Batman 1989 Joker is Still the Scariest of Them All!
Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman movie is a classic of the genre, and one of the most memorable things about it is the Joker’s deadly Smilex gas, which has surprising roots in the real world.
If you’re of a particular age, the summer of 1989 holds special meaning for you. Specifically, you were almost certainly completely obsessed with Tim Burton’s Batman starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. The film redefined superhero movies for a generation, was a relentless blockbuster at the box office, and kicked off a wave of Batmania that left no merchandising stone unturned well beyond that fateful summer.
But at the heart of that film is Nicholson’s stunning Joker performance. And one of the elements that makes it so memorable is how it marked the first time that the Joker was depicted in live action as a brilliant, but murderous chemist, just as he was in his very first comics appearance back in 1940. Joker spends the second half of the movie holding Gotham City hostage via “Smilex” a deadly nerve toxin that leaves its victims with a hideous post-mortem grin on their faces.
These kinds of weaponized poisons are nothing new in the real world, but it’s the specific combination of effects that Smilex creates that make it so notable. We’re taking a look at the real world parallels, including some disturbingly high profile terrorist attacks that would have made the Joker proud. In the process, we also examine just how this movie’s approach to live action superheroics (and supervillainy) changed everything on the big screen.