Top 10 Funniest Mark Hamill Joker Moments
They don’t call him the Clown Prince of Crime for nothing. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 funniest Mark Hamill Joker moments.
For this list, we’re looking at darkly funny moments from any iteration of the Joker voiced by Mark Hamill, but only from official Batman media – so no “Robot Chicken.” Consider this your spoiler alert!
#10: Trigger Happy
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
When Joker kicks Harley out of the gang, she forms a crime duo with Poison Ivy instead. As both Joker and Batman track them down, everything comes to a head at Ivy’s toxic waste dump. Joker pulls out a tommy gun and starts blindly shooting across the dump, despite Batman’s warning that the place is full of volatile chemicals. It ends just the way you’d expect, with Joker causing an explosive chain reaction and showing no remorse for his actions. In fact, the unflappable comedian passes it off as lovable clumsiness rather than the act of insanity it is.
#9: Start Panicking
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
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When Batman’s enemies kidnap him to stage a mock trial, Gotham DA Janet van Dorn comes to the rescue. She uses a Batarang to kill the lights and Batman escapes, gaining the upper-hand. The villains stick together, with Two-Face telling everybody not to panic. But when they discover that Batman has tied up Harley, Joker - always looking for a punchline - proposes a new approach . . . It’s his completely deadpan reaction to the looming threat of the Bat that makes the moment stand out, as well as the visible annoyance of all the other rogues.
#8: Christmas with the Joker
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
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Holiday-themed specials don’t always hit their target . . . but this one was a hoot! After breaking out of Arkham on Christmas Eve, the Joker launches his own deadly game show, with Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and Summer Gleeson as unwilling participants. It’s a non-stop barrage of the Joker’s zany comedy; he throws everything he can think of at Batman and Robin, from robotic nutcracker dolls to booby-trapped presents. The Clown Prince of Crime even gets the opportunity to break out the old classic, “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells” - never missing a trick. Honestly, if it weren’t for his mass murdering tendencies, he’d probably be a fun guy to have around for the holidays.
#7: Joker Goes to the Casino
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
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When real estate tycoon Cameron Kaiser opens a Joker-themed casino, Joker is so incensed he busts out of Arkham just to blow it up. Once there however he can’t help but take a little pleasure in the homage. Mistaken as a costumed croupier, he’s told to go back to work. It’s surreal to see a situation in which the Joker actually blends into his surroundings, rather than sticking out like a sore thumb . . . Of course, he rigs the game, and takes all the chips for himself. But what else do you expect from the REAL Joker?!
#6: Radar Jamming Ad
“The New Batman Adventures” (1997-99)
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Joker’s schemes (at least in the Timmverse) most often involve two things: cash and the opportunity to cause chaos. This particular plot sees him attempting to make a quick buck using a radar jammer that can crash planes. Naturally, he puts his own unique twist on it, sending his ransom note out as a TV broadcast in the style of an annoying infomercial. He offers the people of Gotham the chance to NOT die in a plane crash for the low, low price of $40 million. The ad is complete with a poorly-made diorama of the city and some enthusiastic goons.
#5: Pleading for Batman’s Help
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
After everyman Charlie is roped into one of the Joker’s plots to kill Commissioner Gordon, he finally gets sick of Joker’s threats and cracks. Using one of the villain’s very own trademark Joker bombs, Charlie threatens to blow them both up. The Joker, of all people, tells him he’s crazy. It was already darkly funny that the Joker might be taken down with one of his own bombs, but then he ups the laughs by begging Batman for help. When the Bat steps out of the shadows, Joker runs to his side with glee. Even better, Charlie reveals that the bomb is a fake, making the clown the butt of the joke for once.
#4: “A Thinking, Feeling Human Being”
“The New Batman Adventures” (1997-99)
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When the Joker inherits a large fortune, he quickly hires a team of expensive lawyers and psychiatrists to get his criminal record wiped clean. He bribes them into declaring him completely cured. They test him is by showing him a series of inkblots that resemble the Bat and Robin symbols, while the Joker pretends that he doesn’t recognize them. Of course, WE know he’s full of it, and so does the public, but that doesn’t stop his little charade from being pretty funny, even if only because of just how absurd it is.
#3: Joker’s Story
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
In one of the “Animated Series’” most memorable episodes, our favorite supervillains gather together to share their stories about how they almost got Batman. And Joker’s is a doozy. His sadistic tale, told in black and white with snazzy music, sees him trap Batman in an electric chair powered by a laugh-o-meter. The captive audience isn’t amused, until the Joker pumps the studio full of laughing gas. Still pretending to be a TV presenter on a late-night talk show, he has Harley go up on stage and read out a phone book, sending the audience into fits of laughter. He even tries to roast a sausage in the electrical currents. It’s dark, but funny in Joker’s twisted sort of way.
#2: Two Guys Walking Across a Beam
“Batman: The Killing Joke” (2016)
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For all its dark turns, there are a few humanizing moments for both the Dark Knight and his greatest foe in “The Killing Joke.” After Joker’s gun turns out to be a fake, he gives up. Rather than beat him up, Batman offers to rehabilitate him, but Joker refuses and instead begins to tell a joke. Two guys escape from an insane asylum and find themselves on the rooftops, but one is too scared to jump the gap . . . The final punchline actually gets a laugh from Batman, which is a pretty remarkable feat, and continues to laugh as Joker falls silent in the film’s subversive final shot.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few Honorable Mentions:
Arkham Announcements
“Batman: Arkham Asylum” (2009)
“I Told You Not to Speak”
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
“I’ll Buy You a Goldfish”
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
The IRS
“The New Batman Adventures” (1997-99)
The Last Laugh
“Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” (1993)
#1: Mock Funeral
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)
When a bona fide nobody called Sidney Debris accidentally puts the Dark Knight out of commission, the Joker simply can’t stand it. Infuriated that he didn’t get to defeat Batman himself, Joker stages a mock funeral, and puts Sidney in the coffin as it heads towards a vat of acid. As Sidney begs for his life, Joker and co. stand solemnly by and Harley gives a unique rendition of “Amazing Grace” on the kazoo. The moment is made even better by the Joker shrugging his shoulders at the end, now indifferent, and turning to much more important matters . . . . [“Does anyone want Chinese?”]
