Across the DC Comics universe, Troy Baker has played a staggering number of characters, including Prince Brion Markov, aka Geo-Force (“Young Justice”); Tim Drake, aka Robin; Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face (“Batman: Arkham City”); Jason Todd, aka Red Hood (“Batman: Arkham Knight”); Superman (“Infinite Crisis”); and the Caped Crusader himself (“Batman: The Telltale Series”). Yet even among this impressive roster, it’s Baker’s performance as the Joker that clearly stands out.

In an effort to cast younger-sounding actors for the “Batman: Arkham Asylum” prequel “Batman: Arkham Origins,” Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill were swapped out for Roger Craig Smith (“Wreck-It Ralph” series, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”) and Baker, respectively. Since then, Baker has turned in several performances as the Clown Prince of Crime for the animated series “Batman Unlimited,” as well as animated features like “Batman: Assault on Arkham” and “Batman: The Long Halloween.”

Upon taking the role, Baker was immediately conscious of the massive purple suit he’d have to fill. As he told Inverse in 2018, Hamill is “his” Joker, the voice he heard in his head when he read the character’s dialogue. When he was presented as Hamill’s successor to an apprehensive audience at the 2013 New York Comic Con, Baker wanted to prove himself worthy of the role to fans worldwide. In a gutsy display of on-the-spot commitment, he recited the character’s classic monologue from Alan Moore’s “The Killing Joke,” a clip that soon went viral.

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