The Joker is one of Batman’s greatest adversaries, and it is difficult to imagine a successful Batman universe that does not eventually end up casting a Joker for itself. For several projects, it was Luke Skywalker actor himself, Mark Hamill. Hamill has played The Joker in multiple projects but has always considered one version of the Clown Prince of Crime as his crowning achievement.
The Arkham Series is often hailed as one of the best interpretations of Batman and his mythology. Mark Hamill has played the Joker in the game series, while also essaying the role in Batman: The Animated Series, The New Adventures of Batman, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and Batman Beyond. He also played Joker for Batman Vengeance for the Sega CD version of the Adventures of Batman and Robin. However, Hamill took to X (formerly Twitter) to talk about what set the Arkham series apart from all other ventures where he essayed the role of the Ace of Knaves.
Mark Hamill loved how gritty the Arkham games got
In a tweet on the 12th Anniversary of the game, Mark Hamill made a celebratory post, detailing what is it exactly that made him praise the Arkham series, and what he enjoyed about the character so much. He revealed:
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.🦇vs 🃏 https://t.co/bn2GXuDxQ3
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) October 19, 2023
One of the main reasons that Hamill adored the Arkham version of Batman’s mythos was how deliciously evil the actor got to be with the character, as opposed to the relatively child-friendly and harmless Joker in Batman: The Animated Series.
Those who have played the game are aware of how much darker it gets, especially when compared to other iterations of the Joker, like the one presented in The Animated Series and Batman Beyond. This was because animated series were still bound by the same censorship law as other programs on television, while the censorship when it came to video games was a lot more lax.
However, Batman: The Animated Series was dark for a children’s show
Despite the censorship of its time and the fact that Batman: The Animated Series was aimed at kids, the show was still able to pull off some very deep and convoluted plotlines, while keeping with the code that was imposed on the show. The Animated Series never had anything inappropriate for children, but still managed to pull out some pretty disturbing imagery.
For example, instead of The Clown Prince of Crime outright killing someone on the show, The Joker created something called the Joker toxin/venom, which caused its victims to laugh uncontrollably, before their faces twisted into stiff smiles, usually implying that they had died. Such creative ways to communicate the threat of the villains are what set the animated series apart, holding up even today, despite it being over thirty years old.
