Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight offered a more realistic interpretation of the Joker, and one of his particularities was the scars on his face. These scars formed a permanent “smile” that made the late Heath Ledger's version of the iconic DC villain even more menacing. The Dark Knight is considered one of the best superhero films of all time, and the moive introduced one of the strongest and most terrifying versions of the Joker, a worthy adversary for Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman.
Released in 2008, The Dark Knight reintroduced Bale's Batman, Gary Oldman's James Gordon, and Michael Caine's Alfred Pennyworth, following appearances in 2005's Batman Begins. After dealing with Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow and Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne, Gordon, and newcomer Harvey Dent, portrayed by Aaron Eckhart, teamed up to fight the emergence of a unique type of villain known as the Joker. This version of the Clown Prince of Crime kept some characteristics from the classic Joker aesthetic, including the green-and-purple suit, but his signature pale face was painted on, and he sported deep scars forming the shape of a smile.
Why The Joker's Scars Have Different Explanations In The Dark Knight
The Joker's scars in The Dark Knight were hard not to look at, and this attention prompted the Joker to share the story behind them. Two differing stories were provided regarding the origin of the scars, as viewers were initially led to believe that the Joker's abusive father had mutilated his son during a fit of rage, carving the scars into his face while repeating the nightmarish line, "why so serious?" This event certainly would have had a deep emotional impact on the young boy and could have been a turning point in the villain's trajectory, donning the clown guise while remembering his father's eerie words, "put a smile on that face."
The second story that the Joker posed suggested that he himself had etched the scars into his own face, all for his wife. According to the Joker, his wife (who often mentioned that he needed to "smile more") found herself in trouble with gambling sharks who "carved her face." As the pair couldn't afford surgery, and in an effort to reassure his wife that he didn't care about her scars, the Joker disfigured himself in solidarity. This plan backfired, however, as his wife could no longer bear to look at him, leading to the pair separating, yet the Joker found entertainment in the fact that he was now permanently smiling.
The Dark Knight never actually revealed the true story behind the origin of the scars, though it could probably be assumed that neither of the tales that the Joker weaved was, in fact, true. The Joker's stories do nothing but underline the true chaos of his personality, stressing the fact that he had no interest in revealing his backstory to his enemies, but only wanted to plant fear any way he could in an effort to build his empire in Gotham City. Given this, it's likely that he simply disfigured himself prior to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight simply because he could, with perhaps no deeper meaning behind his scars.
