker

We know for sure now that Joaquin Phoenix is playing Batman’s arch-nemesis in the upcoming spin-off, non-DCEU movie, The Joker, and that it’ll be an origin story. 

As such, most of the movie will presumably have old Phoenix looking like a normal bloke, probably in a fancy old-timey suit or something, but a ‘normal bloke’, all the same. However, as the famous story goes, at some point or another, he goes mad and/or falls into a big vat of acid or somesuch, turning him into the pale-faced, perma-smiled nutcase we know and hate today.

Whether that will actually happen in The Joker, we don’t know, because concrete details about the film’s storyline are unconfirmed as it stands (although we speculate at length here). Let’s bloody hope so though, because an unhinged, green-haired megalomaniac is exactly the kind of part Phoenix was born to play. 

Understandably, the internet (that thing you’re on, right now, and all the time) has had a bit of a go at knocking-up some ideas of what he’ll look like as the infamous baddie. And we - being the helpful Henrys that we are - have gathered a bunch of the best to lay out for ya.

Here, look:

7/10 Jokers

Good this. Pretty standard design - purple suit, green hair, little Chelsea grin, looking through a camera. It’s nice and subdued, but it’s still probably a bit Suicide Squad for the direction they’ll be taking with this spin-off.

6/10 Jokers

This one is interesting, with a different approach to the scarring, and you know what? We like it. They’ve maybe gone a bit overboard on the cat’s eyes though, and they’ve still whacked a classic green mop on top, which somehow, we don’t think will make an appearance in The Joker.

7/10 Jokers

Fancy get-up and a very cool slicked-back ‘do - this one might… work? The green hair isn’t too distracting, and the face isn’t too Tipp-Ex - it’s a good look. The scarring is more realistic, too. Well done.

8/10 Jokers

This is probably more in-keeping with the proposed style of the upcoming film - they (from what we’ve heard) seem to be shooting for that old ‘realism’ chestnut, so letting Phoenix’s face do the majority of the talking might be the way to go (Phoenix even already has a birth mark scar on his lip). The odd hint to the famous Joker design, but keeping it majorly pared-back and relatively un-comic-book will be a fun thing to see, as long as it doesn’t go all Bradley Cooper in The Elephant Man.

8/10 Jokers

Another low-key Joker here, and it’s looking the way to go, ain’t it? Red lipstick, fine, dark eyes, fine, hat to cover any silly hair, fine, a purple coat, fine fine fine - this is a Joker firmly rooted in the real-world, a mighty interesting prospect, we think you’ll agree.

8/10 Jokers

Pretty similar to the one above, this, BUT IT’S A FUN POSTER ALL THE SAME ISN’T IT?

6/10 Jokers

Here we have Pensive Joker, looking like most other jokers before him, minus the giant mouth. Still fond of the purple and green combo, and still with the hair, but could perhaps work. A bit, erm, boring though, no?

5/10 Jokers

Very DC Comics this, but that cracked skin (makeup?) is a lovely touch, and that Chelsea grin scar looks a tad more realistic than some of the others on here (which would make for a more believable backstory).

6/10 Jokers

This is essentially Heath Ledger X Joaquin Phoenix, but there’s no denying that he suits the look. Sharpen his jawline, stick a bit of prosthetics on his chin, and you’ll have a Joker similar to the one above.

But hey! Hey, make-up department! Let’s go for something a bit different this time around, yeah? Like, you’ve got a great chance to flip the look on its head (if the film even reaches his transformation, of course), so think outside the jack-in-a-box and do something we haven’t seen before. You know, something like the one our design team just knocked up:

You can have that one for a tenner, DC.