Batman and Joker are two of the most beloved DC comics characters of all time, and both have been played by numerous actors on the screen. However, when it comes to the best Batman-Joker pairing, fans will wholeheartedly agree that Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill were the best hero-villain duo they have ever come across. With films like Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest, both actors have proven why they are considered to be the best of the best.
Not only was their voice as Batman and Joker loved by the fans, but the two actors also had a great time working together. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill’s Batman: The Killing Joke sure was a controversial addition to the collection, but that didn’t stop them from making the most of it. In fact, Kevin Conroy once talked about just how proud he was of the film’s final scene and his experience recording with Mark Hamill in the booth.
Kevin Conroy on Working with Mark Hamill in the Controversial Film
Batman: The Killing Joke was based on the namesake graphic novel by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. The source material was pretty controversial on its own, with Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, as the center of the controversy. However, the film took it to a completely new level.
Joker and his goons strip Barbara naked and take pictures of her, eventually showing it to her father, Commissioner James Gordon, as a form of torture. While this storyline was a part of the film as well, the movie furthered the controversial aspect by reducing Barbara and Bruce Wayne’s intricate relationship to one of a s-xual nature. Needless to say, the treatment of Barbara’s character and her reduction to a mere love interest did not sit right with many viewers.
Despite the controversial plot of the film, Kevin Conroy had a splendid time working with Mark Hamill, especially when it came to recording the final scene of the film. In the scene, Joker manages to do something others can only dream of: make Batman laugh. As the enemies burst into laughter at Joker’s joke, the screen fades to black. Recalling the recording of the scene, Conroy told The Natural Aristocrat,
“Isn’t it crazy? I was really proud of that … becau0se when you get into a scene like that, it’s not about making voices. It’s about really living the scene … you’re acting; voice acting is acting. And so Mark and I are in there together, and the madness that took over that room when we were both laughing so — and the laughing grew and grew, and then Batman’s laughter takes over. I was just really proud of it. I love that aspect of that. There’s a similar thing that happens at the end of Arkham Knight, the last of the games. It ends in a similar world psychologically for me as Batman. And I was just really proud of it.”
Clearly, both Conroy and Hamill had a great time recording their scenes together, controversy or not. It has been years since the two joined forces for Batman and Joker, but we can say with certainty that a duo of their caliber is yet to come!
There is No Mark Hamill’s Joker without Kevin Conroy’s Batman
After Conroy passed away in 2022, fans wondered if Hamill would return to voice the iconic antagonist. But the actor had bad news for the hopeful ones. As per Culture Crave, Hamill stated at Fan EXPO San Francisco that he won’t voice Joker without Conroy’s Batman. Quoting his character, he said, “Without Batman, crime has no punchline.”
He cited his Joker quote "Without Batman, crime has no punchline"
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) November 25, 2023
In a 2023 interview with Empire, Hamill made it abundantly clear that he was done with Joker way before Conroy’s passing. He also stated that he’d only return for a project if his partner in crime was going to be on board as well. After Conroy’s death, there’s no way Hamill would pick up the microphone to voice Joker ever again. As he himself says, he was the Laurel to his Hardy.
“They would call and say, ‘They want you to do the Joker,’ and my only question was, ‘Is Kevin Batman?’ If they said yes, I would say, ‘I’m in,'” Hamill said. “We were like partners. We were like Laurel and Hardy. Without Kevin there, there doesn’t seem to be a Batman for me.”
Gushing on about Conroy, Hamill stated that he was the “ideal partner” and that he “couldn’t have done it without him.” Actors will come and go, but for Hamill, Conroy will always be his Batman.
