History Film / Batman

* BrandX: In the Joker's [[DoNotAdjustYourSetSmilex]] commercial, at the "blind taste test", a man who is tied to a chair and gagged (with a disclaimer reading "Not An Actor") is said to have been using BrandX ("Oh No!").

* Main/AdaptationDecay: How much depends on the installment and who you ask, but it's generally acknowledged that it increased as the series went on, starting with removing Joe Chill and making Joker the killer of Bruce's parents.

* Main/TheAppleFallsFar: Used to horrifying effect, with the Joker's point of view shot of how '''far''' he has to fall to his bone-shattering death on the pavement of Gotham in the first film. His blood-chilling scream made it all the more nightmarish. Almost makes you feel sorry for the bastard.

* Main/AxCrazy: The Joker, as usual. Though the first film implies that Jack Napier was crazy to begin with.
* Main/BadassGrandpa: Commissioner Gordon, although in subsequent films he suffers BadassDecay.
* Main/BerserkButton: '''''"HE STOLE MY BALLOONS!!!!!"'''''
* Main/BoardToDeath: The Joker does this to his crime bosses.
* Main/BondOneLiner: The Joker gets a few ("Antoine got a little hot under the collar", "The pen is truly mightier than the sword" - what is it about this character and [[Main/TheDarkKnightSaga writing instruments]]? A ShoutOut, maybe?).

* Main/BrokenHeel: Subverted than inverted quite neatly, when the Joker takes Vicki hostage and then takes off her high heels to subvert this as they both ascend to the eventual Climbing Climax at the top of the very, very tall Gotham Cathedral. The inversion is that because her heels were slowing her down until the Joker got rid if them, it allowed the hero (rather than the villian, as usual for this trope) to gain ground.
* Main/BrooklynRage: The Joker's goons flash some of this on occasion.
* Main/BuffySpeak: After Batsy foils his scheme to poison the entire city with the Batplane, the usually eloquent Joker splutters: "Why didn't somebody tell me he had one of those....things?!"
* Main/ClimbingClimax: The Joker is [[Main/GenreSavvy savvy enough]] to call ahead for a helicopter to pick him (and Vicki) up, but his escape fails big time. (The funny thing is that he pretty clearly made it up the cathedral in about five minutes - if he hadn't adjusted the time for the helicopter to show up, he'd have made a clean getaway.)

* Main/CoolCar: The Batmobile, although the coolness was diminished in the Schumacher films due to its increasing impracticality.

* Main/DeadlineNews: Some news anchors are discussing the Joker's act of chemical terrorism on Gotham, when suddenly a female anchor starts laughing uncontrollably, and then falls over dead with the victims' characteristic grin on her face.
* Main/DeadpanSnarker: Jack Napier is a good example of this before his "Jokerization."
* Main/DespairEventHorizon: When Jack Napier first looks into the plastic surgeon's mirror and sees his "clown face," for a brief moment we hear - very softly - [[CryForTheDevil the sound of his sobbing]]. A moment later, he goes into hysterical denial, starts laughing....and doesn't ever stop.
* Main/DisneyVillainDeath: The Joker. [[spoiler: We even see exactly how far down he has to fall, as well as a close-up of his crushed corpse.]]
* Main/DistressedDamsel: Vicki Vale.

* Main/EvilIsStylish: As the trope entry says, these villains have ''always'' been this, so their signature quirks get a lot of screen time.
** The Nicholson Joker is specifically obsessed with fashion, however.

* CrossesTheLineTwice/ NightmareFuelUnleaded: In what was perhaps the movie's most infamous scene, the Joker electrocutes Tony Rotelli with a "real" joybuzzer and then briefly chats with his burned, husked, and still-smoking corpse, acting as if the dead man is still alive. One can only imagine what effect this had on kids in the audience.
** Easy: They couldn't watch that scene for ''years'' afterwards!

