Jack Napier, also known as the Joker, is a fictional character in the 1989 superhero film Batman, directed by Tim Burton. Portrayed by Jack Nicholson, the character was based on the iconic supervillain the Joker. His name is a play on the word Jackanapes, also a reference to the names Jack Nicholson and Alan Napier (who portrayed Alfred Pennyworth in the 1960s Batman TV series). This depiction is notable for being one of the first adaptations of the character to have a distinct first and last name, as well as one of the few instances that shows his origins. This iteration of the Joker is a psychopathic mobster who serves as the right-hand man of Gotham City crime boss Carl Grissom, until the latter attempts to have Napier killed. When he encounters the city's new vigilante superhero Batman