THE OTHER INFAMOUS MARK HAMILL COMIC BOOK ROLES

If you are reading this it's probably safe to say that when you think of Mark Hamill you think of Luke Skywalker. The names go together like Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney. What you may not realize is that Hamill is actually much more than the last Jedi. Yes of course there is a certain Clown Prince of Crime that most people identify him with but did you know that he's also the voice behind many other famous comic book characters? Well . . . let's take a look!

SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES - THE HOBGOBLIN

In the comic books, The Green Goblin is to Spider-Man is like the Joker to Batman. They are locked into an eternal battle for all eternity. However, in the animated series from the early 90s, Hobgoblin was the first Goblin that Spidey fought. He was an extremely dangerous opponent that could fight Spider-Man in the skies of New York. He played the Kingpin and Norman Osborn like cheap fiddles, even battling the Green Goblin in a later episode. And guess what? He sounded an awful lot like the Joker from Batman: the Animated Series. I remember watching those episodes and really loving the character but being bothered by his voice sounding like the Joker. Even as a kid I knew it was the same actor, even if I was in denial that it was the same actor playing Luke Skywalker (boy did that come as a shock to me). Hobgoblin was my favorite Spider-Man villain in the show. He was the only one that seemed like a genuine threat to Spider-Man. Maybe one day he'll show up in a Spider-Man film. Until then . . . I'll always remember that Mark Hamill made me afraid of this dude like no other Spidey rogue could. 

THE BATMAN - TONY ZUCCO

While The Batman might be seen to some as a subpar version of Batman: the Animated Series, truthfully, it's probably more or less what the show should have been. LET ME EXPLAIN! It was a kid-friendly version of Batman's adventures while B:TAS was probably much more, shall we say, mature than the folks at Warner Bros Animation were expecting. For my money, it doesn't get any better than B:TAS but The Batman was a good successor. Kids need awesome Batman stories that they can get excited about. Something that's usually done behind the scenes with these shows is casting former Bat-actors to play significant roles in the current series. Adam West played the Grey Ghost in a wonderful episode of B:TAS. When The Batman finally introduced Robin they brought the two heaviest hitters for significant parts. Kevin Conroy, famously the voice of Batman, played John Grayson, Robin's father and Mark Hamill played Tony Zucco, the man who killed Robin's parents, essentially creating Robin. If you were to watch the episode, you'd probably recognize Conroy's voice, but I'm willing to bet you will never recognize Hamill's voice. As a fan of acting and actors that can play multiple roles I must say that I love his performance here. He sounds nothing like Mark Hamill and better yet, he sounds nothing like the Joker. He takes on this role and gives it the weight that it needs. Zucco is a bad guy that's doing terrible things and kinda loves it. Whether it's getting his way with the circus or torturing Batman, he gets off on the evil acts he performs. Huh . . . I guess it is kinda like the Joker . . . But he sounds nothing like him. So there's that!

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD - THE SPECTRE

Truth be told, this is probably my favorite DC Comics Mark Hamill role (post-Joker I mean). The Spectre is a character that doesn't make a lot of sense in the DC Universe. I mean, his whole goal is to exact vengeance on the guilty, but the Joker is untouched? Sinestro? Ugh . . . the list goes on. But still, the concept of the character is really cool. In the Batman: Brave and the Bold episode, "Chill of the Night" Bruce is one step closer to catching the man who killed his parents. The Phantom Stranger, played by Kevin Conroy, who is awesome, and the Spectre make a wager on Batman's soul. Stranger believes that Bruce will serve justice and spare his life while the Spectre believes Bruce will serve vengeance and kill him. In the end, Batman lets Joe Chill live only to have the Stranger insinuate that Spectre killed Chill himself. Like with Zucco, Hamill gives yet another stellar performance. Like his other voiceover roles, Hamill lets himself embody the character and let the audience never wonder who plays the character. Instead they are so captivated by the performance and taken in by the story that you never wonder who voices who because you're thinking, "Holy crap! That was a great episode!" I kind of secretly love the Spectre, even though the character makes no sense. Hamill adds to that making me excited to see this guy because I know only bad things will follow. 

JUSTICE LEAGUE - SOLOMON GRUNDY 

In one of the best episodes of season one of Justice League, Lex Luthor assembles the Injustice League. It's a play on the old Challenge of the Super Friends TV series. It's a lot of fun and one of the best aspects of the episode is that it reaffirms the importance of Batman to the team. The Joker makes a memorable entrance and kicks lots of Justice League ass, as only the Joker can do, and of course he is voiced by none other than the irreplaceable Mark Hamill, but Hamill also voices the Injustice Gang's resident strong man, Solomon Grundy.  While the Injustice episode didn't go too much into his backstory, that was saved for a later episode in season 2 where his origins were explained and he even helped the Justice League fight off an invasion by Ichthultu. Hamill proves his talent by giving another stellar performance. While at first, Grundy may just seem like a mindless monster that loves destruction and gold. By the end of the episode we learn that all Grundy wants is his soul back and a chance to fight for it just like Superman and the Justice League fight for it. Wonderful storytelling and brought to life by a wonderful actor, even when he's voicing a monster. 

THE FLASH - JESSE JAMES/THE TRICKSTER

Other than the Joker and Luke Skywalker, this is probably Hamill's most famous role. Technically speaking, no one else has ever played the role of the Trickster, Jesse James, on film. He played the character in the short lived live action TV series of the early 90s, voiced the character in an episode of Justice League Unlimited, and reprised the role during the recent successful CW series The Flash. While most younger viewers will watch the new series and think he's channeling his Joker persona, and they're not entirely wrong, really he was playing The Trickster long before he was the Joker. They are similar characters, crazy, murderous, see the fun side of villainy, etc. But the best part is that most of us hear how Hamill is as the Joker, the Trickster is the way for us to SEE it. And juxtaposed next to Barry Allen's sense of justice and honesty, it's a truly fun experience as a fan to see him mess with the Flash as only a truly diabolical villain like the Trickster can. Plus, as an audience, it gives them the chance to see Mark Hamill as the truly talented actor that I know he is. He's a wonderfully evil villain just as much as he is the earnest hero in the Star Wars films. 

THE JOKER 

Outside of Luke Skywalker, The Joker is definitely Mark Hamill's most iconic role. To an entire generation, including myself, he IS the Joker. Over the various cartoons, films, video games, etc that he has played the character, he has given us every facet of the Joker that is available in the comic books. He's been playful, evil, murderous, unpredictable, loving, hating, funny, and any other adjective you can think of. What is there really to say that hasn't already been said? He's played the character longer and definitely better than any other actor. Not only that, but he's openly supported other actors that have played the part after him like John DiMaggio (Batman: Under the Red Hood), Kevin Michael Richardson (The Batman), and Jeff Bennett (Batman: the Brave and the Bold). But for all of us that are true fans of Batman: the Animated Series, there will never be another Mark Hamill. He gave the Joker life and continues to astonish and amaze as the character with recent turns in the Batman: Arkham video games and of course his dream project of Batman: the Killing Joke. Here's hoping that we get to see more of Hamill as the Joker because nobody does it better.

While Mark Hamill has made a name for himself as a famous movie star willing to poke fun at himself and his role as Luke Skywalker, he's known to fans all around the world as the definitive Joker. As you can see, and if you do your own research on the topic, he's also made a name for himself in the world of voice acting, which is also a tough business to get into. Luckily, Hamill has more than proved himself capable of kicking ass as a wonderful actor behind cartoon voices beloved by many fans around the world.

But let's face it . . . His Joker is top notch right? HAHAHA!!

Till Next Time!




JJ - the Comic Junkie!