**TL;DR Jack Nicholson (in Tim Burton’s 1989 *Batman* film) has managed to play the Joker better than any other actor because he successfully embodies the unpredictability of the character in his performance.** The greatness of Nicholson’s Joker comes from his nature. He plays a true wild card with some great comic gags, but still manages to pose a serious threat as a villain. As an audience, you don’t know if he’s going to kill the other characters or if he is tricking you and it makes his character interesting, he is unapologetically outlandish. With other portrayals of the Joker, the audience always knows exactly what he intends to do and that goes against his character’s core. Similarly, Nicholson’s iconic sets of outfits and memorable lines (‘Ever danced with devil in pale moonlight?’, ‘If you gotta go, go with a smile’) feed into this characterisation and can make the audience laugh, although his unpredictability keeps us on the edge of our seats whenever the character is on screen. Having Jack Nicholson, famously known for his many portrayals of psychotic characters (including Jack Torrance in *The Shining*), play the Joker is a Hollywood match made in heaven. From his creepy smile to his unnerving and uncomfortable gaze – Nicholson’s Joker embodies all of the expressions of the psychotic clown perfectly. Whilst there have been many different adaptations of the Joker character on film, for me Nicholson’s will always top the list because of the sheer versatility he has. He can make you laugh (much like the earliest versions of the character), before quickly switching to the psychotic and unhinged character which we see more often in modern media. Along with his plethora of whacky outfits, weapons, and lines, he is not only the best but perhaps also the most iconic. ‘18 Reasons Why Jack Nicholson Was A Better Joker Than Heath Ledger’, (https://screenrant.com/why-jack-nicholson-best-joker-better-than-heath-ledger/)

TL;DR - Jack Nicholson had one of the best performances as the Joker, but his divergence from the Joker's source material and the comic storyline is what prevents him from being the best. The Jack Nicholson Joker is outstanding on every level, he is perhaps the best part of the entire movie. He is a good synthesis of the golden era (1940s-1955) and silver era (1956-1970) Batman comics with a flair of psychotic gangster credited to Tim Burton. His motivations are aligned more with the silver era - illusions of power, and celebrity as a criminal folk hero; but his means are ones of a homicidal maniac just like in the golden era [1]. he is genuinely a classic Joker in his performance to the core. But that is as far as I agree with the argument since Jack Nicholson's Joker has some flaws and his origin diverges from the source material. Nicholson's Joker has already turned into the Joker but also has an alter ego - Jack Napier. This is a notable shift from the comics because the Joker's identity and origins are unknown and don't have an alter ego, and the Joker's transformation occurred when he fell into acid [2]. In the movie, Jack Napier is already the Joker and it seems like he always was which undermines his character arc. Another problem is that in the movie it's a young Jack Napier who kills Bruce Wayne's parents and not Joe Chill [3]. Although these changes don't affect the quality of the movie or the character itself, it does affect the embodiment of the character's essence since he doesn't have that air of mystery on who he is and what his intentions are [4]. The Joker is not only goofy and menacing, but he is also mysterious and irrational. Personally determining who is the best Joker can be complicated. But I see it In terms of performance, it usually sums up to quality vs source material. Joaquin Phoenix's Joker, for example, has an award-winning performance but its story is so far away from the Joker in Batman that it's hard to think of him as the best. I think it's a tie between Heath Ledger and Mark Hamil in the animated series but that's an opinion for another time. [1] The Joker Evolution: How This Iconic Character Developed over the Years https://www.qualitycomix.com/learn/the-evolution-of-the-joker [2] Joker (DC Comics) https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Joker_(Prime_Earth) [3] Joe Chill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Chill#:~:text=In%20Batman's%20origin%20story%2C%20Joe,crime%20as%20the%20vigilante%20Batman. [4] Comics in Context #84: Dark Definitive https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/05/13/comics-in-context-84-dark-definitive?page=6

**TLDR: Heath Ledger is the best Joker because he completely lost himself in a role that he has never done before, whereas Jack Nicholson's Joker felt like Jack Nicholson in makeup** I personally think that Heath Ledger's Joker is the best one. It fit so perfectly with Nolan's more grounded take on Batman, and I think he strikes the right balance between crazy but also self awareness of that craziness. I think many people would have been hard pressed to remember that its Heath Ledger when watching him play the Joker, because he takes on so many mannerisms that are completely foreign to what we know of him (the subtle lip licking, the eyes moving wildly). However when I saw Jack Nicholson's Joker, I felt like I was watching The Shining with a little extra makeup, because that kind of madness is what we have already seen from him.