Batman: Arkham Knight, Let's Play #3 - The Joker

Batman: Arkham Knight, Let's Play Archive!

UPDATE: While the video has been updated, none of the commentary below (from 2016) has! Please consider this a re-post!

Here's the latest episode of my Batman: Arkham Knight Let's Play, which is titled "The Joker," even though Batman's arch nemesis died at the end of Arkham City, and the first episode started with a flashback to Joker's cremation...

The first two acts of this episode proceed pretty much exactly as the according to the actual game (except of course for some internal trims for time/story streamlining), so there aren't a lot of personal flourishes to explain. Nor are there any major new characters introduced in the first two thirds, so I can't even give my casting suggestions. But I will say a few words about the most creative use of the Batmobile's power winch so far, in my opinion, even cooler than using it to drag the car up the side of a building. Problem: there's an elevator car stuck deep below ground level without any power running to it. Solution: blow up the wall hiding the elevator's counterweight, attach the winch to it, put the Batmobile in reverse, and pull the elevator up to ground level. Then once you're inside the elevator with the winch still attach, just gently ease the car forward and BAM: instant elevator.

I also want to talk a little about the music from Arkham Asylum that I plugged in following the helicopter boss fight. This track, or variations thereof, plays in such triumphant moments as after you defeat Scarecrow and Bane in the medical building, and also in such combat situations as when you fight your way into the visitor center prior to the final showdown with Joker. It's far and away my favorite piece of music from that game (written by Nick Arundel and Ron Fish), and yet it did not make its way onto the game's official soundtrack. I just want to take this opportunity to give another shout out to all the technically savvy gamers out there who took the time to isolate the unreleased music from these games and put it on the internet for our enjoyment. This project would have been a lot less interesting without you!

Image hat tip to Reddit user Circuitfire

Speaking of interesting, this episode really starts to get interesting in act 3, after we find out that Oracle has been kidnapped, and the impending explosion of ACE Chemicals has exposed Batman to Scarecrow's dreaded fear toxin. In this case, our hero's hallucinations take the form of his late arch-nemesis the Joker! The Clown Prince of Crime doesn't have much dialogue until after the following flashback, but I want to take this opportunity to talk about who I'd like to see play the Joker in a filmed version of Arkham Knight. First of all, let me say that Mark Hamill has done such an incredible job of doing the voice of the Joker for almost two and a half decades, so I feel like he should have right of first refusal of the role. I feel bad for not saying the same about Kevin Conroy, whose revolutionary work as Batman/Bruce Wayne over the same time period has been every bit as impressive, but he's mostly focused on voice work throughout his career, and I don't think I could sell a major studio on his inclusion in a starring role.

As an honorable mention for the Joker, I would also like to throw this name out there: Rob Lowe. He's another actor who's known for playing mostly likable characters, but I think he's reached a point in his career where he shouldn't be afraid of branching out and trying new things. Plus, he's proved that he can exhibit both the requisite manic energy (Parks and Recreation) and cunning strategic mind (The West Wing) to make a truly chilling Joker. But now, back to the game: In the flashback setting up that (SPOILER ALERT!!!) Batman has been infected with Joker's poisonous and mind-altering blood, we also meet four new Joker infected patients, all of whom play significant roles later on down the line, which means all of them need suggestions for who could play them. Here's my two cents in visual form:

Christina Bell = Katherine Heigl

Christina Bell is a high powered executive for the fictional Queen Industries, who develops an infatuation for Batman when the Joker infection takes hold. Katherine Heigl matches her put-together executive style with the ability to go completely insane (if reports about her behind-the-scenes behavior can be believed...)

Johnny Charisma = Adam Levine

Johnny Charisma (aka Jonathan Browne) is a popular performer with a hugely inflated ego who is writing a special song just for Batman. All Adam Levine needs to complete the look is some green hair...

Albert King = Shaquille O'Neal

Former prize fighter Albert King went on a murderous rampage after being infected with Joker's blood. Shaq is definitely right for the part physically, he's done movies before, and he even has a boxing background (remember when he fought Oscar de la Hoya?) - and that's not even taking into account Shaq Fu...

Henry Adams = Bill Nighy

Mild-mannered Henry Adams is the principal of Gotham's prestigious McCallum Academy. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if I've ever heard Bill Nighy do an American accent, but that's not to say he's probably not fully capable. But come to think of it, why does this character even need to be American in the first place?

So there you have it: my All-Star casting suggestions for these four characters unique to the Arkham universe. We'll see a lot more from them later, but I wanted to get these ideas onto the Internet as soon as possible, just in case someone at Warner Bros. was planning on taking this into development...