It seems that people (creators at least) are getting tired of the more traditional comic book version of The Joker. In recent years (since Mark Hamill’s definitive run on Batman: TAS as the clown prince of crime) the character, when used on television, has been reimagined…

For example, The Joker on “The Batman” - the kid’s WB animated series, has long, dreadlock-like hair, and wears a straight jacket…he bares only a passing resemblance to his comic book counterpart.

So, it should come as no surprise that The Dark Knight version of the character is a significant departure from his comic book roots. At least, that’s how it looks based on this first image. You can see the image below the jump (those who wish to stay Spoiler free should not click below). I refuse to form an opinion about this until I see more. Right now it’s an interesting start, although I’m almost certain now that I’m not going to get to see that wonderful “Killing Joke” origin for The Joker that I was hoping for…