Did Heath Ledger Play The Joker?

( I know I missed yesterday's blog.  I was sick. )

I've been thinking about The Dark Knight (2008) and I'm wondering if Heath Ledger actually played the Joker.  I know it was a "new interpretation" but I think only the suit and name were left.

If I told you that a man robbed a bank with a highly intricate plan where each member of the gang killed the other, would that sound like the Joker?

If I told you that a madman approached the mob and offered to kill the Batman if they gave him money, would that sound like Joker?

It gets weird when you think of other parts of his plan that sounds more like other villains.

If I told you that a man would take over Gotham's gangs and consolidate their power into one giant gang, would that sound like Joker?  No, that's Black Mask.

If I told you that the villain threatened to blow up a hospital unless someone killed the man about to expose Batman's secret identity, would that sound like Joker?  Maybe, but really that's Riddler.  Joker has not cared about Batman's secret identity for decades.

Ok, now try this.  The villain threatens to bring the city under his martial law.  But he's shut down two ways out.  The only way out now is to board ferries.  One will be filled with the innocent and one will be filled with the guilty and pure chance will decide which lives and which dies.  How did this happen in a movie WITH TWO FACE and it wasn't his plan?

I think Heath Ledger invented a totally newish character and it was just called the Joker.  Face it.  Heath Ledger played a vicious ex-military specialist who wanted to tear down the system.  His character would have made more sense if he was named Chaos and wore camo than named the Joker and in a purple suit.  There's very little in the comics (and I own every appearance of Joker from Batman #7 to the release of the Dark Knight) to support the idea that Heath Ledger's character was the same Joker from the comics.