The Joker’s History Is Meant To Be Vague
You know what makes the Joker the best villain ever? We know practically nothing about him. Even when a little tidbit of information is released, it’s quickly changed around and debunked. As the pale-faced psychopath says, “Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another. If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice.” Think about the late Heath Ledger’s constant switch-up of how he got his scars in The Dark Knight as the perfect example.
The mystery is what appeals to us, since we don’t know much about his history. He could’ve been a friend of Bruce Wayne’s from childhood, or a distant cousin of Commissioner Gordon, or he could’ve just been a nobody who had one really bad day. That’s what makes him so interesting: he represents the darkest part of the human soul. A backstory proves to be unnecessary here because we can all relate to how anyone could snap on any given day. If you don’t believe us, go watch a couple of road-rage videos and see the primal instinct kick in.
The only way we can see an origin movie working is if it plays out with an unreliable narrator and we’re never quite sure if it’s actually true or not. If the film does pan out like that, then we’ll gladly eat a slice of humble pie and admit that we were wrong about this whole thing. Until then, we’ll still have our doubts.