--- description: This isn’t the first time a fan theory tried to suggest a villain in 'Dark Knight' trilogy of films was actually working for good title: Fan Theory Suggests the Joker Was the Real Hero in The Dark Knight image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3837ffc7dc3bc4bc/6988618c0a4a2215529c5dbe/heath-ledger-joker-dark-knight.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Clever Fan Theory Suggests the Joker Was the Real Hero in _The Dark Knight_ by [Christopher Rosen / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Christopher Rosen / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 29, 2015 4:07 PM CUT  Heath Ledger as the Joker in "The Dark Knight." Heath Ledger as the Joker in "The Dark Knight."Warner Bros. by [Christopher Rosen / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Christopher Rosen / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 29, 2015 4:07 PM CUT In a world where [Harry Potter](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/27/harry-potter-becomes-villain "undefined") and [Daniel LaRusso](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/24/karate-kid-video-daniel-larusso-villain "undefined") can be considered villains, is the Joker actually a hero? That’s the suggestion from Reddit user [generalzee](https://www.reddit.com/user/generalzee "undefined"), who wrote an 829-word piece explaining how Heath Ledger’s iconic _Dark Knight_ baddie was actually the hero of the film. He helped turn a city that was overrun by crime and chaos into a more peaceful place by uniting its citizens and removing the element of vigilante justice employed by Batman. Here’s generalzee: --- > “” --- This isn’t the first time a fan theory tried to suggest one of the villains in Christopher Nolan’s _Dark Knight_ trilogy of films was actually working on the side of good. Back in November, another Reddit user posited that Bane was trying to help Gotham through his series of coordinated terror attacks by bringing Batman out of retirement. “It’s sort of much more dramatic version of they dynamic between Sacha Baron-Cohen and Will Ferrell in _Talladega Nights_ (sorry to go there),” Redditor [ciociosanvstar](https://www.reddit.com/user/ciociosanvstar "undefined") wrote. “Bane wants to be beaten, and he’ll set up circumstances to bring about that end, but he isn’t just going to let it happen, it has to be real.” For the full theory about the Joker, [head to Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/3insgr/joker%5Fis%5Fthe%5Fhero%5Fin%5Fthe%5Fdark%5Fknight/ "undefined"). \[h/t [Uproxx](http://uproxx.com/gammasquad/2015/08/dark-night-theory-joker-hero/ "undefined")\] _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/29/fan-theory-joker-dark-knight-hero "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com "undefined") ### Meet All the Actors Who Have Played Batman and Robin  Lewis Wilson was the first actor to play Batman on screen, with Douglas Croft joining him as the first Robin in the 1943 film Batman. Columbia Pictures—Getty Images  Robert Lowery was the second to don the guise of Batman, playing the caped crusader in the 15 chapter serial, Batman and Robin in 1949. Everett  Johnny Duncan played Robin to Lowery's Batman in the 1949 Batman and Robin serial. Columbia  Adam West played the role of masked crime fighter for three seasons on the 1960s television series Batman. Mondadori—Getty Images  Burt Ward joined Adam West as his Robin for the Batman television series. Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images  Michael Keaton played Batman in the 1992 film Batman Returns. Warner Bros.  Following Keaton three years later, Val Kilmer portrayed the billionaire playboy in 1995's Batman Forever. Warner Bros.  Chris O'Donnell played Robin for two different Batmen. He was Val Kilmer's Robin in 1995 (pictured above) and then joined George Clooney in 1997 for the widely panned Batman & Robin. Warner Bros.  Hard to remember, but George Clooney once took a turn as Batman, back in the 1997--before the Oscars knew his name so well. Warner Bros.  Christian Bale donned the mask for Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Ron Phillips—Warner Bros  Ben Affleck is the latest to join the ranks of actors who have portrayed the caped crusader, in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie. DCComics.com  Will Arnett voices Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Lego Batman Movie, a 3D-animated take on the DC superhero and a spin-off of 2014's The Lego Movie. Warner Bros. _Read next:_ [_Heath Ledger’s ‘Joker’ Diary Revealed in New Documentary_](http://time.com/3990450/heath-ledger-joker-diary/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4016002/dark-knight-joker-hero/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4016002/dark-knight-joker-hero/"},"headline":"Clever Fan Theory Suggests the Joker Was the Real Hero in The Dark Knight","datePublished":"2015-08-29T16:07:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:53.086Z","description":"\"This was all part of Joker’s masterfully executed plan\"","url":"https://time.com/4016002/dark-knight-joker-hero/","keywords":["movies","Batman"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3837ffc7dc3bc4bc/6988618c0a4a2215529c5dbe/heath-ledger-joker-dark-knight.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Christopher Rosen / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3837ffc7dc3bc4bc/6988618c0a4a2215529c5dbe/heath-ledger-joker-dark-knight.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Heath Ledger as the Joker in \"The Dark Knight.\"","caption":"Heath Ledger as the Joker in \"The Dark Knight.\"","creditText":"Warner Bros.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4016002/dark-knight-joker-hero/","name":"Clever Fan Theory Suggests the Joker Was the Real Hero in The Dark Knight"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The 10 Greatest Movies of the Millennium (Thus Far)","description":"TIME movie critic, Richard Corliss lists his top films of the millennium (Thus Far). 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