Poll: Who's the best Batman?

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SomeBritishDude

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Nov 1, 2007
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There's been a couple of threads on this site about who's been the best guy to portray the joker, which is usually a a close call fight between Mark Hamill and Heath Ledger with Jack Nicholson taking up the rear. But I can't remember ever seeing one about the best man to portray the caped crusader.

So, who do you think is the best Batman, and why? I got half these names from WikiAnswers so here's the quote if anyone doesn't know which one is which.

WikiAnswers said:
the first actor to portray "Batman" was Lewis Wilson in 1943. The comic hero had been around for just four years.

The second to play the masked hero was Robert Lowery in 1949 in The New Adventures of Batman & Robin.

Then came actor Adam West, who starred in the 1966 installment of Batman along with the tongue-in-cheek series that followed.

Michael Keaton played Batman twice, in the action films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). Val Kilmer played the caped crusader in Batman Forever (1995) and George Clooney portrayed him in Batman & Robin (1997).


Most recently, Christian Bale took on the role, in Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008).


Kevin Conroy was the voice of Batman in the animated series and Rino Ramano gave him his voice in The Batman.
I swapped Lewis Wilson for Bruce Greenwood, who recently played Batman in the animated movie Under the Red Hood, and I also didn't include Rino. I only have so many option slots.
 

tomtom94

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May 11, 2009
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Adam...West. It's gotta be.

Bale and Clooney are out of it for reasons of ridiculousness.
 

StriderShinryu

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Dec 8, 2009
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I've gotta go with Christian Bale overall, but there really isn't a best choice to me. Conroy's voice is great but without a visual I can't go with him. West is certainly iconic in his own way, but I prefer my Batman with a little less camp. Keaton did a good job as Batman but he never worked as Bruce Wayne for me. I really liked Kilmer as Bruce Wayne, particularly in terms of looks, but the rest of the movie brings down my opinion of him and he made a good but not outstanding Batman.

And Clooney.. well, it's best to never speak of him in relation to Batman ever again.
 

SomeBritishDude

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I have a love/hate relationship with Christain Bales batman. On the one hand he sounds like he has throat cancer. On the other...


...it's scary throat cancer. He's one of the few to get that Batman is a scary mother fucker.
 

Nivag the Owl

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Oct 29, 2008
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Definitely Adam West. But I'm not gonna lie, I think my love for him is marginally down to Family Guy.
 

Space Spoons

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Aug 21, 2008
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Conroy, straight up. I think they're all phenomenal actors, but Conroy's the only one who really seems to understand how the character evolves over the course of his career, thanks to the benefit of the DCAU's ongoing continuity. Specifically, you can hear it in the stark contrast between his Bruce Wayne voice and his Batman voice early in his career, and how they sort of merge over the years. In the early episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, the lines between Bruce and Batman are clearly defined. They sound entirely different, and you could be forgiven for thinking this was Bruce's attempt at maintaining a normal life. As time goes by and we segue into the New Batman/Superman Adventures and Justice League, the Batman persona starts to take over, and by the time we arrive at Justice League Unlimited, there is no Bruce Wayne anymore. Bruce Wayne is an occasional disguise, a mask to use when he needs the legitimacy of Wayne Enterprises. Underneath that mask, he's Batman entirely.

And then we arrive at Batman Beyond, which I think is probably the most interesting portrayal of Bruce to date. Finally too old to continue fighting crime and alienated from everyone who ever cared about him, Bruce pretty much has no reason to live. He's redeemed by Terry McGinnis, a Batman who was born out of tragedy, just as the original was, but also a Batman who manages to rise above it. Terry manages to balance his duties as Batman with making time for his loved ones, and his determination to do so prompts Bruce to do the same, leading him to reconnect with long-lost friends in his twilight years.

There's always the question of how much of this you can contribute to Conroy, and how much belongs to the brilliant writers of the DCAU, but Conroy really knows how to sell it. As far as I'm concerned, he is the Batman. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Conroy's often playing opposite one of the very best Jokers.
 

Treeinthewoods

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May 14, 2010
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Adam West for the pure camp of it.

If you force me to choose a more serious Batman, I actually thought Michael Keaton did a respectable job.

But Adam West is still the best.
 

Sonicmixer

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Sep 14, 2010
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Guys guys, the absolute best Batman from any movie was Nicolas Cage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NHwsrYlDHE&feature=related
 

Woodsey

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Aug 9, 2009
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Christian Bale by far.

I can see why people dislike the voice, but I think it works.
 

cerebus23

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conroy got hands down the best batman/bruce wayne voice. i mean the guy is iconic in the animated roles and soon to be 2 video games of batman. i could care less what he looks like in audio he just nails the characters.

keaton was a great take on batman but the role was a tad confused, i mean most film fans said his batman was a middle aged batman worn down and lost in the role of batman but yet in the opening scene of the first movie he had to tell those 2 bit rate street hoods who he was. :p

bale i give him mad props since he worked out so hard for the role of batman nolan told him he was too muscular for the part when he showed up for filming and he had to drop some muscle mass. really the best batmen are steroid junky huge to pull off them spandex armor tights he wears in the comics tho batman has never been hulk or bane huge.

anyone that says west rose colored glasses much? that show was so corny and over the top, granted the girls were hot back in the day, but it is hardly a serious take on batman nevermind that his batman and bruce wayne voice were EXACTLY the same.