* Main/CoolCar: The Batmobile, although the coolness was diminished in the Schumacher films due to its increasing impracticality. ''Batman & Robin'' also had a Freezemobile, which is rather more literal.
** But considering the Freezemobile couldn't go more than about fifteen miles per hour...

* Main/ClimbingClimax: The Joker is [[Main/GenreSavvy savvy enough]] to call ahead for a helicopter to pick him (and Vicki) up, but his escape fails big time.
** The funny thing is that he pretty clearly made it up the cathedral in about five minutes - if he hadn't adjusted the time for the helicopter to show up, he'd have made a clean getaway.

* Main/BondOneLiner: The Joker gets a few ("Antoine got a little hot under the collar", "The pen is truly mightier than the sword" - what is it about this character and [[Main/TheDarkKnightSaga writing instruments]]?).
** A ShoutOut maybe?

** It is indeed interesting to point out that Napier was ''always'' a CompleteMonster, at least since the later years of his childhood. Arguably, Bruce's impression of him in the nightmarish "Childhood Remembered" flashback is far more chilling than any scene with Napier as the Joker. We probably tend to think of the Joker as being "eviler" than Jack Napier because he is "ugly" (although compared to Heath Ledger's incarnation, he's more UglyCute); because his psychopathic tendencies, which were pretty bad to begin with, get turned UpToEleven; and because, well, of the basic MonsterClown/coulrophobia phenomenon.

** Robin's "Holy rusted metal" line from the third film.

** Plus Kilmer!Batman and the Generic Love Interest from ''Batman Forever''.

* CompleteMonster: Nicholson's Joker is an intersting variation of the trope. He's more LaughablyEvil and a MagnificentBastard which makes him more shymphatetic than the HeathLedger one from The DarkKnight. But let's not forget he kills people [[ForTheEvulz just for pleasure]] the whole movie, he horribly disfigured his girlfriend Alicia (it's also implied he throws her out of a window), [[spoiler: he shoots dead his longtime friend Bob just to take his anger on]], not to mention he intends to poison the whole Gotham citiziens with the Smylex gas.

* CompositeCharacter: Vicki Vale only resembles her comic counterpart in name and occupation only. Instead, her characterization is based on Silver St. Cloud, a love interest of Bruce Wayne who appeared in the comics during TheSeventies and discovered his secret identity Batman. The Joker himself is a combination of the comics' Joker and [[spoiler:Joe Chill, the murderer of Bruce Wayne's parents.]]

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Despite changing the Joker into being the mugger who killed the Waynes', a lot of people really enjoyed the exchange Batman and the Joker had at the end where they wonder who really created who.

* Main/HeyItsThatGuy: Albert (Alfred?) is [[DoctorWho The Toymaker]].

* MemeticMutation: Aside from the [[CatchPhrase catchphrases]], the Joker's initial reaction to seeing his new face (smashing the mirror, giggling madly) became widely imitated. (Example: [[TheSimpsons Lisa Simpson]] seeing her braces.)

* MemeticMutation: Aside from the CatchPhrases, the Joker's initial reaction to seeing his new face (smashing the mirror, giggling madly) became widely imitated. (Example: [[TheSimpsons Lisa Simpson]] seeing her braces.)

* {{Large Ham}}s: ''All'' the villains to varying degrees, including minor ones like Grissom in the first film and Dr. [[strike:Woodrue]] [[MysteryScienceTheater3000 Forrester]] in the fourth.

'''Joker:''' Your pals, uh, they're not bad people. Maybe we, uh, outta give them a couple of days to think it over. ''(shakes head)'' No? ''(gasps in shock at the corpse)'' [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Grease 'em now?]] Well... okay. You are a vicious bastard Rotelli. ''(tightens Rotelli's tie)'' I'm glad you're dead! ''([[LaughingMad laughs maniacally at own joke]])'' "I'm glad you're dead!" Hee hee hee!

* Main/KungFuProofMook: One of the Joker's mooks actually gives as good as he gets from Batman. Then Batman [[ThouShaltNotKill kills him]].