Troy Baker voiced a monologue from Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke to help prove his chops at a Batman: Arkham Origins panel.
When you get down to it the Joker is a tough role. The actor playing him has to embody a character that’s equal parts funny, menacing, brilliant and insane. That being said, of all the performers to take on the character, few have executed it quite as well as Mark Hamill. He managed to capture all those essential parts and, perhaps even more importantly, earned himself a spot as a favorite among Bat-fans everywhere.
Sadly, while Hamill was willing to reprise the role of the Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, he opted not to return the character in Batman: Arkham Origins. His shoes would instead be filled by veteran voice actor Troy Baker who, in recent years, has had big roles in games including Persona 4, Final Fantasy XIII, Bioshock: Infinite and The Last of Us.
Just in case his wealth of experience wasn’t enough to convince fans of the Clown Prince of Crime that he’d be up to the job, Baker recently took the role for a public spin during a panel at Comic Con. Reading a monologue from Alan Moore’s Joker-centric story The Killing Joke, Baker gave an impressive performance that, though clearly drawing on Hamill’s version of the character, earned a standing ovation from the assembled crowd. Personally, though I think I still prefer Hamill, it sold me on Baker taking over the reins. That said, what do you guys think? Give the video a watch and let us know your impressions. Does Baker deliver the goods or is he just an imitator aping the true master’s act?
Source: YouTube
Published: Oct 14, 2013 10:27 am