At times, it seemed like Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker would never see the light of day. The film premiered during the Midnight Madness section of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. It was scheduled for more screenings during the run of the festival, but they were all canceled following that first screening due to copyright claims by a still unnamed “media conglomerate." As the title implies, The People’s Joker borrows imagery, characters, and stories from DC Comics. The use of these copyrighted characters, Drew argued, should be covered under the fair use laws of parody. Eventually, in 2024, The People’s Joker made its way to a widespread theatrical release. Part superhero flick, part coming-of-age story, The People’s Joker is simply unlike anything that has come before it.

The People’s Joker is directed, co-written (with Bri LeRose), and edited by Drew. It’s her story as a transgender woman told through the lens of a cast of characters audiences are familiar with. Drew plays herself in the film as Vera, an aspiring stand-up comic who leaves the small town of Smallville for Gotham City. Vera never felt comfortable in her body, even in childhood, which led to friction between her and her mom (Lynn Downey). It’s only through moving to Gotham, making a friend (Nathan Faustyn), and meeting a trans man (Kane Distler) that Vera begins to find her voice.

The fact that The People’s Joker is available is miraculous in itself. Even before you consider the film’s subject matter, this is a small, crowd-sourced movie that found its way to one of the biggest film festivals in the world. Over 100 different artists helped create the pastiche world of The People’s Joker. Most of the film was made during Covid lockdowns when people were feeling most isolated, but working on this project allowed communities to continue to exist. The subject matter seeks to create understanding and self-love in a time when trans rights are seemingly always under attack. The People’s Joker takes the mythology of superheroes that has inundated so much of popular culture and twists it into a radical story of self-discovery.

For many queer people who came of age in the late ’90s and early 2000s, there were so few films or television shows for them to see themselves represented that they often latched onto small glimpses of queerness. Now, those people are becoming filmmakers and grappling with the imperfections of the pieces of pop culture that ultimately helped them with their identities, even though they weren’t distinctly queer works. Sav Rodgers directed the documentary Chasing Chasing Amy, about Kevin Smith’s 1997 film Chasing Amy, which helped him process his trans identity. His film parses through the film’s thorny legacy much like Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker. This is Drew reworking an essential aspect of her adolescence to speak to where she is now.

“We lie when we’re afraid.” The People’s Joker feels more like a loving ode to superheroes and their lore than any mainstream superhero movie does. As someone who only knows the broad strokes of this genre, there is surely a plethora of references and Easter eggs that are lost on the average viewer. However, an immense knowledge of caped crusaders isn’t essential to understanding or enjoying The People’s Joker. Beneath its chaotic exterior is a very earnest film about finding one’s place in the world. About falling in love and making art. About finding friendships, repairing relationships with parents, and learning to navigate this strange little life we’re all living. The People’s Joker is an explosion of anger, joy, and art. More earnest and important than any superhero movie that came before it.

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