Recently, the world celebrated one of the most iconic characters in all of pop culture: Batman. Batman is a superhero who has been around for 108 years and continues to be beloved by many. The love for the Caped Crusader is expressed in various ways, such as Batman-related merchandise, Batman comic books, and movies and television shows about Batman. My personal favorite is the latter.
As of 2023, eleven actors have played the Dark Knight on the silver screen. Those actors include Lewis Wilson, Robert Lowery, Adam West, Micheal Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Kevin Conroy, Will Arnett, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson.
These men have depicted similar Batmans, but their performances varied based on how the character was written and directed. While this article sets out to determine the best Batman, it will not compare the accuracy of a particular film to the comics. Without further ado, here are the actor performances of Batman ranked:
8. Lewis Wilson and Robert Lowery
The last place is shared by Lewis Wilson and Robert Lowery. Wilson, the first actor to play Batman in a film, starred in the 1943 film "Batman." Lowery, the second man to wear the cape and cowl, starred in "Batman and Robin," which was released six years later in 1949.
There is a certain charm to both films. Oddly, Batman is more closely related to superheroes such as Superman or Captain America in how he is represented. He isn't the dark and serious Batman yet, but he isn't corny or goofy, either.
Batman serves more as a main character you'd see in old adventure serials such as Flash Gordon (1938) or The Green Hornet (1940). The Batman that Wilson and Lowery perform is simply just average. There is nothing about their films that is memorable, nor anything that would make them unwatchable. They are simply a product of their time.
7. Adam West, Val Kilmer and George Clooney
In seventh place, we have the trio of campy Batmen, Adam West, Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Without a doubt, Adam West pulls off the best lighthearted Batman among the three. Kilmer and Clooney did the best they could with the terrible scripts they had. Kilmer's "Batman Forever" (1995) and Clooney's "Batman and Robin" (1997) are fantastic examples of awful movies that wasted such incredible young talent.
The only thing West has over Kilmer and Clooney is that his "Batman: The Movie" (1966) is slightly more fun to watch than something as atrocious as "Batman and Robin." The one thing that all three gentlemen share is that despite their films being easy to skip, they have at least one thing the audience can find entertaining or interesting about them.
Whether it be the nipples on the Batman's suit in "Batman and Robin," the shark repellent spray in "Batman: The Movie," or Tommy Lee Jones' hysterically bad performance as Harvey Dent/Two-Face in "Batman Forever," – we can all agree that these three movies will make moviegoers question what the filmmakers were thinking when they were making the movie.
6. Will Arnett
So far, Will Arnett has only voiced Batman in two movies: "The Lego Movie" (2014) and "The Lego Batman Movie" (2017). In each film, Arnett delivers a funny performance as Batman. He arguably steals the show in "The Lego Movie" and flat-out shines in "The Lego Batman Movie."
What makes Arnett's version of Batman is that he clearly had a blast playing the character alongside his co-stars. However, Arnett's Batman is less interesting than the five remaining actors.
As of now, he is good but not great. Perhaps in the future, Arnett will get the chance to prove he deserves to be higher on this list in a sequel or another Lego-themed movie. For now, he will stay in sixth place.
5. Ben Affleck
If Ben Affleck were given better material, then he would definitely be one of the top three best Batmen in cinema history. It's a shame that Affleck's talent was mishandled in movies such as the disastrous "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (2016) or the dumpster fire that is Joss Whedon's "Justice League" (2017).
There is some redemption for him in "Zack Snyder's Justice League" (2021), but it wasn't enough to help heal the wounds. The most compelling aspect of Affleck's Batman is how tragic the character feels. This sentiment shines through in Robin's backstory in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."
In the film, Affleck's Bruce Wayne glances at and eventually walks past Robin's old suit displayed in a glass enclosure. Robin's suit has the words, "Ha. Ha. Jokes on you, Batman," spray-painted, hinting that the Joker was responsible for Robin's demise.
Throughout the rest of the film, Affleck's Batman becomes a more ruthless and terrifying vigilante closely related to Frank Miller's version of the hero in the 1980s. Batman marks bad guys and even murders some of them. What keeps Affleck's Batman from being truly amazing is the executives at Warner Bros. They completely fumbled the ball with him. Affleck's Batman wasn't given enough time to develop, to the fault of both the writers and the directors.
