Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.
The Clown Prince of Crime is crowned.
As Arthur Fleck descends into madness and becomes the iconic Clown Prince of Crime, Joker has many awesome moments that will leave you shocked or speechless.
- The scene where Arthur blatantly calls Randall out for giving him the gun that got him fired, in front of all of their coworkers. As he leaves the workplace, he turns around and says, "I forgot to punch out." before literally punching the punch clock right off the wall and laughing his ass off right after.
- Thomas Wayne showing himself a genuinely protective father by punching Arthur in the face hard over him harassing his son Bruce at their home, and making a believable promise he'll kill Arthur if he ever goes near Wayne Manor again.Arthur: I don't need you to tell me lies. I know it seems strange, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, I don't know why everyone is so rude, I don't know why you are, I don't want anything from you! Maybe a little bit of warmth, maybe a hug, Dad! How about just a lil' bit of fucking decency?! WHAT IS IT with you people?! You say that stuff about my mother?!?
Thomas: (nods) She's crazy.
Arthur: (starts cackling)
Thomas: You think this is funny?
Arthur: Yea-ha-ha-ha-hah, Dad! It's me! Your— (laughs again)
(Thomas punches Arthur in the face so hard he almost breaks his nose, and storms off)
Thomas: Touch my son again and I'll fucking kill you. - The scene where Arthur finally dons the Joker suit and makeup. When he makes his way down the stairs, he doesn't just walk, he dances down them, now fueled by his newfound confidence. Arthur is a new man now, and there's no going back. Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2"
makes an all-too perfect tune for his reintroduction. - After his little celebratory dance, the two cops from earlier spot him and proceed to chase him around the city. Once they get to the subway train filled with clown rioters, everything starts to work out in Arthur's favor and although still an Ax-Crazy Smug Snake at his core, in this scene, he starts to show shades of the Manipulative Bastard he will one day become. He swipes a clown mask from a random guy, who shoves him into another whose counterattack accidentally hits the one who shoved Arthur, sparking a huge fistfight that buys Arthur some time. When the cops attempt to brandish their guns to cow the crowd and possibly fire at Arthur, one of them ends up in a struggle with a rioter that ends with an accidental gunshot, prompting the entire clown mob to lunge at the duo and give them a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown. Victorious, Arthur walks right up to the downed cops and dances right in front of them, before leaving the station unscathed.
- Arthur's first, and last, interview on the Murray Franklin Show.
- Murray realizes he has a killer sitting next to him on his show on live TV with who knows how many potential victims including himself in the room, and he still manages to stay calm while he tries to interview him to find out what kind of man he's facing.
- He even dares to give him a "Reason You Suck" Speech during all this, and he’s mostly in the right:Arthur: It's just... it's been a rough few weeks, Murray. Ever since I... killed those three Wall Street guys.
Murray: Okay, I'm waiting for the punchline.
Arthur: There is no punchline. It's not a joke.
Murray: Beat You're serious, aren't you? You're telling us you killed those three young men on the subway? And why should we believe you?
Arthur: *shrugs* I got nothing left to lose. Nothing can hurt me anymore. My life is nothing but a comedy.
Murray: Well lemme get this straight, you think killing those guys is funny?
Arthur: I do. And I'm tired of pretending it's not. Comedy is subjective, Murray. Isn't that what they say? All of you, *looks at the audience* this system that knows so much, you decide what's right or wrong, the same way that you decide what's funnay or not!
Murray: Well okay, I think, I might understand that you did this to start a movement, to become a symbol?
Arthur: Come on, Murray. Do I look like the kind of clown that could start a movement? I killed those guys because they were awful. Everybody is awful these days. It's enough to make anyone crazy.
Murray: Okay, so that's it, you're crazy. That's your defense for killing three young men?
Arthur: No. They couldn't carry a tune to save their lives. *the audience boos him* Ugh, why is everybody so upset about these guys?! If it was me dying on the sidewalk, you'd walk right over me! *the audience goes quiet* I pass you every day and you don't notice me, but these guys; what, because Thomas Wayne went and cried about them on TV?
Murray: You have a problem with Thomas Wayne?
Arthur: Yes, I do. Have you seen what it's like out there, Murray? Do you ever actually leave the studio? Everybody just yells and screams at each other! Nobody's CIVIL anymore! Nobody thinks what it's like to be the other guy. You think men like Thomas Wayne think what it's like to be me? To be somebody but themselves? They don't! They think we'll just sit there and take it like good little boys! That we won't werewolf, and go wild!
Murray: You finished? I mean, there’s so much self-pity, Arthur. You sound like you're making excuses for killing those young men. Not everybody, and I'll tell you this, not everyone is awful.
Arthur: *stares at Murray with murder in his eyes* You're awful, Murray.
Murray: Oh yeah? How am I awful?
Arthur: Playing my video. Inviting me on the show. You just wanted to make fun of me. You're just like the rest of them!
Murray: You don't know the first thing about me, pal. Look what happened because of what you did. What it led to. There are riots out there. Two policemen are in critical condition, (Arthur laughs) and you’re laughing, you’re laughing. Someone was killed today because of what you did.
Arthur: I know. How about another joke, Murray? What do you get... when you cross a MENTALLY ILL LONER, with a SOCIETY, THAT ABANDONS HIM, AND TREATS HIM LIKE TRASH?! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU GET! YOU GET WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE!!!
- When Joker is taken into custody after Murray's murder, an ambulance suddenly crashes into the cop car, killing everyone in the vehicle but the Joker. The clown rioters riding the ambulance find his unconscious body, recognize him as their hero, and safely pull him out of the wreckage. When he finally comes to, Joker gets on his feet and is suddenly greeted by an enormous crowd of clown masks, who cheer victoriously for their new icon. Now embracing his new, permanent identity as Joker, Arthur uses his own blood to make his clown smile even larger, forming a bloody rictus grin, and stands before his followers. While YMMV on whether this moment is an Awesome Moment of Crowning in that Arthur finally got what he wanted (respect, attention, and a sea of smiles) or a Tear Jerker in that his followers only support Joker and not Arthur, and he never got what he wanted, perhaps both sides can agree that the scene serves as a wonderfully-made climactic image for the film.
- Arthur killing the Wall Street assholes in self-defense. The first two anyways but it doesn't make the last death any less satisfying after he willingly beat a man to the ground sadistically simply for laughing.
- The death of Thomas Wayne here is pretty satisfying considering how much of a elitist jerk he is to the populace of Gotham City despite his only redeeming Papa Wolf trait for his son in the above top example.
- This version of the Joker does what his counterpart from The Dark Knight couldn't; he made Gotham fall into madness. And he didn't even plan any of it.
- At the end, we get the iconic shot of young Bruce standing over his parents' bodies. Gotham City may be in chaos for now, but in due time, he'll step in to set things right, once and for all.
- Made even cooler by the fact that the scene of Bruce's parents getting killed is shot for shot from another movie.'
- This whole scene, from Joker's Black Comedy, him shooting Murray dead and then shooting his corpse again for good measure, and his total nonchalant reaction to the crowds screaming in panic, manages to encapsulate the character of the Joker perfectly — he's both hilarious and terrifying. This incarnation isn't mostly funny like Batman (1989)'s Joker, nor is it flatout terrifying like The Dark Knight's Joker. This clown hits the perfect balance between the two and, just in that way alone, becomes a very accurate depiction of the character.
- An Offscreen Moment of Awesome: The police somehow managed to end the riot and arrest Arthur. Considering how chaotic things were getting, that's quite an achievement.
