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 The next Batman installment is scheduled for a July 18, 2008 release

 And so it will get one.  Heath Ledger looks to give a compelling performance (though his actual is screen time is rumored to be Judi Dench minimal) as one of the several villains in this summer's "The Dark Knight."  Some of the other villians are Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts), Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), Gamble (Michael Jai White) and an eventual Two Face (Aaron Eckhart).

Still, the most hyped villain is the Joker (Ledger) and that's no surprise; aside from the Joker's comic book legacy as being the definitive nemesis of the caped crusader, the fact that it was Ledger's last complete performance before his untimely death in January of 2008 only adds to the emotional weight fans already have infested in the character.  Since Ledger stepped into the iconic role last year, the reactions were a mixture of avid supporters and a number of haters who found themselves clinging to their worn out VHS copy of Tim Burton's "Batman" which boasted Jack Nicholson's Joker, a role that has become an archetype for other comic book-to-film villains to try and follow. 

So how did Nolan and company remedy the skepticism?  They hid the Joker.  And with all the secrets and interest of Ledger's physical Joker appearance building up, the case of Ledger Vs. Nicholson marginalized and the quest to grab a tangible, new signified Joker grew.  That signifier, a bleak pic of Ledger's face above, became available once online fans bit at the film's website.  After following some instructions and just giving into some plain old patience, they were given this makeup test headshot.  And it stuck.

Then the idea of Heath's interpetation of Jack's Joker went away.  It became: What is Heath's interpretation of the Joker himself?

So you could imagine when the film's announcement teaser was released in late July of 2007--a full year before its scheduled theatrical release date--it caused quite the uproar.  First of all, nothing was shown.  Nothing but the illuminated emblem of the Batman symbol; a symbol as iconic as a national flag.  We know what it means.  Black bat shape=Gotham's hero.

Here it was, that the imaginations of fanboys, moviegoers--and just about everybody, was put to the test.  Who was this voice we were hearing?  Not Bale's.  Not Caine's.  That other guy. 

Ledger was hot off of his Oscar nomination for Best Actor for "Brokeback Mountain" a performance that now looks to be a complete 180 from what he is doing with the Joker.  His creepy voice, and the notes he was sounding were beats we had never heard before.  The speculation is what served as the driving force for online fans to go ahead and play ball with Warner Bros.' ongoing viral ads and marketing campaign.  And just as the bits of the bat symbol were ripped in the announcement teaser, so too was the unraveling of Ledger's Joker. 

By the time fans were treated to a website showing nothing but "HahAhAHahA" it wasn't long before the secret message of "See You In December" was uncovered.

It also must be noted that by this point, several Youtube videos showing the Joker on the set in downtown Chicago were surfacing, but this couldn't put to rest the eager anticipation of watching the character come to life on the silver screen.

So websites like IBelieveInHarveyDent.com, WhySoSerious.com, IBelieveInHarveyDentToo.com, TheGothamTimes.com and ATasteForTheTheatrical.com surfaced throughout the coming months, with loyal fans abiding by whatever piece of instruction they were given.  

And the wait was worth it. 

The Joker that Ledger depicted during the December-released theatrical teaser was unlike anything anyone could have expected.  It was dark, twisted and full of surprises.  That preliminary makeup headshot had evolved into the above pic: a relentless homicidal maniac. 
Still, even with excitement and approval permeating through the online Batman community, the film was still over half a year away from being released.  So the viral marketing campaign kept steaming forward, full of half-promises (a major mistake of everyone online agreeing that the "10,000 B.C." release would show something new, comes to mind) and slight hints here and there.  It climaxed with an eventual release of a theatrical trailer (which debuted to hundreds of loyal fans at various major cities on April 28, 2008).
So what does all this viral marketing mean?  Well first of all, with any other movie, after a teaser like last December's "Knight" was put out, that would have been enough to secede the demand until the film's actual release date.  But the viral bug was put into motion and there was no turning back. The April theatrical trailer for example, was uncovered by online riddles behind such famous paintings of Andrew Jackson and
Abraham Lincoln--which were given to fans as a test; hundreds gathered together on message boards, major city locales, and chat rooms to solve their riddle or derive some sort of clue.  Limits were out the window.  Safe combinations, and practical applied mathematics were thrown into the mix.  Look at this bingo-type puzzle from one of the designated city locations.

 

Those fortunate and lucky enough to be at the right place and the right time were even given an actual reel of the much-desired April theatrical trailer.

 

But still: we knew how Ledger looked like as the Joker.  We knew how he sounded like.  It was a pretty solid fact that Nolan was making this new film in the same manner of realism he applied to "Batman Begins."  So why couldn't fanboys stop orgasming across message boards, and over stuffing superhero website servers for pictures, rumors and more?
It's a simple case of paradigmatic analysis.  Batman is one of the most cherished of comic heroes.  The original film series got off to a promising start.  That was until the latter two Joel Schumacher films donned the poor bastard with rubber nipples and bad puns.  But with Nolan's "Begins" revamping the series toward a whole new direction, it reinstituted the overwhelmingly positive connotation behind Batman: He is fucking awesome.

So fans, moviegoers and the Nolan-curious had recognized the public binary opposition they had formed between the old (Schumacher) and new (Nolan) Batman, and so far they are happy with Christian Bale as Batman and now they are even more eager to welcome Heath Ledger's Joker into their circle jerk of trust. 

And that circle jerk comment is not an insult.  I say that because although message boards are full of trolls and backwoods armchair critics, the truth is that this new Batman franchise is the best thing to happen to comic book adaptations since--shit, I don't even know.

I'm not sure if we'll see such a successful online viral marketing campaign come along anytime soon.  That's okay.  Ledger's Joker in the latest theatrical trailer boasts, "This city deserves a better class of criminal.  And I'm going to give it to them.  You'll see.  I'll show you."

Good.  We've been waiting.