In response to a question from MCF, I recently said that I expect to see a number of people dressed as The Joker this Halloween. Specifically, Chris Nolan's vision of Batman's arch-nemesis, as memorably portrayed by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

And, really, this is the costume that goth kids have been waiting for. All the elements are there:

• The character himself is the ultimate outcast


• The distinctive makeup with it's dark eyes and blood-red mouth is a goth classic. It's Robert Smith on steroids


• The morbid, carved rictus grin takes the look up another notch.


• The trench coat is a goth staple.


• The tragic death of the actor who immortalized the role adds all the gravitas any goth kid could want.

Do a Google Image search for "Joker Costume" and you'll find a ton of images. And you gotta love the irony of someone disguising his or her identity, only to tell us volumes about his or her real life. Here are a few of my favorites:

Is there anything sadder than a goth kid, all alone, in heavy makeup, taking his own picture in the bathroom? Yes. A goth kid, all alone, in heavy makeup, taking his own picture in the bathroom with mom's pink camera.

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This guy basically gets it right, I gotta admit. The whacked-out expression, the slap-dash makeup, the dirty hair. This kid probably does have issues.

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Well, the makeup isn't right for starters. The Joker in the movie had a more disheveled look, his makeup was usually pretty worn, sometimes barely there, and looked like he'd had it on for days. This kid looks like he's just applied about six pounds of makeup. Not to mention the "doe in the headlights" look really detracts from the menace of the Joker's look. the wig is a bit much, too. And posing in front of all those snapshots of that adorable baby ... man, that's the last straw right there. Sorry, Joker, the aesthetic is all wrong.

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I call this one Joker! At The Disco.

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Pretty cool; a sort of hybrid between Bob Kane's original concept and the new Joker look. This guy is probably more comics geek than goth kid. Kudos.

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Oh, come on, dude. You gotta belong to it. The facial hair has got to go. You can grow back your awesome goatee in a week. Shave or don't bother. Otherwise, you're just a reminder of the lamest Joker ever, Caesar Romero, who didn't bother to shave his mustache. Pick a look, Junior. You can't be both The Joker and the drummer in Cold.

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Is he dozing off? This guy apparently sleeps in his joker make-up. And he apparently sleeps in a chair because he's too lazy to clean that junk off his bed.

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What, you couldn't afford the makeup to do the costume right? Spend all your money on Linkin Park posters? And why do I get the feeling that the white box on the futon contained that mail-order purple coat?

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Oh, where do I begin. The posture is all wrong. If someone's gonna take your picture in your Joker costume, don't sit like you're one of fifteen kids waiting for the librarian to read The Brave Little Toaster. Secondly, if your hair isn't right, you should accept that you can't pull off the Joker's look. this guy looks more like Obama than Batman's enemy. A Joker we can believe in?

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I'm not sure what's supposed to be going on here, but it probably involves Ecstasy.

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Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Wrong. The whole point of the Joker's look is MAKEUP, not a mask. Wear MAKEUP if you're gonna dress like the Joker. Otherwise, what's the point? Can't decide who you like more, The Joker or Slipknot? Go home, dummy.

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This last one isn't Joker related, it's just a bonus:

"Look, Magneto, I've had a long day. Don't make me get out of this chair."

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