Batman: The Killing Joke

[TurtleTitan97]

At long last, one of the greatest Batman/Joker stories ever written will be getting an animated adaption:

Following the release of Justice League: Gods and Monsters, the next DC Entertainment animated feature will be Batman: The Killing Joke.

Due out in 2016, the story will be an adaptation of the controversial and acclaimed original graphic novel by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. In the comics, The Joker escapes Arkham, shoots and paralyzes Barbara Gordon in order to terrorize her father, Gotham City Police Commissioner Jim Gordon.

There's no word yet on casting -- the film itself was just announced by Bruce Timm at the Comic Con International: San Diego panel for Justice League: Gods and Monsters -- but veteran Joker actor Mark Hamill has said in the past that he would un-retire the character for an adaptation of The Killing Joke...

http://comicbook.com/2015/07/11/batm...nimated-movie/

Hopefully Hamill gets casted as the Joker.

[pennydreadful]

Really looking forward to seeing this but man, I'm wondering how far they're going to go with the Joker's torture of Barbara. Like, how much they're going to show vs how much they're going to imply, know what I mean?

Definitely hope Mark Hamill does the VA work.

[Slade]

Sweet, I'm all for this.

I don't think Hamill will ever fully retire the Joker voice. I mean he just did it for Arkham Knight and all.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by pennydreadful

Really looking forward to seeing this but man, I'm wondering how far they're going to go with the Joker's torture of Barbara. Like, how much they're going to show vs how much they're going to imply, know what I mean?

If its anything like Jason Todd in Under the Red Hood...not much. Joker beat Todd with a crowbar yet in the cartoon he looked hardly scratched with barely any blood or bruises. I was expecting it to be much more violent like the comics but they showed the beating mostly in shadows and barely any blood.

Most likely Barbara will just be shot.

[TheCanadiandrome]

Sweet can't wait for this

[PangolinFeets]

Ugh, this might be too dark for my tastes as an animated feature. Its not really an action-packed story. Its mostly the Joker being Satan in that ridiculous shirt.

[ZariusTwo]

Yes, because we're all begging to see an animated nekked Jim Gordon

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by PangolinFeets

Ugh, this might be too dark for my tastes as an animated feature. Its not really an action-packed story. Its mostly the Joker being Satan in that ridiculous shirt.

I am with PF, I am not a fan of this graphic novel and it started Joker down a path that makes him psycho analyzed to death. I miss the fun yet deadly stories with Joker. That being said I would prefer The Laughing Fish or Happy, Birthday, Dreadful Joker adapted.

Spoiler:

Detective Comics#475-#476.

Spoiler:

Switch out Alfred for Batgirl and it would be perfect. Both are stories that showcase Joker as top of the line crazy and deadly yet provides a fun story.


Or if you want a more modern story I have wanted "Hush" adapted for a good while now.

Spoiler:

[JakeSully]

Who wants Peter Chung of Original TMNT show/Aeon Flux/COPS (80s toon) fame to do the movie?

[NinjaPug]

Looks like Hamill voicing the Joker is official. Great news.

http://collider.com/batman-the-killi..._medium=social

[Cure]

I get annoyed whenever the same people do the same voice over and over. I prefer hearing new voices.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Cure

I get annoyed whenever the same people do the same voice over and over. I prefer hearing new voices.

My thing is, he's fine at That Version of Joker, but that's not Joker in my head. It's by definition a watered-down cartoon version. The "real" Joker is a much darker character and nothing in Hammill's delivery matches up to that, not even in the games. It's too light and "goofy" and hung up on the jokes. The Joker Is Not A Clown.

He's great at the version he does, and he's better than almost everyone who ever played him in general, but I don't think it's a sadistic or menacing enough voice for the darker, more comics-oriented version of the character.

Y'know, the guy who skins people alive just to watch 'em die. That's The Joker, but it's NOT Mark Hammill's Joker. So yeah, I like him but I'm fine when other people get a crack at it. I don't think he's quite the right fit for this project, and once again people's nostalgia has just forced DC's hand.

I mean, it's fine. There's been worse. The guy in Red Hood, as I recall, was awful. Off the top of my head, I can't think of who I'd pick for Killing Joke, but I wouldn't have picked Mark. Not for this one.

[Slade]

Originally Posted by Leo656

My thing is, he's fine at That Version of Joker, but that's not Joker in my head. It's by definition a watered-down cartoon version. The "real" Joker is a much darker character and nothing in Hammill's delivery matches up to that, not even in the games. It's too light and "goofy" and hung up on the jokes. The Joker Is Not A Clown.

