Top 20 Times Mark Hamill's Joker TERRIFIED Us

“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
Ahh, never change Joker. Well, actually, definitely change your ways since you’re kind of a monster, but, you probably get what we mean. A classic Joker scheme was on full display in “Batman: The Animated Series.” In “The Laughing Fish” Joker tried to get his own brand of mutated fish copyrighted in an attempt to hit it rich. While trying to navigate how copyright laws work is terrifying on its own, we have to guess that scarring fish is a little more horrifying. No matter how outlandish this plot is(and believe us, it is) you never forget that this Joker is lethal. When he was told that his brand of “laughing fish” couldn’t be copyrighted, Joker threatened and poisoned multiple copyright clerks!

“Batman: The Killing Joke” (2016)
While the “Killing Joke” movie isn’t all that great, Mark Hamill’s Joker is a standout as expected. And considering this wasn’t set within the DCAU, it meant we could see a much more violent Joker with far fewer restrictions. And oh boy did we ever get that here! Joker puts Commissioner Gordon through the wringer. He forces the distraught officer to endure his deranged musical production while images of Gordon’s gravely injured daughter Barbara are shown. From the singing to the backup performers to the visuals, this was an unsettling experience for Gordon and the fans!

“Batman: Arkham Knight” (2015)
Never let the Clown Prince of Crime get in your head. It’s a recipe for disaster! Unfortunately for Batman, this very nightmare became his reality during “Arkham Knight.” Although Joker died in “Arkham City,” players soon learned that he was tormenting Bruce from beyond the grave! He returned inside an infected Bruce’s mind in the form of several hallucinations. And Joker wasn’t exactly a quiet guest. Throughout the game, he’d frequently try to persuade Batman to kill, and also show him memories of him torturing the people closest to him. Some memories are just impossible to escape!

“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
Only Mark Hamill’s Joker could make an answering machine greeting so terrifying! In the season one episode “The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne”, Dr. Hugo Strange discovered that Bruce is really Batman. He calls the Joker, hoping to sell him the information. As the phone rings, the camera pans over various deadly paraphernalia, and the answering machine plays Joker’s voice - followed by the shrieks of some hapless victim. We really don’t want to know what Joker was doing to the man to elicit this kind of response!

“Static Shock” (2000-04)
Joker’s appearance on “Static Shock” sent shockwaves throughout Dakota. He tried to recruit metahumans to form a new deadly gang. To stop him, Static gained backup from Batman and Robin! When we say Joker and his new gang caused a whole bunch of chaos, we mean it! During the fighting, Joker tried to crash a fire truck into Batman but missed wildly. He then tried to electrocute him with his hand buzzer. He just doesn’t quit, does he? But Static grabbed Joker’s hand instead, shrugging off the deadly electricity and shocking the Joker back. It was awesome to find Joker on the receiving end of one of his jokes. But admittedly, those short screams of agony before blacking out were definitely unsettling!

“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
Almost every one of Batman’s villains has tried killing the Caped Crusader. And in “Almost Got ‘Im” some of them get together to play cards and share how they almost defeated him. Joker’s story started with him taking over a talk show and loading the room with laughing gas. The traumatized audience then laughed enough to power an electric chair that Batman was strapped into. Holding an entire studio audience captive and almost charring Batman alive are both horrifying prospects. But thankfully, this was a scary situation that Batman was able to slip out of. We’ll give Joker this, at least his plan was more creative than throwing a giant rock at him! Sorry, Croc.

“The New Batman Adventures” (1997-99)
In the episode “Mad Love,” Harley Quinn learned that love hurts. She did everything in her power to make the night a romantic one for herself and “Mistah J.” And that included enacting a plan to capture Batman and dangle him over a tank of vicious piranhas. It’s a (kind of) sweet gesture but Joker was enraged by it. That was one of his elaborate plans after all! He then forced her out of a window where she crashed-landed into a heap of garbage. Seeing Joker snap like this at Harley was brutal, scary, and uncomfortable to watch. This was the definition of a toxic relationship!

“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
An early Season 1 episode of the show that introduced Mark Hamill’s version of the character to the world, “Joker’s Favor” features the Joker terrorizing ordinary man Charlie, and forcing him to perform a task for him. The villain is in fine form and the story really demonstrates how threatening the Joker is to ordinary people. The episode is also the first-ever appearance of the Joker’s sidekick/love interest, Harley Quinn. The best part happens towards the end of the episode, though, when Charlie turns the tables on the Joker and makes the baddie desperate enough to beg Batman for help.

“Batman: Arkham Asylum” (2009)
Answering the phone isn’t a particularly scary thing, but this is the Joker. At some point in “Arkham Asylum,” a guard named Steve is typically saved by the player. The player can usually pat themselves on the back for a job well done, but Steve’s story’s not quite finished. Later, Joker intercepts a phone call from a woman asking about Steve. And he takes the opportunity to joke that the only thing he can find is Steve’s head! Not exactly what anyone would want to hear about their loved one! We know Joker takes pride in breaking down Batman, but traumatizing regular citizens should be added to the list if it hasn’t already!

“Justice League” (2001-04)
One of the best things about the legendary “Justice League” cartoon was seeing characters who don’t normally interact square off. In “Wild Cards”, Joker’s latest plot isn’t taking on just Batman, it’s the entire Justice League! He uses bombs to keep the League preoccupied, with the Royal Flush Gang as his muscle. On top of that, he uses Ace, the gang’s young metahuman with telepathic powers to deliver millions of people to the brink of insanity. In terms of “evil schemes,” this has to be up there as one of the best. He didn’t just nearly kill Batman, he also hospitalized Green Lantern! This was Mark Hamill’s last Joker appearance in the “Justice League” show, so it made sense to go out with a bang!

