JOKER WEEK: These are lethally fun… — It’s JOKER WEEK! We’re celebrating comics’ greatest villain since there’s a big ol’ major motion picture coming out this week. For the complete index of features, click here. — Dan — Hey, if there’s a villain who’s seen his fair share of action figures, it’s the Joker — the greatest comics baddie of them all. So, toy maven Chris Franklin — who’s brought you the TOP 13 BATMAN ’89 TOYS (click here) and 13 GREAT BATMAN & CATWOMAN ACTION FIGURES (click here) — is here with a ranking of the TOP 13 JOKER ACTION FIGURES EVER. Right on. — Dan — By CHRIS FRANKLIN The Joker is as open to interpretation as his arch-foe, Batman. From homicidal extortionist, to merry prankster; from vain megalomaniac to crazed serial killer, he’s filled whatever role comics, television, film, and even society have needed him to. The original evil clown, when that form of entertainer was intended to bring only joy, not fear. His interpretation in the toys, and now collectors’ aisles, haven’t been any different. From cheap playthings to expensive pieces, the Joker has probably been cast in plastic more than any other comic villain. Here in my humble opinion, are the best of one of fiction’s worst: 13. Official Justice League of America Figure Set Joker, Ideal OK, this isn’t QUITE an action figure, but it’s the first figural interpretation of the Joker, so it deserves some respect. Ideal’s Justice League/Batman line of figurines and playsets debuted at the height of Batmania in 1966, just two years after G.I. Joe coined the term “action figure,” and in the same year Ideal gave us Captain Action. While the good Captain and young sidekick Action Boy had costumes available to transform them into the first Batman and Robin action figures, their foe Dr. Evil did not have a licensed villain wardrobe, so no Joker. Instead we get this finely detailed figurine, not unlike the toy soldiers that emerged years before, depicting the Harlequin of Hate in mid-guffaw, slapping his uplifted left knee. Like the other villains in this line, the Joker was never released with any paint deco, just cast in one solid color. The amount of character and movement captured in that solid lump of one-colored plastic is nothing short of extraordinary. — 12. Silver...