Why So Serious - The Joker, in the Movie "The Dark Knight"
Good day Gamers from Splinterlands!
This is Part 2 of my Splinterlands Series where I make a comparison of Splinterlands characters or monsters with other characters from other games, lore, anime, movies, and even myths. In the previous blog, I discussed about the similarities of Serpentine Soldier with Slardar, the Naga Warrior from Warcraft and DOTA 2.
If you want to check this article, here is the link: https://www.splintertalk.io/hive-13323/@cryptoph0823/splinterlands-look-alike-part-1-the-serpentine-soldier
This time I write about one of my favorite undead cards which is the Twisted Jester.
Introducing the Twisted Jester
According to Splinterlands.com, the Twisted Jester is a man coopted by the darkness to serve as Captain of the personal bodyguard of the Lord of Darkness. He delights in inflicting endless pain and suffering to his enemies. Even though undead, he retains the memory of his cursed life which gives him the rage that he needs to fight the hordes of warriors who want to see him defeated.
This unit wears the jester's coat with motley colors, ruffled collar and a fool's hat with two elongated extensions with a bell on each side. His tight breeches follow the pattern of his upper garment. What makes the Twisted Jester scary to look at is his stitched mouth and long black fingernails which suggest that his business is not to entertain people.
Details of the Twisted Jester
The Twisted Jester belongs to the Death Card Decks who are known for weakening the melee and physical as well as magical damage of the opposing cards. The ability of this unit is Snipe which allows the Twisted Jester to attack any unit that is not in the first position. This ability is consistent with the personality of the card to inflict maximum pain, especially to weak units.
From my experience, (currently, I am at Bronze 1 level) this unit is best used for low mana fights (preferably less than 20 mana). At the cost of 4 mana, the Twisted Jester inflicts 2 physical damage output. This unit also has high hit points at 4 and a decent speed of 3. With its high hit points and attack speed, it can survive 2-3 attacks from monsters with the sneak ability and can inflict high physical damage to units at the back rank.
As a range unit, it should be positioned as the last unit in any lineup. My lineup with this Twisted Jester typically involves the following combinations: Haunted Spirit, Undead Priest, Skeleton Assassin, and Undead Badger.
Introducing the Look-alike
The look-alike of the Twisted Jester comes from the DC Universe, particularly from the Batman Comics Series. In terms of physical appearance, the Twisted Jester has a similarity with Harley Quinn, the love interest of the Joker in DC Comics. In DC Comics, Harley Quinn's original name was Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, a psychiatrist who worked before in the Arkham Asylum of Gotham City. In the Asylum, she met and fell in love with the Joker. Harley Quinn also wears the clown's costume but she does not command fear in comparison to the Twisted Jester.
The personality of the Twisted Jester does not jibe with the bubbly and happy-go-lucky with bitchy side of Harley Quinn. So we go over to the next character that accurately reflects the dark humor and twistedness of the Twisted Jester.
Concerning the character development, the menacing appearance of the Twisted Jester is closer to the Joker, who is the epitome of evil and chaos in the Batman's Universe. The Clown Prince of Evil always appears in chalk-white skin, green hair and a red devilish grin.
In the comics, the Joker is portrayed as an Ultimate Villain and the exact opposite of the Batman. While Batman protects the city, the Joker instigates criminal acts that jeopardize people's safety. While Batman is a serious cape crusader who works for order and justice, the Joker throws dark jokes and acts goofy when cornered by the Batman. The Joker is unpredictable, works outside of logic and reason which makes this character the perfect match for the Batman.
Unlike the Twisted Jester who serves the Dark Lord, the Joker serves no master. He works for himself alone and for his own interest in inflicting pain and suffering to Batman and the citizens of Gotham.
Insights
The Twisted Jester is a combination of the personality of the Joker and the appearance of Harley Quinn. I like the twist in the Splinterlands' lore that the Twisted Jester is an undead unit who has retained a memory of his human life. But this aspect of humanity does not make the unit more humane. In fact, the opposite is true; the Twisted Jester is more vile because of his humanity.
The background story of this Twisted Jester in the lore of Splinterlands is too short for my taste. I love reading the lore of characters and the more I read about them, the more I get an emotional attachment to the game which makes me want to play it more.
I hope in the future developers and content writers of the game would find time to write more about the background story of the Twisted Jester. What was he like as a human being? Who was responsible for the death of his family members? Was he afflicted with a mental disease which drove him mad? Was he responsible for the death of family members?
If we take for example great games like Warcraft and Witcher with thousands, if not millions of followers, their attraction and allure come from the great storytelling skills of the game developers.
About the Game
The Splinterlands is a card game similar to the Magic the Gathering. The goal of the game is to collect cards which serve also as Non-Fungible Tokens. The players use these cards to fight one another and winners of battlers are rewarded with Dark Energy Crystals which is the in-game cryptocurrency. Another way of earning in-game is by selling and leasing cards that players own.
There is a free version but features are very limited. To unlock all the features of the game, a minimal $10 investment is required. Due to low investment requirements, the number of gamers has recently exploded.
Do you like my article? Could it be that the Twisted Jester is the child of the Joker and Harley Quinn? Would love to hear your comments below.
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References
https://hashtagstudios.com/batman-killing-joke-movie-review/
https://www.looper.com/84420/every-batman-animated-series-villain-ranked-worst-best/
