Batman fans share horrifying theory behind Joker's scars in The Dark Knight

There’s a theory of how the Joker received his scars in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and if true, the Joker may be more sinister than we had initially thought.

When it comes to iconic villains, the Joker is up there with the best of them, whether it's in comics, animation, movies, novels or video games. DC’s the Joker made his debut in the Batman comic book on 25 April 1940, and since that time, the Caped Crusader and the Clown Prince have been each other's yin and yang.

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“With the help of allies Lt. Jim Gordon and DA Harvey Dent, Batman has been able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young criminal calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) suddenly throws the town into chaos, the caped Crusader begins to tread a fine line between heroism and vigilantism,” reads the synopsis of The Dark Knight.

Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is amazing and was his penultimate major movie role before he sadly passed away in January 2008. His portrayal as the Joker stole the show and has gone down as one of the greatest performances in cinematic history.

We could be here all day picking parts of his performance from his attitude, mannerisms and general charisma. However, other than the iconic pale white make-up, Heath Ledger’s Joker also has two scars on either side of his mouth, which may be the reason why he’s continually licking and slopping his lips when he talks.

In The Dark Knight, it’s not explained why he has those scars, but a fan on Reddit has suggested a theory after Scientist78 asked “How did Joker get his scars?”

“The whole point is that we don't know,” replied AAAFate. “But in my opinion, they were self-inflicted for no real reason other than for him to make up stories. That would be very Joker of him.”

Others have speculated that was once in the military and got his scars during a war. While another has suggested that he got those scars when on an undercover mission for the Gotham City Police Department, and he was tortured by the mob.

Personally, I like the concept of the Joker doing those scars to himself because it makes this sinister, yet charismatic interpretation all that more horrifying. Finally, if for whatever reason you’ve never watched Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, you need to change that now.