In the 1989 Batman movie the Joker, played by Jack Nicholson, dies and fanboys around the world groaned.  The Joker is Batman’s arch nemesis he’s not supposed to die in the first movie.  You cannot change 50 or 60 years of Batman mythos for 1 good scene. 

Now the in much anticipated return of the Joker in the Dark Knight, someone dies.  The important difference is that this time it’s in the real world.  It’s not something that we can debate or argue about because of poor writing or directing.  We cannot criticize how it was done or if the scene lived up to the hype.  The viral marketing campaign for the Dark Knight and especially the Joker has been tremendous since the San Diego Comic Con.  But this isn’t marketing folks.

Heath Ledger is gone.  His 2 year old daughter is without a father.  A 28 year old man isn’t supposed to die.

It was reported that Heath chose roles that weren’t easy.  When offered mindless acting roles he declined, waiting for a role that required serious work.  In the brief clips of the Dark Knight we can see Heath’s version of the Joker was more off the beaten trail than any before him.  You can see the 6 minute Bank Heist Clip here.  Heath makes the Joker look creepier while previous versions made him look happy.  The Joker in all of his insanity should be creepy scary and not some toothy clown.