The late Kevin Conroy has had many great moments as the voice of the Dark Knight, with plenty of them taking place during Rocksteady’s excellent Batman: Arkham series. Last week, DC comic book and gaming fans were rocked by the sudden news that Kevin Conroy had ed away from intestinal cancer at 66. The shocking announcement resulted in a wave of from fans and DC Animated Universe cast mates alike. Batman: Arkham players even said goodbye to the talented actor through impressive video tributes.
Kevin Conroy was a lesser-known television and stage actor until he was cast in the dual role of Bruce Wayne and Batman in 1992’s seminal Batman: The Animated Series and its many spin-offs. Conroy’s deep, gravelly tone would become the definitive voice of the Caped Crusader for fans who grew up with the show. Although there have been plenty of other Batman video game voice actors, Kevin Conroy would remain one of the most popular, and he would reprise his role in several DC animated projects over the years. He even appeared as a live-action Bruce Wayne during the Arrowverse’s Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover in 2019, and he would lend his voice to multiple Batman video games. These would include several titles based on the DC Animated Universe and NetherRealm’s Injustice series. His final role as Batman was in this year’s MultiVersus, and his involvement in the Warner Bros. crossover brawler led many to suspect that MultiVersus is canon to the DC Animated Universe that Kevin Conroy is most famous for.
Kevin Conroy Was The Perfect Choice For Batman: Arkham
Of course, no discussion of Kevin Conroy’s portrayal of Batman would be complete without mentioning Rocksteady’s critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham series. Fans rejoiced when it was announced that Conroy would voice the Dark Knight once more alongside several of his fellow BTAS voice actors returning in Batman: Arkham, starting with 2009’s surprise hit Arkham Asylum. The Arkham series put players in the role of a grizzled Batman at the peak of his crime-fighting career, and the storylines for all three games deeply explored the emotional and physical toll of Bruce Wayne’s fabled double life. This in turn gave Kevin Conroy several opportunities to demonstrate his remarkable talent as the voice of Batman by giving the hero a wide range of emotions. The Batman: Arkham series is highly regarded for a great many reasons, and one of them is Kevin Conroy’s performance during some of the trilogy’s most iconic moments.
Batman Bringing The Joker Into Arkham Asylum
Kevin Conroy’s vocal performance in Batman: Arkham Asylum shines from the game’s very first cutscene. The Dark Knight brings the Joker (who stand as one of Mark Hamill's greatest video game roles) to the titular Arkham Asylum after their latest battle. Despite the Clown Prince of Crime being restrained in a stretcher, Batman remains weary that his most infamous foe may be up to something - a belief that is verified when the Joker breaks out of his confinement and takes control of the Asylum for his newest evil plot. Before that, players are greeted with the novelty of hearing Kevin Conroy’s iconic Batman voice once more in a triple-A video game. His uneasy tone serves as an omen for the horror that would come throughout Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Encountering Bane In Arkham Asylum
Batman encounters several of his most dangerous enemies within Batman: Arkham Asylum. One of them is the ever-powerful South American warlord Bane, though it can be argued that Batman: Arkham Origins handeled the villain better. When players first come face-to-face with the Man Who Broke The Bat, he is in an uncharacteristically vulnerable position. A scientist named Dr. Penelope Young has drained the strength-granting Venom from Bane’s body as part of her experiments, leaving him a withered husk strapped helplessly to the ceiling of Young’s office.
As Batman asks Bane who did this to him, Kevin Conroy’s voice conveys a mix of shock, astonishment, and sympathy for his nemesis - which quickly turns to alarm after the Joker reinjects Bane with his Venom for a brutal boss battle. In this brief-but-memorable moment, Conroy reminds players that Batman does care for his enemies - even as he acknowledges how dangerous they are.
Scarecrow’s Nightmare In Arkham Asylum
Some of Arkham Asylum’s best villain moments involve the Scarecrow, as the fiend’s dreaded fear toxin leads to some truly mind-altering sequences that force the Caped Crusader to confront his worst fears and darkest memories. Dr. Jonathan Crane saves his best work for last, as Scarecrow’s final section sees the entire game crash in a nightmarish vision that seems to target the player behind the controller as much as Batman himself. The resulting reboot seemingly starts Arkham Asylum’s campaign over from the beginning - albeit with the Joker wheeling Batman into the Asylum as Scarecrow describes how the hero went insane following the death of his parents.
