For millions of people across the world, the late, great Kevin Conroy is the definitive Batman. His vocal performance of the Caped Crusader in “Batman: The Animated Series,” the Batman: Arkham video game series, and various other projects over 30 years left little room for others to improve on. When Conroy passed away in November of 2022, it was an excruciating and devastating loss to fans. There was some solace in knowing that he had recorded voice work for projects that would be released posthumously and while it’s not much, we now have a clip of one of those projects that reunites him with his partner-in-crime, The Joker.
After Conroy’s death, it was announced that his final voice role as Batman would be heard in the Rocksteady game, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Set in the same world as the aforementioned Arkham series, we’d get to hear that distinctive Batman voice one more time, from the same team that had worked on the previous titles. Well, seeing as how Suicide Squad bombed hard and fast (and the less you know about the game’s story, the better) it’s a good thing that didn’t turn out to be his last performance. Instead, it was revealed that Conroy had recorded lines for the DC animated film, “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three.” Furthermore, he is joined in the film by Mark Hamill who is once again playing The Joker, probably for the last time as well.
A clip was published online that reveals the two characters having a go at each other in classic “BTAS” fashion.
A couple things worth noting; if you’re curious as to why the clip looks like the animated series from the ’90s, that’s where the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” storyline comes into play. Every so often, DC Comics has had a “crisis” event, that aims to combine and simplify elements of the expansive lore and history of its heroes. The first one happened back in 1985 and was a year-long event. It was titled “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which is what this multi-part animated film series is based on. It’s only fitting then that we might revisit the world of “Batman: The Animated Series” given how massive that universe was in terms of scope and popularity.
This is also the very last time we’ll hear Conroy as Batman alongside Mark Hamill as The Joker. The duo worked together for as long as the animated series started, various Batman video games, and animated films such as “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” and “The Killing Joke.” It’s really hard for there to be one without the other, so for them to have one last moment in the upcoming project is truly something special.
The first two parts of “Crisis on Infinite Earth” were released in January and April of 2024 The third and final part featuring Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill is set to release sometimes later in 2024.
