Is the joker over-rated and overused?

Seriously, he gets way too many stories and people over rate him like crazy... He was also the star of 3 batman games... IN A ROW. So many other characters to choose from but the joker is always the pick...

I generally get the feeling that writers are trying too hard with him these days. Like the cutting off his face and using it as a mask thing? That's so over the top it's goofy in a bad way.

Yes. I LOVE the Joker. But he is waaaay to overused. Even by Archenemy standards. I'm pretty surprised the New 52 has so little Joker.

Beata

I agree he is overused in every media other than comics but the Arkham games wouldn't have been nearly as good without him. He was essential to the first one.

Hey he's Batman's Enemy number one, the Moriarty to Sherlock Holmes, yes he has been used numerous times but people can still make great stories out of him. He's never going away, just like Lex Luthor with Superman.

Not overrated but certainly overused.

Not overrated or overused. He's the best villain ever. Simple as that. He hasn't been used in over a year so how can he be overused? And look at TDK. The Arkham games. The animated series. Death in/of the family. Batman wouldn't be the same without the joker.

He is sometimes. For comics, I don't care because you can choose what you want to read but for the video games, it's annoying. He always have to be the star ( and even when he isn't, it's just some stupid new character who's the star )

Yeah, he's an okay villain and all but he gets so overrated and overused he becomes kinda obnoxious.

He's not overrated but yeah he's overused, at least in the games. Batman has other awesome villains that are in need for some exposure. I'm excited to see SC in AK as one of the mjor villains.

Is weird to find something rated in the right place, most of great things are overrated.

Saddly people use this word as i dont like it and it sucks, not like they should use it.

I think the problem is the same that evertbody has, he is too popular for his own good.

This make the character slave of his own fame.

Yes very much.

This.

No and no.

Over used maybe, over rated....no. Guess I cant talk i like Hush

He's not my favorite villain, but he deserves the title as the best. I haven't liked a lot of stories with him, such as Death of the Family, because I thought he was mishandled, being way too overpowered. My favorite versions are Heath Ledger's, The Dark Knight Returns', Paul Dini's, and Denny O'Neil's.

My problem is that he's such a good villain that I don't understand why any citizen in Gotham or the authorities kill him. I never believed Batman should kill him, but I find it hard to believe that not a single corrupt cop would plug him while he was in a cell. I would at least think Talia or Bane would have taken him out. Heck, wouldn't the Riddler want to challenge him in some way? Have they done a story where the villains pit themselves against the Joker?

Definitely not overrated but certainly over-used in one way only... Arkham Origins.

I was ecstatic to have Black Mask be the main villain in the game, but they decided otherwise obviously.

A bummer, yes, but he's definitely not overrated.

Yes he is overused and he is overrated. For Ra's Al Ghul to be working for Joker is insulting to Ra's Al Ghul's character.

But, that's what happens to popular characters. Ledger made the Joker fanbase grow in number and grow in love. He became so popular it was time to milk the hell outta him. Every popular character gets milked until their fanbase becomes lactose intolerant. Hence, why there are so many Batman books, so many Wolverine books, why Deadpool is all over the place, and etc.

The companies/franchises are tryna make money. Once they struck gold they don't stop. They keep mining and invest more money to mine some more. (+)

Ra's al Ghul has never worked for the Joker.

The way I see it, joker has been overused to the point that people overrate him (it happens with a really popular characters ie batman, superman, storm, and rulk)

The Joker is my favorite villain of all time. Overused? Definitely.

IS IT TOTALLY A BAD THING? hmmmm....

