News of her death broke on X (formerly Twitter) from fellow voice actor Neil Kaplan, who said, “It broke my heart to hear… the original voice of Harley Quinn, Arleen Sorkin has passed away. I adored her work as HQ & as Calliope in “Days of Our Lives.””

It broke my heart to hear… the original voice of Harley Quinn, Arlene Sorkin has passed away.

I adored her work as HQ & as Calliope in “Days of Our Lives.” pic.twitter.com/QtypvmvNUX

— Neil Kaplan – Voice Actor (@NeKap) August 26, 2023

Tara Strong, who took over the role of Harley Quinn in most animated versions after Sorkin, also tweeted out, saying, “Without this gorgeous, talented goddess, #HarleyQuinn would have never existed. She was the inspiration & the heart & soul of this iconic character. I was in awe as #Batgirl watching her alongside @MarkHamill & Kevin. Sending love to her family #RipArleenSorkin”

Without this gorgeous, talented goddess, #HarleyQuinn would have never existed. She was the inspiration & the heart & soul of this iconic character. I was in awe as #Batgirl watching her alongside @MarkHamill & Kevin. Sending love to her family #RipArleenSorkin pic.twitter.com/8zQdHsyOyM

— tara strong (@tarastrong) August 26, 2023

Arleen Sorkin voiced Harley Quinn in various pieces of media from 1992 until her last outing as the character in 2012 in the video game DC Universe Online: The Last Laugh. She also served as the inspiration for the creation of the character itself, as she was college friends with Batman: The Animated Series writer and producer Paul Dini.

Over her 20 year career as the Clown Princess of Crime, Sorkin could be heard on shows like The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, Gotham Girls, Static Shock, Justice League, and even the movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, as well as several video games, including Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Sorkin’s first big role was on the soap opera Days of Our Lives as Calliope Jones from 1984-1990, reprising the role several times throughout the years, even as recently as 2010. She also served as the co-host of America’s Funniest People alongside Dave Coulier from 1990-1992

Her passing comes less than a year after the death of the iconic voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, making this even harder to accept. Arleen Sorkin will be greatly missed by us all.

R.I.P. ARLEEN SORKIN

1955 – 2023

The post Arleen Sorkin, the Voice of Harley Quinn, Passed Away At Age 67 appeared first on DC Comics News.

The actor, who has portrayed The Clown Prince of Crime across multiple media since 1992’s Batman The Animated Series, has declared recently that he will never voice the villain again. Further, he has also noted it has much to do with the passing of longtime Batman voice actor and collaborator, Kevin Conroy, last year.

Mark Hamill And Kevin Conroy, BTAS’ True Dynamic Duo

In fact, Kevin’s involvement in any Batman-related project was the tipping point in any pitch thrown at Hamill to step up to the mike again. “They would call and say, ‘They want you to do the Joker,’ and my only question was, ‘Is Kevin Batman?’ If they said yes, I would say, ‘I’m in.’ We were like partners. We were like Laurel and Hardy. Without Kevin there, there doesn’t seem to be a Batman for me.”

Mark’s words mirror a line that he read as The Joker in the BTAS episode “The Man Who Killed Batman.” With the Dark Knight believed to be dead, and his failure to appear at a robbery the clown had staged to draw him out, he told Harley and company to leave the goods behind.  A disheartened Joker finally declared, “Without Batman, crime has no punchline.”

Hamill was, in fact, not the first person to be cast in the iconic series as The Joker. Initially, it had been actor Tim Curry in the role. Mark had voiced the role of Ferris Boyle in the Emmy-winning Mister Freeze episode “Heart of Ice.” Winning Voice Director Andrea Romano over, he re-recorded the lines Curry had performed for the first few Joker episodes, and off they went. Mark went out of his way to make his laughter an indicator of Joker’s moods and based his take on Blue Meany from the animated Beatles project Yellow Submarine. And because he chose to stand and use manic body language as he read his lines, the animators took note of those gestures and incorporated them into their sketches. His take on The Joker was so defining and unique, Hamill has been the gold standard that every other Joker voice actor looks to for inspiration.

Since BTAS and its spinoff film Batman: Mask of The Phantasm, he had reprised the character on Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker, Justice League, Static Shock, Justice League Unlimited, Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, Justice League Action, three of Rocksteady’s four Batman: Arkham games, DC Universe Online, and Batman: The Killing Joke. And yes, in every one of those aforementioned projects, Kevin’s Batman was there to trade quips and blows with Mark’s Joker. It seems poignant since the criminal never wanted to be separated from his nemesis that Mark would step away from the mic because Kevin would not be there to confront him. Regardless, there are no smiles in the animation fan community today, and no Joker Toxin will make any difference either.

RIP Mark Hamill Joker.  Thanks for the laughs.

Official Source – Mark Hamill Explains Why He Won’t Voice The Joker Again (comingsoon.net)

The post Mark Hamill Officially Retires From Voicing The Joker appeared first on DC Comics News.

