By Ryan Riley, Contributor
I was perusing MSN.com yesterday and came across the news item that actor Andrew Koenig has been missing since February 16, 2010. Koenig, the son of "Star Trek" and "Babylon 5" actor Walter Koenig, is probably best known for playing Richard "Boner" Stabone on the TV series "Growing Pains".
What many of you might not be aware of is that he once played the Joker in a film short called "Batman: Dead End". The film, released in 2003, started with a situation that is considered business as usual for Batman, tracking and capturing the Joker after he escapes from Arkham Asylum. After a well-crafted and surprisingly well-acted scene between the two characters, something snags the Joker from behind and kills him. The assailant turns out to be an alien (from the Aliens franchise), so of course a Predator can't be far behind. The inclusion of the Alien & the Predator kind of cheapens the film, but Koenig's performance as the Joker, while not as chilling as Heath Ledger's performance in "The Dark Knight", was pretty impressive. Between the make-up job and the sinister smile, Koenig's Joker looks like he jumped straight from the pages of Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke.
So check out "Batman: Dead End", and join me in hoping that we find Andrew Koenig safe and sound.
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