Joker (Joaquin Phoenix)

"I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realize, it's a fucking comedy."

- Arthur Fleck

Joker is the alias of Arthur Fleck, the villain protagonist of the psychological thriller film Joker, in which he is portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix.

He is a mentally unstable failed comedian and former advertisement clown for a talent agency, who yearned to be a a stand-up comedian in life, but experienced major failures, delusions, and psychological breakdown.

He dreamed of meeting his life-long favorite Late Night Television Host, Murray Franklin, and he writes "jokes and funny thoughts", some being deeply sick and twisted, in a journal given to him by his Social Worker, hoping to use them for material on stage.

Arthur's mother, Penny Fleck, who has been desperately trying to seek financial help from billionaire Thomas Wayne, encourages Arthur's happiness but shows slight disapproval in his call to stand-up comedy. Arthur has an involuntary vocalized tic causing him to laugh uncontrollably to situations of high stress, which leads to him being bullied and beaten until he finally lashes out against his attackers. A failure and a loner deeming society as the reason for his downfall, he begins to cycle from manic depressive plagued by hallucinations and suicidal thoughts, to a disturbed homicidal maniac.

He soon goes on a killing spree, and uncovers hidden truths about himself and his past that come to light and eventually descend Arthur into madness.

Early Life
Arthur Fleck had originated from Gotham City since he was a child, and, experienced ongoing abusive behavior from his mother Penny and one of her boyfriends. This abuse caused him to develop major psychopathic tendencies and a pathological laughter condition which stayed with him into adulthood.

Penny tries to contact her former employer, Thomas Wayne, from 30 years ago, in hopes of receiving financial help

Failure
Despite dealing with his unstable mental health and seeing a daily therapist in Arkham Hospital, Fleck dreams of being a popular comedian, so, in hopes to achieve his dream; he is taking a job as an advertising clown for a talent agency in addition to assist taking care of his mother and their shared poor apartment. During the job, his advertising sign is stolen by a group of teenagers.

He is chasing them into an alley, where they beat him with the sign, leaving him broken and sad, causing him to recall his past. After this incident, his friend suggests lends him a gun for protection, and as a result Arthur is fired when he drops the gun while performing for children in a hospital.

Train Incident
When traveling to work by train, Arthur sees a young woman being bullied by three men from Wall Street. Unknowing what to do, he is bursting in maniacal laughter, triggering them to leave the woman and harass Fleck until they beat him. However, he uses the gun to shoot them to death and later escapes.

Returning home, he is dancing with his mother while watching the Murray Franklin TV show they both love so much, while Arthur later writes new jokes and stories in his notebook with picturing himself entering into the fridge. Two GCPD detectives arrive at his doorway to investigate on the murders, because of that Penny experiences a severe episode of her illness, with Arthur taking her to the hospital which police ask him about the murders, he denies any connections to the incident.

The Rise of the Joker
In the hospital where he is watching Franklin showing his video making a failed stand-up performance which causes him to be seen as a great joke, increasing his mental issues to far more high levels.

Despite these events, he goes on a date with the single-mother Sophie Dumond, although this is later revealed to be a fantasy of his.

In Arkham he reads Penny's files he discovers the truth and goes to kill his mother.

Following these events, Arthur returns home, where he is officially unleashing the Joker identity he created when he was a child and brutally kills one of his friends and let the other go in his apartment before leaving as a clown-like costumed man with green hair.

Before leaving out to the city, Arthur sees that a social anarchistic movement against the rich and the powerful like Thomas who is running for mayor, with the movement being known as The Clowns due to Arthur's train incident.

Taking the Joker into complete freedom, Arthur decides to lead the movement and after being chased by the detectives, he goes into hiding in a subway train filled with Clowns, allowing him to disappear into hiding. He is later invited to Franklin's show, where Franklin seemingly shows support, however later criticizes him for being leader of a mutiny against rich people like him.

Upset, Arthur uses the gun to kill Franklin live in front of a horrified audience, after that he gets arrested but Clowns saving him and they goes on a completely destructive rampage across the city, one of the Clowns killing Thomas and Martha Wayne in front of Bruce's eyes.

Returning Home
After the anarchistic rampage against the rich is proven as official success, Arthur leaves to celebrate his victory witbyncing on a police car to "White Room" by Cream. Later he is shown in Arkham, where he declines to tell his doctor what he's laughing about, as she wouldn't get it. He is then shown walking down a hallway leaving bloody shoe prints, he implies killed his doctor and is chased by orderlies.

Trivia

 * This is the fourth version of the Joker (fifth if you count Jerome Valeska) in media to be given an actual name and backstory, following Jack Napier in the 1989 Batman movie, Martha Wayne in Flashpoint, and Jeremiah Valeska in the television show Gotham.
 * His backstory as a failed stand up comedian is similar to one of his possible backstories depicted in the acclaimed comic book Batman: The Killing Joke.
 * His appearance appears to be a mix of both Cesar Romero's Joker from the campy 1960s series Batman and Jack Nicholson's Joker from the 1989 film Batman, as well as Heath Ledger's Joker from the 2008 film The Dark Knight.
 * The scene where Joker shoots Murray in the show he's invited on is very similar to the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
 * He is the third Joker not to fall into chemicals and become disfigured, following from Heath Ledger's Joker and the Martha Wayne Joker from Flashpoint Paradox.