“Batman: The Killing Joke” (2016)
Chances are, you’ve probably heard the phrase before. Joker believes that all you need to go insane is one really bad day. And he expresses this opinion to Batman during the “Killing Joke” movie. It’s a stand-on-the-soapbox-style monologue he delivers while Batman makes his way through Joker’s funhouse. It’s elevated by the hurdles Batman has to go through in order to find him. Once he finally does, the verbal jabs turn to physical ones as Joker berates/beats Batman. It’s a little funny admittedly seeing Joker wail Batman with a frying pan, but the scene still has some serious weight attached. Because Joker’s given into his madness, but the one thing he doesn’t understand is why Batman hasn’t. Joker was done playing games here!

“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
April Fool’s is a holiday tailor-made for the Joker, and the animated series sees him have a field day with it, as he transports his signature laughing gas via garbage barge to get all of Gotham giggling. Batman’s pursuit of the clown eventually leads to a junkyard. The Joker’s delighted exultation at his plan to melt Batman down, “just like a grilled cheese sandwich,” is wonderfully kooky, and soon after, just as in our previous entry, the villain pleads with Batman to save him when he almost meets the fate he’d intended for his enemy.

“Batman: Arkham Asylum” (2009)
Following his elaborate scheme to take over Arkham Asylum, the Joker is disappointed when Batman resists the Titan drug that’s been shot into his bloodstream. With no other apparent option, Joker injects himself with the concoction, and becomes a hulking monster while retaining his formidable faculties. The Joker is rarely a hands-on, physical threat to Batman, so seeing a different, if grotesque, side to him is definitely a unique experience. Also, this moment has huge ramifications for the later “Arkham” games’ storylines, and especially the Joker himself.

“Superman: The Animated Series” (1996-2000)
After acquiring a kryptonite statue, the Joker makes Lex Luthor an offer he can’t refuse – he’ll kill Superman for a billion dollars. Although the clown criminal at first appears to have been out-thought - with Superman wearing a lead suit to guard against the kryptonite - the Joker reveals he came prepared, and uses acid to dissolve the suit. With Superman at his mercy, the Joker gets in a few licks and electric shocks, but ends up being thwarted by Batman. Still, it’s a testament to the Joker’s criminal ingenuity that he’s able to do what Luthor and his money couldn’t.

“Justice League” (2001-04)
To combat the Justice League, Lex Luthor assembles the Injustice Gang. Naturally, the Joker is a bit hurt that he wasn’t invited, but soon finagles his way into the group by luring Batman into a trap; defeating him with a simple bag of rocks, of all things. But Luthor denies him the pleasure of killing Batman, so Joker spends much of this two-part episode behaving like a marvelously childish troll, needling his allies and foes alike. His final, Daffy Duck-inspired words to Batman after being defeated yet again even manage to elicit a smile from the Dark Knight, “You’re despicable!”

“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
On Christmas Eve, the Joker escapes Arkham Asylum, and soon hijacks Gotham’s airwaves for his own Christmas special full of holiday horror, with plenty of challenges for Batman and Robin. Some episode highlights include Joker’s hand puppet sidekick and his rendition of the popular school children’s version of “Jingle Bells.” Also, this was the first episode of the show that Mark Hamill recorded as the Joker, and he hit the ground running; perfectly capturing the villain’s manic glee, menace, and hilarious dialogue.

“Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” (1993)
While he’s not the primary antagonist of this animated “Batman” film, the Joker makes quite an impact nevertheless. The Clown Prince of Crime has a number of standout moments throughout the movie, but his best happens near the end. Utterly defeated by Batman, cornered by the eponymous Phantasm, and with his hideout exploding around him, the Joker laughs in the face of how completely doomed he is. Mark Hamill has delivered a wide range of wonderful Joker laughs over the decades, but this is arguably his greatest, both in terms of quality and context.

“Batman: Arkham City” (2011)
Joker’s Titan injection in the first “Arkham” game ends up poisoning him in the sequel, and forces the clown to face the prospect of his imminent demise. While Batman debates giving his nemesis the cure, the Joker attacks him and shatters his only chance at survival. Joker’s death itself is oddly tragic, but the ending credits reveal that Joker left an audio message for Batman, where he sings the song “Only You,” as a twisted way of telling his foe how much he means to him. Hamill’s performance of the song is perfection, as he alternates between laughing and sobbing.

“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
When a nobody appears to kill Batman, the Joker is at first in denial, robbing a jewelry store in the hopes that Batman will show up to stop him. When the Dark Knight doesn’t appear, Joker is actually disappointed. He then goes on to hold a mock funeral for Batman that shows off many aspects of his character; from his murderous side, when he uses it as a pretext to kill the man who “killed” Batman, to his humorous one, by putting a “kick me” sign on Batman’s empty cowl. He even displays a rare bit of emotion by shedding a tear.

“Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker” (2000)
Some of the vilest deeds Hamill’s Joker perpetrates happen when he kidnaps Tim Drake. After spending weeks torturing and conditioning the boy, the Joker finally learns who Batman is, and mocks the Dark Knight with this knowledge when he confronts him. Even worse, he reveals that Tim has essentially been turned into a miniature Joker. In what he thinks is a great joke, the Joker tells Tim to kill Batman with one of his gag spear guns. Struggling with the prospect, Tim instead shoots the Joker, prompting his ironic final words, “That’s not funny!” Fitting and incredibly dark, this is a fantastic end for the Joker and our list.