The clown image originates from the Joker in opera—an ancient form of performance dating back to the Middle Ages, where the character amused audiences by playing tricks.
Later, the Joker made its way into playing cards.
Thus, in the screenplay, Martin often uses playing cards as the Joker's prop.
Take this scene, for example—Martin sits on a sofa, grinning ear to ear in wild laughter.
Then he picks up a glass of red wine and downs it in one gulp. The liquid trails down the corners of his mouth, vivid red like blood.
In his hand, he fiddles with a playing card.
The Joker's head on the card has been gouged out.
He flicks the card, sending it flying to land at the feet of the "mob boss" opposite him.
"Sorry, my aim was off. Could you pick it up for me? Yes, that's right—now line your eye up with that hole. Yeah, yeah, point it at my face… perfect…"
"Now you should know who I am, right?"
"…Still don't?"
His expression starts to take on a manic edge.
Even his tone becomes more high-pitched.
"Look at the card in your hand. Then look at me. That's my business card!"
As he speaks, the blood-red wine drips from the corner of his mouth.
Drip, drip…
That grotesquely wide mouth twists upward in a deranged grin, twitching ever so slightly. His eyes are brimming with madness and malice.
The actor playing the mob boss looks like he's seen a ghost, heart pounding in terror.
He's acting, he's acting, this is just a shoot, it's not real—fuck, he's not acting, he's really a lunatic… a total psycho…
"Cut! Perfect!"
The "mob boss" lets out a sigh of relief, trembling as he steps aside to quietly lick his wounds.
He's pretty sure he'll need a therapist by the time this movie's over.
Feeling a little thirsty, Martin spots Nolan's assistant Tina passing by and quickly calls out, "Tina, got any water?"
He even flashes her a friendly smile.
Tina backs away in fear, staring at Martin's wide, blood-stained grin. A chill shoots down her spine. "I-I'll get you water, just don't kill me!"
Then she bolts like the wind.
Martin blinks in confusion, then remembers—ah, he forgot to turn off his Incubus Aura. Poor girl.
Not far away, Nolan's eyes are gleaming. He turns to the cameraman next to him and asks, "Did you get that? Did you get all of it?"
Ever since the last film successfully used Martin as the centerpiece of a viral marketing campaign, Nolan had decided to double down—this film would also center its promotions around Martin.
And what better bait than Martin's bizarre behavior once he enters character? Or everyone else's terrified reactions around him?
So, even during breaks, there's always a camera trailing Martin.
Of course, all of this is done with Martin's full consent.
So whether Martin actually forgot to disable his Incubus Aura just now, or deliberately left it on… well, hard to say.
Poor girl.
"It's not real, it's not real, it's all just acting…"
Tina mutters to herself for courage as she shakily hands the bottle of water to Martin. But as she looks up—there's that "warm" smile again.
"Ah!"
Her hand trembles, the water bottle slips—but Martin catches it smoothly.
"Tina, you need to be more careful!"
That smile only grows more warm (read: terrifying).
Tina can't take it anymore. She turns and runs for her life.
Only then does the mischievous devil turn off his Incubus Aura and start drinking the water in peace.
The cameraman who caught that moment gives Martin a close-up. A pair of icy blue eyes stare straight into the lens, nearly making him drop the camera in fright.
He seriously suspects Martin might actually be a real madman!
Off to the side, Nolan exclaims in excitement, "Amazing! Martin's in perfect form!"
The cameraman edges away ever so slightly.
Another lunatic.
What is with this film crew?
A crazy director, a psycho Joker, and some spooky, enigmatic Batman.
"Ben, the next scene is another face-off between you and Martin. Ready?"
Ben Affleck, mumbling to himself, lifts his head. There's a fire burning in his eyes as he mutters, "I can do this. I've got this. I'm Batman. I'm Batman."
Then louder: "No problem!"
Followed by a low, gravelly: "I'm Batman."
…
The entire street has been blocked off.
Up next is a high-speed chase between Batman and the Joker.
Martin's face is painted a ghostly white, with that massive, blood-red grin curling into a creepy smile. His head tilts forward under the weight of his oversized suit. The whole look is, frankly, horrendous.
Honestly, if you didn't know ahead of time, you'd never guess this guy was once Martin.
In this scene, our female lead finally makes her appearance.
Truth be told, her screen time isn't all that much.
Anne Hathaway arrives on set and looks around, then grabs a crew member and asks, "Where's Martin?"
The crew member opens his mouth to reply—then suddenly goes wide-eyed in horror, shakes her hand off, and bolts.
"What the hell?" Anne Hathaway touches her face in confusion. "Do I really look that scary?"
"They're afraid of me."
A creepy voice comes from behind her.
"Holy shit!"
Anne Hathaway jumps.
She spins around—and is met with a ghastly, white-painted face and that freakish smile.
She actually leaps into the air in fright.
"A ghost!!"
The scream bursts out from deep within her chest, through her vocal cords, throat, and mouth—echoing through the air.
"I'm not a ghost. It's me—Martin. Martin Meyers."
"What?! You're Martin?" Anne Hathaway, still shaken, gives him a second look.
"Holy shit, it really is you! What the hell happened to your face?!"
"I'm playing the Joker, remember?"
"Uh, yeah, I remember, but—this is so not what I imagined!"
Still trembling, Anne Hathaway clutches her chest, head bowed slightly, not daring to look at that face again.
Not far off, the camera faithfully captures the whole exchange.
Jonathan Nolan, standing beside the cameraman, is already drafting the headline: "Anne Hathaway fails to recognize Martin. The sudden appearance of the Joker gives her such a scare, she can't even look at him…"
Yep. Our director Nolan had handed the job of writing the behind-the-scenes captions to his dear brother.
The official reason: he's too busy. The real reason? He's seen too much of Martin's Joker and keeps having nightmares.
In truth, Nolan isn't the only one on the crew having Joker-induced nightmares.
Still, our dear Nolan is terrified and thrilled. He can already imagine how many people Martin's Joker will terrify once the film hits theaters.
Martin doesn't doubt it either. His Incubus Aura doesn't just work in real life—it's just as effective through the silver screen.