He has undergone hundreds of different transformations since his debut and where Batman is, he follows. He has many names, yet none are his actual name. Whether you call him the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, Jack White, Mr White or Puddin’ – the Joker is an icon in his own right this is no different in gaming. With his latest addition to the roadmap of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, I thought it would be a great time to look back over the Joker’s tenure in gaming. Without further ado, here are the Joker’s best appearances in gaming:
1. Injustice: Gods Among Us
Just when you think the Joker can’t get any worse, he ends civilisation as we know it. In Injustice, Superman has vowed revenge on all humans due to the Joker tricking him into murdering a pregnant Lois Lane. Joker in Injustice is mean-spirited, spiteful and downright nasty. His lines are delivered well by veteran voice-actor of the industry, Richard Michael Epcar. Epcar brings his trademark flair to the character ,even if this short-lived Joker doesn’t have the same quiet reflection moments which have pervaded the Arkham series since its inception.
2. Batman Vengeance
The Joker is Mark Hamill and Mark Hamill is the Joker. He first cackled his way to our screens in the Batman: Animated Series episode “Joker’s Favor”. We see a particularly flamboyant turn of the character in comparison to his rather gothic appearance in 1989 Batman. He makes jokes, dances around gleefully and mocks anyone who dares to bother him, this is the beginning of the Joker we all know and love today.
It follows then that he would appear in the games based around the same series. There were numerous incarnations throughout the series’ runtime, but the only one which Hamill himself lent his voice to was the PlayStation 2 game Batman: Vengeance. Batman: Vengeance was typical in every way for its time, with one standout, Hamill.
Hamill brings his panache for turning the maniacal into the macabre and back into the hilarious to the fore in every single interaction. The animation – by way of the game being a 2001 release – leaves a great deal to be desired but the character design and attire, is flawless.
3. Lego DC Super-Villains
Welcome to the Joker show. This game should just have been called Lego: Joker Adventures. In this game, the Joker is the first and last word in supervillainy. He calls the shots, he is the head honcho, and he knows it. Lego DC Super-Villains is more of a ‘told from their side’ affair than we have seen previously, with Batman and other superheroes being relegated to the proverbial benches for the majority of its playtime. The game manages to knit and weave many storylines and narrative arcs together wonderfully, and all with the backdrop of this being the Joker’s “greatest plan yet” (aren’t they all?)
The Joker retrieves his ‘joy buzzer’ from GCPD and breaks Black Adam free of the Gotham Museum. The Joker interacts along the way with villain royalty such as; penguin, Mr Freeze and Darkseid. All while laughing and giggling his way to a great end-game that keeps you coming back for more. It doesn’t hurt that he is absolutely adorable either!
4. Batman: Arkham Asylum
When Arkham Asylum was announced by Rocksteady studios, when the gameplay video was released and when we heard that tell-tale cackle, we all knew what was coming. The Joker causing chaos, and my, my, my, did he deliver. Arkham Asylum sees the Joker take over the titular ‘institution’ and plan some very special surprises for the caped crusader. Mark Hamill reprises his role from the animated series with all the fervour and care that he always had for the character.
The Joker cackles, tells bad jokes, harasses Batman and other heroes all while having minimal screen presence. Instead of being assaulted routinely by obtuse cutscenes, Arkham Asylum has the Joker narrating and commenting over the Asylum’s PA system. Whether he is helping his goons by telling them where Batman is or throwing them to the wolves by manipulating the environment, The Joker in Arkham Asylum is an icon for the ages and easily, the best appearance the homicidal jester has ever had in gaming.
5. Batman: Arkham City
Arkham City picks up where Asylum left off. The Joker is battling a terminal illness and yet he still manages to have the most presence of any character in the game. He routinely harasses Batman by contacting him at the most inopportune moments and Hamill, once again, brings his all to the character.
Through coughing and spluttering, he mocks, teases and – at times – praises Batman. All to a beautifully dark and memorable conclusion which honestly has you feeling slightly sorry for the maniacal menace.
6. Batman: Arkham Origins
Taking place on the first night of Batmans crimefighting career. Origins delivers a younger Joker, this time voiced by veteran voice actor Troy Baker. Baker delivers a frightfully good performance as the younger Joker. He lacks the gravity and weight of a voice like Hamill’s, but this only serves the character presentation more.
This Joker feels like a person who might yet be reached, might yet be salvaged from his road to hell. The laughs are just as weighted as Hamill’s ever were, but they do lack the gravel which only years of delivering the character can afford you. The character suffers in some places due to this as some lines fall flat but for the most part they work. Troy Baker is a wonderful performer and he gives his all in this instalment.
A special mention for the fact that he sung – in character – an iconic Hank Williams song albeit, a slightly different version. Check that out above.
7. Batman: The Telltale Series
The best thing about the Joker is anonymity and mystique, Telltale understood this perfectly. In their episodic Batman series, The Joker is not yet the presentable psychopathic prankster we love to hate. He instead is a “John Doe” who becomes rather close with Batman/Bruce Wayne. Via choices made in-game, John Doe either becomes the Joker or a crime-fighting vigilante, even if the breadcrumbs are already going stale long before you reach the end of the campaign as everyone knows WHO John Doe could one day be.
By tackling the character in this way it allows us to think about the Joker as a person, rather than the idealogue he has become. It allows us to ponder the question that has long haunted Bruce Wayne at night “Could the Joker ever be saved from himself?” Well, in this game, you can choose to save him from himself, long before he becomes a danger to anyone. This way of displaying the character is genius and something which Hollywood could take notes from for future Joker iterations.
Wrapping Up: The Last Laugh
So there we have it. Whether he is the unknown stranger or the insane iconoclast, Joker always manages to steal the show. I have no idea where the Joker is going next in gaming. With his appearance on the roadmap for Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League now public knowledge, the laughs for him, are just going to keep coming and coming. Will this appearance make its way onto lists like this? Could it instead be relegated to the same pile on which Batman: Return of The Joker sits? Only time will tell. We’ll find out when the clown prince comes to Gotham in Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League in March 2024.