This line, spoken when the Joker mistakenly believes Batman has been eliminated by a second-rate, run-of-the-mill, no-name thug, helped me gain a greater insight into the character and his motivations than perhaps anything he had ever said or done before. The Joker’s monumental ego shattered, he became and aimless, bewildered, and broken man. Deprvived of his ultimate goal of triumphing over his hatred archenemy once and for all, he had simply lost the will to live, or murder, or commit a crime of any kind, ever again. Oh sure, he would make an exception in the case of the crook who had stolen his thunder by bringing the Dark Knight, of course. In fact, after sealing this hapless man alive in a coffin, then plunging it into a vat of acid, the Joker actually rallies briefly, delivering a eulogy full of fire and brimstone, riddled with bitter contempt and words of vengeance. Temporarily satisfited, he does a complete emotional 180, declaring: “Well, that was fun! Who’s for Chinese?”.
Mark Hamill