From his casting in 1992, the actor portrayed Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego across the pop culture spectrum. Beginning with the groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series, Conroy voiced the character in spinoff shows Batman: The New Adventures,  Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, Static Shock, and Justice League Unlimited. He then starred in DC’s DTV animated features such as Batman/Mister Freeze: Sub-Zero, Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker, Batman: Mystery of The Batwoman, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, Justice League: Doom, Batman: Assault on Arkham, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and Batman: The Killing Joke. Batman: Mask of The Phantasm, the animated spinoff of BTAS, is the only one of Conroy’s Batman projects to have a theatrical release, back in 1993.

He also reprised the role for video games, infamously for Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, and Batman: Arkham Knight. His video game resume expanded with Injustice: Gods Among Us and Injustice 2. Kevin’s coup de grâce in his association with the character came in portraying a Bruce Wayne from an alternate dimension in the CW Arrowverse crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths, the first time using his Batman voice in front of the camera rather than behind a microphone. His final stints as The Dark Knight were in the Justice League Action! series and the DTV feature Justice League vs. The Fatal Five.

Former co-stars from Batman: The Animated Series, Diane Pershing, and Loren Lester – Poison Ivy and Robin, respectively – confirmed on Diane’s Instagram, featuring a photo of Conroy and Lester:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Diane Pershing (@diane.pershing)

Very sad news: our beloved voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, died yesterday. He’s been ill for a while but he really put in a lot of time at the cons, to the joy of all of his fans. He will be sorely missed not just by the cast of the series but by his legion of fans all over the world.

Kevin Conroy – The Voice, The Man, The Legend Remembered

Since the announcement of his death, Kevin’s friends and former co-stars have paid tribute on their social media. Voice Actress Tara Strong, who starred as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl with Conroy on multiple projects, only had this to say:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tara Strong (@tarastrong)

I don’t have the words. Not today. My heart is broken. There will never be another like him. Rest legend.

Arrowverse alum John Wesley Shipp, best known as Barry Allen from the 1990 CBS short-lived series The Flash, tweeted the following:

Heartbroken at the passing of my decades-long friend from the early days of our careers – both amazed at finding ourselves closely identified with superheroes – the late great Kevin Conroy. Much love to Kevin’s family and friends. You are honored, Kevin, and missed already.

Above all, the great Mark Hamill, whose infamous portrayal of The Joker battled Conroy’s Batman for thirty years across multiple platforms, offered these words:

Kevin was a brilliant [actor. For] several generations, he has been the definitive Batman. It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the exact right guy for the exact right part, and the world was better for it. His rhythms and subtleties, tones, and delivery – that all also helped inform my performance. He was the ideal partner – it was such a complementary, creative experience. I couldn’t have done it without him. He will always be my Batman.

Hamill also said that he loved him like a brother.

Born on November 30, 1955, Conroy was one of three siblings raised in Westbury, New York. Acting was already in the family, as his aunt was the famous Broadway star, Susan Conroy. Having earned a full scholarship to Julliard at age 17 – studying under Academy Award winner John Houseman – he roomed with future legend Robin Williams. He graduated in 1978 and toured with Houseman’s group, “The Acting Company.” Although making his TV debut in 1980 on Another World, Conroy soon returned to the theater, even holding the title role of Hamlet in the 1984 New York Shakespeare Festival.  Other TV appearances included regular roles on Tour of Duty and Ohara.

However, it was a casting call in 1991 for the role of The Caped Crusader that truly showed his versatility. Unlike any previous voice actor before him, Kevin provided two distinctive voices for the same man; Bruce Wayne had a spoiled, upbeat tone, ideal for a billionaire playboy, while he delivered a dark, gravelly voice for The Dark Knight.

He tackled this dual identity in that radio drama-esque recording studio with an intimate knowledge of the character’s psychology. In the documentary Heart of Batman, Kevin said:

The trick over this long arc has been to not let it get stale. And I learned this early on that Batman is not the disguise. Batman is who he went to, and what he became, because of the tragedy of his childhood. It’s where he found safety. It’s where he is most comfortable, in that cave. The suit of armor he puts on, the role he plays for the world, is Bruce Wayne. That’s the performance. Once I found that about the character, it really made sense to me. It kept the Batman voice from sounding artificial, and it [made Bruce Wayne] such a different persona.

To date, his body of work associated with Batman gives Kevin the distinction of being the longest-running actor to portray the character in general. Although having never suited up himself onscreen, Conroy has outlasted every “bat-actor” from Adam West to Robert Pattinson. He had also taken part in the anthology DC Pride, penning “Finding Batman”, telling the story of his life and how he came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Voice Casting Director, Andrea Romano, the woman who cast Kevin into the role he became so synonymous with, also fondly reflected on her own experience working with him:

Kevin was far more than an actor whom I had the pleasure of casting and directing – he was a dear friend for 30+ years whose kindness and generous spirit knew no boundaries. Kevin’s warm heart, delightfully deep laugh, and pure love of life will be with me forever.

As a man is defined by his actions, one of the best validations of that heart was found after New York’s darkest day. Kevin, during an interview, once recounted an experience volunteering at a meal station following the events of 9/11.

