Many actors have portrayed The Joker, the most famous villain in comics, in various adaptations over many years and every fan has their favorite among the live action versions.  But EVERYONE loves Mark Hamill’s vocal performance as the diabolical clown, beginning in 1992 on ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ and continuing in various spin-offs, movies and most recently, the popular ‘Batman: Arkham Knight‘ video games.  Hamill’s sneering, humorous-yet-frightening depiction made a character that was already iconic, his.

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And now he’s reprising the role in the animated adaptation of the most defining Joker tale of all time, ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ based on the famous graphic novel written by Alan Moore with art by Brian Bolland.  The story offered an origin for the killer clown, although its validity is left up to the reader as the story is told by The Joker himself.  In this story, the man who would become the chalk-faced villain was a failed standup comedian, driven insane by the deaths of his pregnant wife and their unborn child.

The story is also controversial because the character Barbara Gordon, a semi-retired Batgirl, was shot in the spine and paralyzed, then sexually assaulted and photographed in order to torment her father, Commissioner Gordon, who was himself stripped naked and locked in a cage, as The Joker attempted to drive him insane in a sick game.

Hamill himself lobbied to reprise his part in this movie, after passing the torch to other actors on prior projects.  Reportedly, he has already completed recording of his lines for the movie which is due out next year.

In 2000, Hamill provided The Joker’s voice in another animated movie, ‘Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker,’ a movie so dark and disturbing that it was hastily edited before its release.  However, adult fans demanded WB release an unedited ‘Directors Cut’ which the studio eventually did.  In more recent years, WB has continued to produce darker animated projects like ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ and ‘Batman: Under The Red Hood’ which depicted the death of the second Robin, for adult comic and animation fans.

Are you thrilled that Hamill is voicing The Joker in the ultimate Joker story?  Do you want to hear him continue the role in future projects or should he go out on a high note?

Source: Collider