The third Saturday in September every year is Batman Day. It's a celebration of all things-caped crusader, and considering that Batman is still one of the more popular fictional characters of all time, it's a big deal for fans. But if Batman gets his own day, why doesn't Batman's greatest nemesis, the Joker, also have his own day of celebration?
This is the question that Mark Hamill is asking. Hamill voiced the Joker for Batman: The Animated Series back in the 90s, which has become one of the most iconic versions of the member of Batman's Rogues Gallery. The actor thanked fans who campaigned for a Joker Day on Twitter over the weekend in the most Mark Hamill, and Joker, way possible, calling the oversight the "biggest boner" of them all. Hamill had a lot of fun, perhaps too much, using that word to prove his point.
Mark Hamill's particular glee at overusing the word "boner" aside, the voice actor has at least a somewhat valid point. On the one hand, the idea of celebrating the bad guy by giving him his own day might send the wrong the message. It's maybe not all that surprising that there isn't a Joker Day being celebrated.
At the same time, if you were going to give a comic book villain his own day, there's probably no better choice than the Joker. He is as iconic as the hero himself. Some of the most popular film and TV performances of any comic book villain have been of the Joker.
There's also the fact that there's a new Joker movie coming out in only a couple of weeks. You'd honestly think with Joker hitting screens in just a couple weeks that Warner Bros. and DC would be promoting a Joker Day alongside Batman Day if only as a way to promote the film.
This year's Batman Day is especially celebratory as 2019 marks the 80th anniversary of the character. The 80th anniversary of the Joker himself will come next year, as Batman's debut came in DC's Detective Comics, while the Joker debuted in the first issue of Batman's own comic series, which started in 1940.
Maybe next year for his 80th birthday the Joker will get his own day. These days of celebration, like Batman Day itself, are pretty silly overall. They don't really mean much, although places like New York City, which was the major influence for Batman's Gotham City, do occasionally get in on the fun.
It does seem a little unlikely that New York City would want to celebrate a bad guy too much. It's a bit of an odd look. At the same time, these are all fictional characters, so it's not like it should matter all that much.
Maybe, instead of celebrating the Joker, we can just celebrate the people who brought him to life. We can celebrate the comic artists and the actors and voice actors who made the Joker the character he is today.
