The Joker is my favorite villain of all time: You don't know his

The words of The Weeknd—“The Joker is my favorite villain of all time: You don’t know his past; you just know what his plans are.”—speak to a fascination that mankind has long carried with the mysterious, the chaotic, and the figures who move through the world without a clear origin. In the Joker we see a symbol of unpredictability, of power divorced from explanation. Unlike many whose motives are bound to history or tragedy, his essence is not in where he comes from, but in what he intends to do. He embodies the terror of the unknown, for when you cannot trace a man’s past, you cannot bind him with reason.

The ancients understood this allure of the enigmatic. Heroes and villains alike were often defined by prophecy or destiny, yet those whose origins were shrouded in mystery seemed to carry a darker power. The Weeknd’s admiration for the Joker reflects this timeless truth: mystery magnifies menace. To know a man’s past is to humanize him, to explain him; but to strip away history is to leave only the raw force of his present actions. Thus, the Joker becomes an eternal threat, unbound by sympathy, defined only by his next move.

In history, we find echoes of such figures. Consider Attila the Hun, called the “Scourge of God.” To the Romans, his origins were vague, his people foreign and strange. They knew not his childhood, his inner wounds, nor his upbringing. They only knew his plans: to ride, to conquer, to burn. The mystery of his past magnified the terror of his presence, for when an enemy’s roots are hidden, he becomes less man and more storm. Like the Joker, his power lay not in the past that could be analyzed, but in the chaos of the present he unleashed.

The Joker also represents another truth—the danger of focusing only on what is visible, while neglecting what is hidden. In life, many people reveal to us only fragments: their ambitions, their goals, their schemes. Their wounds, their histories, their traumas remain concealed. And so we are often left disoriented, unable to truly grasp who they are, only what they intend to do to us. In such encounters lies both fascination and fear. For without knowing the soil from which a tree has grown, its fruit may astonish or destroy.

Beloved listener, The Weeknd’s words remind us of the complexity of human nature. Not every soul carries its history openly. Some cloak their past in silence, revealing only their present designs. The Joker, as archetype, warns us of the power such figures wield. To face them, we must learn vigilance, for their unpredictability is their strength. And yet, there is also a lesson in admiration: sometimes, by cutting ties to the weight of past excuses, a person becomes pure force of will, unstoppable in pursuing what lies before them.

The lesson for us is this: do not underestimate those whose past you do not know. In the silence of their history may lie strength, pain, or madness. Judge them not only by what they have been, but by what they are becoming. At the same time, reflect upon your own life: you are not chained to your past, but defined by your choices in the present. The plans you make, the actions you take—these are what the world will know of you.

Practical wisdom follows: if your past weighs heavy, remember that it need not imprison you. Like the Joker, you may become a creature of present will, shaping your destiny by your next step rather than your last. But choose carefully, for power divorced from compassion becomes destruction. Be not the villain of chaos, but the architect of light. Use your mystery not to terrify, but to inspire, showing others that you are more than your history, that you are defined by the future you are building.

So let The Weeknd’s words echo within you: “You don’t know his past; you just know what his plans are.” Embrace the power of living in the present, but temper it with wisdom. Be deliberate in your plans, for they will become your identity. And when the world looks upon you, let them not see a storm of chaos, but a force of creation—one who is not trapped in the shadows of yesterday, but blazing a path toward tomorrow.