The essence of the Joker lies in his inability to feel pain. Sympathy cannot emerge when pure hatred and masochism block the gates to the brain's emotional center.
As Alfred the Butler said in "The Dark Knight" (2008), "Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."
Cleverness overtakes brute physical strength when matching up to someone like Batman. Death rays must be traded in for mind games. Happiness, for the Joker-esque antagonist, derives from exposing the weakness and vulnerability of the so-called heroes to prove the mental mortality of even the most stoic idol.
The Joker's mentality is perfectly embodied in the final fight atop the Pruitt Building (always thought that was cool that they named a building after me, even if Christopher Nolan spelled it wrong). Hanging upside down, utterly indefensible and certain to meet justice, all the Joker can do is laugh maniacally that his evil plot will still come to fruition. Scars and bruises mean nothing to him; all that matters is revealing the true wicked nature of humanity.
Given Heath Ledger's unfortunate and untimely passing, if Nolan were to ever want to bring back the Joker in a sequel, Cortland Finnegan might be a good choice.
Dirty play is like a full moon for the Tennessee Titans cornerback: It predictably happens once every month. In September, he was fined $5,000 for throwing the New York Giants' Steve Smith to the ground by his helmet. October brought a $10,000 fine for nailing defenseless and helmetless Denver Broncos guard Chris Kuper. To think he almost got through November.
On Sunday in Houston, Finnegan allegedly spent the whole game taunting Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson. The anger eventually bubbled over in the fourth quarter, when Finnegan jammed a fist into Johnson's facemask off the snap. Johnson tore Finnegan's facemask off in retaliation, and Finnegan countered with a punch to Johnson's protected head. Blows ensued, and Johnson ended up dragging Finnegan to the ground, pummeling his skull.
After being KO'ed, Finnegan pulled a classic Joker maneuver: He popped right up, smiled at Johnson and began clapping. Nelly once sang, "Never let 'em see you sweat"; the overmatched defensive back — an appropriate term given how he crumpled to the ground and absorbed those punches — did exactly that.
Superheroes only surface when a villain needs suppressing. Andre Johnson doesn't punch cornerbacks on a daily basis; he's been the symbol of the quiet workaholic for years.
I'm hardly calling Johnson a hero for slugging an overmatched Finnegan. Violence is never the answer, kids. But the situation at Reliant Stadium on Sunday neatly fits into this superhero-villain archetype.
Before the play, Finnegan shouted over to the Texans sideline, "Watch this." While Johnson's actions seem to be the knee-jerk response to what basically amounted to game-long taunting, Finnegan's flint-to-steel maneuver was premeditated. It's a cause-and-effect situation: Superheroes react to the madness spawned by the villains. Protagonists only exist to best the antagonist, to prove, one more time, that good will triumph over evil.
But Johnson, a "consummate professional and the poster boy for what every NFL player should aspire to be," according to Houston Chronicle columnist Richard Justice, fell into the classic trap. Down 17 points with seven minutes left, Finnegan finally executed his plan to get a ruse out of one of the game's premier Golden Boys. He knew he couldn't win the war; that game went out the window along with rookie quarterback Rusty Smith's three interceptions and a 26.7 quarterback rating.
The only thing left for Finnegan to do was laugh his head off as he took a beating, because maybe, just maybe, he could make the NFL's Batman lose his temper and show the world just how vulnerable we all really are.
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Alex Prewitt is a junior majoring in English and religion. He can be reached on his blog at http://livefrommudville.blogspot.com or followed on Twitter at @Alex_Prewitt.
