There are numerous Batman projects ranging from movies to TV shows and live-action to animated including one that includes Mark Hamill’s Joker. Each has their own standing and all of them are either unanimously loved or hated by audiences.
One of the most iconic names attached to the super includes Kevin Conroy, Christian Bale, and many more.
There have been projects that worked for the best and those that didn’t. Many were liked by the fans while others ruthlessly got thrashed. Among this lot was an underrated gem, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
While most would regard the film as a classic tale, the 1993 film took a long time to rise to the ranks. So much so that when it was first released, there were barely any people eager enough to watch the film enthusiastically.
Mark Hamill’s Underrated Gem
Batman: Mark of the Phantasm was released in 1993, a film that is now recognized as one of the most iconic projects revolving around the Caped Crusader. Mark Hamill, who voiced Joker in the film revealed in an interview with Inverse that he brought along his entire family for a screening of the film.
“We went to the East Side. There were so few people in the theater, they were all hardcore Batman fans, so they all recognized me before the lights went down. And since there were only maybe 12 people, I invited them all to sit with us, and we filled up almost two rows.”
He took them out for a nice Christmas movie experience and was greeted by a group of hardcore Batman enthusiasts. Hamill also added that there were barely any people present in the theatre, perhaps only 12 in total. Since the crowd was so specific and minute, they all recognized the actor in an instant.
The advantage that these fans got was even bigger. Seeing that the crowd was negligible, the Batman fans got to sit with Hamill and his family and have what might have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
To watch a Batman movie with Mark Hamill during the holiday season can only be regarded as a fever dream. Now Mask of the Phantasm is regarded as a cult classic, one that Batman fans can find themselves going back to.
Mark Hamill Saw a Vision in Batman Bruce Timm Couldn’t
In the interview with Inverse, Mark Hamill admitted that he enjoyed working on Batman: Mark of the Phantasm because of a certain freedom that was a restraint when working on Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series.
Seeing the restriction that the show had, the tone in which the story followed invited a more generalized audience as compared to a specific one. The 1993 movie, on the other hand, gave an overview of the darker aspects that Batman’s story offered.
“The film could be darker and there could even be deaths.”
Bruce Timm has been seen criticizing darker superhero films because of how they disregard the younger audience, specifically in the case of The Dark Knight Trilogy. On the other hand, Hamill has found that very aspect to be a box full of potential.
Batman: The Animated Series is full of limitations, lighter tones, and censorship that cannot be countered. On the other hand, the film deals with darker themes that can show sides of the Caped Crusader that some fans might not even be aware of. While both had Timm’s hand in them, one had more creative freedom than the other.
