Kevin Conroy will always be one of the best Batmen to ever proverbially don the cowl, and the thought that with his passing there would be no more chances to hear the voice that defined the Dark Knight for generations of fans was a bittersweet one. But while there was much ire about the idea that Conroy’s final Batman performance might have come in the controversial, maligned Suicide Squad video game Kill the Justice League, it turned out one final huzzah for Conroy’s Batman was waiting–and now it’s here, and damn near perfect.
We’ve known for a while now that Conroy’s final recorded performance as Batman was done for Warner Bros. Animation’s animated trilogy adapting the legendary comic series Crisis on Infinite Earths–pairing him with a returned Mark Hamill as the Joker. But with the release of the third and final Crisis movie on video on demand this week, we now can see that final moment. Crisis, like the 1985 comic series before it, sees the entire DC multiverse threatened as a wave of antimatter, sparked by the release of the cosmic entity known as the Anti-Monitor, begins to tear through reality, destroying countless parallel worlds in its wake. Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three includes a scene where we see that destructive wave come calling in the reality of the ’90s and early-aughts DC animated universe. More specifically art-deco skyline of Gotham City, as it appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, where, even as reality ends, the Joker is still causing chaos for the Batman.
This is a much better way to End Conroy’s performance as Batman. I loved the dialogue here, I miss Kevin so much 💔 pic.twitter.com/2qpd15eVGQ
— BrutalVengeance (@BVengeance267) July 16, 2024
As the two brawl, the Joker takes one last opportunity to ask Batman why, even at the end of all things, he’s spending his time beating up his arch nemesis. With a growl, as Batman grabs Joker by his lapels, Conroy delivers his final performance: “I care, Joker. About Gotham. About Justice. And if it has end… at least I go out like this,” the Dark Knight says as he raises his fist and reality dissolves around him. “Being Batman!”
In such a short moment, it’s a perfect encapsulation of Conroy’s Batman, and of course, Conroy delivers it in likewise perfection. The simmering passion and anger, the triumphant roar as he prepares to deliver that last punch, even without the context that this is the last time we will hear the actor play Batman it’s a wonderful moment. In that context, it is all the more bittersweet. Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three is rightly dedicated to Conroy, because really, if this does sadly have to end, at least he went out like this.
Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three is available to purchase or rent digitally now, and is set to arrive on Max later this year.
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