Cesar Romero... Not that bad

[Rafa-Rivas-2099]

I'm just watching Joker is Wild / Badman is Riled for the first time after probably 2 decades of not seeing a single rerun of it, and I have to admit, my memory of Romero as the Joker was all wrong.

Within that silly, ridiculously modern world (which is an exact mirror of what the DC characters were doing in the comics back then, and was revolutionary and very grounded compared with the 50s stuff), Romero's Joker is quite scary. At least in his first appearance. The scene in which Batman takes his Pagliacci mask (remarkably similar to the one Ledger wears at the beginning of The Dark Knight) is quite creepy. Even though it's no surprise seeing his face, that hysterical laugh and the close up totally does the trick. Kinda the same with the news scene. He even looks creepy just playing baseball.

That episode echoes a lot of stuff we have seen in The Laughing Fish, The Dark Knight and the 1989 movie. If anything, I'd have reduced a lot of face time, so that the Pagliacci scene is his fist one and the audience really soils his pants.

I used to consider that the series only really had the best Penguin and Riddler (it really does, and they really fit that universe), and while Hamill, Ledger and Nicholson are way too good, Romero certainly did an awesome job.

[ABH]

Yeah, I think Romero did a fine job, but I also typically look to Gorshin's Riddler and Meredith's Penguin as the top villains of the '60s show.

Romero's Joker is quite scary. At least in his first appearance. The scene in which Batman takes his Pagliacci mask (remarkably similar to the one Ledger wears at the beginning of The Dark Knight) is quite creepy.

I think it was intentional.

[manduck37]

I always liked Cesar Romero as The Joker. I thought he was pretty awesome too. As a fun bit of trivia, Romero refused to shave off his moustache for the role, so they had to put make-up over it.

[K. Jones]

Romero is brilliant, clearly having a lot of fun (as Joker is wont to do) and is like Sprang-era Joker come to life. Frankly, the elite a-list Batman villain actors on that show all really perfectly channel everything about their characters, to a tee. Gorshin imbues Riddler with a sense of genius mania. Meredith's Penguin is equal parts gentile and thug, and feels very old school crook. Julie Newmar is pure sex.

He's also explicitly the root of my coulrophobia, because of that Pierrot costume and the close-up on his face, laughing at the end of that episode.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Luckily, I'm yet to see one bad portyal of the Joker in a film or animated sense. My favourite being from Under the red Hood.

[RubberLotus]

Romero always nailed a real air of charisma that I felt neither Nicholson nor Ledger quite got. Sure, a lot of his screentime was hyperactive screeching, but when he calmed down, he had a gentle, almost grandfatherly sort of air to him (not surprising, since Romero was pushing 60 when he played the Joker) that just made you want to trust him, even though he's a totally ruthless supervillain who poisons 15-year-old girls for kicks. Note that in the movie, the other villains depend on him to interact with the Navy admiral and keep the guy happy and clueless.

Nicholson kind of went in that direction for the first segment or so of Batman '89, before going into a more lamentable "skeezy old man" interpretation (especially in the scenes with Vicki). Ledger went in a totally different direction from the start - his Joker is almost 100% "do as I say or I will make you wish you were never born" brutality, which isn't bad... but it's kind of one-note after a while.

[Rafa-Rivas-2099]

Yeah, I think Romero did a fine job, but I also typically look to Gorshin's Riddler and Meredith's Penguin as the top villains of the '60s show.



I think it was intentional.

I think that if I hat to tune some detaild it wouldn't be Romero's acting as much as the direction. With the debuts of the Riddler and the Penguin (I also watched those), they avoided showing them in the cold opening. With the Joker, I'd had been great to avoid showing him, as I said, until the unmasking. So that you have the good guys chasing this scary returning villain that the audience doesn't know. With the Penguin and the Riddler is not that necesary, they are upfront challenges. Being scary through mystery might have worked wonders for Romero's Joker.

Romero is brilliant, clearly having a lot of fun (as Joker is wont to do) and is like Sprang-era Joker come to life. Frankly, the elite a-list Batman villain actors on that show all really perfectly channel everything about their characters, to a tee. Gorshin imbues Riddler with a sense of genius mania. Meredith's Penguin is equal parts gentile and thug, and feels very old school crook. Julie Newmar is pure sex.

He's also explicitly the root of my coulrophobia, because of that Pierrot costume and the close-up on his face, laughing at the end of that episode.

I think in that universe, Batman's top villains are the "Sinister Six": Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, King Tut and Egghead. And the only reason Egghead is the last of that list is because he debuted in the second season. It's fun how in that series every villain is the smartest criminal genius of the world and the archenemy of Batman.

