11 Most Intense Performances In Comic Book Movies

3. Mark Hamill - The Joker (Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm)

Joker Mask of the Phantasm
Warner Bros.

Mark Hamill's Clown Prince of Crime is the best onscreen version of the Joker, and he's at his best in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

Released in cinemas in Christmas 1992, Batman: The Animated Series' first and only theatrical release didn't manage to draw in a big audience, but it was fantastic, and holds up today as the best Bat-film ever released.

For anyone familiar with BTAS that statement won't come as a surprise, and while there are plenty of impressive performances to note in the feature, including Kevin Conroy's Bruce Wayne and Dana Delany's Andrea Beaumont, Mark Hamill's Joker still takes the cake. He's just at his maniacal best, with the actor turning in one of his best laughs ever (which yes, is a big statement), in a story that divulges a whole lot about the character's once guarded origin.

There's also his performance in Return of the Joker, which is just as frightening in parts, but Phantasm edges that one out by showing the character at the pinnacle of his career.

In any case, there's no denying that Hamill's turn as the Clown Prince will go down as one of the all time great comic book performances, equal to his live action counterparts.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.