Mark Hamill Honed His Famous Joker Laugh Playing Another DC Villain In 1990's The Flash
It's one of the most iconic vocal performances in the history of animation: Mark Hamill's rendition of Gotham City's Clown Prince of Crime, The Joker. For viewers of "Batman: The Animated Series" and other projects where Hamill has stepped in to voice the Man Who Laughs, it can be difficult to read "Batman" comics without hearing his distinctive voice for all of Joker's dialogue. So it might come as a surprise to know that Hamill's Joker voice didn't actually originate with Joker, but that he developed it to play another much less famous DC Comics supervillain — and in a live-action series.
The character is The Trickster, who has a similar modus operandi to The Joker in his encounters with The Flash. Hamill played Trickster in two episodes of the short-lived "The Flash" TV series in 1990, a couple of years before he was cast as The Joker on "Batman: The Animated Series," and as you can see in this compilation on YouTube, his voice and criminally-insane cackle for The Trickster is similar — if not identical — to those of Hamill's Joker. And true Hamill fans, as well as devotees of maniacal laughter, know that he's used the voice to great effect for other supervillains as well.
Hamill used variations of his Trickster laugh while playing other supervillains
After Mark Hamill used a variation of his Trickster laugh in his portrayal of The Joker and rose to voice-acting royalty status in the process, he jumped over to the rival Marvel Universe to voice the Hobgoblin, one of Spider-Man's more infamous nemeses. Listen closely to Hamill's laugh for the character on YouTube and you can hear some subtle differences in tone and inflection between Hamill's Joker and his Hobgoblin, a testament to his commitment as an actor.
Hamill played one more supervillain on screen using what might pedantically be called his Trickster voice, or at least a parody of one, in "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back." He strikes fear into the, uh, hearts of the titular duo as the "C**k Knocker," a villain who sounds suspiciously similar to Hamill's Joker, Trickster, and Hobgoblin, but with a villainous flair all his own.
Take a moment to appreciate the many subtle gradations between all these characters and their insane laughter. And remember when you see praise for Hamill's legendary portrayal of The Joker that it was The Trickster who got there first!