From the Arkham video games to Batman: The Animated Series, Mark Hamill as the Joker has quickly become one of the most iconic comic book character voice performances of all time. Ever since the Star Wars series veteran was cast as the Clown Prince of Crime in Batman: The Animated Series, his nefarious giggle and raspy timbre has become known far and wide as the definitive Joker voice. While Hamill has gone on to voice other well-known cartoon characters, The Joker will forever remain his best performance, perhaps even eclipsing Luke Skywalker.
Mark Hamill appeared as The Joker in a wide variety of media. Though his time as the supervillain in the DCAU continuity, starting with Batman: The Animated Series, was perhaps the most influential, he also was a recurring staple of various one-off animated films and video games, even playing The Joker in live-action once. Across this varied career as a single character, Hamill got away with some incredible scenes and line deliveries, making him a worthy adversary for Batman in many different stories.
10 The Joker Sings Jingle Bells, Batman Smells
Batman: The Animated Series
One of the most irreverent pieces of children's culture is the iconic parody of the classic Christmas carol Jingle Bells that replaces the lyrics with Batman-themed gags. First appearing on TV in the debut episode of The Simpsons, sung by Bart around Christmas time, it wouldn't be until Batman: The Animated Series that an official piece of DC media would actually recognize the tune. Of course, it's none other than Mark Hamill's Joker who sings the ditty himself in the episode Christmas with the Joker.
Escaping from Arkham Asylum on Christmas Eve, Joker interrupts the facility's festive choir recital with the silly song, leaping on top of a tree that turns out to be a massive rocket and blasting away to safety. Even better, the Joker follows up the first verse with an original second refrain, gleefully singing about riding on a "one-horse open tree" as he careens over the horizon. Only Mark Hamill could inject such malicious whimsy into such a goofy number.
9 Joker Is Outsmarted By A Regular Person
Batman: The Animated Series
Part of what makes the Joker compelling as a villain is the fact that he isn't infallible, as proven many times throughout Batman: The Animated Series. At first, the episode Joker's Favor introduces Mark Hamill's version of the character for the first time by demonstrating just how terrifying he can be to the average person. Normal Gotham citizen Charlie is hounded by The Joker after an encounter in traffic, stalking him for two years before finally calling in a "favor" to help Joker kill Commissioner Gordon.
By the end of the action, it's actually Charlie who saves the day, catching Joker on his way out and threatening him with a bomb until the criminal mastermind is begging for his adversary to save him. Hearing Hamill whine for Batman like a tattletale child is an unbelievable sound, and Charlie getting the last laugh on Joker with the reveal that the bomb was only a harmless firework creates a satisfying moment of comeuppance. Whether he's a menacing presence or a helpless sore loser, Hamill's Joker is endlessly entertaining.
8 Joker Fights Batman On A Jetpack Joyride
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
It goes without saying that Joker and Batman have fought many times throughout the history of Batman: The Animated Series' continuity. Joker is rarely much of a physical threat to Batman in a one-on-one fight, but he puts up the show of his lifetime in the spin-off origin movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Here, a ghost from Batman's past shows up as a lethal vigilante, killing off criminals in Gotham in the name of justice.
Zipping through the sky on a jetpack with Batman in tow, Joker is uncharacteristically serious and competent in this battle, coming eerily close to turning Batman into a mere skidmark. Once he's cornered by Batman and the new player in Gotham, with his lair crumbling around him, Joker can't help but belt out a belly-laugh in the face of his miserable circumstances. Mark Hamill has unleashed many iconic laughs as The Joker, but his maniacal cackle towards the end of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm just might be his finest work.
7 Joker Finally Kicks The Bucket
Batman: Arkham City
As great as Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are as Batman and The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, the Rocksteady Studios Arkham games might just be some of their finest work opposite each other as the DC duo. In the second game, an entire burough of Gotham has been turned into a massive open-air prison, with hordes of supervillains running loose. Among them is The Joker, slowly dying due to his exposure to the experimental Titan drug in the previous game.
In their final confrontation, the sickly Joker attacks Batman on the brink of death's door, despite the fact that Batman was going to save him, shattering the antidote vial in the process and dooming himself. When Batman reveals as much, Joker can only laugh, telling his old foe "That actually is...pretty funny!" before passing away, a sickening smile on his face. This iconic moment is an almost touching end to Batman and The Joker's odd relationship, with Batman gently carrying Joker's corpse out of the city.
6 Joker Haunts Batman's Psyche
Batman: Arkham Knight
Death wouldn't be the end of Mark Hamill's voice as The Joker in the Rocksteady Arkham games. In the third entry, Batman: Arkham Knight, it's revealed that Batman's own mind may finally be paying the price for years of exposure to The Joker. After being poisoned himself, Batman's mind gets to work conjuring up a persistent hallucination of his deceased foe that constantly nags Batman throughout the game. Through this performance, it's clear why Hamill is still one of the best versions of The Joker ever.
