Joker and Pennywise on the Stairs

What the picture shows

A wide concrete staircase with metal railings, with two characters walking up the steps. On the left is a man in a red suit with a yellow vest, a green shirt, and clown makeup: green hair, a white face, a red smile. He has one arm held out to the side, as if presenting the staircase, and keeps the other hand in his pocket. On the right is Pennywise: a pale face, orange hair, a gray-green suit with a big ruffled collar and red pompoms. He stands lower and looks at the Joker.

Judging by the look of it, this is a montage: the characters belong to different films, but the lighting and scale are matched so that they seem to be neighbors on the same staircase.

The staircase from “Joker”

The film “Joker” was directed by Todd Phillips, with Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in late August 2019, and the film went into wide release in October. One of the most memorable scenes takes place on a tall staircase in New York: the hero, in his red suit, dances on the steps.

The scene was shot in the Bronx. Reportedly, after the film came out, the staircase began drawing tourists and fans who came to recreate the shot. The staircase itself is an ordinary city staircase, which is why the joke works: it is easy to place anyone into a recognizable setting.

Pennywise as a guest

Pennywise is the monster clown from Stephen King’s novel “It,” published in 1986. In the recent adaptations he is played by Bill Skarsgård: the first part came out in 2017 and the second, “It Chapter Two,” in 2019. As a result, the two clowns appeared in cinemas at nearly the same time, which made their meeting in a montage a natural joke.

The contrast between the two characters reads instantly. One is dangerous mainly as a human, to himself and others, the other as a creature from nightmares. But on the staircase they look like two passersby who have stopped to talk.

Caption examples

“Me when I show up to a meeting in red and a coworker in creepy gray.” The caption turns the pair into a conversation between two people with very different moods.

“First day at the new job: you and your mentor.” One points the way with a broad gesture, while the other stands a bit lower and listens warily.

“He: ‘We’ll just do a little magic with the budget.’ Me: ...” Any roles can be assigned, as long as one hero confidently offers and the other gets scared.

“Two friends decided to meet halfway.” The caption rests on the staircase itself: the heroes stand facing each other on different steps.

How to use the template

Jokes about two participants who carry themselves in very different ways suit this montage: confident and wary, cheerful and gloomy, boss and subordinate. Pennywise on the lower step naturally reads as the one listening; the Joker with his arm out reads as the one talking.

If the image is captioned as a scene from the films, it is better not to invent biographies of the actors or put lines in their mouths: this is a joke about costumes and poses, not about the people behind the makeup.

If you need a caption for a picture without dialogue, you can use the staircase itself: the steps emphasize that one hero is higher or lower than the other, and that is easy to turn into a joke about job titles, age, or experience.