Who played the best Batman?

Who played the best Batman?

  • Adam West

    Votes: 4 7.4%
  • Michael Keaton

    Votes: 20 37.0%
  • Kevin Conroy (Animated Series)

    Votes: 2 3.7%
  • Val Kilmer

    Votes: 1 1.9%
  • George Clooney

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Christian Bale

    Votes: 26 48.1%
  • Ben Affleck

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • Total voters
    54

Atomicles

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Jan 26, 2008
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Having never read the comics, I have to compare all Batmen to the Batman I grew up with, animated Batman. I like Keaton and Bale, but it's gotta be the guy I rushed home from school every day to watch. I actually hoped they'd show the Superman cartoons, but the more they showed Batman, the more he grew on me. And that's when I first became a fan.
 

DEEZUZ

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Nov 20, 2008
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I didn't see me on the list either. Pissed

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Mook

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May 23, 2007
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I voted for Bale, even being one of those that hated the Batman voice. He took it to a 10 when a 5 or 6 would have been just fine.


.

Bale deserves a bit of a break from the legacy voice criticism. There’s logic to the choice: Bruce Wayne is one of the most recognizable people on the planet, and the idea that he’d dress up in a bat costume and snarl at criminals is ridiculous.

Plus, while Batman Begins was all him, in The Dark Knight, Nolan and his sound engineers altered his voice in post-production. Initially, his voice in Batman Begins was going to be produced through a vocal distorter — similar to the one Stephen Amell uses in Arrow’s first few seasons — but they ditched it in the final film. (That said, keen-eyed viewers might be able to see the mics and speakers, which, while unused, were left in the cowl during filming.)

The voice, regardless of how you feel about it, took practice. An audition tape, included in The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition, shows that Bale had already begun experimenting with his Bat-voice before even being cast.

Per Nolan, on one of the extras: “Christian, somehow, figured this out before the screen test, that you could not give a normal performance, that you could not give an ordinary performance. You had to project massive energy through this costume in order to not question the costume. So it’s about feeling and a voice, and I think Christian’s voice was a big part of the impression he made in the test. He decided that Batman needed to have a different voice than Bruce Wayne; he needed to put on a voice that supported the visual appearance of the character.”
 

Mook

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Keaton, Bale and Conroy all are almost a 3 way tie for me. Conroy because I grew up with the Animated Series...Keaton because he introduced me to Batman in movies (and lets face it, the first Batman was fantastic) and Bale because his trilogy is among my most favorite movies of all time (TDK specifically).
 

Kensington

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Aug 14, 2017
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Bale's Batman voice was goofy AF, especially in the TDKR. But overall he was a great Bruce Wayne, great in the action sequences, had a great supporting cast, and great writing and direction.

Just a theory, but I think some people base their decision on "best Batman" by the quality of the movie. The DK movies were easily the best Batman's ever, and to me, it's not even close. But this is who portrayed him best, not who was in the best movie. I think Keaton portrayed Batman "best". Keaton also had a good supporting cast, the writing was solid, and Tim Burton as a director is either love/hate, but his Batman movies were easily the most bold and visually striking.
 

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