It is true that the Joker was the star of 3 games in a row, but is it a bad thing? The Joker serves as a link to branch out to other superheroes. For example, Joker planted a bomb in 3 different places. In Arkham, the sewers, and in a garden. From that point, Batman must find the bombs and is probably gonna have to fight Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and whoever is in Arkham to make the storyline better. This would be a rather easy layout to insert a Batman villain anywhere and sooner or later you will have to fight them and know more about them. Its sort of hard to explain but I'm trying my best

The Joker is many people's favorite villain for a reason. It would be a shame if Batman had to go through so much fighting and problem solving to find out that Clayface was behind it all. It just doesn't click. However, in one of the Batman games, Joker used Clayface to disguise himself as another healthy Joker. Basically the Joker manipulated Clayface and decieved Batman. At the same time, This is displaying different ways Clayface's abilities can be used. Everyone loves Joker because he is the perfect link to bringing about villains(besides Riddler, we'll get to that).Penguin might even go to the extent of obeying Joker because he will pay him money. That is character development. Batman might go through the trouble of fighting another villain such as Bane who had nothing to do with the Joker(which is more confusing for Batman). Then we just learn that Bane wants to kill Batman on his own whim. You won't even have to pay people like him to kill Batman.

Through the Joker, many writers were able to display more of the other villains in Gotham City. And from THAT, writers are able to display their character development. Some may want money, others dont. Some don't care, others care only for their plants. This is also what makes the people LOVE Joker. The Joker is the Joker BECAUSE of this. "Damn the Joker is badass. He was using everyone like toys...and he has no magical powers like the rest", Something across those lines is what some might say

Alternative:

The Riddler, in Detective Comics is a great one. it was long, but it was great. One villain led to another and that villain led to another villain through riddles.The Riddler should be used more as he sharpens Batman's mind and always keeps him sharp. He is another villain who many people are intrigued by because is a mere human, giving difficult riddles(that are logical and possible to solve) to Batman, the World's Greatest Detective. Through the Riddler, they can also reach other villains, not just Joker.

Amanda Waller is one of my favorites that can also be used as a link to display other villain's character development. For example, Batman Assault on Arkham(I wont spoil anything), Amanda Waller was the link into displaying some other villain's abilities. Some you may know, and some you may not. She, also, is a "badass" character some may say because shes a normal human too.

Joker is overrated, giving the star to the Riddler or Amanda Waller would be better for a change :) I like Joker though, hes insane lol

Joker isn't overrated for sure. He is excellent in all of his portrayals, and he steals the show pretty much every time.

Overused on the other hand...it's arguable.

He has only been the focus of two live-action Batman movies. And he was excellent in both of them, totally stole the show. But Bane has been in two movies, as has Catwoman and Ra's. You're not complaining about that.

He is only the main focus in the first Arkham game, and he was excellent in it. In the other two games, he was a major point for the plot both times, but he still wasn't the only main villain. There was Hugo Strange and Ra's in the second one, and Black Mask was the main villain in the third one...more or less.

The animated series is really the only one you could say he's overused, but even then that's debatable. He's usually the one pulling the strings, but he isBatman's archenemy after all. What else would you really expect from him? Plenty of other villains get the spotlight episode to episode, Joker is just the main event. Same as any TV show with a main villain.

All and all, there just aren't any villains like him, whether it me DC, Marvel or whatever. So of course you're going to see him more often. He's unique.

Jmarshmallow

Yes. Especially after "The Dark Knight" where Movie Joker fanboys decided Jokers idea of mass chaos and anarchy are what they believed in so they became.....INTERNET TROLLS!!!!!!!!!

Look I like Joker but I'd rather have Bats to her Rogues gallery get a chance to shine before we make more Joker-ecentric stuff.

No he is not

Not really overrated. I think a lot the praise he gets is deserved. He is an interesting and dark character while also being very fun. Overused? I feel so in certain media such as video games and TV. Though really all the Bat characters are pretty overused. I do think Joker should have some more times in the comics. Since 2011 he has cut off his face, been missing for almost a year, had an event which featured some crappy appearances from him, and has been missing for well over a year except for a villains month. I miss the fun Joker stories in the comics. I really think he has been neglected in the comics recently.

Overused.

No

How can he be overused when the greatest Batman stories were all thanks to him?

Well I think its fair to say, we need to let other villains shine in the Batman mythos, other than joker.

I agree with this. I do like the amount of usage however.

@lyrafay: don't forget that moriarty was in one and only one of the original novels.