This twisted scene is highlighted by Batman struggling to break from his confinements and screaming for help - a rare occurrence for Kevin Conroy’s typically reserved Caped Crusader. Hearing Conroy’s Batman panicking and begging for help makes Scarecrow’s final Arkham Asylum nightmare all the more chilling - especially as it’s the only time throughout the series' first installment that the villain’s mind games seem to get to him.
Hush Emerging In Arkham City
While Kevin Conroy spends most of the Arkham trilogy as Batman, he also lends his voice to another iconic DC character in Batman: Arkham City. Thomas Elliot, aka the villain Hush, is obsessed with his childhood rival Bruce Wayne - to the point where his designated side quest in Arkham City has him murdering various inmates in the titular prison city and using their flesh to recreate Bruce’s face.
By the time Batman finally catches up with Hush at the end of Arkham City's Identity Thief questline, he has completed his Bruce Wayne mask - and his face isn’t the only thing he is imitating. During his chilling confrontation with the Dark Knight, Elliot is played by Kevin Conroy in a similar voice to Batman - albeit in a much more sinister tone. This plotline would carry over into Arkham Knight, but hearing Hush vow to take revenge on Bruce in the voice that many players associate with the hero himself is a powerful example of Conroy’s talent and range.
The Joker’s Death In Arkham City
The Joker spends the entire duration of Batman: Arkham City dying from his overdose on Titan in the previous game, and blackmails various characters into trying to cure him. This culminated in the game’s conclusion, which is foreshadowed at the very beginning of Arkham City. After curing himself of the Joker’s infection, he debates with the clown on whether he should give him what remains of the antidote.
Kevin Conroy puts in another skillful performance as he describes how the Joker always breaks out to kill more people after Batman stops his latest scheme - only to be interrupted when the Joker stabs him in the shoulder and forces him to drop the cure. As the clown struggles in vain to swallow enough of the spilled medicine to ensure his survival, Batman tells him the funny part: despite everything the Joker has done, including poising Gotham and killing Talia al Ghul, Batman would have saved him. In the end, Batman’s moral code wouldn’t allow him to let his most dangerous foe die, and the way Kevin Conroy reveals this to the dying Joker carries an appropriate level of grim resignation.
Revealing The Arkham Knight’s True Identity
Many fans wished for a better villain twist in Batman: Arkham Knight, but the reveal of the titular antagonist is still a powerful moment in and of itself. In an effort to lure Batman into a trap, the vengeful Arkham Knight takes Commissioner Gordon hostage at his militia’s HQ. When the Caped Crusader inevitably arrives to rescue him, the Knight confronts Batman and reveals himself to be Jason Todd, the second Robin who was seemingly killed by the Joker before the events of the series.
Both Kevin Conroy and Troy Baker (voice of Jason/The Arkham Knight) give strong performances during this scene, but Conroy’s shock and disbelief at discovering that Jason was alive all throughout the complete Batman: Arkham timeline add much weight to the moment. Conroy briefly shows a flash of anger when Jason accuses Batman of abandoning him, but his tone is underlined with a deep sorrow over what Jason has become. After a stealth-based boss battle against the Arkham Knight, Batman tries to get through to Jason but in the end, he can do little else but call Alfred with a heavy heart and tell him that the boy is alive. All the while the player can feel the pain and love Bruce feels for his surrogate son through Kevin Conroy’s performance.
Overcoming The Joker In Arkham Knight
The Joker might not be the best villain in the Batman: Arkham series, but he remained a thorn in the Dark Knight's side throughout all three games. This comes to a head near the end of Arkham Knight, in which the Joker takes control of Batman’s body as a result of his infection in the previous game and the Scarecrow's fear toxin. Players are then granted control of the Joker-controlled Batman as he goes on a violent rampage within the hero’s mind. The tables soon turn after the Joker starts to feel the effects of the fear toxin, which causes the scene to shift from Batman’s worst fears to his own.
As this happens, Kevin Conroy’s Batman tells the Joker that he is afraid of being forgotten, and that he will be forgotten thanks to the Caped Crusader. Batman then emerges from a prison cell and delivers an iconic line from Conroy’s time as Bruce Wayne on Batman: The Animated Series: “I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!" Batman then delivers one final beating to the Joker before tossing him into the cell and locking him away in his mind forever. The fact that Mark Hamill is the one voicing the Joker in this scene makes it feel like a perfect bookend to the epic rivalry that started on BTAS so many years ago, with Conroy’s Batman delivering a chilling goodbye to the defeated Clown Prince of Crime.