[Rafa-Rivas-2099]

Romero always nailed a real air of charisma that I felt neither Nicholson nor Ledger quite got. Sure, a lot of his screentime was hyperactive screeching, but when he calmed down, he had a gentle, almost grandfatherly sort of air to him (not surprising, since Romero was pushing 60 when he played the Joker) that just made you want to trust him, even though he's a totally ruthless supervillain who poisons 15-year-old girls for kicks. Note that in the movie, the other villains depend on him to interact with the Navy admiral and keep the guy happy and clueless.

Nicholson kind of went in that direction for the first segment or so of Batman '89, before going into a more lamentable "skeezy old man" interpretation (especially in the scenes with Vicki). Ledger went in a totally different direction from the start - his Joker is almost 100% "do as I say or I will make you wish you were never born" brutality, which isn't bad... but it's kind of one-note after a while.

In the end, Hamill is the true Joker, perfectly able to charm or be absolutely scary at will.

I don't know if that's because I knew Romero was gay beforehand, but I feel no chemistry between him and his moll. You can the Riddler and the Penguin as reference of highly flirtatious villains. Or even tha BTAS version of the Joker.

[K. Jones]

In the end, Hamill is the true Joker, perfectly able to charm or be absolutely scary at will.

I don't know if that's because I knew Romero was gay beforehand, but I feel no chemistry between him and his moll. You can the Riddler and the Penguin as reference of highly flirtatious villains. Or even tha BTAS version of the Joker.

Cesar Romero was gay? But women loved him!

Hahaha.

(No but seriously, when does Joker ever have chemistry with his molls? And where the heck are all the molls, these days? And that goes double for the villainesses, who could rightly have all-girl goons, and male molls? Ivy ... I'm looking at you.)

[ngroove]

The correct answer is that Caesar Romero has "always been GREAT", since one's first ever sentimental watch ....to say "not that bad" still mirrors, belittles, to your overall conscious and subconscious mind, that "he is bad".

[Rafa-Rivas-2099]

Cesar Romero was gay? But women loved him!

Hahaha.

(No but seriously, when does Joker ever have chemistry with his molls? And where the heck are all the molls, these days? And that goes double for the villainesses, who could rightly have all-girl goons, and male molls? Ivy ... I'm looking at you.)

He has that chemistry with Harley.
I think Ivy is the only woman who hires only henchwomen. Catwoman, Harley and Talia usually have henchmen. In the animated series, she had male-plant enforcers in "House & Garden" and "Chemistry", plus Bane was kind of the moll in Batman & Robin

The correct answer is that Caesar Romero has "always been GREAT", since one's first ever sentimental watch ....to say "not that bad" still mirrors, belittles, to your overall conscious and subconscious mind, that "he is bad".

That's right. Romero is a great actor, and he performed perfectly as requested, but unlike Gorshin and Meredith (and Buono and Price), he is the one playing the tongue-in-cheek version of his character against plenty of top talent and his version is not really considered the ultimate one (I believe that would be mostly Hamill or Nicholson, since Ledger departed from all the classic interpretations).

[Güicho]

The correct answer is that Caesar Romero has "always been GREAT".

Exactly!

I think it was intentional.

Moore explored it too: (through Rorschach & Comedian), takes the Joker/Pagliacci nod to the next insane level...

[ngroove]

What this thread comes down to, nevertheless is yet another "this Joker" vs "my (whoever one subjectively believes is "my") Joker". Another thread on essentially saying, "Joker has to be a super-scary killer of children" or "no way".

THIS was the Joker of the Batman television show period, true to the character of the time:

Detective Comics #332 "The Joker's Last Laugh"

Joker, basing his crimes off of "old jokes", and to make it funny, people laugh, spreading a chemical called "loco weed" wherever he went.


Detective Comics #341 "The Joker's Comedy Capers" (later reconfigured to be Riddler episodes)

Joker, disguising as a series of old-tyme comedians, filming comedies about committing crimes, making fools out of authority, WHILE committing real crimes, making fools out of authority.

Batman #186 "The Joker's Original Robberies"

Joker, aboard a jalopy for transportation, employs a midget, Gaggy Gagsworthy, whose role is also to serve as jester for Joker's entertainment, on a circuit of robbery involving first edition articles.

[K. Jones]

Yo but seriously, Joker was going around dosing people with loco weed? Gotta read it!

[Nick Miller]

of course Romero was always great (did not know he was gay!)

there are scenes where he goes from haha to menacing in an instant, and they are great. Plus he kept his 'stache!