Thanks to The Joker's prodding and unsolicited advice, Batman gets the closest he ever comes to killing someone in the Arkham games, almost using a snub-nosed revolver similar to the weapon that killed his parents, no less. Hamill's insidious voice is deliciously infectious, corroding away Batman's morals even from beyond the grave. The game also has fun with Joker not needing to obey the laws of logic in Batman's head, dressing in touristy outfits, cloning himself, and horrifying Batman with visions of Jason Todd's death all the while.
5 Joker Tortures Tim Drake
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Batman: Arkham Knight wasn't the only time Mark Hamill's Joker harassed Batman with visuals of a Robin being tortured. The Joker's appearance in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was one of his most horrific appearances ever. Despite being thought to be long-gone in the futuristic year Batman Beyond takes place in, the spin-off movie revealed that Joker had found a macabre way to cheat death. As if that weren't bad enough, the ultimate fate of Tim Drake's Robin in the DCAU is also revealed in a grisly vision.
Here, a flashback to the Batman: The Animated Series years shows how The Joker tortured Tim Drake into becoming a miniature version of himself, skirting around kid-friendly guidelines with some horrific implications. Through grainy black-and-white footage, The Joker shows Batman his worst nightmare, illustrating the process. In this scene in particular, Hamill showcases the depths of malice he can embody as the haunting supervillain.
4 Joker Mourns Batman's Death
Batman: The Animated Series
For all the times he's somehow returned from the dead, The Joker himself can also be deeply affected by Batman's own demise. Nowhere is this shown off better than the Batman: The Animated Series episode The Man Who Killed Batman. Here, a nameless thug seemingly kills Batman, much to the surprise of Gotham's criminal underworld. In reality, Batman merely takes advantage of the situation by faking his own death, allowing himself to better get the drop on some of his enemies.
Regardless, Joker goes through most of the episode believing that Batman is indeed dead, causing him to act surprisingly remorseful. Famously, The Joker muses "Without Batman, crime has no punchline", a phrase that Mark Hamill referenced following Kevin Conroy's death to show his deep appreciation and love for his late co-star. As much as The Joker may seem to hate Batman at times, without him, the Clown Prince of Crime is almost purposeless.
3 Joker Joins The Injustice Gang
Justice League
One of the best parts of Justice League is seeing far-removed characters in the DCAU who would never normally get the chance to interact finally square off against one another in some exciting showdowns. When Lex Luthor decides to form his own "Injustice Gang" to take on the Justice League, the volatile Joker shows up to crash the party, hurt that he didn't get an invitation. However, The Joker quickly proves his worth among Luthor's coterie of villains-for-hire and C-listers.
Joker's appearance here features one of his biggest wins over Batman, knocking him out cold with a doctor's bag full of rocks, of all things, and capturing him for interrogation. Though it makes no sense as to why the Injustice Gang doesn't unmask him while they have the chance, seeing Joker outdo the supposedly saner and better-equipped villains with such a simple attack is viscerally satisfying. When pitted against other bad guys, it's hard not to root for Gotham City's madcap criminal.
2 Joker's "One Bad Day" Monologue
Batman: The Killing Joke
The relatively recent animated movie Batman: The Killing Joke was controversial for many reasons, not the least of which being the unnecessary addition of a love scene between Batman and Batgirl. However, one area the film truly excelled in when it came to adapting the comic of the same name was Mark Hamill's re-casting as The Joker. Here, Hamill gets a chance to live out one of The Joker's most infamously appalling schemes.
Luring Batman into a funhouse full of dizzying architecture, terrifying Bat-baby thugs, and trippy visuals, The Joker rants about how all it takes is "One bad day" to send someone "normal" over the edge, becoming just as insane as he is. However, Batman's continued perseverance begins to anger him as time goes on, furiously demanding to know how Batman can maintain his cool in such dire circumstances. It says a lot about Hamill's range that he's able to go from cool and in control to desperately frustrated over the course of a single scene.
1 Joker Brings The Justice League To Its Knees
Justice League
While the unpowered Joker may not seem to be all that impressive when compared to the other capable villains of the DCAU, Justice League gave him a chance to prove just how big of a threat he could be. In perhaps his most sickeningly genius plan yet, The Joker manages to nearly destroy the Justice League itself in his last chronological DCAU appearance. To distract the majority of the League with widespread bomb threats, The Joker employs the Royal Flush Gang to keep the heroes busy.
At the same time, Joker weaponizes Ace, the gang's young powerful psychic, to telepathically throw millions of people deep into the throes of madness. This complicated, but impressive scheme ended up nearly killing Batman and hospitalizing Jon Stewart's Green Lantern, proving that Joker can be just as deadly a threat as any superpowered villain. Mark Hamill's vocal work makes The Joker a believable bad guy who could threaten the entire world at once.
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