4. Michael Keaton
I was first introduced to Batman when I watched Keaton in Tim Burton's classic "Batman" (1989). Out of all of the actors on this list, Keaton is more than likely the last choice a director would make when choosing their Batman. Strangely enough, that's what makes Keaton's Batman so great.
If Keaton's Bruce Wayne walked into a ballroom, no one would know who he was. His Wayne was eccentric but realistic. But when Keaton puts on the mantle of Batman, he is the Batman. He lives and breathes the superhero. Along with Keaton's stellar performance, Burton's directing and Danny Elfman's triumphant score elevate the film to a legendary level of memorabilia.
The one downside of Keaton's short tenure is his roles in "Batman Returns" (1992) and Andy Muschietti's "The Flash" (2023). Despite Keaton bringing his A-game to both films, the film quality undermines his presence as Batman. "Batman Returns" is better than "The Flash," but it still has many writing issues. Even with those couple of bumps in the road, Michael Keaton makes for an outstanding Batman.
3. Robert Pattinson
In third place, we have the most recent Batman: Robert Pattinson in Matt Reeves' "The Batman" (2022). I don't know how to say it, but Robert Pattinson can act well with his eyes. The director emphasizes showing Batman's reactions without using his words, and it's wonderful. Pattinson's Batman is great because he doesn't have everything figured out yet. Matt Reeves stated that one of the main inspirations for the movie was Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One" comic book released in 1987. Pattinson's Bruce Wayne has only been operating for two years and has yet to become the Batman we all know and love.
The audience sees this through the fact that Batman in the movie calls himself "Vengeance" instead of Batman. He's still learning the ropes of being a superhero, and hopefully, "The Batman - Part II" (2025) will flesh him out more in that regard.
If there's one thing to nit-pick about Pattinson's Batman, it is the lack of screen time as Bruce Wayne. This is obviously intentional by the writers, but I feel that Pattinson could've been higher on this list if we were given more of Bruce Wayne instead of Batman. In the few scenes where we see Pattinson as Bruce, he still acts like Batman. This isn't a problem with the writing, but rather just wanting more from Pattinson and Reeves. Luckily, we will eventually get that.
2. Kevin Conroy
In second place, we have the definitive voice of Batman himself: Kevin Conroy. Every other actor pales in comparison to Conroy in terms of Batman's voice. It would be considered a crime for any other actor to try and pull off what Conroy did with Batman.
Conroy's role as Batman in "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" (1993) is one of the best performances by an actor playing Batman. Batman is vulnerable when dealing with the loss of his parents, and it's my favorite depiction of Batman's parents in any Batman film. Conroy is just a beast at playing the character.
It's extremely unfortunate that Kevin Conroy tragically passed away last year. The world lost one of the most iconic voices in the entertainment industry. If Kevin Conroy can read this article from beyond the grave, I would like him to know that no one will ever replicate his epic voice. He's irreplaceable.
1. Christian Bale
The first place belongs to Christian Bale. Christian Bale still has the most consistent set of Batman movies and the most consistent Batman plus Bruce Wayne. Christopher Nolan did an amazing job showing the progress of Bruce Wayne becoming Batman in "Batman Begins" (2005). It's still the best adaptation of Batman's origin story on the big screen.
Christian Bale is also a killer actor to play Batman. He's got the looks, the physique and the charm that every Batman should have. Nolan also does a great job of giving the audience equal amounts of time with both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Bale is tremendous in both roles.
Yes, his voice is a little goofy from time to time, but you still know that Bale is giving his all when he's in the costume. He is fully committed from beginning to end and never gives up, no matter how many times he falls on the ground.
Bale makes the perfect Batman because of his flaws and regrets. However, these don't tear him down; they continue to make him stronger.
Batman is a special character to millions of people, especially me. As time passes, more actors will take up the mantle of the Dark Knight in many films to come. Batman isn't just a comic book superhero; he's one of pop culture's foundational icons.
All the gentlemen listed above give their unique takes on the character. Some of them are great, some of them are terrible and some of them are kind of in the middle. All we can do is admire just how important Batman is to our culture.
