Batman: Arkham games are some of the most revered superhero games in gaming history. The game villains played a particularly strong role in enriching the experience, and Mark Hamill’s Joker was one of them. The voice actor recently stated his joy at being a part of this saga for over a decade.
In the tweet, Mark explains how this role was a ‘whole new Joker’ for him. This tweet marked the 12th anniversary of Batman: Arkham City.
Mark Hamill’s Role as the Joker in Batman: Arkham Games Was a Surprise to Him
In his tweet, Mark describes his experience playing a well-recognized comic book villain through a series of popular video games:
12 years & a day ago today.
Freed from the constraints of television’s Standards & Practices Dept. (TV censors) & aimed at a more mature audience, the Arkham trilogy was dark, gritty & extremely violent. This was a whole new Joker for me.
The Batman: Arkham games from Rocksteady Studios gave Mark a much-deserved opportunity to explore Joker’s psyche through his role. This was certainly a leap from Mark’s recognisable role in Batman: The Animated Series, where Joker was explored for a different kind of audience compared to the video games.
During the rise of Batman: Arkham City, the game received a lot of praise for its gameplay and storytelling, but the icing on the cake was certainly Mark’s terrific performance as the Joker. This led to him winning an award at The Game Awards.
Interestingly, Mark explained in an interview with WIRED how he thought he’d never get the role because of his Star Wars background. He assumed he wouldn’t get the role, but when Rocksteady did decide to cast him, he wasn’t sure if he could pull off the role.
Mark Hamill Shaped Joker’s Persona Through the Years
The animated series took Mark’s role in a direction where dark and brooding themes were explored. But it was The Joker’s motives that were seldom related to the demise of anyone. Things took a new angle and an edgier turn with Rocksteady’s version of the character. In the games, the Joker is a psychopathic villain who is ruthless when it comes to violence.
Arkham City was often received as a spiritual acknowledgement of how gritty and dark the city of Gotham can really be. The game explores the fascinating relationship between Batman and Joker, with instances where Joker often challenges the player to go to new lengths to overcome unusual challenges and question Batman’s sense of justice.
Many consider Mark Hamill’s take on Joker through the Arkham games, following Kevin Conroy’s passing. After Kevin left us, Hamill commented that the character is pretty much done for him and that no one will ever come close to perfecting The Joker anymore. In an interview with Empire Magazine, he commented:
Kevin was perfection. He was one of my favorite people on the planet, and I loved him like a brother. He truly cared for the people around him – his decency shone through everything he did. Every time I saw him or spoke with him, my spirits were elevated.
In the end, the different versions of The Joker we’ve received as fans of the Batman universe stay relevant no matter what time and age. Thus, Mark Hamill’s role as The Joker will always be important, especially to gamers who love the Batman: Arkham games.
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