Is Joker Insane Or Not?

[2HF]

To me the beauty of The Joker has always been this.

Is he or isn't he?

I have never managed to make up my mind. I do believe that is the entire idea behind The Joker. Please feel free to break this down for each iteration of him in different media. I know that not every version of the character is the same and he may cross the line from one instance to the next.

Thoughts?

I'm almost positive this has been asked before but I didn't see the thread. I'll happily accept links.

 

[Zhukov]

I find the idea of a perfectly sane guy who chooses to act like that for unfathomable reasons to be cooler, scarier and more interesting than a guy who just acts like that because he's crackers.

Although the argument could be made that having unfathomable motives is the same as being insane.

 

[Asita]

I find the idea of a perfectly sane guy who chooses to act like that for unfathomable reasons to be cooler, scarier and more interesting than a guy who just acts like that because he's crackers.

Although the argument could be made that having unfathomable motives is the same as being insane.

One could also say that the very act of choosing to act that way makes a better case for him being insane than almost any other argument could. It's a question of who's crazier: The man locked up in an asylum, or the man who breaks in and pretends to be an inmate?

 

[Zaik]

I always figured he was either very insane and prone to moments of unusual clarity, or a brilliant guy who is prone to frequent bouts of temporary insanity.

It's basically the same thing.

 

[Ruedyn]

There was a debate that he wasn't? He dresses up like a clown and kills people, fighting a guy dressed up as a bat (sort of, I never saw the resemblance). I'd say they're all nutty as squirrel shit, except Commisioner Gordin.

 

[Korolev]

I don't think he's insane. Evil, for sure. Twisted, absolutely. But not insane. He simply likes hurting people and is just very good at doing it. Think about the petty criminals and psychopaths who hurt and torture people for fun, and then imagine them being super intelligent and capable of carrying their twisted dreams to the next level. That's the sort of person the Joker, if he was real, would be.

He's not insane - as in, he suffers no delusions or mental illness (schizophrenia, paranoia, etc). He's just cruel and sadistic.

 

[FalloutJack]

I'll let you guys judge for yourselves.


I know MY answer.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

I think he's a sociopath more than a psychopath. A psychopath kills for pleasure for the fun of it. The joker seems more controlled than that. He wants to create chaos, panic, and drag people down to his level. That requires intelligent reasoning, which is something a psychopath wouldn't be able to hold on to. They would become overpowered by their impulses.

 

[Nulmas]

I think he's a sociopath more than a psychopath. A psychopath kills for pleasure for the fun of it. The joker seems more controlled than that. He wants to create chaos, panic, and drag people down to his level. That requires intelligent reasoning, which is something a psychopath wouldn't be able to hold on to. They would become overpowered by their impulses.

I think you may be confusing the concepts of psycothic and psycopath. If I'm not mistaken, a psycopath and a sociopath are pretty much arguably the same thing.

As for the Joker, yeah he's completely cuckoo. However, his madness sometimes gives him insights other people just don't have.

I think it was Grant Morrison that once said that Joker's insanity is actually some kind of super-sanity.

 

[Frybird]

I think on "The Dark Knight" Blu Ray there's a bonus feature about the psychologic Background of Batman and some of the villans where it's said that he isn't legally insane.

However...i guess it depends on the version.

 

[WolfThomas]

To be fair the concept of "Insanity" is not really used in medicine anymore (just law). The Joker certainly has a mental disorder, likely a severe case of Anti-social personality disorder. But he doesn't actually have the hallmark delusions or hallucinations of a psychotic disorder.

I think he is probably savvy enough to claim "insanity" for actions though, so he goes to arkham, not an electric chair.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I think he's a sociopath more than a psychopath. A psychopath kills for pleasure for the fun of it. The joker seems more controlled than that. He wants to create chaos, panic, and drag people down to his level. That requires intelligent reasoning, which is something a psychopath wouldn't be able to hold on to. They would become overpowered by their impulses.

I think you may be confusing the concepts of psycothic and psycopath. If I'm not mistaken, a psycopath and a sociopath are pretty much arguably the same thing.

As for the Joker, yeah he's completely cuckoo. However, his madness sometimes gives him insights other people just don't have.

I think it was Grant Morrison that once said that Joker's insanity is actually some kind of super-sanity.

I like the Super Sanity theory.

The whole thing about the Joker is that he wasn't always like that. At one time he was just a normal guy that had a really bad day and ever since that bad day he's been like this.

For him to be a sociopath he would of had to been one since birth, and he wasn't.

 

[RJ 17]

As some others have hinted at or outright said: it really depends on which version of the Joker you're talking about. In most cases, the Joker seems to be a terrible (as in don't mess with this guy) mixture of insanity and brilliance. Though each version seems to lean more to one side than the other. The Dark Knight's Joker, for instance, seems to be more on the brilliant side than the insane side, however that doesn't change the fact that he's still got some good ol' fashioned crazy in him. As seen by the fact that he happily WANTS Batman to kill him just for the pleasure of knowing he made Batman break his no-killing code...laughing like a loon as he's falling from that building before Batman grappling hooks his leg and pulls him back up.

The Joker in the Batman: The Animated Series, though, I'd argue leans a bit more to the crazy side, but that doesn't change the fact that he's still absolutely brilliant.

PS: While Ledger certainly did an outstanding job as The Joker in Dark Knight Rises, Mark Hamill is the only TRUE Joker if you ask me......that fucking laugh is just sooooooooo iconic. Too bad he swears that Arkham City was the last time he'd ever voice The Joker. u.u

 

[Nulmas]

To be fair the concept of "Insanity" is not really used in medicine anymore (just law). The Joker certainly has a mental disorder, likely a severe case of Anti-social personality disorder. But he doesn't actually have the hallmark delusions or hallucinations of a psychotic disorder.

I think he is probably savvy enough to claim "insanity" for actions though, so he goes to arkham, not an electric chair.

Actually, he does have delusions. That's the in-continuity reason for his several origin stories and personalities.

 

[Nulmas]

Actually, he does have delusions. That's the in-continuity reason for his several origin stories and personalities.

Are you sure its not that he just wants to keep it a secret and enjoys fucking with people? This would be the far more logical answer.

I never said he didn't want to do that. Problem is, he also wants to do the exact same thing to himself!

 

[Vivi22]

There was a debate that he wasn't?

There have been theories flung around in the comics that he may not actually be insane. He may simply act that way to make sure he always gets sent to Arkham instead of the electric chair.

I don't buy the idea that his insanity is an act though. That would mean that a perfectly sane person is managing to act as unpredictably as an insane person, slaughter hundreds of people without batting an eye, and all to try and get away with his crimes and avoid capital punishment. I don't buy that any sane person could do that and not be affected by it. Moreover, I'd say his rather extreme obsession with Batman indicates he is not right in the head.

 

[Kordie]

Watch this. [http://www.cracked.com/video_18442_the-horrible-truth-about-batmans-secret-identity.html] I love cracked, and lately they have been very batman focused. I wonder why, is something batman related coming out? he seems to be getting a lot of attention lately...

 

[templar1138a]

OP may want to pay more attention when typing thread titles. I thought this was about the helmsman from Mass Effect.

 

[Fasckira]

Watch this. [http://www.cracked.com/video_18442_the-horrible-truth-about-batmans-secret-identity.html] I love cracked, and lately they have been very batman focused. I wonder why, is something batman related coming out? he seems to be getting a lot of attention lately...

If there is, I certainly haven't heard of it! You'd think they advertise that kind of thing though.