While the DCEU might be a divisive place for movies, you can't deny the iconography and love for DC's characters. And despite the plethora of exciting figures, Batman and his friends and foes seem to be at the top of the heap. We nerds just love the Dark Knight and his villains, especially the batshit crazy (see what I did there?) Joker. Many Jokers have come and gone, but the hardcore community seems to favor Mark Hamill's voice performance as the Clown Prince of Crime in Batman The Animated Series, Arkham video games, and animated films. And now the legend has acknowledged some of the past Jokers.
While the geek community most closely related Mark Hamill to his role as Luke in Star Wars, his outstanding vocal performances of The Joker are a very close second. And although he just may be the best Joker of all time, he recently took to his Twitter to tip his hat to the many other Jokers in the world. Check it out.
The above graphic is something you'll likely find on some DC fan pages from Tumblr. A compilation of just about every movie and TV version of The Joker (except for Gotham's Jerome), each Joker is given a title for what they specifically brought to the table. Let's break down some of the favorites.
While Mark Hamill may be the foremost voice performer for The Joker, a few other actors have lent their vocal chops to the villain. Among them is Michael Emerson (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns), Brent Spiner (Young Justice), and John DiMaggio (Batman: Under the Red Hood).
The above graphic also seems to throw some shade at Troy Baker, who replaced Mark Hamill's Joker in the game Batman: Arkham Origins. His title is listed as "The Mimic", presumably for attempting to recreate Hamill's vocal inflection in the game. Hamill likely didn't think of these implications, while attempting to celebrate all of his fellow Jokers.
One of the more surprising Jokers from the graphic is Roger Stoneburner. Stoneburner briefly played The Joker during flashback sequences in The WB's shortlived series Birds of Prey. Birds focused on the DC team of the same name, led by a paralyzed Barbara Gordon as Oracle, and the Bat-family member Huntress. In order to tell the tale of Barbara's paralyzation by Joker in "The Killing Joke", brief flashbacks were used which features Stoneburner as the villain. Interestingly enough, Mark Hamill himself voiced the cameo, with Stoneburner aka "The Forgotten" simply standing in on camera.
Aside from these choices, there are the silver screen version of the Joker. The whole crew is in the above image including Heath Ledger (The Anarchist), Jared Leto (The Psychopath), Jack Nicholson (The Gangster), and Caesar Romano (The Clown). These four are perhaps the most iconic versions of the character, as they've had large audiences at their disposal and have played the role in live-action.
Who is your favorite Joker? Sound off in the comments below.