We’re getting hundreds of meals ready, and this one guy in the middle of the night, three nights into this, says; “My day job is I’m an architect, what’s your day job?” So, I said; “Well I do voices mostly”, and he said; “I knew it! You’re the guy that does Batman! You’re that Kevin Conroy!” He goes into this dining hall, and this is the first week after the attack, there was just this somber sadness, and this guy goes; “Guys! guys! you’re not going to believe who’s been cooking your dinners! It’s Batman!” There’s a long silence, and then you can hear “Bullshit!” from the back of the place, and someone else says; “Make him prove [it! So] I’m in the back kitchen, and they suddenly hear me saying; “I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!” There’s a long pause, then you hear from the back of the place; “Holy f@(#! That is Batman!” Suddenly people were laughing, and the architect who had [recognized] me said; “What does it feel like to be Santa Claus?” Cause that’s what just happened here.

BTAS writer and Producer Paul Dini, whose Mister Freeze episode “Heart of Ice” earned the series the first of two Emmy Awards, has nothing but praise for the late actor.:

Kevin brought a light with him, [everywhere, whether] in the recording booth giving it his all, or feeding first responders during 9/11, or making sure every fan who ever waited for him had a moment with their Batman. A hero in every sense of the word. Irreplaceable. Eternal.

Kevin is survived by his husband, Vaughn C. Williams, his brother, Tom, and sister, Trisha.

RIP Batman. Always The Night.

Official Source – Kevin Conroy, the Voice of Batman, Dies at 66 (cbr.com)

The post Kevin Conroy, Voice of Batman – R.I.P. (1955-2022) appeared first on DC Comics News.

Batman Beyond showed fans life in Neo-Gotham City and was a huge hit with fans and critics alike.  The one major thing fans never learned was the fate of Catwoman and now, we know why.

Towards the end of the series, it was revealed that Terry McGinnis was actually the biological son of Bruce Wayne and was conceived as part of a top secret project to insure that Gotham always had a Batman.

At the 20th Anniversary panel of Batman Beyond during SDCC 2019, Batman Beyond co-creator Bruce Timm revealed that Catwoman was originally intended to be the great villain of the series and “mother” to Terry McGinnis.

“Catwoman was going to be our leading villain in the second movie…She was the one who cloned Bruce Wayne to create Terry, but that was going to be our big surprise in our next movie.”

Timm then went on to explain that Terry’s origins were eventually changed and Amanda Waller was revealed as the mastermind behind the Batman cloning process.  This was decided after plans for a second Batman Beyond movie were scrapped, leaving Return of The Joker as the series only stand alone movie and greatest storyline to date.

According to Timm, plans had Catwoman delivering the news to Bruce and Terry herself but being the main villain of the story, would have made Terry decide if he continued to follow in his fathers footsteps as the hero of Neo-Gotham or his “mother” and become one of the greatest villains in the history of the Batman mythos.

While it’s true that Bruce had no hand in raising Terry he was still Terry’s biological father.  Despite not birthing him, it would have through Selina’s actions that Terry was created making Terry her son in spirit.  Terry would have truly been “Bat” by blood and “Cat” in spirit.

Stay glued to DC Comics News for everything DC.

The post Catwoman Was Terry McGinnis’s ‘Mother’ In Batman Beyond appeared first on DC Comics News.

“It was truly an honor to be entrusted to play the character in the original Batman:TAS back in ’92,” Hamill said on Twitter. “I had no idea at the time the impact it would have on my career or how it would be received by Bat-fans worldwide- but it’s the gift that keeps on giving!”

 

It was truly an honor to be entrusted to play the character in the original Batman:TAS back in ’92. I had no idea at the time the impact it would have on my career or how it would be received by Bat-fans worldwide- but it’s the gift that keeps on giving! https://t.co/9SizIQb10T

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) July 14, 2018

There’s good news for fans of the series. Batman: The Animated Series (or BTAS) is coming to the digital streaming service, DC Universe, and in HD for the first time next month.

What are your favorite memories of Hamill’s Joker? Let us know in the comments!

The post Mark Hamill Reflects On Playing The Joker In The Animated Series appeared first on DC Comics News.

Following an aged Harley Quinn, years into retirement from disbanding her savage Harley Gang from the streets of New York City, She contemplates her life in a series of flashbacks depicting what truly happened between her and her longtime lover, The Joker. A new group rises in Gotham claiming to be lead by the Clown Prince of Crime and begin to stalk the now aged acrobat. Harley must decide between asking for help from President Powergirl or flee to the 51st state, Atlantis.

Writer Frank Tieri will helm the series who said “Think of it this way… if HARLEY QUINN #42 was your appetizer, then OLD LADY HARLEY, that’s your main course right there, Your big, fat, prime rib with a fully loaded baked potato, creamed spinach with everything is covered in gravy.”

This won’t be the first time we have seen an aged Harley. In the Batman Beyond film of the early 2000s, Return of The Joker, Harley is seen at the end of the film bailing out her two granddaughters Delia and Deidre Dennis, otherwise known as Dee Dee.

How do you feel about seeing an older Harley come to life? Who else would you like to see join the series? Could we see an aged Batman as well?

The post Old Lady Harley Mini Series Coming To DC appeared first on DC Comics News.