The Joker’s costume in The Dark Knight nearly excluded 2 key elements from the character’s various DC Comics iterations. Since his first appearance in 1940, The Joker’s costume has nearly always been a bright purple suit, which complements his ghastly clown-like appearance. Some specific storylines or alternate iterations of the Joker wear different outfits, such as his white suit in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, but the Joker rarely strays too far from his iconic purple suit for long. In Christopher Nolan’s relatively grounded Dark Knight trilogy, the Joker nearly eschewed several key elements of his appearance.

In DC’s mainstream comic continuities, the Joker’s pale skin and green hair are the result of exposure to chemicals during an escape from the Gotham City police or Batman, depending on the iteration. The Joker’s suit is typically weaponized with the Joker’s lethal gag-themed devices, such as a lapel flower that sprays corrosive acid or various gasses and gloves that hide a deadly electric joy buzzer. Naturally, it would be difficult to imagine every element of Joker’s outlandish appearance and arsenal in Nolan’s Dark Knight universe, and this almost meant some integral elements of his design were cut.

The Dark Knight’s Joker Almost Had His Two Most Recognizable Design Features Removed

As revealed by Christopher Nolan, the Joker’s design in The Dark Knight almost skipped on the bright purple suit and signature green hair. As with other changes to the Batman characters and lore in The Dark Knight Trilogy, the motive was to make the film as relatively grounded in realism as possible. As iconic as it may be, the Joker’s bright purple suit and chemical-bleached features would inevitably be too far-fetched for many viewers, so Nolan experimented with how many elements he could remove before his version of the Joker no longer resembled any iteration of the famous Batman villain.

Ultimately, Nolan decided that eschewing the Joker’s green hair and purple suit would have been a bridge too far and he would have too little of the character’s classic iconography. Instead of removing these two elements, Nolan instead decided to reimagine them for his take on the Joker. Nolan wanted Heath Ledger’s Joker to have a “grubby” and unkempt appearance in The Dark Knight, visually suggesting that the Joker did not wash or change his clothes, giving him and his outfit a disheveled look that suggested an “appalling” smell. Nolan’s choices and Ledger’s performance were both, ultimately, beloved by viewers.

Why Christopher Nolan Was Right To Look At Potentially Cutting Joker’s Design

Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy is renowned for its grounded reimagining of the beloved – and typically outlandish – Batman comic mythos. In Batman Begins, nearly every aspect of Batman’s iconic costume, arsenal, and Batmobile are given explanations and origins as Bruce Wayne gradually pieces together his Batman persona. Naturally, his arch nemesis would need to be treated comparably, so Nolan was correct to experiment with the Joker’s appearance, testing what would have been appropriate to keep and what could have been omitted.

Ultimately, the Joker’s pale skin and green hair are not the result of chemical exposure, but are simply due to conventional makeup and dyes. The Joker lacks his purple suit at the start of The Dark Knight, but he uses the money he stole from a mob-controlled bank to have the suit custom-made. While the Joker’s suit lacks most of its comic counterpart’s built-in weapons, it still houses his conventional weaponry and, in one scene, carries a crudely improvised explosive vest to deter mobsters from attacking him.

Why The Joker Needs Green Hair And A Purple Jacket (Even In Grittier Movie Adaptations)

Nolan retained the most essential elements of the Batman characters in his Dark Knight Trilogy. For all the reimaginings, Scarecrow still uses his famous mask and fear toxin, Ra’s al Ghul still feigns immortality (through a body double), Bane is seemingly superhumanly strong, and Batman retains his famous suit and gadgets. The Joker retains the basic visual traits of his comic counterpart, even without the chemical bleaching, because Nolan wanted him to be a realistic version of the character, but not so much so that he ceased to be the Joker entirely.

Aside from retaining basic elements of his classic appearance, Nolan and Ledger’s Joker is still faithful to the comic source material in important ways. The Joker is still Batman’s greatest threat, he is still obsessed with the Dark Knight, and his plots nearly destroy Gotham City. Christopher Nolan may have toyed with removing key elements of Joker’s iconic outfit, but he and Heath Ledger still crafted an authentic version of the villain in The Dark Knight.