He's great at the version he does, and he's better than almost everyone who ever played him in general, but I don't think it's a sadistic or menacing enough voice for the darker, more comics-oriented version of the character.

Y'know, the guy who skins people alive just to watch 'em die. That's The Joker, but it's NOT Mark Hammill's Joker. So yeah, I like him but I'm fine when other people get a crack at it. I don't think he's quite the right fit for this project, and once again people's nostalgia has just forced DC's hand.

I mean, it's fine. There's been worse. The guy in Red Hood, as I recall, was awful. Off the top of my head, I can't think of who I'd pick for Killing Joke, but I wouldn't have picked Mark. Not for this one.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you here. Hammill's Joker voice can be extremely sadistic and menacing, there's glimpses of it all through the games. It's not the high pitch he usually has, but there's a deeper tone that really sells it.

I guess nostalgia plays a part for most though.

Also, man, Joker is a clown while being insane at the same time.
This is a guy who could walk up to you on the street and pay you because he likes your shoes. The very next day shoot you in the head because again, he likes your shoes.
The guy's all over the place. And that's why I love him!!!!

[Aaronardo]

Originally Posted by Leo656

My thing is, he's fine at That Version of Joker, but that's not Joker in my head. It's by definition a watered-down cartoon version. The "real" Joker is a much darker character and nothing in Hammill's delivery matches up to that, not even in the games. It's too light and "goofy" and hung up on the jokes. The Joker Is Not A Clown.

He's great at the version he does, and he's better than almost everyone who ever played him in general, but I don't think it's a sadistic or menacing enough voice for the darker, more comics-oriented version of the character.

Y'know, the guy who skins people alive just to watch 'em die. That's The Joker, but it's NOT Mark Hammill's Joker. So yeah, I like him but I'm fine when other people get a crack at it. I don't think he's quite the right fit for this project, and once again people's nostalgia has just forced DC's hand.

I mean, it's fine. There's been worse. The guy in Red Hood, as I recall, was awful. Off the top of my head, I can't think of who I'd pick for Killing Joke, but I wouldn't have picked Mark. Not for this one.

Somebody hasn't seen Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
And honestly, I think Conroy and Hamill should be there to play Batman and Joker respectively, and I never even heard of The Animated Series (or, hell, the DCAU for that matter) until way after the final episode of JLA. I just think that they are without a doubt the greatest voices of those two characters, without any nostalgia factor. Plus, when you get Hamill, you kind of need Conroy. The two go together so well, it'd seem a little off for Hamill's Joker to be talking to any Batman other than Conroy's.
Oh, and sorry, I'm late to the party as per usual.

[Cure]

I just wanna see and hear different takes on familiar characters. But like you said, never gonna happen with people being nostalgia junkies.

[CyberCubed]

The funny thing is Mark Hamil said he was retiring from playing the Joker back when Arkham City came out in 2011...yet he's come back again. It obviously isn't for the money because this is friggin Luke Skywalker and the man is loaded, but I guess he just loves playing the character.

[Krutch]

I remember hearing him on Smodcast(or was it Fatman on Batman?) when Mark said the only thing that he could see ever returning for was if they did a Killing Joke movie. So, this makes sense.

[MikeandRaph87]

I may not like The Killing Joke, but I do really enjoy Alan Moore's Clayface III follow up to the original storyline. Its the second of two stories in Batman Annual#11 printed in 1987. Check it out if you are either a Batman or Alan Moore fan and it would help to have read Wein's original story in Detective Comics#478/479.

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batman_Annual_Vol_1_11

[Leo656]

Moore flat-out said that last panel was just fans projecting. I hate it, I wish they drew it completely differently so people wouldn't get so confused.

Lots of critics have made a very intelligent point: Moore's script spends about 28 pages just describing the ripples that the raindrops make in the puddles on the ground. If there was ANY intention for Batman to kill the Joker, it would have been mentioned in the script. There would be nothing vague about it; simply an instruction for the artist to draw it in such a way that it looked vague. "Batman leans over and breaks Joker's neck; keep it somewhat ambiguous, and enshrouded in shadows," it would say. It doesn't. It's not in there. He doesn't kill him. It's just a poorly-drawn panel.

Not to be a spoilsport, but some things aren't a mystery and have actually been explained more than once. This is one of those things.

[ZariusTwo]

(0:00 to 1: 58 in the video)

Fun Fact: Alan Moore considers KJ one of the worst things he's ever written