Gamers will be able to dive back into the DC universe with Batman: Arkham games in preparation. Along with being incredibly fun to play, the Batman: Arkham games each tell well-crafted stories and part of that has to do with the dedicated cast behind the characters.
From Batman: Arkham Knight, each of the games features a plethora of one-shot and recurring characters that showcase the talent of the voice actors portraying them. It's because of these voice actors that so many moments in the Arkhamverse became so iconic, making DC fans cheer, laugh, and/or cry.
Duane R. Shepard, Sr. As Aaron Cash
This lesser-known character was introduced in the comics but starting with Arkham Asylum, the Arkhamverse turned Aaron Cash into a recurring character with his own evolution. He began as a top guard at Arkham Asylum, became a leader of the security team in Arkham City, then finally became Jim Gordon's best officer of the GD in Arkham Knight.
Cash is a rather refreshing character since usually Batman and Jim Gordon are the only ones able to get anything done in Gotham City. Rocksteady made Aaron into a dedicated and competent officer willing to take on villains and their goons and is even as much of a help to Batman as Jim Gordon usually is.
Nolan North As The Penguin
Over the years, Nolan North has voiced many iconic characters from Nathan Drake to even Tony Stark. However, since his debut in Batman: Arkham City, Nolan's voice is almost unrecognizable as Oswald Cobblepot AKA The Penguin. With a thick cockney accent, the Penguin is a vile and twisted crime lord who steals the show with his subplot in Arkham City.
Nolan's performance showcases that the character can still be a genuine threat to Batman. Nolan North returned to play Penguin in Arkham Origins, Arkham Knight, and with Penguin confirmed to appear in Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, fans will likely hear Nolan return once again to provide a performance that is as sinister as it is humorous.
Tara Strong As Harley Quinn
With Arkham City, a new voice took on the role of Harley Quinn which Arleen Sorkin made so iconic since Batman: The Animated Series. Fortunately, Tara Strong delivered as Harley Quinn, putting her own unique spin while keeping what Sorkin established for the character.
Harley is funny, quirky, energetic, wild, and even a bit scary when she becomes a villain in certain storylines. Injustice, returning to Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, and various animated shows, movies, and other games.
Jonathan Banks As Jim Gordon
In all four Arkham games, Jim Gordon is portrayed by four different actors and each puts their own stamp on the character. However, with Jim Gordon having his biggest role in Arkham Knight and portrayed by Jonathan Banks, it's a bit one-sided.
Arkham Knight shows Jim Gordon as a veteran commissioner, but he is at his most emotional with Scarecrow conquering his city and targeting his daughter. Jonathan Banks gives a show-stealing performance throughout, especially when he's distraught over Barbara and rages at Batman.
John Noble As Scarecrow
Similar to Jim Gordon, both times Scarecrow has appeared, he has been played by a different actor. Dino Andrade delivers an effectively creepy voice to Scarecrow in Arkham Asylum, but he is overshadowed by John Noble in Arkham Knight as the main antagonist and is one of the scariest villains in Arkham Knight.
Much of Scarecrow's deeper and more imposing voice in Arkham Knight features many similarities to the horror legend Vincent Price. As a result, John Noble is as entertaining as he is menacing as he taunts Batman and the people of Gotham throughout the story which culminates into a stellar climax featuring Scarecrow's demise.
Roger Craig Smith As Year Two Batman
A lot of Roger Craig Smith's performance is a precursor to what Robert Pattinson brings to his own version of an early-years Batman. He's cold, arrogant, and has much more anger in his voice which leads to Batman being arguably scarier in Arkham Origins than he is in the Kevin Conroy eras. He also delivers on quite a few emotional moments, particularly between him and Alfred.
It's unfortunate that one of the best aspects of the prequel is also why many doubted it. Roger Craig Smith is one of many reasons why Batman: Arkham Origins is a genuinely underrated gem in this franchise. Rather than a straight-up imitation of Kevin Conroy, Smith portrays his Batman to have many similar inflections as Conroy but with a younger and more brutal edge to it.
Ashley Greene As Oracle/Batgirl
Though Kimberly Brooks deserves credit for Oracle in both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, Ashley Greene's version in Arkham Knight has more of a part to play in the story and as a result, the performance has even more depth. Arkham Knight showed more of Barbara's relationship with Gordon and the Bat-Family, leading to multiple emotional moments.
There is even an important sequence where Ashley Green's performance as Barbara is bound to leave players in tears. Oracle is also more than just Batman's information relay, she has her own arc and even gets angry at Batman sometimes. On top of that, Ashley Green is the only one to portray the Batgirl side of Barbara in the Arkhamverse, making for one of the series' best DLCs.
Martin Jarvis As Alfred Pennyworth
He may have been absent from Arkham Asylum but starting with Arkham City, Alfred Pennyworth was an integral part of Batman's adventures until the end of Arkham Knight. He was as much an aid for Batman has he was a father figure who guided him during trying times with Martin Jarvis embodying Alfred to arguable perfection.
The game that Martin Jarvis excels the most as Alfred in is actually Arkham Origins where Alfred and Bruce are more estranged and find each other at odds. One of the best scenes is actually when the two finally butt heads and get into an argument; the genius of the scene is that neither of them is wrong in the situation and Martin Jarvis brought his A-game, delivering his dialogue with raw emotion that felt natural and real.
Kevin Conroy As Batman
By the time Arkham Asylum had come out,Justice League: Unlimited. However, the Batman: Arkham games are where Kevin Conroy shines the brightest as Batman because it is essentially an even more mature version of his DCAU performance.
With darker and more epic stories across the three Arkham games, Kevin Conroy was able to excel as Batman with everything being told from his perspective alone. From his interactions with other characters to his internal monologue that furthers the story as well as guide the player, Kevin Conroy never falters and continued to get better and better. His performance in Arkham Knight is filled with so much ion for the character that he ends up overshadowing live-action Batman actors.
Mark Hamill As The Joker
For a lot of fans, Mark Hamill is arguably the definitive Joker to match Kevin Conroy's Batman and much like Conroy, Mark Hamill was able to evolve his Joker performance thanks to the more mature stories of the Arkham games. The Joker actually has more dialogue than Batman does in Arkham Asylum, giving a delightfully evil performance filled with so much charisma and charm that it's hard to hate the Joker despite his actions.
Mark Hamill went on to win awards for his performance in Arkham City and shocked everyone with his return as the Phantom Joker in Batman: Arkham Knight. Hamill was able to tackle Joker with so many ideas and directions that he became as much of a star of the Batman: Arkham games as the titular superhero.
