Well, I thought about what to do for this month. I was curious and I thought for a while, until my friend and I got into an argument over who portrayed Batman's greatest enemy the best. This is the Joker-a-Thon. There's gonna be three parts, discussing the three main Joker's that everyone remembers from their youth to now. Now I know what you're thinking: weren't there more than three Joker's? Yes, yes there were. However, they are omitted because these are the Joker's that left a lasting impression. Now, I know what else you're thinking: will Cesar Romero be in this list? No! Why? Because, I have nothing to say about Romero's Joker. Nothing at all; now, let's get on with Joker-a-Thon!
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| MARK HAMILL as THE JOKER Batman: The Animated Series The New Batman Adventures Justice League Unlimited Batman: Arkham Asylum/City |
| The Joker in B:TAS |
In 1991, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini held open auditions in Los Angeles for a voice actor to portray the animated version of Batman's greatest arch-enemy. Many were auditioned, but very few were even considered. However, one actor surprised all the producers with his wicked performance. It was none other than Mark Hamill, the actor made famous for portraying Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars trilogy. His performance was dazzling, and it made Bruce Timm and Paul Dini instead fans of his work. So much so, they hired Hamill and even included the Joker in more episodes than planned. The Joker became the most popular character on the show, even surpassing Batman with the top spot. Even with the show being reformat. Throughout the majority of the Joker's animated appearance's, it has been mostly Hamill portraying the role. Even when the new games came out, they still recruited Hamill to play the Joker.
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| The Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum |
Unfortunately, Batman: Arkham City was announced as the final time that Hamill would portray the Joker. Whether Hamill is spicing up a comeback of some sort, I do not know. All I know is that Hamill is by far the best animated Joker, and anyone else they try to get to replace him would be futile. The only other person to ever come close was John DiMaggio, who voiced the Joker in "Batman: Under The Red Hood".
Hamill portrayed the Joker the way everyone prefer's their Joker nowadays. He always had him giggly, laughing and chuckling every single line, meanwhile remaining sarcastic, silly, and downright goofy in some parts. No matter what sort of comedic element Hamill throws into the role, he'll always remain completely psychotic, and sometimes, shit-your-pants terrifying! I'm not kidding around here, Hamill's Joker used to scare me when I was young. Whatever rewards he may or may not have gotten, he definitely deserved them all. He's a mastermind of voice acting, and his role as the Joker further solidifies that.fact.
The most iconic thing about Hamill's Joker was his laugh. Hamill's laugh tops all the other Joker's; including the live-action Joker's. Hamill always said that the Joker's laugh should be played out like a musical instrument. Instead of just using "ha" constantly, Hamill implemented "he's" and "ho's" as well as the "ha's", creating some of the best Joker laughs ever heard on screen.
So, all in all, Mark Hamill was the greatest possible choice to portray the Joker that Timm and Dini could make. I don't know who the other guy's auditioning were, but they should be glad they weren't picked. I don't care if one of them got picked because they may have been more popular than Hamill, you can't top Hamill. Never will, especially his laugh. Hamill was scary, as well as down-right hilarious as the Joker. It made him one of the most beloved villains in all of cartoons, as well as maybe all television anywhere. He left an ever lasting impression on how comic books villains are created. His legacy as the Joker will go on, and who knows? Maybe Mark Hamill will step into the voiceover studio to do the Joker's voice, one last time...
Check in for "Part 2", where I review the man who inspired the animated Joker...
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