I heard he did on one of the Arkham games. I have never played the games. I am not a fan of Batman. I could have been misinformed. Regardless of the details, what I do know, is that Ra's Al Ghul was a not the final boss on that one game he was in, and that is insulting to his character.

To my understanding, that game was an ideal opportunity to make Ra's Al Ghul the villain behind everything; instead they went with the obvious, now played out, and overrated choice being Joker.

Again, I haven't played the game. I could have been misinformed. I doubt that I was but still there is a possibility that I was mislead. (+)

No,what was more insulting was the treatment meted out to Hugo Strange in AC to favour Ra's. Joker was part of that game from the start to the end,call him overrated or overused but he was a natural part of the plot. Ra's al Ghul was just shoehorned,he was the typical "LOL MASTERMIND" even though he didn't do anything whatsoever,it's becoming a trend with these Al Ghuls, just have someone else do all the heavy lifting and then claim credit just to superficially raise the stakes.

not over-rated but certainly overused.

Not overused in the comics.

Not overrated on the Vine.

Don't forget overpowerd. Joker taking down the entire Batfamily. SMH

@deathpoolthet1000: that was deep

Very overrated and overused

not over-rated. He is a psycho with no remorse. I mean he beat Jason Todd to near death with a crowbar and then blew him up! Put Barbara Gordon in a wheel chair.

Over-used. Yes to some extent. It would be good to see other villains used as well. But the Joker is to Batman what Green goblin is to Spiderman. He will always be the numero Uno bad guy.

I feel like he is very under used, and has been very mischaracterized. I feel like he has become less of a character, and more of a legend. I liked the Batman TAS Joker more, he was still used enough, he was funny, and he could still be very dark.

Also, shouldn't this be in the Joker forum?

Overused.

Both Batman and Joker are overrated and overused.

Although I like the Joker very much, I'd like to see some of Batman's more obscure villains. I was glad to see Wrath in Detective Comics. And I hope Joker stays gone for a little while longer.

Wouldn't say he's overrated, as he's earned his reputation. His healing factor now/whatever the heck you wanna call what's let him survive everything he has is quite simply ridiculous and makes no sense, besides just pure popularity.

He's definitely overused though, and I think more and more people are starting to notice. Even outside the shows and comics, he's now been the big villain in every Arkhamverse game so far, and i'd say he was the big villain for the newest film, which i've heard takes place in the same verse.

I'm going to get sooooo much hate for this...... The Joker is a one dimensional character. His motives is he is cray cray. That is it. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the Joker from time to time, but he is not complex villain..... Jason Todd is a much more compelling bad guy than the Joker.......

I don't know if overused is correct. Someone pointed out, in the new 52, he's only been used once, and that wasn't till the third story arc. In the Nolan trilogy he was written for the second movie, and rightfully so. The two ways he is mostly overused is in the Arkham games, which always grinds my gears, I wish they stayed away from him in City or Origins, but I guess it's just to tempting. And the problem with Arkham Knight is, yes he is supposed to be dead, but it's Rocksteady's last Batman game, can they resist bringing him back? Should they? The other way he is overused is by the public. We bring him up to much, the semi-fans of Batman, more fans of the movies, they bring him up all the time. I can see how we might think he is overused, and he is at times, but for the most part, I don't think that is the case, plus it's a business, you gotta go to the money maker, you gotta give the people what they want. Joker is my favourite villain, but I think the problem is, the other villains don't get enough love, they deserve their own great graphic novel story. I'm calling for great graphic novels for the Villains like the Riddler, Hugo Strange, Mr. Zsasz, Mr. Freeze, etc. The backstory is there, they just need to be reworked, and retold with the talents of Scott Snyder, Brian Azzarello or Jeph Loeb to write them.

Overrated and overexposed.

Joker isn't one dimensional and he's definitely more than just cray cray, he's motives are not that simple either.On the other hand Todd became a villain because Daddy Bats didn't kill his killer and because he felt Bruce wanted to make him more like Grayson.